at wits end

[future buell]

My brothers 07 xb12 has been it the shop for a month and a half they don't know whats wrong with it. It just dies and sputters and blows oil and fire out the muffler he has called buell got them involved he is about to make another payment on his bike and he has not even ridden it. we have asked them to do a compression check cause i think one of the clyinders has lost comppression, but they say no that can't be the problem. No check engine light comes on or nothing the bike just misses and dies when you try to ride it

 

[future buell]

i'm sorry i forgot to ask has anyone ran in to this problem with there bike.

 

[SD26]

I have not. Sounds mechanical, but it's hard to diagnose via the internet.

 

[kajer]

Sounds like a lemon of a motor... It it was built wrong from the factory, you don't want to fix a broken motor and wait for the band-aid to break. But even if the mechanic signed off on the motor being rubbish, it's still a warranty issue and the shop shouldn't have to pick the tab.

But, the shop you took it to should at least tell you what the situation is. The fact that you had to call corporate is still a bit aggravating.

 

[LeFox]

they need to warranty the engine and give ya a new one.
let them figure out the problem afterwards!

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

Sounds like a bike we just got figured out here at the shop. Ended up being the ECM and some wires that were rubbed through alone the ignition plate in the cone.

 

[kajer]

oh man, how likely is it that the same wires could be rubbing on the rest of out XB's?

I would hate to think that the rest of us are at risk!

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

I hate to say it, but in the last year we have had around 5 cases of wires being rubbed through on bikes. Didn't seem to be one model effected and it was in different areas each time. [confused]

That ECM bike was a Uly and it took almost a week to get that one narrowed down to a ECM problem.

 

[kajer]

[mad]

not good man...

so what areas were rubbed through, maybe us XB'ers need to start checking the wires in these 5 spots occasionally

 

[dave_xb12r]

I wanna know what the mileage was on these.
When should I start worrying?

 

[typeone]

future buell, hope they diagnose the problem quick. new bike you cant ride would piss me off to no end. fingers x'd they treat you guys right.

you other guys... checking wires regularly for rub-through is a must. these bikes vibrate too much to ignore it.

at what milage? i had the shock reservoir rubbing through the main wire cluster near the ECM on my '05 12S with only 3200mi on it. i make sure to inspect the condition of various wires around the bike pretty regularly. upgraded spark plug wires are a good investment as well. stock ones can rub through fairly easily. at least on bikes up to '06.

start worrying? nah, just be diligent with inspection and maintenance.

 

[kajer]

dave_xb12r...

a rubbed spark plug wire, could this be causing some of your stuttering?

 

[gbalias]

i cant believe it would take that long to diagnose an ECM issue. ESPECIALLY if its a momentary short in the wiring.

heck, once you run the sensor analysis in real time, voila, its right there. now, if the 'certified' techs dont know how to read ECM I/O's, theres your proble, right there. ha!

i hope you get it sorted out. keep us posted.

 

[BuellPartsGuy]

mileage ranged from less than 1000 to over 10,000. Can happen at any time.