New, asking possibly dumb questions.

[doin reserch]

Hey guys,
I just had some questions about the Buell XB12. I am considering a new bike and have had Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki's in the past. So I'm not new to sport bikes. But I am new to a v twin bike. I am considering this due to my taste changing as I have gotten older for a more naked bike and the Buell XB really gets me excited since its been some years from my last cycle. I am one to do major modification on aesthetics and some performance on motor etc.. So I had some questions before purchase. And yes I did do some searching on this site and others but couldn't quite find what I was looking for.

Do you know of anybody replacing the motor for an after market S & S or other v twin?

Does the exhaust on the Buell XB just increase HP or back pressure due to its baffling? If so how much? Why couldn't you run straight exhaust like those custom cruisers do with no muffler?

Are wide rear tire kits hard to get? How about like "Hillbilly motors Hellbender"?

Is there any extra room under the fake gas tank / cover? Whats in the tail section other than the rear light? Electronics? Battery? fluid reservoir?

Thanks for your time. I know these are probably some silly questions but like I said, I am a heavy modifier...

[mrdozer2you]

Don't do it they are problems waiting to happen. Read my post "BIG Mistake" Stay away from the BUELL. Unless you feel like devoting 80% of your time in the garage wrenching (or waiting for a dealership to fix it) and about 20% riding. Just guessing on percentages because since purchasing mine I have been unable to get it out of my garage yet due to problems with the bike.

[azsnow]

I have an '03 XB9R, and the only problem I have encountered is that tires don't last forever. There are aftermarket motors available from S&S, but why would you want to replace it? You could run straight exhaust, but your power would suffer. The rear swing arm holds the oil, but I am not sure of any wide tire kits. There is a little extra room under the air cover, what are you wanting to put in there? There is a little "trunk" like on all sport bikes.

[BuellPartsGuy]

mrdozer2you, you don't like the Buells, then you don't have to be here. Don't be talking trash about them here. If you're not happy with yours, sell it and get a tampon bike like most other people out there. Just because you have one problem with yours, you immediately put it down and call it just. Just like azsnow said, its the dealer jerking you around, not Buells. I also have an '03 XB9R and have put 10,000 hard miles on it in less than a year and the most i did was tires and a belt.

[B_Brad]

Amen, Please quit bashing Buell bikes! It sounds like your problem was the dealer. Maybe not maybe the problem is you! I'm sorry your having problems, but most all of us are happy with are Buells. Have you called the dealer to give them a chance to make things right? You would probably get more bashing support on a different forum.

[ironhead1977]

My Buell has been flawless. Would highly recommend.

[MrOrange]

As a 03 XB9S owner, I would not trade it for anything...

[heavymetal]

I am picking mine up in a couple weeks. 06 xb9. Before I even put money down a nice lady called from corporate harley to see how my dealer was treating me and asked general questions about my experience. Then said they would check back after purchase. Also said if I had problems with dealer I could feel free to call them. I owned a Suzuki a couple years ago and was treated like **** by the dealer. They diagnosed a bad tranny as starting in thrid gear. When tranny finally went dealer refused to admit it was their fault. Suzuki corporate would have nothing to do with it. Needless to say traded the piece for a snowmachine. When I decided to buy a new bike this year I looked at the usual stuff but there was only one bike for me BUELL! Besides no matter what you look a lot cooler pushing a Buell than riding a Honda.

[mrdozer2you]

Well at the moment i have a $7000 dollar paper weight. The dealer has it at their shop so we'll see what happens. I am supposed to get it back monday at the latest. I am trying to keep my composure but this past weekend was in the high 70's. Very rare in march especially in Michigan. I felt like the only one not riding and enjoying the weather(played with dogs instead, time better spent I guess) I mean wouldn't any of you be mad after spending a wad of cash and looking at a bike in your garage for 3 months, and on the first nice day you cant ride it cause it wont start? Of course you would. So what else am i supposed to say except SON OF A.....

