Yup! The X1's are coming out of the woodwork! Long intro (sorry!):
In 1969 my dad bought me my first motorcycle, a 1966 Hodaka Ace 100. I had it apart in two days, and back together again in four, and rode it hard for the next 4 years. Then I bought my second motorcycle: a brand new 1974 Kawasaki Z1! ...The Z1 made a bit more horsepower than the Hodaka...
I took that Z1 through several iterations - stock, touring bike (complete with Windjammer fairing and touring saddle, headphones epoxied into the helmet, 8 track tape player mounted in the fairing), then got into the cafe thing with a Rickman fairing, homemade rearsets, clipons, 4 into 1 exhaust, the works. I gussetted the swingarm and added some extra tubes near the head tube to stiffen the frame, learned how to drag my knees in the corners, and just generally enjoyed the heck out of that bike!
I wrenched at a Suzuki dealership for a couple of years, owned a few other dirt bikes along the way, but I haven't owned a motorcycle for over 20 years. I'd looked at (and fallen in love with) Buells several years ago, but the timing just wasn't right... Until last month, when I found a screaming yellow '99 Buell X1 with 3600 km on it. Looked like it just rolled out of the showroom! I'd just received an unexpected bonus at work, and my mid-life crisis just sort of took over!
First ride was nothing short of amazing! I love the way this bike handles! A little suspension tuning yet to do, but so far I'm in love!
Shortly after that first ride I discovered that the charging system wasn't working. The original owner hadn't mentioned that, but he had installed a new battery. I don't think he even knew it was a problem, he rode it so infrequently. Anyway, since he'd included a shop manual, a quick look through, and a quick test (after digging deeper into the underside of the bike than I needed...) showed me the voltage regulator had failed. The local dealers wanted $175 and two weeks to order the part, so I jumped onto ebay and $45 and a week later I had a new regulator! Voila!
While waiting for the regulator I just had to delete that nasty rear fender. I found this forum and the badweather forum, did some studying, and went to work. Simple fix, and it now looks like this:
My first ride was amazing, but I noticed that the speedo was on the wrong side of the dash - at least for me. I must be right eye dominant or something, but 20 minutes later I'd swapped the speedo and tach positions, like this:
While waiting for the regulator, my buddy from Salt Lake City Utah called and invited me to try out my new bike on a trip with him to the Grand Canyon. Two days notice being sufficient (I'm between jobs right now), I figured I could recharge the battery each evening. I new from my first ride I could go at least 5 hours on a charge, and if I yanked the headlight fuse I could probably stretch that to around 7 hours running time. So off I went!
On this trip I learned that when the low fuel light comes on, GET FUEL NOW!!!! Here's a shot of me waiting for my buddy to fetch fuel for me. I ran out about 4 miles north of Panguich
I also learned that the battery will run the bike for 475 miles!
Now on my list of stuff:
Lower the footpegs, maybe 1- 1 1/2 inches
Raise the bars 1"
Larger diameter grips (I like the Ourys, myself)
Get the Banke shifter setup
Lose the stock air box - I"m not sure which way to go yet (round, clocked oval, or force-style)
Add 1" high density padding to the saddle, or maybe do the Corbin thing
Think I'll plastidip the rear triangle and swingarm black instead of silver, and paint the hugger yellow, just for fun...
Thanks for all the advice I've gleaned from this and the badweather sites! I"ll keep y'all posted as the bike evolves!
In 1969 my dad bought me my first motorcycle, a 1966 Hodaka Ace 100. I had it apart in two days, and back together again in four, and rode it hard for the next 4 years. Then I bought my second motorcycle: a brand new 1974 Kawasaki Z1! ...The Z1 made a bit more horsepower than the Hodaka...
I took that Z1 through several iterations - stock, touring bike (complete with Windjammer fairing and touring saddle, headphones epoxied into the helmet, 8 track tape player mounted in the fairing), then got into the cafe thing with a Rickman fairing, homemade rearsets, clipons, 4 into 1 exhaust, the works. I gussetted the swingarm and added some extra tubes near the head tube to stiffen the frame, learned how to drag my knees in the corners, and just generally enjoyed the heck out of that bike!
I wrenched at a Suzuki dealership for a couple of years, owned a few other dirt bikes along the way, but I haven't owned a motorcycle for over 20 years. I'd looked at (and fallen in love with) Buells several years ago, but the timing just wasn't right... Until last month, when I found a screaming yellow '99 Buell X1 with 3600 km on it. Looked like it just rolled out of the showroom! I'd just received an unexpected bonus at work, and my mid-life crisis just sort of took over!
First ride was nothing short of amazing! I love the way this bike handles! A little suspension tuning yet to do, but so far I'm in love!
Shortly after that first ride I discovered that the charging system wasn't working. The original owner hadn't mentioned that, but he had installed a new battery. I don't think he even knew it was a problem, he rode it so infrequently. Anyway, since he'd included a shop manual, a quick look through, and a quick test (after digging deeper into the underside of the bike than I needed...) showed me the voltage regulator had failed. The local dealers wanted $175 and two weeks to order the part, so I jumped onto ebay and $45 and a week later I had a new regulator! Voila!
While waiting for the regulator I just had to delete that nasty rear fender. I found this forum and the badweather forum, did some studying, and went to work. Simple fix, and it now looks like this:
My first ride was amazing, but I noticed that the speedo was on the wrong side of the dash - at least for me. I must be right eye dominant or something, but 20 minutes later I'd swapped the speedo and tach positions, like this:
While waiting for the regulator, my buddy from Salt Lake City Utah called and invited me to try out my new bike on a trip with him to the Grand Canyon. Two days notice being sufficient (I'm between jobs right now), I figured I could recharge the battery each evening. I new from my first ride I could go at least 5 hours on a charge, and if I yanked the headlight fuse I could probably stretch that to around 7 hours running time. So off I went!
On this trip I learned that when the low fuel light comes on, GET FUEL NOW!!!! Here's a shot of me waiting for my buddy to fetch fuel for me. I ran out about 4 miles north of Panguich
I also learned that the battery will run the bike for 475 miles!
Now on my list of stuff:
Lower the footpegs, maybe 1- 1 1/2 inches
Raise the bars 1"
Larger diameter grips (I like the Ourys, myself)
Get the Banke shifter setup
Lose the stock air box - I"m not sure which way to go yet (round, clocked oval, or force-style)
Add 1" high density padding to the saddle, or maybe do the Corbin thing
Think I'll plastidip the rear triangle and swingarm black instead of silver, and paint the hugger yellow, just for fun...
Thanks for all the advice I've gleaned from this and the badweather sites! I"ll keep y'all posted as the bike evolves!
