TPS reset and Exhaust Install Q's

Hi guys. I'm very close to owning an XB9SX and am wondering two things.

1) I'm pretty sure the one I'm looking at has a stock exhaust, if I wanted to change it is it a PITA to do myself (I have moderate mechanical experience and skill, I've worked on all my bikes to some degree but I'm no mechanic).

2) I keep running in to threads where people are talking about the TPS and other things to do with the ECU need adjusting fairly regularly. As far as I'm aware this can only be done with a special cable and software that's only available on PC, is this correct? How difficult is any of this to do?

Also, what are your guys experiences with the stock exhausts? Are they loud enough, do they sound good? Does the bike run badly if an aftermarket pipe is installed and the fuel map is not adjusted?

Thank you very much for any info, this site has been a wealth of knowledge for me. Just looking for some important info so I can move forward with my purchase!

First off, welcome. The tps reset can be done with a pc and a cable or with a bluetooth adapter and an Andriod device. Changing the exhaust is not difficult at all. A few bolts hold on the chin fairing (T27) and then 3 straps hold the exhaust on and a header clamp. Depending on what exhaust you put on a few other pieces may need to be removed. Stock setup is fine and I ran it for a long time, it's not loud at all and it sounds okay i guess. I really can;t even remember what it sounds like now. THe ECM can compensate somewhat for an aftermarket exhaust but it's best to tune it or by an EBR ECM for the exhaust.

What year is the bike? FYI, I think 2008+ you cannot or rather, have more challenges changing the ECU.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Thank you both for your replies! Sorry I haven't been quicker about getting back (the week started hellishly at work).

Ok, so Ive been looking at the Special O.P.S. pipes, seems like the guy modifies the original pipe which would be a viable option for me if the pipe on the bike is original. I've read good things and they seem to be about 1/2 the price of other pipe options out there.

The bike is an 05, it has 20k. It is incredibly clean for it's age and mileage, it must have been cleaned regularly and garage kept it's whole life. I mean, there's not really even any road grime in tight spots. You don't see that too often. I don't think the guy is riding it at all. It's been down once and has some dents in the downpipes (not sure if that's the correct term on a buell, anyway the exhaust pipes on the right side that stick out).

The bike sounds ok, seems to run very well, not very loud, that's why I was asking about the OEM exhaust. I didn't get a chance to ride it but I stood next to it and gave it a little throttle a few times, I know that this isn't a realistic test and doesn't replicate the noise level when riding. I'm not a fan of devastatingly loud pipes but I do think that almost all bikes suffer from being too quiet with the OEM pipes. I want someone to know I'm there, know I'm coming.

I am trying to decide what to offer this guy for it. I think the asking price is way too high, I think he's hoping that someone will come along that views it as a kind of collectors item because they don't make them any more - which leads me to my next question. What is parts availability like for these bikes? I've read that they don't require parts very often or very much maintenance in general compared to a lot of bikes but I thought I'd ask here and see what you guys have to say about your first hand experiences.

Thanks again for the help, sorry about the long winded post! I tend to over analyze things. I suppose when you're dropping a few grand on something you want to make sure it's right for you though, eh? haha.

whats the asking price? what year bike is it? we can tell you where you stand on price if we have the info. check out the link on the side of the forum for hawk performance mufflers. he also modifies the stock pipe, keep the cost under 200 bucks. its a good place to start and eventually you can save up for a higher performance pipe. as far as maintenance goes, if you take care of the bike, the bike will take care of you. they are air cooled basic motors so as long as you maintain it, you shouldn't have any problems. parts aren't really that hard to come by. this forum is a great place to buy and sell. also many online websites that have just about anything you will ever need.

welcome to buell!

Hi, gtp3800.

The asking price is $5000, it is a 2005. 20k miles. Seems well looked after. Has been down 'once'. Any help is much appreciated!

The asking price is $5000, it is a 2005. 20k miles

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IMO a bit over priced depending on your locale. i base this on recent sales and purchases of mine here in southern PA as follows:
2008 lightning long...mint condition...5900 miles...one owner...sold for $5200
2007 ulysses....mint condition.....5900 miles.......one owner.......sold for $5500
2010 ulysses...mint condition....3100 miles.......one owner........bought for $6000
2008 lightning long valencia model.........203 miles......never titled.......bought for $5500
you might want to consider those numbers while deciding.

IMO a bit over priced depending on your locale

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I would agree with John. My first Buell was a 2005 that I purchased in 2011. However, my 2005 had only ~900 miles on it at the time. Yes, a 6-7 year old bike with only 900 miles. I paid $5500 for it. I realize I could have found a cheaper one, but it was the exact color combination and mint condition that I was looking for. So, while the one you're looking at is also in great condition, as you describe it, it has ~20,000 miles. That's a lot more than 900 miles. You should take that into consideration. I'm not saying it's not a great bike; it very well could be. But something I have noticed Buells is that there are a lot (A LOT) of very low mileage bikes out there. I'm not quite sure what the reason is. But keep checking around. I've seen several (not a few, but several) "for sale" ads here and on CL where owners have only put a couple thousand miles (and sometimes less!) on bikes that are 4, 5, 6 years old.

