Need help on buying a used buell

[bokchoiboi]

Hey guys, im looking at a used 2009 buell xb9sx and wanted some info on potential problems that it may have
with it being used.
Guy says its all stock besides a jardine pipe and has the see through blue covers, only has 6500 miles. What should I be looking at when buying a used buell? I know to check the belt

Is it a good deal for $5000? If it is ill be picking it up this weekend

 

[Internet Annoyance]

Depends on where you are located. regionally the prices vary, Look for scrapes, road rash, rounded off screws and hardware, oil leakage and weeping, crawl around on the ground, look for repairs to the fairings, and anything that sticks out for being dropped,,pull the seat and look at electrical, is it cobbled up or all stock? plug in ECM Spy and check it out, and might be able to look at history and previous codes? Im not sure on that,
$5000 isnt a smoking cheap deal IMHO for my area, but its not bad either..
private party or dealer?

Hero Blue covers and wheels are very desirable,,, for a reference,,,,, go on Feebay, and do an
ADVANCED search for Buells and select "Completed Auctions" and look at how many sold and at what prices, should give you an idea.

 

[Internet Annoyance]

I meant to also add look at the exhaust very carefully,,,,, Many DO NOT agree,,, but i hate pipe wraps, looks like crap in my opinion, and makes you wonder what they are hiding, look at mounts and fasteners,, stripped holes are common, and if the pipe isnt mounted right or the muffler poorly supported they crack or break

 

[bokchoiboi]

The guy said it has been dropped from a stand still because the kickstand wasnt fully down, so it scuffed the frame puck and mirrors is what he said. I live in the midwest and its from a private party, buells are pretty hard to come buy out here since its pretty open. I appreciate the response and will go through what I can that you listed and hopefully its all good and I become the owner of a new to me buell [up]

 

[Internet Annoyance]

Thats a very common problem, ive dropped a bike or 3 that way. Once i dropped my sportster in my driveway,, leaned it way over and was only holding the left grip, the grip wasnt on very well and slipped right off the bar, Keerash,, broke a peg, So maybe that happened maybe it didnt. Also see if you can run the VIN number for a history report. lotsa bikes get wrecked and not reported, but it doesnt hurt to run the numbers anyway,
If theres ever been a police report or insurance claim, it will show up.

The mileage sounds low enough the bike should be in good shape unless the instrument panels been replaced. look very carefully at the fasteners though to see if its a rebuilt wreck,, most guys are sloppy building them so thats a clue. also SEE if you can pull the inspection plug on the primary, with the engine OFF stick your finger in and check the primary chain, then compare against the factory manual, the tension should be a little slack but not much,, real sloppy means high mileage and poor maintenance. check the oils and fluids,, smell them, look for shiny specks, if it smells burnt, or discolored, thats a bad sign.

also,, look carefully at the brake pads and rotors,, high heat discoloration and lotsa dust indicate ridden hard for many miles,,also a rebuilt wreck they rarely replace brake pads, check thicknesses against new pad dimensions, thats also a good indication.

I hope this works out for you, ride safe,,

 

[user_deleted]

good info provided. we are on the cusp now of demand exceeding supply of quality, low mileage, unmolested Buell XB's. IMO that is a decent deal on a nice bike in hero blue which, along with cherry bomb, is a very desirable color combo. check the perishables such as pads, tires, cosmetics, cables, and for spider-web cracking at the 4 mounting screw holes on the airbox cover....which is the transluscent blue plastic piece posing as a gas tank.
get a feel for how the bike has been maintained and ridden. and study the title closely. encumbered? listed owner same as seller? salvaged? reconstructed? the last 2 can be problems. and if you're comfortable with all of the above buy it.

 

[nrankin]

$5000 isnt a smoking cheap deal IMHO for my area, but its not bad either..

agreed , got my 05 XB12 SCG with 9kmi for 4600 in upstate NY and it was CLEAN.. just saying

 

[bokchoiboi]

Thanks for the info guys, seems that this isnt a steal or a robbery at $5k lol. I wish there were more choices in buells, I would love to get an scg but ive only seen one for sale a few states away with 28k miles for 5,5k.

Any idea where to buy new airbox covers? I would like black and wouldnt like to paint over the hero blue if possible.

 

[go cytocis]

we are on the cusp now of demand exceeding supply of  quality, low mileage, unmolested Buell XB's

I'd agree with this statement. Prices in my local area seem to have really jumped, particularly in the past year. Around here, $5000 seems now about the cost of admission for an unexceptional running example. Some folks are asking $10,000 and more for very clean low-mileage XBs.

