2003 XB9R Broken Tranny. Lost gears 3,4,5. Rattling in case while idling.

[Joel Meissner]

I took an exit ramp off the highway. Upon downshifting from 5th to 4th at about 50 mph, I heard something break in the gear case. The broken part immediately jammed the works, causing a full lockup of my rear wheel resulting in a 100 foot long skid. I was lucky to keep the bike upright. Once in a a safe spot on the side of the ramp, I could hear a rattling noise in the case while engine idled. Against better judgement, I nursed the bike home having only 1st and 2nd gear, risking further damage.
I just bought the bike and only logged about 200 miles since registering it. The bike ran and shifted like a new bike during those miles. The miles were gentle as I am an older, more careful rider.
Local H-D dealers are not interested in working on the bike, as they say they have no authorized Buell techs, service manuals, tools, or parts. Any ideas on the cause, condition, and possible avenues to repair will be greatly appreciated.
Thank You.

 

[njloco]

It doesn't sound like too hard of a downshift, how many miles are on the bike and where abouts are you located ?

 

[Joel Meissner]

Just turned 15,000 miles. Hartford, CT area. Was a routine downshift. Very surprised at the result.

 

[midway]

I heard something break in the gear case. The broken part immediately jammed the works, causing a full lockup of my rear wheel resulting in a 100 foot long skid. I was lucky to keep the bike upright.

Catastrophic tranny failure! I probably would have crashed, all morning I'm riding thinking the rear end is going to lock up. So glad you navigated the event and no one was tailgating you at the time. Hats off for not being in a tight turn or bumper to bumper 80 mile an hour expressway traffic. Lots of things to be thankful for here, take me a couple days to forget about this and loosen up on my grips. I really hope you find the parts to get it fixed.

 

[34nineteen]

Wow. You lucked out. If you had a piece floating around in the transmission, it could have easily been picked up by the 1 or 2 gear while driving and did that again. That said, I'm glad you made it in one piece!

If you've never torn one of these things down to get the tranny out, its a long battle. I think when the factory builds an XB motor, the first thing to go in is the trans and the crank. So, be prepared to pull it all apart down to the bare bones for this one. You may want to consider purchasing a used engine assembly. Depending what your resources are, and what your overall goals are, this may be your best (economical) option. However, if you have dreams and $$$ for a monster motor, this is your golden opportunity.

Also, I'm sure theres a fair share of XB motors out there with a grenaded crank and a perfectly good trans.

 

[midway]

I'm sure there's a fair share of XB motors out there with a grenaded crank.

HEY! I'm trying to enjoy my ride... FOoK

 

[34nineteen]

HEY! I'm trying to enjoy my ride... FOoK

I meant the other peoples bikes, not yours, of course.

 

[Chicknstripn]

I've rebuilt the transmission on my bike once. As has been stated above, you'll have to tear the engine down to the bare cases when all is said and done. Start thinking about the total cost. There are a few special tools that you will need and if you don't have an arbor press, and the ingenuity to make a tool to press the transmission out of the case, you'll have to figure what shop you'll use for that. My local HD was real cool and did that for me. For free! That saved me about 150 bucks! Doesn't sound like the shop closest to you will be that accommodating. Once you figure the cost of tools and what not look into the cost of seals, bearings, gears sealants and whatever else might need tidying up. Then think about the time that will be required to perform a total engine rebuild. Do you have that much time at your disposal? I know I don't have it anymore!
Before actually pulling the engine out and tearing it apart, I would pull the primary cover and look it over really well. You may have a broken piece in there that caused your issue. Unlikely, but you don't want to over look anything simple.
Here's a link where you can find a service manual: www.buellmods.com
Take a look at all the is entailed in accessing the transmission.
Then start looking at eBay or Craig's list and make a decision if you're better off buying a cheap donor bike or an engine. Or just replace the bike and part yours out to cut your loses.
Lots of stuff to think about.
I will say, having a shop rebuild the engine is the least economical route to take!
Good luck

 

[MakingPAIN]

The above comment would be my plan of attack. If your already in the case do bearing and all seals there is no reason not to you wont be there again.. hopefully

 

[midway]

Joel will be starting a 'parts for sale' thread soon... I wonder what's on his bike I need? Worth more in parts at this point. Then maybe he buys a pretty new one and gets back out there because he's got the luck of the irish considering.