I've got a Buell ('96 S-1 Lightning} and a 2000 Red & Grey, two totally different animals. It's maybe comparable to having both a '56 Vet and a 2000 model. True, I wouldn't want a Buell as my only bike, but in its own way, it's as much fun as the Hayabusa. It's been modified quite a bit with lots of polished aluminum, carbon fiber, and stainless fastners. There're kinda crude the way they come from the factory, but I would put mine up against most Ducatis the way it looks now. Around here, its a rare bike and gets lots more attention from the sport bike crowd than my Hayabusa does.
I can't comment on what the owners are like as I don't know any, but I do keep up with an owners web site and there seems to be a comraderie between them like with Harley owners. And I think a lot of them came to Buell after owning Harley's. Most of them seem to be very technical oreintated, also.
It's also probably true that some of them are a little misinformed about the performance of big sportbikes. They seem to think that Japanese bikes offer no real-world performance, only good for top speed and quarter mile.
