I hope there is something wrong with my bike

[jonnyrotton]

I say I hope there is something wrong with my bike because of it's poor performance. I just bought a 2005 Buell city x with 19,000 miles from a Harley/Buell dealer and was told that it has the Buell race kit installed.
On my ride home I noticed that any where from idle to 4,000 rpm that the enigne bogs badly if you quickly roll on the throttle. The bike will barely wheelie even in first gear and to do that you must rev the bike up to 4,500 rpms and chop the throttle and imediately whack the throttle open to get about a 3-5" wheelie. I have read that the bike should wheelie easily in 1rst gear simply by rolloing on the throttle quickly. The bike does seem to idle well and above 4,000 rpm it moves along pretty good.
I hope ther is something wrong with the bike, and that 1,500- 4000rpm isn't completely usless. Unfortunitly that is the rpm range i cruise in around town and have no hope of quickly shooting around a car with the horrible bottom end bog.
I don't know if it matters but there is no cover over the airbox. Through the body work you can see the filter, which looks to be an K&N filter with the funnel shaped top.

 

[LeFox]

1st, there is something wrong, cause your bike should perform better.

can you take some pics of the muffler & airfilter/box?
also, check your ecm and look if it's marked with 'for race use only' or the following partnumber is on it: '82007-05Y'
picture:

 

[jonnyrotton]

Where is the ecm located on the city x? I will try and get some pictures for you later today after school.

 

[LeFox]

under the seat.

 

[PsychoXB]

Hey, mine says that, I never knew...haha

 

[Leathercash]

Guys I gotta say,I feel the same way about my 1203XBs...It feels remarkably under-powered Don't get me wrong,it's a fine bike especially for me as I only have 6000 miles under my belt. I am making my comparison to riding other sport bikes,but they were ALL inline fours. People have been talking about "waiting" for revs to amp up on a four cylinder bike but I never notice any kind of "waiting" to take off. If you have good clutch control it seems pretty easy to launch. This thread kinda hit a chord with me because I have been mostly disappointed with the performance of my lightning,so maybe that means I just don't appreciate this bike? Help me out guys. I do have all of what little buell offers for "performance upgrades" and am still waiting for something that performs better that an H-D sportster Sorry for sounding negative, but it's just how I feel.

 

[LeFox]

could you give a bit more details on your bike?
(are there mods installed, what year is it, etc)

but please, do not compare a buell to a high reving sport or racebike.

the buell is a streetbike! a cornering maniac with good response that gives you usable power when you need it...by a touch on the throttle so to say.

the feeling you may have is maybe just that, a feeling...cause when you compare the bikes, there's no high reving, inline 4 bike that can give you the kind of torque the beull gives at that rpm range.

indeed, you'll get more of a power feel on high reving sportbikes, or the newer 1125r. that's cause when hp takes over from torque, you'll get a kick in the butt that will give you the sense of power...but that's when the buell is almost at the end of it's rev range. [smirk]

and why do you think you can't get enough performance upgrades for a buell? [confused]

or maybe, just maybe...you're not a torque kinda guy

 

[mrdozer2you]

Comparing our Buells to any liter bike is like comparing a classic "muscle" car to some exotic sports car. They're completely different, and people like one over the other for different reasons.