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XB9SX is an Urban Brawler Brimming with Torque
For 2005, Buell Motorcycle Company adds a new motorcycle to the streetfighter category it dominates: the Buell Lightning CityX XB9SX (pronounced "Lightning City Cross"), a motorcycle bred to rule the mean streets. The Lightning CityX gives the Buell Lightning platform a tough new profile and offers performance that's especially suited to urban riding - a combination of agile handling and muscular mid-range power.
"The Lightning CityX is our urban streetfighter, a bike that's especially suited for aggressive city riding," said Erik Buell, chairman and chief technical officer at Buell Motorcycle Company. "This is a bike for the rider who loves to dodge traffic, power away from lights and utilize the incredible agility of a sport motorcycle to charge through the asphalt jungle."
The exclusive black-and-blue styling of the Lightning CityX establishes an attitude for the motorcycle and its rider: rugged, no-nonsense, ready for streetfighting. The Hero Blue Translucid airbox cover and flyscreen are made of a new translucent plastic that gives the bike color but also allows some mechanical elements to be visible through the material. This first use of a "see-through" styling element on a motorcycle makes the Lightning CityX the ultimate naked bike. The gauge faces and perforated tail insert are also blue, and at night the instruments have a subtle blue glow. To better camouflage urban grime, the Lightning CityX features Villain Black cast aluminum wheels and a Midnight Black chin fairing and front fender. Pirelli Scorpion Sync tires feature an aggressive tread pattern for outstanding grip over the ever- changing urban streetscape.To handle the urban elements, the Lightning CityX is equipped with handlebar deflectors and a headlight grille. A new Skyline seat and a wide Villain Black handlebar with a Supermotard-style crossbar promote a comfortable, upright riding style perfect for viewing the traffic ahead. The softrubber Buell X Guard helps protect the airbox cover when the rider's tank bag is mounted on the motorcycle.
The heart of the Lightning CityX is its Buell Thunderstorm 984 engine, an air/oil/fan-cooled, 984cc 45- degree fuel-injected V-Twin that's compact, narrow in profile and tuned to deliver the kind of mid-range power an urban rider can use to dart through traffic, merge with authority and out-muscle the masses from stoplight to stoplight. Peak output is 92 horsepower and a thumping 70 ft. lbs. of torque, delivered through a smooth, durable drivebelt.
The engine is mounted in a Buell Lightning chassis that's especially wellsuited to the cut-and-thrust action of urban riding. An ultra-short 52-inch wheelbase, 21-degree fork angle and 85mm of trail gives the Lightning CityX razor-sharp reflexes. The 3.7-gallon fuel reservoir is located in the massive aluminum frame, and the muffler is located below the engine - design elements that significantly lower the center of gravity and reduce the moment of inertia, which helps enhance the motorcycle's response to rider input. The swingarm doubles as the engine oil reservoir and is supported by a fully adjustable Showa shock absorber. The front wheel features the powerful Buell Zero Torsional LoadTM brake system, with a 375mm inside-out rotor and a six-piston caliper, suspended by a fully adjustable 43mm Showa inverted fork.
The Lightning CityX is ready to take the hole-shot at every green light, dart around potholes, avoid lanes of strangled traffic and drift through the tightest lines the urban jungle has to offer. It will also look great parked next to the sidewalk.
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