09 xb12xt: 30mpg avg, dies 3-5 times at startup. oil pump vacuum... etc

Buellxb Forum

Help Support Buellxb Forum:

DONE AND DONE! The cylinders, pistons were replaced, starts 1st try, idles a 1100 rpm, steady as a rock. Super stoked, and very thankful to all the service techs at Paradise Harley Davidson. Here is what the service repair order says

"Zeroed TPS, AFV reset, pulled airbox assembly. Test ride good. Bike came back with same problem. Compression tested good went to test leakdown back with same problem. Compression tested good went to test leakdown and found both cylinder walls scored. Suspect lack of compression was causing bike to run rich and leading to runability problem. Replaced cylinder and pistons, reset AFV. Test ride good."

Techs said that it probably began in the factory, nothing I could really have done to cause this (Whew!). Just gonna break her in and will report if any future problems.
 
Really? You really suggest I break it in hard? I have read that advice many times both here and on badweb. For some reason I have my hesitations, if only because of all the issues that I had with my motor.

That being said, I might rather trust actual Buell owners on this one as opposed to the actual Buell Owners Manual. I have already put on about 25 cautious miles and it is so hard not to ride it like it wants to be ridden, instead of like an HD.

I will research break-in techniques, and proceed from there. Thanks again everyone!
 
A lot of people like to break engines in gently. I understand the logic, but I'm not sure I agree.

The first 50 miles of a break-in are key, so I wouldn't proceed any further until you've figured out how you want to do the deed.

Today, tolerances are muuuuch better, and a gentle break-in isn't necessary to avoid catastrophic failure. Breaking your engine in HARD will fully seat the rings and ensure maximum power and life of your engine (not to mention decreasing oil burning). I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I've broken in a lot of high end engines in this way, and always had incredible lifespans and power over other break-in methods.

I broke my Buell in VERY hard and avoided staying at any constant RPM for 1000 miles. I know a lot of people say Buells are thirsty during break-in, but mine wasn't. I didn't burn a single drop of oil. No excess metal showed up in my oil compared to a gentle break in. To me, the hard break in is more than worth it.
 
Unfortunately, I have already put on about 30 miles of relatively easy break-in. I will just startt ridin the piss outta her, if its not too late.

I know that my first break-in was using oil like crazy, but now I attribute that mostly to the cylinder scratches. The easy break-in seems to also have played a factor, perhaps. Thanks for all the advice... -k
 
Just look up the MotoMan method. That's one of the "break it in hard" variants.

I do my own version of it, but it's close enough.
 
That is exactly what I found. According to motoman, the first 20 miles are the most important, which basically means that the ride from the dealership was my breakin ride. Puushed it to around 4.3k rpms a few times, nothing crazy. Hopefully that was enough.

Time to ride!

-K
 
Well, here they are. Videos of my STILL malfunctioning 2009 Buell Ulysses xb12xt.

Link to my startup issue videos.

I am done. Going in to the dealership with a copy of the oregon lemon law and requesting a trade or refund. I looked at the law, seem to qualify.



If within 2 yrs or 24000 miles the bike has a defect which the dealer was unable to repair within 3 attempts the bike can be considered a lemon. Wish me luck, shooting for a new/used XB12X!

-Kellen


Link to my Startup Videos

The legislative web page:

Oregon Lemon Law


[edit]
Well, met with the shop foreman, mechanics, etc. today. They asked my story, start to finish, and what route I would like to pursue from here on out. They expressed the desire to continue working to make me happy, whatever the avenue. They, of course, can not even say the word 'lemon' but it was danced around with an artistry that I have not before seen.

The process has begun, sounds like they will be replacing my bike with another. Eventually. Hopefully.
 
Done, again!

I will be picking up my bike tomorrow after 4 weeks in the shop while my 5 pelvic fractures healed, so no real complaints on the timeframe. If Rossi can race, I can at least get the bike home...

They went over all of the grounds, tried to blame a poorly wired ground where the ECM is grounded (I may have began a topcase brakelight mod, blown a fuse and bailed after getting the damn brake lights working again...). When that did not resolve the issue, they ran the bike w/o the O2 sensors, did some diagnosing and it turned out that changing the fuel pump seems to have fixed it.

They seem pretty sure of themselves, but then again they have been the same with every other attempt at repair (fuel pump replacement, scratched cylinders, bad ground). I really hope this works. I will begin to PM others who have reported this problem as soon as I can verify the fix.

Fingers crossed!
 
they need to look what is causing the cylinder wall scoring...ok, shortage of oil, but what is causing that?
could be that your cranck isn't aligned correctly.
although i'm not really convinced this would stall the bike at start and then not anymore.

if you start the bike and use the throttle to keep it at about 1500rpm for about 30 seconds, does it die afterwards?

can you also give the type of oil you're running?
 
Using standard HD dino oil. The issue seems to be resolve, but have not done extensive riding yet.

Re cylinder scratches: they think they were like that from factory.

Thnks for the reply!
 
My 08 xt started doing the same thing after about 8000 miles. Five trips to two different dealers, each time it ran good for about 200-300 miles then problem returned. They updated the ecm software, cleaned ground terminals, reset TPS, reset AFV, replaced o2 sensor, and reflashed the ECM. I live in Louisiana, cold is not an issue. [confused] If you get 500 miles or so on the new fuel pump and it's still running good, will you post and tell us please? Thanks
 
Definitely fixed the problem, although my problem did not take 2-300 miles to resurface--it happened within a day or two.

I have a couple hundred on the bike, and it is not a problem any more. Rock steady idle at fire up, does not die or falter at any point. The fuel pump was pushing fuel past the injectors, and the ecm adjusting the afv to compensate, creating a lean (i think) condition. If it comes back from test rides with a low AFV every time, this might solve your problem. They did everything to mine as they have done to yours (o2 sensor, etc plus cylinders, oil pump, etc) and finally ended up at the fuel pump. After changing that, it came back for the first time from a test ride with a higher AFV.

Hit them up for the fuel pump! They did all of that for me (on ESP). Next you need to be calling customer care (see number in previous posts somewhere) and begin documenting your case. Look up lemon laws where you live and bring copies (to be used in emergencies!). Bring all paperwork as well. Keep a link to my videos handy to help them diagnose if needed, and begin video documenting your own starts.

If you qualify under a lemon law, a written letter to HDMC customer care stating your reasons and requesting a lemon-law trade in and qualifying factors will GET THEM TO RED LABEL PARTS FOR YOU and get them moving. :)

Ask them to RED LABEL THE PUMP. Make a (polite) stink. Do you have the ESP warranty?

Most of all, THANK YOU TO PARADISE HD for their patience with me as I got through this annoying Buell glitch... (and you're welcome, Paradise HD, for my modicum of patience as well!)
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top