Buell running lean

[wayne]

My Buell is running lean its in the shop and they cant figure out why does anyone have any ideas?

[XBDave]

Does it ping, overheat,etc.
?

[wayne]

no it just pops through the intake and wont run well befor 3000 rpm. this has got me and the dealer stuck bike has new tps new o2 sensor new computer all have been reset and the bike continous to run lean. i get a extra 50 ks out of a tank but it is not enjoyable to ride. i had it put on a dyno and was way underpowered compared to a stock buell.. 1200 dollars later with no solution..also the fuel pump is fine and there is no leak on the manifold.. someone must have this same problem.?

[buellinoz]

Wayne, My '05 xb12r ran great for a year, then started pinging, intially at 4000rpm under load, and progressed to all the time any load at all, even 1st gear at 2500rpm with a normal wind on throttle.
changed plugs ( which where clean and good) changed intake manifold gaskets, used octane boost and many new tanks of 98 gas, dealer had it for 2 days and showed no codes , ( also suggested that some pinging was ok ??Are you crazy ! )Nothing got better.
Dealer had bike again and changed computer , apparenty was ok then so they put old PC back in and again tested ok, I picked the bike up at 5pm and it pinged the whole way home. Time really is money in my world, and this is eating up time.
Now resolved to trade it on a new R1.....i gave it some 104 octane boost and set out for my last sunday Morning ride on it. Half way up the mountains it blew the front pot head gasket !

I know the engine has to come out for that and its just outta warranty......so looks like i have a job to do. If i don't get some help from the dealer on all this **** i'm sure they will never sell another buell in my area........the local guys love the bike but have been blown away by all this crap . Its not my fault , but it is my problem. Bring on the R1.

[dan50]

Gents, my '06 XB12X is acting the same way, increasingly loud engine ping. 500 miles ago the ping was faint, now it's very easy to detect even with moderate throttle running with new fuel.

I initially thought the ping was a byproduct of the Sta-Bil gas treatment I had in the tank over winter, but 5-6 tanks later now the fuel stabilizer is out of the system.

Another issue that's got me concerned was something that occured yesterday - a major oil leak coming from the upper swingarm area (above the oil drain plug several inches). I haven't been able to locate the source of the leak because over 1 quart of oil is splattered everywhere now. The drivabliliy of the bike is fine - no engine performance has been lost as far as I can tell.

My XB12x has 5100 miles on the clock as of now.

Dan

[MrOrange]

I won't claim to be a V Twin expert, but I have worked on engines of all types. I was wondering if you all have looked into the fuel injectors? If a injector has some debris in it could cause an uneven squirt or a restriction thus causing hot spots or a lean condition. Also, how is your timing curve looking. I have notice that my XB9 advances quite a bit at power, I would have to hook it up and take a look at what the curve is again--I forgot. But it does sit at 0 BTDC or so at Idle. With that said I can romp really hard on it all day and it never complains.

Hopefully that helps, don’t know about the oil issue. My guess would be that it is coming from the back of the engine somewhere. All the return and suction lines are on the bottom of the swing arm close to the drain plug. Goodluck sorting out your XB's...

[wayne]

i finally have a bike back running in a lot better condition. found out that the replacement computer they put in was faulty....! i have owned harleys for a long time and have relized when you want something done it is going to cost you a lot of money and time. this doesnt mean you are going to get it done right! this drama cost me 1300 dollars and 6 weeks in stress. they main reason this has happended is because i have one buell mechanic in my town. no one else can work on it, in resalt to this the buell is going.! im going to get a bike that i can buy any arftermarket parts and also a bike that any mechanic can work on in my town.. what you gain in performance on a buell you loose in the bad dealership staff and rediculess priced mechanics. i hope that it is not like this everywhere but letting you all know they have put one less buell rider on australia roads..

[wayne]

about the pinging your not alone my buell does it to under heat but dealer said its normal would nt use octace booster it is highly unrecomended in the owners manual.. would probley check timing and timming advance.. but im a novice so not sure..

[dan50]

Good to hear your machine is running again - what luck having a bum replacement computer installed.

[v12tiger]

sounds like the tech wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.. too bad it took soo long and cost so much.

