Considering a Few Mods/Upgrades - Any Advice?

[Bat-1]

A few things I’d like to do to the new girl. Any advice is appreciated.

Thinking of painting the header pipes black with high heat exhaust paint. Any reason why this might be a bad idea?

Going to have some custom vinyl decals made for both sides of the frame. Nothing crazy just the model number: 1125r. In gray with the “r” in red. Anyone also interested in this pm me as there may be a quantity discount.

I’m a big fan of strobing tail lights on motorcycles. I think even the numbnuts texting their current random brain fart look up from their phones for a second when they see some flashing up ahead. Anyone done this? On a previous bike I bought a Blaster tail light replacement board and it worked great. Not likely available for this bike but you can buy a strobe module for around $10 and just splice it in. Sounds easy but there may be something I’m not considering.

Also thinking of buying a Corbin seat. I’ve heard the company has really gone downhill quality wise but my last Corbin was worth every penny. Anyone with experience with them?

 

[Mesozoic]

Regarding pipes, I'd probably just leave them alone or ceramic coat them... in my experience, spraying the pipes with paint doesn't last long and then it looks worse than before painting.

The strobing taillight is an excellent idea and you could get pretty creative if you're handy with programming a board to go between the main output signal and the taillight. If you're in the city a lot it makes a lot of sense.

I've been eyeing the Corbin seats for many years, but never jumped on one. I noticed that they do not offer a stingray leather option for any of the 1125 saddles. If I was going to spend the money on one I would love to have one made of that material.

 

[Cooter]

I have never found a paint that will last and look nice. Ceramic or Cerakote coatings have some good options and look nice, but anything glossy will still dull out eventually.

Strobing lights or anything to help you get seen is a great idea. I'm also a little paranoid about getting hit from behind. Ask AZmidget for some terrible pics of his bike:upset: The new stock taillight in 2010 was LED and much brighter than the 1127 bulb. It's a cheap OEM part, https://sphdonline.com/products/y04...ed-tail-light-and-lens-most-03-10-xb-1125-b3m

I had a Saddlemen seat on my CR and it looked really cool! But wasn't any nicer than the stock seat on my taint There is a stock "Gel seat" option 17323-SP that American Sportbike used to sell. This guy seems to do nice work. I have no personal experience but people are posting good things:
"St1tch"
http://ebrforum.com/showthread.php?1397-Wanted-Rider-seat-amp-RX-exhaust-with-ecm&highlight=seat

 

[Cosworth]

I know this is a few days old but your stock exhaust headers are stainless and will polish up very nicely given a little elbow grease. And doesn't take much to keep shined up.

This is my exhaust before and after getting deans RT-3

 

[Bat-1]

Update on "mods"

I found some 1125r decals on eBay a bit smaller than what I had in mind but ordered them to see what they'd look like. Turns out they didn't stick (standard outdoor vinyl) to the frame at all so I put them on the airbox cover:



That slab frame just cries out for some sort of decoration so I thought maybe the WW 2 fighter kill thing would look good. Not sure I'll keep it but it does look better in person than on this photo:



Not going to paint the pipes. But I am going to insulate the headers and install frame insulation. I'm getting a lot of boiling gas though my engine temps are only high 170s low 180s. Not high at all by engine standards. A Yamaha R1 I restored last year didn't even have its fans kick in until it hit 225-230.

Bought a strobing taillight module from United Pacific but I couldn't get it to work. Odds that a solid state device is defective out of the box is slim but it just did nothing. Lights worked normally as did the brake light. Wiring was done right so ordered a different brand and hope that will do the trick. I did swap out my incandescent tail light bulb for a red LED. It's a straight swap and it seems brighter and uses less juice.

 

[lowkey]

Not a 1125 header but I did a write up on painting/ceramic coating DIY an XB header with VHT product. I have follow up pictures on page two after over 3 years and it held up very well. I just coated them again as I had 02 sensor bungs welded on the front and rear using the same cans I originally used but skipped the clear this time around. https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?34728-VHT-ceramic-coated-header-how-to Good luck:up:

 

[Cooter]

Thats impressive lowkey! Dang I just installed my headers a couple days ago or else I would have...:upset:

 

[Mesozoic]

Makes sense since so much advancement has been made in material sciences. Looks great! When I picked up my CR earlier this year the 1st thing I noticed was the discoloration on the header pipe. I think the exhaust may have been wrapped at some stage and it definitely left a mark. Whenever the next opportunity to remove headers arises, I'll have to consider doing something about it.

