Buell xb12r love and hate relationship

[fash599]

Hello there I am new to the forum however I have been owning a XB12R for about 6 months and so far just about everything on her has broken or rattled off while riding and I can't figure out if its the bike or just that I am riding her way to hard. I have locktighted all the bolts and nuts yet they still fall off or they break the threads and strip the parts. Help wanted love the bike but just can't figure out how to get it to stop breaking all the time
[mad]

 

[Thaloc]

Your doing it wrong. Not sure what... but something.

They do rattle anything with threads right the **** off w/o loctite, but once done it has solved all the problems for me. Are your bolts factory specd? When you replace factory bolt on a Buell, you dont replace it with ****, or your Buell will eat it. Replace it with good hardware, use loctite, use thread tape if you have to. I have never had a broken thread from vibes. I lost the shift pedal bolt, twice almost, and all of my lower chin fairing bolts before I decided to buy stock in Loctite.

I ride the piss out her, like she stole something from me.

 

[g3stripes]

no answer for breakage but ive had alot vibrate loose even swingarm bolt ' that was strange feeling'. nothing but muffler and motor mounts have broken. just keep fixin and riding

 

[fash599]

The parts are all factory but they still fall off the header bolts snapped in half once and the shift pedal is currently the pain in the ass. lost the hole rod last week but my buddy has the same bike so I just stole his and his hardwear and they rattled and stripped the threads in the shift spline thingy and on friday I had found some weird ass bolt with rubber around it just chilling on the header... I looked around the bike for an hour and even took mad stuff off but for the life of me couldn't figure out where it came from.

 

[fash599]

I think I'm just gonna start race prepping my Buell and just safety wire the **** out of everything but it still doesn't explain the rubber covered bolt i found..[confused]

 

[Gloomshadow]

thats wierd, Ive had stuff strip, especially the torx heads on the primary covers but never had anything vibe its way off.. Ive got a 04 too.. its been around a while and never seen this problem on mine.

 

[fash599]

Ohh also how many miles to you get before your gas light comes on? When I ride the piss out of mine I'll get like 80 before the light comes on.

 

[Gloomshadow]

comes on pretty quick but I dont really worry about it.. bc of where I live I just do fairly short, hops..take out on my back roads and tear it up for about half hour then just come on in..seems like I fill it every 4 days or so. Its not my commuter, just a toy.

 

[user_deleted]

When I ride the piss out of mine

you just answered the question from your original post. those of us who treat these machines with respect and a bit of tenderness very seldom have problems with them. and i'm talking tens of thousands of trouble-free miles. those owners who pound the living hell out of their Buells and "ride the piss out of them" as you put it seem to spend as much time on here seeking answers to mechanical problems and breakage....and repairing those problems....as they do riding.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

I feel your frustration. Show us some pictures of the bike, the damaged parts, and the pieces falling off. These things are very unforgiving they have to have everything installed just right or itll piss and **** until its a wreck on the road, took me a while to get ahead on my exhaust rattling to pieces. Now i just ride it like the kinky freak that it is! I get about 100 when riding it hard, 120 if easy.

Your doing it wrong. Not sure what... but something.

Pretty much whats going on

 

[Lesley]

those of us who treat these machines with respect and a bit of tenderness very seldom have problems with them. and i'm talking tens of thousands of trouble-free miles. those owners who pound the living hell out of their Buells and "ride the piss out of them" as you put it seem to spend as much time on here seeking answers to mechanical problems and breakage....and repairing those problems....as they do riding.

I agree with Lunatic. I've put 38,000 miles on my Harley-Davidson Sportbike and never had one single thing come loose.

 

[Thaloc]

**** that ****. My XB has had very few problems and I ride her like an out of town weekend freak. Prolly what I love the best about the XB, seems like the harder I ride her and abuse the **** out of her, the more she likes it. She's a dirty girl...

Molly coddle your Buell all you want, I dont ride a bike to baby it, thats what my Subaru is for. We once had a member here Xbear9S, he always ended his post with some weird ass Bueller word of wisdom. One thing he said a few times that I committed to memory was;

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting 'GERONIMO!'"
--Anonymous HellBuelly "

Thats how Buells are meant to be ridden.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

**** that ****. My XB has had very few problems and I ride her like an out of town weekend freak. Prolly what I love the best about the XB, seems like the harder I ride her and abuse the **** out of her, the more she likes it. She's a dirty girl...

This is what a Buell was meant for! [up]

 

[user_deleted]

to each his or her own, Thaloc. for what it's worth this forum is read by thousands worldwide and that type of language being used to announce to all of us how proud you are of abusing your ride is a bit harsh.

 

[Thaloc]

Hahaha If some foul language ruffles your panties I'm not sure the internet is the place for you...

You may call it abuse, I call it riding it like it's meant to be ridden. You can "baby" your bike all you want, and 10, 20, 30 years down the road when you cant lean over a sportbike anymore and have to pick up a comfy touring bike, you'll walk out to your garage one day and see your pristine XB. Maybe you'll have regrets, maybe you wont.

All I know is, 30, 40, 50, 60 years down the road when I cant ride a sportbike anymore, and I have to go buy an FJR1300 or something, and I walk out to my garage... Im going to see and old XB, she might not be the prettiest anymore, but she will still run like a ******* champ, and I wont have a single regret.

Take it how you like it.

 

[Theycallmecrash]

Its a thing, and it was build for a purpose. In this case it was meant to go fast, do wheelies, eat turns and tires, turn heads and drop panties. To do anything other than romp it around (where its appropriate) i feel is "abuse" owning a Buell isnt about status. Its meant for the rebels the hooligans, a babied low mileage bike is a waste!

 

[Thaloc]

^^ I wish I could give you three thumbs up. Oh wait! I can!

[up] [up] [up]

 

[user_deleted]

Hahaha If some foul language ruffles your panties I'm not sure the internet is the place for you.

 

[MustangGuy]

"Kinky freak" ... LOL! Good description!

 

[Thaloc]

"It's a friggin' Buell, it's not supposed to be comfortable, quiet or safe. The wind noise is supposed to hurt your ears, the seat should be hard and riding it should make you $hit your pants every now and then. It's a fricking motorcycle, suck it up!"

-XBear9s