Just so you know, I've had absolutely no problems with mine. Even though it was an older model with few miles, the previous owner acknowledged not riding it much, but would ride it for a few miles at least every couple weeks. That's different from a vehicle that has few miles but has sat in a garage (or worse, outside) and not been started & driven for years. So take your time, don't rush into any purchase, and good luck! Keep asking questions. Lots of knowledgeable people on the Buell forums.

Thanks guys! All very sound advice. The truth is I've been looking for a Buell for months. I may have to travel to get one. I'm in the San Diego area but I've been looking to the Inland Empire as well as Los Angeles. I'm not sure I could go much further than that really. They don't seem to come up around here very often for some reason.

It's good to hear you've had no problems, sprk_sprd, that's what I want to hear! haha. I'll keep looking and may shoot this local guy an offer.

I suppose there's always the option of having one transported to me, I'm just not sure it's financially feasible for me. Also, when you can't go look at a bike before buying it's a risky thing. Anyway, thanks again for all the advice, if you guys know of anyone who's selling one do let me know!

I paid $5500 for an 09 XB12Ss with a Drummer SS and almost 15k miles, but it was from a friend and I know he was meticulous with it and had the maintenance history. Always had Harley do the work (which I have NOT continued), had receipts for everything, had all the stock parts (exhaust, tail, mirrors, even the old tires!, etc.). -- with that said, I agree that price seems high.

sdmatt,

One more thing: in case you don't already know, use a search engine like searchtempest dot com. It's a site that basically searches all the Craigslist ads within a geographic radius you set. There are several variations. You'll have a much greater amount of results. And for what it's worth, I flew out to another state to buy my 2006 Ulysses (2nd Buell) and rode it back home ~700 miles. It's very doable.

Good luck!

Going even further, I used searchtempest to set up a series of RSS feeds, which I then fed to IFTTT in order to get an email alert every time something with "buell" in the title went up on craigslist within 150 miles of me. Pretty handy tool.

Wow, guys that's great advice about the search/ RSS stuff! I'm going to try to set that up now. Thanks again for all the info you're all providing!

I found another bike, 10k miles, asking price is also $5k. It's the black (or kick ash as I believe it's called) color, which I prefer to the blue. Kind of far from me but it might be worth a look.

One more question. When I started the first bike I looked at the light on the cluster was sort of dimming and pulsing a little with the engine idle. Is this normal or could it be a sign of some trouble?

Mine does that slight dimming and brightening when it's idling from a cold start as the idle bounces up and down a fair bit more than when it's warm ... below 800 rpm's these stators almost put out nothing ... I can watch my voltage gauge I installed drop from the 14+ volts it reads at normal idle down to about mid to low 13 volts or so when it's slow idling when I first start it ... so my 0.02 says no ...

Also welcome to the forum and good luck finding you the buell you want ... mine was a destroyed wreck when I got it and it was free so I can't comment on the buying price ... of course it's probably cost me around $2k-$2.5k bringing it back from the dead ... haha it's a labor of love ... and definitely the only buell XB I've seen anywhere in Louisiana so far ...

Sdmatt, are you looking at the '05 XB9SX in the college area? I live in that area and have seen that ad on CL...

Good to know that the dimming issue is not anything to be concerned with! Thanks for chiming in Negative!

Joebuell06, yes, I have looked at that bike and thought about making an offer. The owner seemed like a nice guy. I just have a feeling I could do better for the asking price if I'm patient. 20k miles is probably not a big deal but it has been down (which isn't really reflected in the asking price) and doesn't have an aftermarket exhaust (which is definitely something I want) which I'd then end up sinking more money in to. What's your opinion on it?

Yeah, I feel like I have seen that bike around. I got my '06 XB12S in 2010 with under 10k on it for $5,200 and it was a garage queen then, so there is definitely a lot of opportunity for improvement on that price. If the guy isn't willing to go lower, you may want to pass. For $5k, I found this '07 XB9SX in Santa Clarita. It looks much cleaner and has less mileage on it. I only say/show this to put some perspective on it.

I actually tried to contact that guy in Canyon Country. I never heard back from him. I might try again. What do you think a fair price for that bike is? I'm not sure I can stretch to 5k. At the same time, I don't want to overpay for something just because I want it badly. Been there, done that. When I initially started researching Buells I got the impression that good examples could be picked up cheap. I'm finding that here in SoCal they seem to be holding their value a little better than other places (judging by what others have posted on the forum).

Yeah, I came across that pricing, too. When I was looking for mine, 4 years ago, they were all around the $4-$5k range, but that encompassed pretty much all of them (good and terrible). The problem with the Canyon Country one is that it is all the way up in Santa Clarita, so either you drive up and get it, without guarantee that you would get a better price for doing so, or you bite the bullet and pay the extra to try and meet in the middle. This '03 XB9S has about the same mileage as the '05 XS, but is a full $1,000 less. I don't know what your distance range or price range is, so it is just a matter of being patient and finding what is right for you. I, personally, don't mind shelling out a little more to have peace of mind. Anyway, I hope this helps you find exactly what you are looking for and welcome to the Buell Family![up]