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I’m new to the forum and I’m getting my first Buell.

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Thank you guys!

Excellent observation about the Tail of the Dragon. The original owner is a former professional motorcycle racer. He rode the Dragon on this bike.

I’m on tip toes on both feet, but it’s okay. It has the taller suspension and the lower seat.

I’m not sure if the ceramic coating lowers the heat. Do you know where I can buy the leg guard?

I’ve put 400 miles on it the first week and I love riding it. It has the EBR module. The bike is pretty quick. It’s definitely fun to ride.
 
I’m going to the Harley Dealership across the street from work to have them order a Drummer SS muffler for it. I get all of my work done there but they will only do it if you buy the parts through them.
 
Tollywood said:
I’m going to the Harley Dealership across the street from work to have them order a Drummer SS muffler for it. I get all of my work done there but they will only do it if you buy the parts through them.
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. A Drummer muffler is not a Harley Davidson part. Its custom made by a guy (Kevin) at his fab shop in NC.

I'm going to guess the people at Harley are going to just give you a "WTF is a Drummer?" look, so you're probably going to have to call ahead to Kevin to let him know whats going on, and bring all of the information about the purchase to the Harley dealer.

Also, bear in mind, Kevin probably isn't going to give the Harley dealer a wholesale discount on the muffler... and Harley is going to want to make some money on the item since they are getting involved, so you are likely going to pay more for the muffler itself to make up for Harleys markup.

You may get lucky and run into someone at Harley who is a Buell fan and knows about KDFab and what they do... probably not, though.
 
Thank you very much. I figured that’s why Harley does that. If they mark up the part I just may try to do it myself. It seems easy, but I read the instructions and they said to tighten parts to a specific tightness and I have no idea how to do that. I do not have any mechanical skills.
 
In all honesty, if you have no mechanical skills, and do not have a mechanic who is dedicated, knowledgeable and passionate about the Buell brand, its probably best to sell the bike and move on.

Lots of stories on here about someone taking their Buell to some regular motorcycle mechanic (rather than a Buell specialist) and getting less than stellar work for an exuberant price. A lot of mechanics will simply refuse to work on them, knowing there is more money to be made working on other bikes.
 
I’m really friendly with the people at the Harley shop here. The manager told me there is only one of her mechanics who can work on the Buell. He’s the one who installed the cam and all the Stage 3 parts to my bike. I get the feeling that he is very good.
 
Tollywood said:
I’m really friendly with the people at the Harley shop here. The manager told me there is only one of her mechanics who can work on the Buell. He’s the one who installed the cam and all the Stage 3 parts to my bike. I get the feeling that he is very good.
Click to expand...

Just because they CAN, doesnt mean they WANT to.

Mechanics normally get paid by the job, so they are not going to want to spend hours working on a bike for a single job when they can spend the same amount of time getting multiple jobs done. If the mechanic is good, they are going to want to make as much money as possible. The last mechanic you want working on your bike is one who doesn't want to. Frankly, I dont blame them and even I refuse to work on other peoples Buells.

The dealer wants to make sure the mechanic is doing as many jobs as possible to keep money flowing into the dealer.

Friendly or not, they are a business and need to meet financial quotas and expectations. A low paying/time intensive job does not do that. Its more in the dealers interest to convince you to ditch the Buell and buy a new Pan America. Remember Buell is no longer owned by Harley, they are a competitor.

If you think you have a unique situation where you found someone willing to do quality work on your Buell for a good price, count yourself extremely lucky. Super doubtful that would be at a dealer, but more likely to be at a specialists shop, such as Jacobs defunct Moto-Enthusiasts, Aagaard Moto Foundry, NCCR and a handful of others.

In the end, its your money, and if you insist on going this route, and feel confident in their care and ability to fix your bike properly, do yourself a favor and make sure they are well compensated.
 
Last edited:
Tollywood said:
Thank you very much. I figured that’s why Harley does that. If they mark up the part I just may try to do it myself. It seems easy, but I read the instructions and they said to tighten parts to a specific tightness and I have no idea how to do that. I do not have any mechanical skills.
Click to expand...

but I read the instructions and they said to tighten parts to a specific tightness and I have no idea how to do that. I do not have any mechanical skills.

The most honest response I've seen on here in recent memory. Properly removing and installing an OEM...Hawkins...Drummer muffler on any Buell XB is a daunting task; with "properly" being the operative word. Have the pros do it for you and ask them, while they're performing this work, to apply a light coating of anti-seize or hi-temp grease to the pair of front muffler mounting bracket bushings. They are the only wear-item, other than the 1203 muffler valve, on the entire system. #18 on schematic.

xb 18.png
 
Barrett said:
The most honest response I've seen on here in recent memory.
Click to expand...

This is very true. I appreciate and respect that.

My response about getting a new current production bike was not meant as a dig at you (Tollywood). The intention was to prevent you a bunch of frustration and ending up with a money pit, when you just want to ride your bike.

I like working on motorcycles and putting $5000 into one to have a $3000 bike makes perfect sense to me. Which is probably also why I am divorced and cant find a girlfriend. Shut up CoOter!
 
34nineteen said:
This is very true. I appreciate and respect that.

My response about getting a new current production bike was not meant as a dig at you (Tollywood). The intention was to prevent you a bunch of frustration and ending up with a money pit, when you just want to ride your bike.

I like working on motorcycles and putting $5000 into one to have a $3000 bike makes perfect sense to me. Which is probably also why I am divorced and cant find a girlfriend. Shut up CoOter!
Click to expand...

No offense taken. I’m familiar with the type of math that you described. I have been obsessively buying and selling guitars for years. Trust me, I know how to turn $5000 into $3000. :cool:
 
That’s me and the original owner. He is a great guy. He raced Harleys professionally in the 1970’s.

See how he shortened the turn signals? I have the originals. He said that they flapped too much.
 
Tollywood said:
That’s me and the original owner. He is a great guy. He raced Harleys professionally in the 1970’s.

See how he shortened the turn signals? I have the originals. He said that they flapped too much.
Click to expand...

Those front turn signals have piqued my interest. Are those a Buell part, or do you know what those are off of, or where they can be purchased? Great pic. Tollywood. If you're 5'-8", then the original owner in the pic. there, must of had his a$$ clear off the seat when he came to a stop. Although, as an experienced old racer, he's certainly quite good at hanging it out; right? You definitley scored a great bike. Have a great summer.
 
TheWood said:
Those front turn signals have piqued my interest. Are those a Buell part, or do you know what those are off of, or where they can be purchased? Great pic. Tollywood. If you're 5'-8", then the original owner in the pic. there, must of had his a$$ clear off the seat when he came to a stop. Although, as an experienced old racer, he's certainly quite good at hanging it out; right? You definitley scored a great bike. Have a great summer.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It was very nice to meet him. When he gave me his blue leather jacket my wife cried. He showed me many pictures of him racing. I’ve been emailing him. He’s been sending me more racing pictures. I will ask him about the turn signals. After work today I’ll take a close up picture of them as well.

I am loving the bike. I’ve put 500 miles on it already.
 

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