Looking at my first xb9r.

[umdterps]

Hey as the title says I'm in the market for a new to me bike. My Old 80' Suzuki GS750 was finally in need of a good tear down and I can't stand not having a running bike. The Buell xb9r seems like a fun bike I can ride around town and also take to a track day for some fun (I know I won't be spanking any of the "normal" race bikes but it should be able to hold its own well enough and I'll have fun)

I'm looking at a 2003 xb9r with about 16,000 miles on it. It has an after market Buell racing exhaust and I confirmed with the shop he took it too that he had the bike dyno tuned as well. Shop also told me the rectifier was recently replaced as well as the head lights and some fuses. (I'm assuming his rectifier took a dump and fried anything that was receiving current at the time). When I'm looking at it I plan on checking all electronics as close as possible and will be bringing my multi-meter to check the charging system.

Whenever I'm looking at used bikes I pretty much always go through this checklist but this is going to be the first xb9r I've ever looked at in person. Anything specific I should be looking for that I might miss being new to the xb9r.

Thanks for any advice and hopefully this bike checks out and I can officially join you guys here. I've already learned a lot reading through a number of different posts.

 

[umdterps]

And my dumb ass just found the search feature. I'll look up the same topic there sorry.

 

[thrstrmech]

after market Buell racing exhaust

...say what? the only other choice for and exhaust from Buell over the stock can was the Pro-Series exhaust here it has dual ports vs. single

welcome to the forum

 

[user_deleted]

03 the first year for the XB line of lightnings and firebolts so there were a few teething problems but many board members have had 03's with virtually 0 problems including myself. you'll hear about undersized drivebelt and electrical gremlins but i've found the 03's to be no more problem prone with proper maintenance and reasonable care than any other year XB. do some research for the year, mileage, amount of owners and condition of the XB you're considering...in comparison to recent known sales you can locate. that will pretty much dictate fair market value. Buells are wonderful bikes and the market is gradually drying up for nice unmolested models in good condition due to low production numbers.

 

[umdterps]

lunatic:

Thanks for the info after checking the bike out I found out a few more details about it. The guy is the original owner and seemed like he took care of it pretty well. All regular maintenance was done aside from replacing the fork oil which I've read around here most people wait till 20,000 miles to do that any way. The price we talked about seemed pretty fair ($3,000) compared to what I've seen around my area and for the condition/miles on the bike. This price also takes into account the cost of buying replacement turn signals to pass inspection (His state didn't require them so he took them off and lost them) and also a replacement clutch lever, the original broke when the bike fell over in his garage while I was there and he was taking it out of his garage.

The only other issue with it that somewhat scared me was he said after about 15-10 minutes of riding the check engine light comes on and then goes away after another 15-10 minutes. He said he only noticed this after a jardine muffler was installed the the stock ecu was remapped at a local shop using a dyno. This will be my first bike with fuel injection so I'm not sure how serious this is and if it could point to another more serious problem. Could it have something to do with changing between open-loop/closed-loop or does the ecm need to be remapped again? I appreciate any knowledge that could be dropped on me to supplement my lack of.

 

[user_deleted]

IMO i would not pay 3 grand for it. but that's me. i buy approx. 4 XB's a year so would recommend this approach: tell seller that in order to pass your state inspection you must have operational signals ($50 for good used set plus installation labor) and the CEL must be off. this means a knowledgeable shop or one-man band must plug into the bikes' ecm, run diagnostics, repair anything in need and cost is unknown. i would allow myself a $300 cushion for these items mentioned above. keep in mind a random CEL is not only annoying but indicates a problem. what problem? that's what diagnostics and labor determine which costs money. offer him $2500 and if $2700 won't buy it i would walk.