[mezap]

Maybe the dealer will make it right bro. Give em a chance, never know how this will play out. I just got my XB12S, 1400 miles now in one month more or less. No problems so far, and prayerfully there will be none. I hit a snag in the negotiations when purchasing, so much so that I shut the deal down. But honestly, it was just miscommunication. I have never had anyone try so hard to work things out for me, never had so much follow up to see if I am happy, I am cautiously amazed! (cautiously because I am NOT the trusting type) I think spring fever/ride itch has magnified this maybe coupled with the plugs not being easy to access, but the interceptor I traded for my Buell (Honda was problem free, btw) was as difficult to change plugs on if not more so, and they had to be the high dollar platinum. And you'll love this: at 16000 miles you have to do a valve lash check/adj. The engine is a VTEC, so you have to open the bike up, take the head off, pull the camshafts out, pull the buckets off of the VTEC valves and remove the springs, put these parts called slider/stoppers (must be purchased) in, put buckets/camshafts/retainer back in, torque everything to spec, check the valve clearance, and if everything is fine, take it all back apart, put springs back in, put it all back together, torque it, reassemble, and if everything was done exactly right, 10 to 12 hours or 500.00 to 600.00 dollars later you have a bike. and if you find that the clearance needs to be adjusted you add like a couple of hours fitting, checking, and that's IF you happen to have the right size shim!! I know this isn't a Honda site, just wanted you to know the buell is not as hard to work with as you may think. Granted, the VTEC is a special bird engine with special needs, but you will find that any Asian sport bike requires valve lash adjustments every 10 to 16 grand, and you have to pull the head to get to the camshafts, and mistakes are not allowed, hence the high costs of valve lash adjustments. But this is not an issue with the Buell, bless her heart. No valve lash adjustments required dude! Give this all a little time to work itself out, and lets see what happens with the dealer. I am watching for your post, cause I want to see if they take care of this and if not how Buell handles it. Asian shops can be a nightmare too, don't kid yourself. I know a guy bought an Asian cruiser brand new, immediately developed alternator problems, couldn't get it resolved, took the bike back, told em to shove it, much legal hassle and now screwed up credit where he refused to pay for a bike he couldn't ride, and now hes a cagier. Sad to see, cause hes a good guy he loves to ride. Dealerships everywhere have one quality/flaw. the people in them. Lets wait and see which one your dealer has. Breathe man! It'll work out!!

[mrdozer2you]

Sigh.....Im sure it will all work out one way or another. Its just very sad to me that our State is in shambles and everyone is crying about it but not doing anything to fix it!!!!! I went to another Harley/Buell dealership to check out jackets for me and my wife. We had already looked online and found what we liked, so instead of buying online I wanted to support local business (being a local small business owner myself) I was amazed that the store was empty...nobody shopping just employees standing around chatting. Not 1 f-ing person said "hi", "do you need help finding anything" nothing. We stood and browsed for over half an hour with no contact from anyone. So I said "piss on this" and left. I am starting to get the impression from Harley/Buell that they just dont seem to care if they make a sale or not. I went to 2 other dealerships (not hd/buell) and was basically gang-raped before entering the building!!! I just dont get it. Do I look like I dont have any money? Do I not fit the build of a HD/Buell rider? Do I look like some punk kid?
I mean I was standing in their store with over $1000 cash in my pocket ready to buy clothing and accessories and they let it walk right out the door. All I can say is NO BITCHIN about the economy.

[BuellPartsGuy]

Sounds like you need ot find a better dealer

[lucas70374]

Ok Back to TOPIC,

S&S dont make a motor for the XB's, If you want good motor mods call www.revperf.com (Brian Nallin) or www.racingmotorcycles.com (Rich) They can better help you with the RIGHT motor setup

Exhaust- dont do a straight pipe, you will lose low end performance. There are several exhaust pipes out there to get a better pipe. Stock Exhaust is hard to beat just dont have a good sound.

