Aftermarket Exhaust Choices?!?!

[NewbOfNewbs]

Hey guys,

I'm (obviously) new to buell forums and this is my first post so bear with me. My bike has been spitting out a check engine light for a while now, and after jumping pins 1&2 to find code 21, I started looking into what could be wrong in the exhaust system.

The throttle servo valve above the air box seemed suspicious so I took a peek inside and the gears had been warped beyond repair and had jammed, not letting the motor turn to open whichever valve it controls at the bottom of the bike for exhaust.

I'm currently looking into new pipes and a race ECM to improve performance, looks, and to take that servo valve out of the equation. I was told that you could buy kits that included aftermarket pipes (like jardine) that came with ecm and air filter, but I haven't been able to find any. From what I've been reading, the buell race kit is expensive and hard to find. Maybe that's not the case. Any advice from the pros (or amateurs haha) on what the best option would be? I wanted to whole kit to save some much needed money but if I have to I will fork it out.

Thanks for the help guys! Hopefully my post is clear enough to help you answer

 

[anrkizm95]

good luck with a complete kit.you'll need to chose your pipe.then ecm from http://www.erikbuellracing.com/store/parts-accessories/fuel-injection.html or tune your ecm and a k&n filter.all the pipes for the xb are very close in performance the main differences are price,sound and looks.

heres a link to different pipes with stats,sound clips and pics one pipe that is not in here is the keda its a great looking pipe with good performance numbers and good sound.
http://www.americansportbike.com/

welcome to buellxb

 

[d_adams]

The pipe referenced ^

Made over there, sponsor link at the bottom of the list --->

 

[NewbOfNewbs]

Thanks for the help. I don't know much about the ecm... would a new race ecm with factory settings work fine for any aftermarket exhaust? Or do you configure it to whichever pipe you get?

 

[anrkizm95]

do you have a 12 or a 9 ? the race ecm will work ok with any of them but he best results come from custom tunes.you can get help tunning your ecm using info in threads on this site or you can contact octo and use his services. http://www.thetuniversity.com/

 

[NewbOfNewbs]

Gotcha. I have the 12. I'm hoping most of my problems have to do with the issue I talked about. It's running very rich, backfiring every 10-20 seconds, and spits oil into the air box thru the breather tubes. Also the power dips out for a sec when I rev up. Sounds like side effects of this problem to me, but what do I know

 

[anrkizm95]

spits oil into the air box thru the breather tubes

breather reroute has helped quite a few people with this problem. http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Buell-Firebolt-XB12-XB9/breather-re-route-1

to take that servo valve out of the equation

you can wire the exhaust valve open on top of the pipe to see if it helps.

you can also try a tps reset
if your bike is an 08+ use this method

'08+ TPS Reset Procedure:

- Turn on the key.

- Set the kill switch to the run position.

- Don’t start the engine. Rotate the throttle from fully closed (gently forced closed) to fully open (gently held open), and then back again to closed (gently forced closed).

- Repeat 3 times. Hold each position (fully open, fully closed) for 1 full second.

- Turn the key off and on.

03-07 use this one 3rd vid down
http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-Forum/Do-It-Yourself-Buell-Mods/Daves-DIY-videos-all-in-one-thread

 

[NewbOfNewbs]

Thanks, I did the TPS reset, seemed to have an affect, but the problem is still there. I've been doing research and it looks like my problems are mostly linked to my broken exhaust servo valve. Is it likely that that valve would make the bike run poorly? For example, I locked it fully open and anything below 2k sputters and burps. I just don't want to waste the 100+ dollars to replace it if it's not the issue.

 

[Thomo]

I went with a Randy Hawk exhaust mod, you send him yours and you get it back beautiful. Do the breather mod it will clean you up alot. I didn't do any ECM mods and just clean the intake and put some synth oil in her and it you still crave more power. EBracing has the pre-programmed ECMs and they have one for most exhaust mods.

 

[CrazyTexan]

I just don't want to waste the 100+ dollars to replace it if it's not the issue.

I'm new to the 12s but I would think that the valve open would help out in any case. Unless it's thinking it's in the incorrect position si ce the gears are stuck and is fueling according to what it believes and not what is. But like I said... I'm new to the 12s. Not sure if their that smart or not.

 

[d_adams]

Valve closed, long exhaust, valve open, short exhaust. The engine runs differently for each if you don't do anything to the tuning of it. It's also how much chamber volume is available. With the valve closed it should run fine on the low end, but above 3500-4000 rpm it will not run as well. Wiring it open is the reverse, will not run well in low rpm, but once it's above 3500 it should run normal/better.

 

[CrazyTexan]

^^but will the ecm be fuelling different.? I have an aftermarket pipe with the cable just tied off to the side and stock ecm for now. Its smooth on my bike at high and low or at least seems that way. Sry if I'm thread jacking. I jist figured open is better than closed. Or am I confusing myself

 

[d_adams]

It may feel smooth or ok, but I'd bet a fair bit of $$ that it's running lean in some places and rich in others. I spent $340 plus a small bit of time to install a set of wideband displays on my xb, $550-600 on my 1125. I want to know for sure what the fuel is doing.

 

[NewbOfNewbs]

That's some great info, thanks guys. I've decided to replace that servo valve. From what I've read, they make the new ones with metal gears rather than those stupid cheap plastic ones to prevent further issues like mine. Unfortunately I have to put it off for another paycheck because my back tire decided it wanted to be friends with a sliver of metal it picked up on the highway.