2005 XB9R Custom Build

[C.P. Engineering]

Okay, so I've torn into this thing pretty good. For being as rough on the exterior as this bike is the internals look to be in pretty good shape. Im going to start the process of measuring runnouts of rotating components, clearances in the any bushings and inspecting closely for any wear or damage. Bring my first motor cycle transmission that i've really looked at, I must say that the shifting mechanism is very mechanically satisfying.



I plan to coat the engine components matte black. What type of coating is recommended on the exterior of these engine parts? I thinking an enamel paint or a power coat?

I did notice one red flag durring the tear down, the connector that connects the generator to the voltage regulator is a bit charred. I'll attach a picture. I can replace the connector easy enough but what would have caused this?

A few questions that i do have is, not that i have to but, how do you disassemble the connecting rods from the crank. Im assuming is a press fit connection?

lastly for now, there was an issue with the rear motor mount. The bracket was actually already cracked around one of the 4 bolts holding it to the case. It looks to be cast aluminium, so i'll be looking for a new one I'm assuming, i've never had a weld repair successfully work on cast aluminum.

 

[C.P. Engineering]

Thanks for the input Cooter, I'll take a close look at 2nd gear and research adding a 6th gear, that would be pretty cool i'f its somehow possible.

 

[mike lowary]

Charlie I’m looking for a trashed rear mount. Ill take it off your hands.

 

[Cooter]

That basic recipe for a constant mesh motorcycle transmission is pretty much identical no matter what bike it's in for dang near the entire history of them. From the first 5hp bikes to the current 205hp bikes and we all know the abuse they can take. Ahh... mechanical purity:love_heart:

Charlie, if you like what that basic transmission does to your mechanical dopamine (and I completely concur), check out what the newer Moto-GP transmissions do for literally "seamless" power delivery using one way overrunning clutches and separate dogs to be in TWO gears at once!

 

[Cooter]

Check out "Connector 77" for the electrical question and yes the crank is pressed together like a dirt bike.

I'd just get a new mount. It will cost less than the aerospace heliarc welder you'd pay for even that little job to be done right. Go ahead and charge Mike way to much for that junk mount, he's so rich he just buys anything labeled "Buell" or "light" in any catalog. He could have one heck of a Porsche! LOL
:black_eyed:

 

[Endopotential]

Charlie - while you're at it, look at getting a new voltage regulator as it's another known weak spot on our bikes. And look up installing a digital volt meter on your gauge cluster. Fluctuations in voltage there will warn you that the regulator is about to die.

I'm just sharing advance warning, as the same thing left me on the side of a highway for many long hours.

 

[C.P. Engineering]

Cooter, good call on that seem-less transmission. That got the engineer in me very excited haha. Its a mechanical version of what a double clutch transmission does electronically. Very cool.

Mike, my brother in-law owns a welding business and happens to be a big Harley guy. He's going to take a look at it to see if he can do a quick repair. If not its all yours, I'll be in touch.

My cousin has said that the charging on this thing has been spotty, looks like that charred connector is a sign that the voltage regulator is shot. Add it to the parts list.

 

[Cooter]

I'm all for a mechanical solution to an electronic problem:angel: I've been geeking out on the new Koenigsegg hypercar transmission too. Friggin brilliant.

If your BIL has a welding business the repair should be fine, or Thanksgiving dinner at the table next year might be uncomfortable. haha

Endo is right. Unstable charging voltage is a sign the VR is going out. There are 'upgrades' available but a stock unit is fairly hardy for the hard life they live. Jumpstarting a frequently dead-from-sitting motorcycle and expecting the stock VR to handle the full field load is unrealistic. Just another reason to ride them often!:eagerness:

The LED voltage display is an easy mod to do:
looks like this
https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?56490-Dash-Voltmeter!

 

[34nineteen]

Also, check your grounds. Seriously, a bad ground can lead to charging issues and cook a VR and/or stator. Be vigilant and thorough. If it doesn’t solve your problem, it may stave off a future one.

 

[34nineteen]

Also, you are correct. The crank needs to be pressed apart to remove the rods. Look up Darkhorse crank works if you really want to have it done.

And, how did you remove the crank from the left side of the case? Did you press it out?

 

[Endopotential]

Also, check your grounds.