 

[lowkey]

Thanks Cooter and Mesozoic, When I originally bought the STT it had wrap on the headers which I took off about a week after buying it. You can see it caused discoloration to the header. The VHT keeps the heat in the header FAR better than wrapping them as I can ride here in AZ on over 100 degrees days without experiencing the "cooked right leg" I would experience in CA in 80 degree weather before I coated it.

Like anything, prep is key to getting lasting results! I taped the clamps in place, wore gloves, used rags etc... all to make sure the header didn't get scratched or get chipped when installing, followed by FULL wipe down to remove oils from touching or any contamination. The paint needs to be heat cycled on the bike before it has any type of durability qualities. Heat cycling the paint is a delicate procedure all its own with turning on the bike for about 20-40 seconds and it smokes, if to much heat in the cycling steps the paint will bubble (do not let this turn you away just use less-is-more mentality) followed by full cool down to ambient, do the same heat cycle for slightly longer each 2 or 3 more times. The header will have taken on its new baked in color in my case a slightly bronze from the fresh cast iron it looked in the how-to, it will slightly smoke for a bit so ride gentle having the air cool it while low RPM's keep the heat slowly climbing for full cure.

 

[34nineteen]

I never experienced the "cooked right leg" on any of my XB's. I've heard of others with burns and blisters on their legs from their XB's. Mine would get warm, and my right leg was always much warmer than the left, but never to the point of it being an issue. I didnt run exhaust wrap, and only the SS got the exhaust shield. When I first bought it, the head temp sensor was wonky and the engine would run hot enough to boil the fuel.

My tuber actually burned pretty badly me a couple of times (but I kinda deserved it).

Now my 1125CR.... that bike got HOT! Its probably one of the things stopping me from getting another 1125.


Good info on the VHT, lowkey. I may have to try that sometime.

 

[Mesozoic]

I installed some carbon frame covers on my XB to cover up some frame damage and one of the nice things about that is that it's definitely reduced the heat I feel on my leg.

I was looking up carbon frame covers for the 1125, but they are ridiculously expensive.

 

[Bat-1]

I put the United Pacific strobe module on my Triumph and it didn't work there either so returned it. Bought two different ones from superbrightleds.com and worked with no problems.

The cheaper one is $5 and install is just cutting your brake light wire and spicing the box into the circuit while also splicing the box into your ground. Works great. Flash fast, then slow, then solid on.

The other one is $6 on clearance. It is internally grounded so only two splices, no ground necessary. It's fairly heavy duty but I like the cheaper one better as this one just sort of flutters the brake light.

It's a bit of a pain to get at the brake light wiring. Unplug it from the lamp and there's ample room to work the first time you do it. Since I ended up doing it three times the wiring was getting a little tight.

Used one on the 1125 and the other on the Trumpet. Cheap safety for around $15 with postage and 10 minutes work.

 

[HMP]

How difficult to wire up the 2010 led tail on an 08?

 

[Silverrider]

on a scale from 1 to 10 , a 1.5 very easy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Erik-Buell...739558?hash=item2f10c3f0e6:g:5icAAOSw37BaT4I6

 

[midway]

I installed that tail light too, excellent! :up: These signal bulbs and LED flasher was HIGH on my list of first mods and very satisfying... ENJOY!
https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?53777-LED-bulbs-in-stock-sockets

 

[34nineteen]

I don’t think the R or CR have the white connector that the later XB’s did.

Regardless, it’s still easy.

 

[BlkSupra1JZed]

I don't know how extensive of a mod you have in mind, but...

If you have the means, I HIGHLY suggest the CR swingarm conversion. My 1125R has a 1125CR swingarm. This has allowed me to run the 1125CR sprockets (need the swingarm for clearance). I also have the Barker exhaust and race ECM. The bike is an absolute monster now. A friend of mine has a 1125R with an exhaust and ECM. His wasn't tuned on a dyno, however, I don't think that part makes the largest of differences. While I will obviously have a reduced top speed, at VIR that's not really a thing to be concerned about. The drive I get out of corners is completely brutal in comparison to his.