For reference, I paid $6500 for a very clean '06 Ss with 10,000km (6,000mi) about 1.5 yrs ago. At the time, that was considered to be the high-end of the scale.

 

[yellowcarbon]

Get on the phone and talk with the owner. Ask him about the bike and get him talking. That is the first step in finding out about the bike. Feel the person out. Do they sound honest or are they flighty? If they feel less than honest, you will know to proceed with more caution than normal or even to walk completely from the deal. I have done it on when I was shopping for my last car. He sounded flighty on the phone. Then, the guy wasn't truthful on obvious things so I said no thanks and walked away. Even when he called back with a significant discount, I wouldn't deal with him.

Ask the history of the bike. Is he the first owner? Any service or warranty issues? Any crashes?

Explicitly ask if there are any problems. The majority of people don't lie when specifically ask, but conveniently leave out issues when not asked. I have found this to be the case on the last 3 bikes and 2 cars I bought. Especially when they know you are going to look at it. Then inspect the bike for damage and wear. All bikes that get ridden will have minor wear, scuffs, scratches, etc.. Good sized scuffs & gouges running from front to back on the swing arm, frame, bar ends, mirrors, etc. tell you if it has been in a crash. When dropped, it causes a rough spot rather than a grinding of parts. Again, grinding & scrapes that run front to back is caused by a the bike skidding on the ground. A drive way tip over doesn't do that. Its not a big deal with a low speed crash or a dropped bike, but it either needs to be properly fixed or a discount added. When you crash or drop it, you have to pay one way or the other.

Ask about maintenance. The Buell is very easy to maintain, especially compared to many other bikes in the same class (KTM Superduke, Triumph Speed Triple). I specifically bought my Buell over a KTM Superduke because of service cost. Not to mention I got it for about half the cash (although it was a 08 KTM vs. 04 Buell). It is about $600 every 9K on the KTM to get the valves check and oils changed at the dealer. The Buell can all be done in my garage (mainly oil changes) and no valves lash to inspect. So not having it done at the dealer is no big deal, but it does need to be done. Tires, brake pads, etc. are all about the same money.

Then inspect the bike for the usual things. Look for oil & other fluid leaks. Check to see if it is cleaned. A cleaned bike means the owner cares about it. Inspect the belt for cracks or cuts. Check the oil and see if it is fairly clean. Check the condition of the tires. It will run you $250-300 for a set installed. So if they are at the end of their life, bring that up in price negotiations.

$5K is a reasonable price for the year and mileage if the bike is in good shape. I just paid about $3K (well $2K in cash and some handguns) for my '04 XB12S, but it has been low sided on both sides so the frame is dented 9on both sides). Cosmetic condition wasn't a huge worry for me as it was cheap and I could get it in hand now. I wanted something I could run while I picked up a second project bike (going to do a café or brat conversion on an older bike). I also get to ride now rather than wait 5-7 months for my home refinance to go through and to save for the bike I really want. Although, I will still most likely pick up another bike anyway.

Lastly, changing out the plastics is easy. I have a spare black set I will trade you for you blue if you want and I will pay shipping. The airbox cover is very good (small crack at one of the attachment points and doesn't show when mounted). Fly screen is new in box. Both are extremely easy to switch out.

 

[firebolt830]

Switching out the air box cover is very simple. If you are really set on going with the black theme, I would try and sell the current blue box on here or worst case freebay. You can sell that for more money and purchase a black one for much cheaper. That way the total invested cost of the bike will be less in the end.

But, if you have the extra cash keep the blue one and just buy the black one as an additional cover. Then when/if you decide to sell that may really help you find a buy much quicker. More options with the bike = More potential Buyers.

 

[bokchoiboi]

Yea, I plan to keep the hero blue covers and buy black ones.
Would you sell your black ones yellowcarbon? PM me the price if you will

But from the pictures he sent me it looks clean besides the frame puck getting scuffed when falling.

 

[yellowcarbon]

Sorry, if I can't trade the spare plastic, its going to get painted. Keep an eye out on EBay, cheap scuffed up plastics pop up all the time.

 

[bokchoiboi]

Heres a picture of the one im looking at

This is the side he said it fell over on

Belt

Jardine

 

[user_deleted]

Any idea where to buy new airbox covers? I would like black and wouldnt like to paint over the hero blue if possible.

kickash is the black transluscent color for airbox cover and flyscreen. will swap you my mint kickash set for your blue if you get this city X