My first XB12R

[Irish410]

How's it going everyone?

Been floating around the forums for a while and finally purchased my first XB12R. Picked it up for $4500 from a Harley dealer in New Hampshire and had it shipped down to NC where I live. It is an 09 with 6K miles on it and is in great condition. Everything is stock and I need some advice on what quick/easy upgrades I should do. HID's will be my first immediate upgrade because I see people constantly complaining about the stock lights on here.

Thanks for your input.

 

[ReadyXB]

Welcome! I think there are a few folks from NC on the forum.

 

[lawdog]

I may be partial because I have owned two of the same bike as yours but if it were mine I would do the following:
Install right side scoop for better air flow to rear cylinder
Breather re-route
Remove stickers
LED turn signals and flasher
Free flowing muffler
K&N air filter
Tune
Enjoy the bike.

I had no complaints about the stock lights but I suppose they could be better. Oddly enough on my second XB12R the previous owner installed HIDs but I don't ride much at night anymore.

Great price btw. That is what I paid several years ago for a 20k bike.

 

[Lusiphur]

I would upgrade the tires first. I hated the tires on the stock firebolts. I prefer pirellies

 

[Gloomshadow]

I agree with Lawdog on all that.. the extra air scoop is a nice touch .. been there , done that.

 

[BambamXB12r]

Nice bike and welcome to the forum. Same year and amount of miles both of mine were when I got em(Firebolt and ulysses). The first thing I would do is the usual maintenance so you know it's all done and exactly when. Next I would put a right side air scoop and frame/tank techspec grips. Also frame/axel sliders, 50dro is a member on here and sells them both. I also see it has a stock exhaust, you could think about upgrading that. I run a drummer SS on my Firebolt. However when you go to do your exhaust remapping of your ECM and a k&n is required. You can also ceramic coat your headers black to reduce felt heat and blend in with the bike. A header heat shield also helps for hot days.The tires are personal preference. After tons of research and riding I have personally landed on the Michelin pilot power 3 with the Dunlop Q3 as a close second and Pirelli third however I will admit I only tried the Pirelli Diablo. Have fun, ride safe, and nice find.

 

[Irish410]

Thanks for the input guys,

I was wondering, does anyone here have an extra rear seat cover laying around? The bike didn't come with one and I want to see if I can get my hands on one. Or anywhere that I can order it at a good price?

 

[Gloomshadow]

you can find those come up on ebay used pretty cheap.... just keep looking.

 

[Chicknstripn]

Welcome aboard! Some great suggestions! The RSS has probably been my favorite bolt on "mod". Makes a huge difference with how much the cooling fan runs. Especially in the NC heat! The breather reroute is a good mod too only B/C it keeps a lot of crap out of your intake system. That's the main reason I did one on my 2007 xb12r.
My biggest advice to anyone, with ANY type of new bike, is to simply ride the bike and learn its handling characteristics. Learn how to properly set up the suspension for your weight and riding style and then tweek it from there. That will probably make the biggest seat of the pants difference in handling performance.
Also, another thing I tell new Buellers is that if it isn't broken DONT FIX IT. If you like the way the bike sounds, runs and rides now then AWESOME. Ride on and enjoy. If you don't like something, then by all means it's your bike do what you want!
Be safe, wear your gear and good luck!

 

[vicenzajay]

There's a guy selling new rear seat cowls on ebay for about $60 shipped. Every now and then you can find one in great condition for about $50 shipped.

Yeah - it's expensive for what it is....

 

[djs2k2]

My 07 xb12r came stock with pirelli diablo's!

 

[Irish410]

So I took her out for about 100 miles yesterday and she started running like ****. Not really sure what I should do. About halfway through the ride i could hear the bike start to backfire a bit. Then when we would come to stops and I would let it idle and it was running terrible. The bike didn't shut off though. As I continued to ride home I was going about 60mph and the bike had no throttle at all and was backfiring through every gear. Can anyone point me in a direction on how to fix this problem?

 

[Lusiphur]

Can you get any codes off the bike?

If you don't have ECMspy you could pick up one of these
http://americansportbike.com/newdir/Item/9016

 

[Irish410]

I was thinking about just buying a cable and tunerpro or ecmspy. I need to get this bike running properly. I've only had it for 2 weeks. ��

 

[rchuff]

Like lawdog said get the right side scoop first, I got mine from the uly comfort kit $ 60.00 money well spent. all the rest you can do later. Just ride the bike for now and get to know how it feels.

 

[Irish410]

Is anyone around here selling an ECM cable? Or know of the best place to get one?

 

[DougH]

I know they are on amazon for like 33 bucks with free shipping if you have prime

 

[seancrete]

I bought my cable from a member here. Download TunerPro and datalog and revise your maps according to your EGO values. The bike is confused because it thinks it is still in New Hampshire. You need to "teach it " to be happy in it's new/ home.

S

 

[Irish410]

Thanks for the reply guys. My cable should be here Saturday. I will post an update as soon as I get tunerpro figured out. :eagerness: