Fed up with my buell
- Thread starter ChuckieE
- Start date
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To my fellow Buellers that have owned Harleys, don't forget the old ironhead sportsters of the mid 70's to early 80's. They were real pieces of work. Made when the bowling ball people, AMF owned Harley. You wrenched on them all week to ride 1/2 a day Saturday and push the other 1/2 day.
BuellyBagger
Well-known member
My first bike was a '75 Ironhead 1000 sportster and i think it spent less time dead in the garage than my uly... probably bcuz it was easier to work on, but i think the dealer tech has put as many mile on my bike as i have.
OK not really im just pissed cuz the uly damn neer stranded me yesterday and i havent got it fixed yet.
OK not really im just pissed cuz the uly damn neer stranded me yesterday and i havent got it fixed yet.
BuellyBagger
Well-known member
On the other hand my 02cycloneM2 broke down more than both of them
I bought a new 72 Sportster. On the way home after .3 of a mile it quit. A wire was too short so they fixed it. At 2000 miles the motor started knocking so they fixed it. 500 miles later it started knocking again so they fixed it. I then traded it for a Yamaha. My best friend bought a new one identical to mine, its trouble free and he owns it to this day but with a 74 inch storker and Robinson Thunderheads on it. I dont know what the moral of the story is. I do recall one of the hilites of ownership was getting my ass kicked by a worn out 350 Honda twin.
i dont think that cause its a buell that is the problem. there are way more bikes on here that run perfectly fine that those that dont.
reading it, i reckon you have someone elses bad fix after a crash. porrly put back together or reassembled or connected whatevers.
thats part of hte risk of buying something like that. if you knew it then you shouldnt be mad at the bike. just accept it as learning and work through it all. in the end you will know you have a bike that will not let you down. if you cant then sell it and buy a well maitained original buell and start from there.
reading it, i reckon you have someone elses bad fix after a crash. porrly put back together or reassembled or connected whatevers.
thats part of hte risk of buying something like that. if you knew it then you shouldnt be mad at the bike. just accept it as learning and work through it all. in the end you will know you have a bike that will not let you down. if you cant then sell it and buy a well maitained original buell and start from there.
I've had my bike for two years, 5400 miles now. Bought it new. Just turn it on and ride.
only issue was my own darn fault with fouling plugs because I'd start it up on a cold day and turn it right back off, which is not good for these engines.
i sense that those who have problems with Buells are because they are riding bikes that might have had some prior work done to them wrongly or perhaps they are modded-out bikes and those seem to require more attention to keep them running right.
only issue was my own darn fault with fouling plugs because I'd start it up on a cold day and turn it right back off, which is not good for these engines.
i sense that those who have problems with Buells are because they are riding bikes that might have had some prior work done to them wrongly or perhaps they are modded-out bikes and those seem to require more attention to keep them running right.
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- Feb 24, 2010
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This ^
I would never buy a bike pre modded, that RUINS all the fun. I don't care what mods a bike had when I was looking to buy my bike even if it had everything done that I wanted I still would not want it. I wanted a low miles, good price, and not been dropped or down.
hntnfsh
Well-known member
You want to learn to work on bikes, get yourself a Suzuki GS. Years from 77 to 83. I had two of them last year before I decided it was taking too much of my time with too little riding. There's a great forum resource for those bikes, just like this one. I worked on everything on those bikes short of pulling the motors and doing rebuilds.
Hell, this XB stuff should be cake... If I can just find one I like for sale near me.
Hell, this XB stuff should be cake... If I can just find one I like for sale near me.
Sorry to hear about your Troubles. These bikes for the most part (My Opinion) do not last for every day riding without some different types of maintaining over the whole Bike. I have figured out what I have to do to these Bikes to keep the Shorts out of the Harness and other mechanical areas of the bike that I believe Harley had a Hand in on Development. If you do decide to keep your bike, go over a Used but New to you Bike front to back so as to at least familarize yourself with your bikes overall working features Wear items and so on. Make sure to rewrap the Electrical Harness and inspect it Throughly for less problems.
I have worked on plenty of the Buells over the years and seems that the older models are built for the long haul and yes Built more like a Harley.Yes I agree BOOOOO! but Easier to work on !
I was hoping myself that the Dealer had improved the Bikes for A longer lasting less maintenance AND yes was hoping for less(repairs) wise. But here in the shop it has proven me wrong.
I will probably keep my 08-XB12R- bike but it HAS already taken more maintenance and Money and Parts than my 2004 RVT 1000 Rc51 Honda V-Twin and the Honda has more miles on it than my Firebolt. My 08 XB12R I have had completely down and put it back together Like I feel any Bike needs to be. I Realize not Everyone can do that so Thank GoodNess for Forums! Go Over your bike really well so as to be able to be prepared and lube all cables and do the adjustments needed, not sure how many miles are on your Buell when you bought it so good care is necessary to keep the bike working properly. Once you get the bike in good working order it should work well for you.
Most don't do the proper maintenance for a Buell. OR on any bike for that matter especially if they are planning to rid themselves of it once a few Miles are logged on the Machines, And from what I have started to see in this Shop over the last couple of Years everyone just wants to get on and Only Ride, it takes work to keep any Motordriven vechicle working properly no matter what it is nowdays or so at least it seems that way. These Bikes are in a catagory ALL by themselves. Hang in there these bikes are fun to ride.*Jimi[up]
I have worked on plenty of the Buells over the years and seems that the older models are built for the long haul and yes Built more like a Harley.Yes I agree BOOOOO! but Easier to work on !
I was hoping myself that the Dealer had improved the Bikes for A longer lasting less maintenance AND yes was hoping for less(repairs) wise. But here in the shop it has proven me wrong.
I will probably keep my 08-XB12R- bike but it HAS already taken more maintenance and Money and Parts than my 2004 RVT 1000 Rc51 Honda V-Twin and the Honda has more miles on it than my Firebolt. My 08 XB12R I have had completely down and put it back together Like I feel any Bike needs to be. I Realize not Everyone can do that so Thank GoodNess for Forums! Go Over your bike really well so as to be able to be prepared and lube all cables and do the adjustments needed, not sure how many miles are on your Buell when you bought it so good care is necessary to keep the bike working properly. Once you get the bike in good working order it should work well for you.
Most don't do the proper maintenance for a Buell. OR on any bike for that matter especially if they are planning to rid themselves of it once a few Miles are logged on the Machines, And from what I have started to see in this Shop over the last couple of Years everyone just wants to get on and Only Ride, it takes work to keep any Motordriven vechicle working properly no matter what it is nowdays or so at least it seems that way. These Bikes are in a catagory ALL by themselves. Hang in there these bikes are fun to ride.*Jimi[up]
To add insult to injury. I go down to get my bike lisc. today. Fearful because every1 at my work said the ppl that give exam r bike haters. Plus the course is in an isle with parked cars on both sides. Lady reads me my instructions, im sitting there rdy to go and pow my bikes dies and wont idle lmao. Which you get minus points if u kill yur bike. So she dies on me 3 more times during the test, lucky after i completed each portion of the test. So test is finished got perfect score only after she tells me she didnt dock me for my bike dying a few times since she said it wasnt due to rider error LMAO
hntnfsh
Well-known member
Wow. That brings back bad memories of a bike I had in San Diego. Honda XL600R. It would die on me at idle at some most in-opertune times. Like sitting at traffic lights at busy intersections. And it would be stubborn to re-start, even worse since it was kick start only and because I was in the Navy I was required to wear gear, unpleasant at times in SoCal heat. Eventually found out that the head was slightly warped. Major repair issue.
