New Buell Owner- with questions.

[wbedient]

I just bought a 2006 buell ulysses. The bike is in great shape and had all its paperwork from dealer services, and I'm really happy with it. I'm new to the forum so I thought I'd say whats hi and ask a couple of questions.

So here is how I got into the ulysses. My friend has one and we take trips around the northwest (Wa,Id, Mt. I always rode my Kawasaki Versys and he rides on his uly. My wife decided she wants to ride and so I let her take the versys and I bought the 2006 ulysses.

Rode the bike home, handels in the corners like a dream, even better than my versys! I changed the oil and filter when I got home to Lucas 20w50 synthetic.

My pipes were just the regualr copper color, but now that I've taken a couple of rides over 200 miles in the summer heat, they are rainbow colored near where the headers meet the cylinders. I take this as a clue that the bike is pretty hot and I should get a right side air scoop.


Seems to me my uly makes a couple more noises than my buddies. Not a pinging really, more like a knocking. I'm going to the HD dealer to see if they think it sounds normal.

Overall, these are great bikes, and I'm looking forward to my first 1,000 mile trip.

Here are some questions:

lucas synthetic 20w50 is a good oil for hd engines right?

how in the heck to you change spark plugs??

does anyone know what comes in the "ulysses rider comfort kit"??

where is the cheapest place to get a right side air scoop? (220$ from americansportbike.com seems pricey)

"wandering" feeling on highway straight aways could be due to a new scorpion rear tire and stock front tire, correct?

Thanks for your time and help!

[onelogue]

First of all the pipes changing color is completely normal!!
Second the "knocking" noise you here is normal for the vtwin. These bikes are louder in all aspects. Shifting is even louder than your Kawasaki.

Right side air scoops are expensive and thats the cheapest one I can think of. If your bike has all stock parts then the Right side scoop isn't a necessity.

Spark plugs are a pain so hopefully you got nimble fingers for the front one. The rear one is easy if you have a nuckle/elbow socket and and a plug remover. Just use a piece of rubber hose to start threading the new one in so that you dont strip the hole.

Hope this helps. Try searching the topics first cause we answer these questions ALOT!!

Congrats on the bike. :)

[Stevenc150]

First off, welcome to the Forum and Congrats on your new bike. :D[up]

Spark plug change isn't too bad after I started doing it like this: Changing Spark Plugs (http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/General-Motorcycle-Chat/Spark-plug-write-up)

Like One said, RSS are expensive. Besides that, full synthetics in motor & primary will help and there's nothing like a custom map to get the temps down.

[wbedient]

Thanks guys. :) I hate asking questions, I've been lurking around the form for a couple weeks now, and have vague impressions on most of these topics, but its always better to get opinions from people to my specific questions.

Thanks again for the quick replies. I'm going to the dealership today to have them take a listen, and I'll let you guys know if its just a buell newbs ears or if there really is a knock/ping.

[buellridersww]

For your information there is a Rider Comfort Kit for the Uly. The statement below with parts number and price.

http://www.buell.com/en_us/gear/accessories/product.asp?Menu_ID=2&ProductLineID=6&CategoryID=3&ProductID=10029

Also I do believe you can get just the scoop. I think it is part number m0851.7aa for $23.95. No need to worry about expensive scoop being made across the sea.null

[wbedient]

thanks! I was looking at the rider comfort kit, but all I really wanted was that scoop! Buellparts.net has the comfort kits. How did you find the scoop part number?

[buellridersww]

Got it from badweatherbikers.com (another forum)....