Looking at an 03 XB9S Thats for Sale

[hntnfsh]

I'd like your impressions, if you wouldn't mind. This is a tough time of year for me to justify making a purchase, but with the price being "negotiable" I'm more than a little curious.

The seller is advertising an '03 XB9S Lightning that looks mostly stock, still has the cheese grater on it. It has 28,000 miles and its black. Says he upgraded the belt to an '04 because there was some issue in the '03's... I honestly don't know anything about that.

Also says he's put new tires on in the past 1000 miles and did wheel bearing 1500 ago.

Asking price is 2600 negotiable.

Opinions? Concerns? What's likely to be an issue at 28K miles? Thanks!

 

[50dro]

The belt thing is true. Good that it's upgraded. This time of year, I'd say between $2k and where he's at is about what they're bringing. Of course this depends on condition etc. Can't say for sure on the mileage other than there are many here that have more than that. Look for leaks etc.

 

[buellxb9rs]

I've got 46k no problems. Miles aren't an issue as long add or was taken care of, oil changes etc. I would say shot for 2300.

 

[Internet Annoyance]

As long as well maintained, and taken care of, seems super reasonable, look for you tube videos where he does stunts with it, or races it on the street against tuner cars, if he isnt a douche then probably is in good shape,
the problem is these are hooligan bikes and not many people motor about at low speeds with them, so expect some wear and tear,,
but $2600 for a hot rod bike like this is really cheap in my opinion. I have charged that much to rebuild a vintage Triumph motor/gearbox, try pricing Norton parts, or Ducati. This IS the time of year to be shopping for deals., especially RIGHT after christmas. parts are pretty affordable for these, theres some tricks for service and repair but all in all for the money these are pretty damn cool bikes.
If it were me i would jump on that deal if it checks out, but then im pretty generous spending other peoples money[smirk]

 

[hntnfsh]

Sounds good! Appreciate the feedback. I had intended to go look at it tomorrow and hopefully still will. In conversation, he gave me the "I've got several people interested, but first come first served" speech. Not that I haven't used that myself...

At any rate, I'll look for the obvious - rashed parts, worn bodywork, leaking fluids, etc. Hopefully the weather will hold out and I'll actually be able to take it for a spin. Supposed to warm up to the 50's tomorrow, but it's supposed to rain hard most of the day.

Since I bought my VFR 800 last year, I've been wanting to get a Buell. Maybe this is my shot.

 

[thrstrmech]

I'm on the fence about the belt upgrade since I've got over 64k on the original that's on the bike, but everyone has an opinion on it.
pay attention to gear shifting if and when you test ride it, feel the clutch engagement, throttle response, listen for any noise from the idler pulley bearings, look for signs of rust from the wheel bearings, hold the handle bars firmly and feel for any slop in the steering(worn bearings), check the brake pads, check the brake rotors overall condition, lights, horn, tires, remove the seat and have a look, look at the seat rail mounts to frame for any cracks, loose or missing hardware anywhere visible, pinch bolts on forks and swing arm, signs of oil leaks from rear base cylinder gasket, check that the timing plug (set screw at the base of the cylinders on the right side of the engine) is tight, header studs and nuts are there, depending on model...if it's a "low" beware of the sidestand as this was a recall item that in the pin was known to shear on some bikes.
if you do get the bike, let me know if you need P/N's as I have the parts catalog and supplemental parts catalog for the low model, good luck and keep us posted

 

[hntnfsh]

Can I tell if this is the low model without the owner disclosing that? I had thought there was a model reference on here somewhere, but it's been awhile since I've been active.

 

[wolfo68]

look at the color of the shock to tell if it's a low, I believe they are yellow.
if it has the belt upgrade I would imagine it had the recalls (ask if the recalls were done)

2500 is a good deal, but you could probably get him to 2200 or 2300 easily if he says it is negotiable. I'd have the cash with you, money always talks.

 

[user_deleted]

the days of a decent, reliable, cosmetically acceptable $2600 XB are quickly disappearing. limited production plus increased Buell demand will do that. follow all of the above advice and pay attention to the perishables like brake pads, tires, grips, battery....and how many owners/riders have had their hands on it.
rule of thumb: he's asking $2600? tell him you want to put aside $300 for doing the paperwork, tax, possible new battery, and have a pro give it a quick look-over once you buy it. offer him $2300 and show him cash. guaranteed he'll take the offer.

 

[thrstrmech]

look at the color of the shock to tell if it's a low, I believe they are yellow

[up]

low... yellow rear suspension and forks almost aligned with the top screw of the front fender

standard... blue rear suspension and forks above the top screw of the front fender, kinda hard to see the rear spring in this pic

 

[hntnfsh]

Excellent. Thanks for the pics. According to the rather poor pics I got from him, this is NOT a low. That's good, since I'm 6' 1"...



Going to take a look here in one hour. [cool]

 

[hntnfsh]

Well, I liked what I saw. No rash anywhere on the bike, some fading on the turn signal plastics and on the tank from sitting out. Needs a thorough cleaning from being in a storage unit. The only problems I noted were the brake light doesn't come on with the hand brake (but it does with the foot) and there is condensation on the inside of the high beam lens. The bike seems to run well, although I didn't ride it. It was really wet out and, not being at all familiar with what I'm told is a very torquey bike, decided not to ride in the rain.

Got a really good feeling from the owner, he was very upfront with information about the bike and the previous owner before him who owned it from new. With the exception of the 04 belt upgrade, it's bone stock. Sleeping on it tonight, but going to make him at offer of 2500 in the morning. He also had front and rear stands, Buell saddle bags, Buell tail bag and a larger Cortech tail bag included in the deal. Not sure i can go wrong here...

 

[user_deleted]

buy it already. would have been sold 10X over here in these parts.

 

[Matteson]

Sit on the bike and roll it without the motor running to get a feel of the moving parts. There should be a little resistance but no knocks, clicks or grinding. If it does well, we take a B 1 supplement around here and fix it. Buy that deal 2,000.

 

[hntnfsh]

Merry Christmas to me!

 

[Enemy Zero]

Congratulations on the purchase! Looks like it's in great shape.

 

[thrstrmech]

awesome, congrats[up]