First impression! Question and buellers in queens, ny?

[Saftie]

So I sold my cruiser and bought a 2007 xb9sx.
After getting a complete service including draining all liquids, wheel adjustments, fuel injector cleaning etc I was finally able to take the bike on the road.
If I had not a tinted face mask people were probably wondering why i was smiling all the time
Man I love this bike and heavy traffic is finally no longer an issue.
I love the handling and everything.

The only thing that requires some "skills" is moving at low speed with low rpms (under 2500). For some reason, the bike is very very unsmooth and it feels like riding a horse who would like to throw me off. Made me feel like a beginner on the bike and I had to use the clutch quite often. Going round corners at low speed was not fun at all. Not frustrating yet but annoying.

Now I have read several threads on this forum and it seems like this behavior could be improved by either tps reset or spark plug change but I didn't find a final answer.

This bike is new to me and I'm yet to find time to take a closer look. But I do know that it has the breather mod (I posted this "silly question" before - thanks for your help there), a jardin exhaust and according to the previous owner a race ECM.

Any ideas how to improve the low rpm issue? It's probably been posted before but the search feature on this site didn't work for me last night and came up empty when searching low rpm.

Oh, if there are any buellers in queens, NY, let me know.
Started work on adding a few things to make the bike "my own" and will post pics when done.

 

[Lesley]

Greetings and welcome.
Im sure some will suggest different tuning.
IMHO these bikes run best at 35mph and above. I've had since it was almost brand new and it has never been fun to ride in slow traffic or slow speeds. When I test rode it the guy told me get above 2nd gear or you'll hate it.
If your last bike was a japper do not compare the two. That Buell will never be smooth like your last bike. That HD motor is not anything like a smooth operating inline or vtwin jap bike. BUt nothing sounds as cool
IMHO get out and ride it for 500 miles and get used to it before you start trying to tune it.
Safe jounrneys

 

[user_deleted]

that 9 city cross is one of my fav buells. all the XB's seem to be finnicky with low speed fueling especially when the motor's cold. a set of iridium tipped NGK plugs in correct stock heat range help alot. the NGK # is listed on this site. you can tell if it is an EBR race ecm by particular markings on the actual ecm. i am betting it just has race maps installed in the stock ecm. tps reset helps quite a bit with low speed fueling, smoothness, etc. you'll need the ecmspy and patch cable and a computer to do it but good investment. set the afv value to 100 while you're in there as well.

 

[Chetjay]

Welcome to the forum! I recently bought a lightning xb12ss and initially had the same concerns. After I put a couple thousand miles on the the odo I grew accustomed to the way the bike behaves and learned to compensate for it through my riding. I haven't done the breather mod or put anything other than stock Harley plugs in her. So I'd say just ride the thing and you'll figure out how to smooth your riding out.

 

[Saftie]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome.
I'm sure I'll get used to it after a few rides. Once she gets to a certain rpm everything is forgotten and forgiven anyway

You guys have any experience with those exhaust wraps? Do they help with heat decrease or do they just look cool (imo) and that's it?

 

[OldGeezer]

Welcome to the forum Saftie, and yes the exhaust wrap helps a lot. I used and recommend the DEI Titanium wrap, it looks nice and doesn't need painting/coating like the fiberglass wraps do. I did my bike with it and it really make a huge difference. Also I would recommend a Right side air scoop, they range in price from about $55 for the Ulysses comfort kit scoop to >$250. There are lots of threads on the forum about the RRS.

An alternative is to get your headers ceramic coated, which also makes a big difference and looks great. In my case I couldn't do that as the PO had dropped the bike and the header was badly scuffed and had a small ding. So until I decide to spend the money on new ceramic coated headers I am happy with the wrap.

As to the low speed surging, I read a thread on here a while back, which I have been unable to find since (and yes I did try Google buellxb.com plus search terms) which claimed, along with supposed print outs of datalogs, that the problem was caused by the fuel program in the ecm which cuts off fuel when the throttle is closed and that below 2500RPM the program alternately cuts of fuel and gives fuel, which would account for the surging. The solution according to this thread and my poor memory was to modify the decel fueling by increasing it below 2500 rpm and that this would eliminate the problem.