What do you want to do under the fake gas tank and tail section. Under the fake gas tank is a air filter, under the tail section is a sub-frame, battary, brake reservoir, shock remote adjuster.

[mrdozer2you]

Yes you are right..Back to topic. Sorry all:(. It seems to me that things are better on these bikes if left un changed. I plan on doing the license plate relocate, pipe, and new mirrors and turn signals. Other than that it will probably stay as is. Maybe remove the bottom plastic once i get my new bling bling pipe on it. I think it looks better, you know the less is more thing. Other than that I like to live by the old "if it aint broke dont fix it"

[Hard Corps]

No one really touched on pipes. If you are looking for a louder, and better performance pipe there are many aftermarket choices. Special OPs by odie, Drummer by KDFAB, Jardine, Force, on an on. The force pipe I hear is very loud, and you have modest gains in performance.

[mrdozer2you]

Think I'm gonna go with the Jardine. I really liked the Drummer and spoke with Kevin from KD fab on the phone. Talk about a stand up guy, hes awesome, loves to talk bikes and will answer any question you have. I'm just having trouble with the price of his..its almost double the jardine with similar gains. I really want to support KD fab but my wallet is screaming!! What he needs to do is put something on his site about taking your factory pipe from you and giving some sort of credit off the new pipe you buy. Sort of take some of the sting outa buying the new pipe.

[MrOrange]

I went with Jardine for just about the same reason. Don't forget that you will have to repack the pipe every 500 mi or so depending how you ride. I think that that reason alone steers people away from the Jardine--but the carbon fiber one is soo sexy... http://jardine.rideshop.com/catalog/images/18-5004-323-02.jpg

[mrdozer2you]

Repacking? Is that a performance issue or just a noise issue? I read about that and Jardine said it will need occasional repack.

[MrOrange]

From what I have read about the pipe you have to repack the baffle with fiber glass just like the old school cherry bomb glass packs. According to an article and some advice from the place that sold it to me, the can could become scorched and the rivets can become loose if neglected. The good thing is that to repack it is a fairly easy task, I have not received the can yet but I'll keep you all posted on how "easy" it is.

[mrdozer2you]

So basically it will get louder, the rivets may come loose due to increased vibrations in the pipe. Im guessing thats pretty close to what will happen. As far as the can scorching, I dont know. If its getting hot enough to scorch it then I would hate to see your headers. Those babys would be glowing:)

[MrOrange]

That’s what the man said, I fart around with the bike quite often and don't really mind the little extra that goes along with having the pipe. I do think that the pipe comes from a reputable company and if anything does go drastically wrong with it I’m sure they will make it right. As soon as I get the can I'll post the pictures. If anyone else knows, does what I describe sound about right for the Jardine?

[mezap]

wow...every 500 miles? Sounds like a pain. Is it hard to do? Do you have to take it off every time you pack it, or is it possible to maintain it while on the bike? I can crank off 500 miles in one weekend, can't see getting involved with something like that every other weekend. Rats! I was looking at the jardin, too. They sound so good, know a couple of guys who have them, but they neglected to tell me about this. Glad I found out about it now. I hear that an aftermarket exhaust can help the engine run a bit cooler, in addition to the boost, have you found that your bikes run cooler with a new exhaust & tuner?

[MrOrange]

I guess it depends on how you ride. I found an article today on this site about a exhaust shoot out for the XB Bikes. http://www.buellxb.com/index.php?a=vtopic&t=96 That article stated that the pipe needed to be repacked every 5000 miles. I guess I'll just have to watch it and see. As far as running cooler, the pipe is still in shipment to me so I have not had a chance to try it out. I'll post what my findings are once I get the pipe...

[mrdozer2you]

Yeah, I think 5000 is right. Oh if you are running a stock ECM dont you need a servo emulator as well?