No kidding! Just when I thought I had my XB9 buttoned up and happy - took it out today, was riding great and then everything went black. Thought I blew some fuse or relay, and turned out that the battery ground to frame had wiggled loose. That was enough to kill the bike entirely. Damn rattlecan shaking below 1500rpm to be blamed I guess. I'm gonna go around and Locktite everything I can find.

 

[C.P. Engineering]

Mike, I ended up biting the bullet and ordering a new rear mount. If you still interested in my broken one PM me and let meknow what its worth to you. As long as its a bit more than the cost to ship it to you its yours.

 

[C.P. Engineering]

Alright so progress on the bike continues. I was very impressed by how little wear there was on the components internal to the engine casing. I cleaned everything, gave the case a coat of paint and essentially just slapped everything back together. Honestly, I've never come across a transmission with so little wear. Granted I typically work on synchronized transmission with 100K mile or so. But still all the bushings were in good shape, the bearings rolled smoothly there was a reasonable about of slop in the connecting rods to the crank, i know its like 0.002 on a SBC and this "felt" similar. All in all it was pretty good. See the pictures below.





The only thing that i noticed, ad did give me a bit of a scare for a few min was some iffy machine work in the bores where the rear two lifters ride. Turns out that this area is actually in clearance and there for shouldn't cause any issues, I initially assumed it was galling on the lifter itself. (been there on my last LS build) See Below.



Anyway, now that the main case is together I'm going to turn my attention to the cam case and accessories. Anything oil pump, starter, generator related that i should be addressing while i have them out. I plan to start my process of cleaning and inspecting today. It is weird to me that the tensioner really is more of an idler as its not spring loaded. Any issues ever caused by stretching belts? I also have a repair to do on the cam cover itself. I'll show that once i come up with a game plan.

 

[Cooter]

It is a belt idler meant to keep the belt at the same tension throughout its travel and works just fine. There was someones idea of an upgrade called a 'free-spirits tensioner' that was spring loaded but it seemed to have a ton of problems breaking.YMMV.

Depending on your year, there is an OE upgrade to the oil pump drive gear.

Other than that these have been pretty well refined after the engine architecture was initially produced in 1952:up:

But you could add a turbo LOL

 

[C.P. Engineering]

The reassembly is continuing as planned. If one of you guys could just sanity check that my cam timing looks right that'd be awesome. I'm pretty confident but never hurts to have a second set of eyes on it. At this point the engine is on hold until parts from hammer arrive so i'll be moving my efforts onto cleaning up inspecting and painting the reset of the bike. Does any one have any info on the real coil over. this appears to have a dual adjustable set up with a remote resevior that has almost certainly lost all of its fluid many years ago.

 

[Cooter]

Also, as per the manual you can get for FREE at Buellmods.com.

Be careful torquing the cylinder head down. Do it VERY slowly. The lifters have super small bleed orifices and will bend the pushrods if you just spin the bolts down, even by hand.

And the IN and EX push rods are different lengths. Close, but different. Just like the front and rear injectors (when you get to that point).

 

[Cooter]

Rear shocks are available new from the dealer:
https://sphdonline.com/products/k04...9s-sx-models-u6b?_pos=11&_sid=206b2a022&_ss=r

They are model specific because they come with the coil. I don't know why they're so expensive now? Keep your eye on ebay for NOS stuff, I have got them MUCH cheaper before.

 

[TheWood]

https://epmperf.com
For better or worse, I sent my rear shock to these folks on the East Coast. Completely rebuilt, and I opted for a new Hyperpro progressive coil. They got it back to me within about a week or so as I recall.

 

[Cooter]

Good point^^ The OE rear shock is a decent unit.

 

[C.P. Engineering]

The Buell project was on hold for a bit waiting on parts but last Friday the shipment from Hammer Performance came in. I'd say it was like Christmas morning but, lets be honest, it was much better. The machine work that Hammer did was top notch and after receipt dan was very helpful in walking me through exactly what i had and where to pay close attention for fitment. Their video series were a huge help as well.



Anyway, not that I didn't trust the guys a Hammer, but I'm paranoid but i double checked every clearance and fit before finally assembly. This included simple checks like bore sizes and ring gaps, but also flatness of mating surfaces and squish band clearance. Like i said the guys at Hammer know their stuff and i found nothing of concern and everything assembled very easily. Pistons, jugs, lifters, heads and rocker boxes are all buttoned up and ready to run when the time comes.