The XB9R does not have much bodywork but the pieces it does have are made of strong Surlyn moulded-in-colour plastics. This process sees the colour moulded into the bodywork during the casting stage. In the event of a minor spill, blemishes can be polished out of this material.

Instrumentation is quite reasonable, including a speedometer, tachometer, indicator lights, low fuel warning indicator, two trip odometers, one fuel odometer which starts to count mileage when the low fuel light goes on, and a clock.

Most of the external metal surfaces are polished including the rims and triple clamp. Buell also seem to be very fond of engraving. Buell and Pegasus logos etched in the tank, forks, pegs and calipers.

Cruising range would be modest at best as the XB9R carries only 14 litres in its aluminium lower frame spars that also form the fuel tank.

In the braking department the XB9R only carries one disc but boy is it a whopper. The 375mm disc is the biggest I know of and is mounted directly to the rim rather than to the fully adjustable Showa Upside-Down forks. 52% of the XB9R's weight rests on the front wheel, which should ensure confident handling.

A whole new engine has been developed by Harley-Davidson in conjunction with Buell. As you would expect from such collaboration the engine is a 45-degree V-Twin pushrod engine. Induction is by way of EFI via a large airbox that resides where you would expect to find the fuel tank. A ram air system helps the 984cc engine to pump out a respectable 92hp @ 7,200 rpm which is transferred to the rear wheel by an improved belt drive system.

Buell are to release their new beast on to the Australian market in February or March and are expecting to retail the bike for just under $20,000.

2002 Buell Firebolt XB9R Specifications

• Engine: Fuel injected 4-stroke, 45° V-twin Air cooled, Pushrod-operated over-head valves with hydraulic self-adjusting lifters, two valves per cylinder, Dry sump.
• Bore: 88.9 mm
• Stroke: 79.8 mm
• Displacement: 984 cc
• Compression Ratio: 10.0:1
• Power: 92 hp @ 7200 rpm
• Torque: 92 Nm @ 5500 rpm
• Drive train: Primary drive by Triplex chain, Wet multi-plate clutch, Five-speed transmission, constant mesh, Kevlar final drive belt
• Front Suspension: Showa upside-down forks, adjustable for preload, compression & rebound damping
• Rear Suspension: Showa shock absorber, adjustable for preload, compression & rebound damping
• Rake: 21 °
• Trail: 84 mm
• Front Brake: 375 mm floating disc brake, six-piston caliper
• Rear Brake: 230 mm disc, single piston caliper
• Dry weight: 175 kg
• Fuel capacity: 14 litres
• Length: 1924 mm
• Width: 768 mm
• Height: 1092 mm
• Seat Height: 775 mm
• Wheelbase: 1320 mm
• Ground clearance: 127 mm
• Colours: Arctic White with Blue Graphics, Arctic White with Orange Graphics, Battle Blue with Orange Graphics
• Availability: Feb/Mar 2002
• RRP: Expected to be around $20,000

A nice wallpaper of the Buell XB9R Firebolt