I haven't explored the problem much because I rarely spend any time below 2500 rpm and I can compensate with my riding style.

Have fun, always wear gear and be safe

 

[BuellSki]

Welcome to the site and to Buells! The wrap does work great. But I wrapped them when I first got my bike and when I laid her down it got messed up so I took it off. The header was discolored and pitted with rust. Only after a few months of it on there. I recently contacted DEI with this question on how to prevent this. They said spray the headers with that silicone paint that you paint the black header wrap with. But I painted it with ceramic header paint. So you might want to do that first. IMO

BuellSki

 

[Saftie]

Cool. The advice is helpful. I will get the wrap.
I do have the right scoop already

Buellski, I haven't experienced the discoloration myself but read about it when i thought about doing it on my cruiser. Back then I decided to ceramic coat. But I do like the look of a wrapped header and will probably go for it.
Did you ever find out what caused the rust? Soaked from rain or some stuff in the material itself?

 

[BuellSki]

It's from water. From like when you wash the bike, rain, etc. but mine were very discolored and a pain in the ass to clean off. But if I were you I would definitely coat the headers with something before you wrap it. In case you wanna take it off later. You might just need to spray off the residue.

BuellSki

 

[Saftie]

Ok. Yeah, water is a b*tch sometimes

Now all I need is my service manual to finally arrive, especially the wiring diagram.
My bike is having the low fuel light issue ( on all the time) and the wiring itself looks like a mess made by previous owner when installing aftermarket turn signals and tail light.
I also found a pretty messed up (purple) wire under the seat that needs some attention. Still clueless what it does or where it goes but soon...

Hoping to have time to install my headlight halo rings today. Will keep you guys posted

 

[user_deleted]

My bike is having the low fuel light issue

bad sensor which is part of pump assembly. use search tab for fuel pump schematic and you'll see it. not available separately that i'm aware of.

 

[Route0766]

You will love your XB9sx as I do. Not traffic will stop you... you will be come a "street fighter"... tell us later.

 

[Saftie]

Thanks lunaticfringe. That's what I read on the forum.
It doesn't bother me that much right now. I just need to keep an eye on the mileage so I don't get stranded.
But it's definitely something I will address, maybe when I clean up the wiring and half the bike is taken apart. I was trying to understand what the previous owner tried to do and why he left such a wire mess but I gave up

Route0766: unfortunately Manhattan traffic is able to stop me once in a while - which makes the low rpm behavior even more annoying.
Good thing about it though is that I can show off the bike. Woohoo

 

[user_deleted]

you're welcome saftie and that hero blue is an awesome color. good luck with it.

 

[J_Undisputed]

Hey Saftie, I'm in Queens (South Richmond Hill - 5 blocks off the Van Wyck's Liberty avenue exit.) I'll be back on my Buell exclusively for a while, I think. I got swiped on my way home from work riding my other bike on Friday. When I'm around, my garage space and tools are available to other buellers, if they need it.

 

[Saftie]

Anyone remember that Beverly hills cop movie where he is using glue to make a finger print appear? Well, it works and that's what happened to me and my headlights after re-sealing them. The lense is foggy. Should have used a different adhesive sealer. Grrrr. Dunno if I want to go through disassembling again. Maybe paint thinner. What a pain

Hey J U, good to know and I'll contact you in case I have time to ride. I hope you're ok

 

[J_Undisputed]

Sounds Good, Saftie. Thanks..Minor soreness, I'll live. I managed to keep it upright, but he took out my Shifter, peg, linkage and sheared the shifter lever off.

 

[Saftie]

Thought I add a last comment to this thread.
When I first got the bike I felt it was a little rough under 2500 rpm.
And people were right, I got used to the behavior of my bike and don't think it's an issue anymore. I just learnt all its little "flaws" and I still love it.
Definitely would not give it back for anything.

 

[Red93stang]

[up]

 

[Saftie]

Yeah, like it so much I'm actually thinking about buying another buell, Maybe a nice x1