First Buell - First post to Group

[RatherBeRiding]

Hi all, first post to the group. Picked up my first Buell a couple weeks ago, a 2005 XB12S with 5800 miles. Absolutely loving the bike and enjoying every minute of riding. When not riding, I've been reading up about the bike here and elsewhere and thought I would jump in with my first post.

So far the bike is running very strong and is a joy to ride. Have just a couple questions:

- The bike did not come with an owners or service manual. Are there PDF's available on the web, or a place to purchase?

- Recommendations for frame pucks and sliders? What is the best type and source for these? Hope to never actually need them, but I think protecting the bike in case of a mishap is important.

- Can anybody point me to the best reference for setting suspension? I weigh about 230 lbs fully geared, which is about 60 lbs heavier than the previous owner, so surely some adjustments will be needed.

That's it for now, look forward to learning and being part of the Buell community,

Bob S
(RatherBeRiding)

 

[jazzybeats]

Suspension:
http://www.steveturnbull.co.uk/buell/thexbpages/xbhandling.htm

 

[jazzybeats]

Off topic but where is it 5:28 pm? It's 10:28 am in middle America.

 

[mrlogix]

buellmods.com for the manuals, best manual for suspension is start with the manual. Plenty of threads here on suspension and set-up. search feature in top right of page is your friend.

Welcome to the insane asylum. Pic's or it didn't happen.

Get me a beer and I'll tell you about the magic of two stroke oil in your gas. LOL.

 

[ToneTheMoan]

mrlogix drink the oil and put the beer in your gas i would be interested in the results of that!! (DONT!) lol

 

[mrlogix]

as the song goes, Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses. lol

 

[RatherBeRiding]

buellmods.com for the manuals, best manual for suspension is start with the manual. Plenty of threads here on suspension and set-up. search feature in top right of page is your friend.
]

Thanks for the manual link, have it downloaded, all 624 pages of it. That should keep me busy for a while, Looks like there's some good stuff in there.

I haven't touched the suspension yet, but will get to it before the weekend ride.

I have noticed the front end dives a little too much when braking, so I'm looking forward to making some adjustments and feeling the difference.

With somebody my weight (230 lbs), will the stock springs be enough, or will they likely need to be swapped out for something stiffer?

Thanks,

Bob S

 

[mrlogix]

I would change the oil in the forks and set it up per the manual before I started to buy new springs.Be sure to set the rider sag.

 

[Cooter]

Yup. He be right n' stuff.
Upgrade on the fork oil weight and use the stock starting settings should all be fine for only 230lbs..

 

[mriulvr]

Check out 5O-Dro on here for sliders. He has a link on the main forum page under forum sponsors (http://www.5-0dro.com/). Forum member, great product, and very easy to work with.

 

[50dro]

Check out 5O-Dro on here for sliders. He has a link on the main forum page under forum sponsors (http://www.5-0dro.com/). Forum member, great product, and very easy to work with.

Thank you! <img src="/smilies/up.gif" width=”15px” height=”15px” border="0">

Check out the rest of the site for even more stuff for you r new ride! Welcome to the forum. Be safe!

 

[BambamXB12r]

Here's a pic of the engine slider and belt guard 5-0dro sells. Quality stuff.

 

[50dro]

View attachment 731
Here's a pic of the engine slider and belt guard 5-0dro sells. Quality stuff.

:up:

 

[RatherBeRiding]

Check out 5O-Dro on here for sliders. He has a link on the main forum page under forum sponsors (http://www.5-0dro.com/). Forum member, great product, and very easy to work with.

Thanks for the link, ordered the front/rear axle sliders from 5-Odro, looks like a nice quality product. Bookmarked the site and will order the case sliders in a few weeks. Also picked up a pair of frame pucks from Ebay. Got the bike inspected yesterday, paid taxes and got plates. Plan on setting sag and suspension today, so making good progress.

Did have one issue yesterday with the starter switch / or relay? When I was leaving the licence office yesterday, turned on the key and ignition; lights all came on, heard the fuel pump prime, but when I hit the yellow start switch, nothing [/I ]happened... not a click, no sound, nothing. Was able to pop start it and ride it home. Tried it again and it did finally start, but not until after I hit the start switch a several times. First two or three try's were met with silence. On the 4th push I go a 'click' and half a turn, Then on the 5th try it started and sounded 'normal'. Feels to me that it may be a switch problem?

Thanks again for the pointers,

Bob
(RatherBeRiding)

 

[AZmidget91]

Check the battery terminals, they loosen up and cause starting problems.

 

[50dro]

Thanks for the order! :up:

Also check your ground points on the seat rails. The engine (and starter) gets the ground via the seat rails and the frame. I found this out the hard way after powder coating my rails and not properly cleaning off the ground points at the wires and where the rails meet the frame. You could take a jumper cable from the ground terminal of the battery directly to the engine to diagnose whether it's a ground issue or not. Good luck!

 

[qurtrn10]

Since you didn't mention it, I'll pose the most basic question - was the bike in Neutral or did you have the clutch in when trying to start?

BTW - pics or it didn't happen.

 

[RatherBeRiding]

Bike was in neutral when I was trying to start... and it has now happened more than once.

Another likely related symptom happened Yesterday; While riding and coming to a stop, everything went dark for a second, the engine died and all of the engine lights went out. Within a second or two, the engine lights flashed back on. I was still coasting towards a stop so I just popped the clutch and the engine fired right up and ran 'normal'. One thing I noticed was that the clock had re-set to 1:00 due to whatever had just happened.

I think the loose battery terminals and/or ground sound very plausible. I will go over all the connections before the next ride a report back the results.

PS - I received the axle sliders from 5-0Dro already, very nice product and supper fast shipping. Thank you!

PS PS - Set the sag, compression and rebound and it feels really good. Love the way this bike corners.

Bob S

 

[mrlogix]

cool on the 5-0Dro stuff. If the instrument cluster cycled power while riding I would check the wiring harness at the key switch. The harness is tight in this area and known to break wires.

 

[RatherBeRiding]

cool on the 5-0Dro stuff. If the instrument cluster cycled power while riding I would check the wiring harness at the key switch. The harness is tight in this area and known to break wires.

Interesting idea... Earlier in the day, after pushing the yellow start button was met with silence, it seems if I would turn the handle bars left and right, it would catch and start. This only happened once, so I wasn't sure if it was just coincidence. But it does give some credence to the wiring harness idea. I'll add that to my checklist and see if I can find anything.

How do I check the wiring harness??? Just jiggle wires and see if anything weird happens? Put my DMM on continuity and check point to point? Any tips to help narrow down if there is a break and where it is?

Thanks!

Bob S