[buellinoz]

Dan50.....it leaks oil cause its a Harley...live with it. But that Ping will only get worse until you blow the head gasket like me.....suggest you don't ride it anymore till someone offers a true fix.
All i read about on these forums is try this and that but no one lists the real reason that so many of these engines Ping. We even retarded the Ignition 10 degrees and it still pinged, so forget all the talk about timing and TPI etc. They run lean , but why and why after 20,000 Klms.??? What is failing ????
Does anyone really know, or just guessing???
Surely someone has found the fix .........

[draher42]

i just bought a 2004 Buell Firebolt XB1200R. It runs great as far as i know, but it does this POP through the air box. it only happens when the bike is at tis idle speed and you twist the throttle pretty hard. Does anyone know what this is cuased by? i thought it was the spark plugs? any suggestions would be great!

[mezap]

Dan50: Are you sure the oil you are finding is from the engine? Are you losing oil? Just asking because I read another post about someone blowing their rear shock and they had oil everywhere, don't know how much. I've never broken into a shock before. Maybe?

[Slade]

I have just bought a XB12Scg - mine pops in the air intake especially when cold - dealer tells me it's normal? I've changed the dummy tank for one off a Firebolt 'coz I didn't like the see thru cherry bomb one - could this be the problem!

[BuellPartsGuy]

That would have nothing to do with that at all. What your dealer is telling you is true. I owned one and I work at a dealer, every Buell I have ridden does that from time to time.

[mezap]

One question for all of you who are having these issues, are your bikes stock or have you gone the mods, mods, more mods route? Just asking for my own knowledge. I'm pretty much a "ain't broke don't F*** with it" kinda guy, and I was wondering if these problems might be brought on by the change in ecm's and pipes.

[07xb12rblack]

Slade, what did you do with the cherry bomb air intake cover. I thought about trying one on my bike to get a different look... gimmie a reply on my email if you don't mind cause I check it often. [email protected]

[dan50]

mezap & all:

Firstly, my oil leak turned out to be a result of a hairline crack approx. 3" long down through the middle of a weld in the lower center of the swingarm (oilpan on a Buell)...which thankfully was a warrenty replacement, and mine was not the first swingarm to crack at the underside weld seam, as I've been told. The weld crack was actually down through the center of the weld - nearly a straight line crack & not something I've seen before.

My personal opinion with this is that the oilpan / swingarm idea is good, but the swingarm assembly should be made as a one-piece unit if at all possible, which would solve this issue.

Secondly, I received my XB12X (totally stock bike) back from the dealer here in PA yesterday - I talked at length with the lead mechanic at the dealership about the horrible ping from the engine. Turns out a new set of plugs solved the problem 100 percent - which has me wondering if the original plugs Buell put in the bike were in fact good plugs, because the bike starts & idles a hell of a lot smoother now, plus the ping is gone.

I am interested in seeing what, if any changes will be made in '08 to the XB12X.

[chadxb12r]

did they install a new type of plug or same type just new ones ?

[dan50]

Same exact type as originals - just new plugs.

[buellinoz]

My bike is stock, we tried new plugs , even thro the old ones looked perfect. No change. still pinged. Good news, the local dealer is going to repair the head gasket etc under warranty and try to locate why it pings. They had were not convinced that pinging had caused the gasket to blow !!!!!?????
One magazine i read mentions an ignition module overheating ( down by the cam drive )and then causing problems, as a replacement fixed the issue. Anyone found a definitive answer to the pinging.
Blocked injector is possible but bike ran fine and had no flat spot when wound on.Just went into instantaneous ping. Any thoughts ?

[buellinoz]

Here's another thought......bit left field but who knows. Back preasure can cause pinging due to detonation and the Buell exhaust is very exposed to dints from speed humps. Mine has a ding front , middle and back and thats happened while being careful ! Maybe this has caused an internal restriction thats just enough to over pressurise the chamber under load ?? At a glance you'd say no way, as they are not severe dints that require a pull out. Any thoughts ??

[bahamasair]

Mine is all dented to **** and I dont have pinging. Pinging is caused by the fuel/air mixture detonating before the spark plug fires. Usually caused by excessive pressure. Id think it would have to be timing but there are a bunch of things that can cause it.

[dan50]

For what it's worth, when my plugs were removed & new ones installed, they were apparently soaking wet according to the guy who pulled the plugs (I had the dealer do it because of the warrenty). I haven't looked into why the plugs were wet, mainly because it cured the pinging problem I had. If the ping returns, which hopefully will happen while the warrenty is still active, I will look further into it. It could be some sort of fuel delivery issue.