New 08 Buell Owners Look Here

[The Tin Man]

First off congrats on purchasing a new 08 Buell like I did and many of us have. I figured I would throw together a few problems u may come across with ur new bike like I did. I currently have 3000Kms on my 08 Xb12Ss.
- The clutch cable is held down by a little wire bracket that sits right behind the front tire. It will brake, your clutch cable will melt and warranty will cover it.

- If your a do-it-yourselfer like I am and you like to change ur own oil then the torque specs from ur manual are wrong. It is not 26 - 29 foot pounds of torque to install the drain plug in the swing arm. It is more like hand tight then quarter turn past that with a wrench with some Loctite PST sealant. Torquing it too the specs in your book will strip the threads from the swing arm. I did this and was covered under warranty by my dealer.

- Mirrors will vibrate loose from time to time and are hard to see out of.

- Ur bike may have the engine light come on randomly and you may also have an engine that wants to stop even though ur giving it lots of gas but it still seems sluggish. You may also turn the bike off and it will not start, no power what so ever. This is often caused by the terminals working loose on the battery resulting in poor connections to the fuel injection and electrical system in general. They vibrate loose from time to time.

- You will burn lots of oil when ur bike is new...this is normal for the first 2000kms or so.

This are a few of the things to look out for that I have experienced with my new Buell. Hope this helps you guys. Anyone who has experienced anything else with their new Buell, please feel free to post it up. This thread is meant to help new Buell owners.

- Peter

 

[TMC]

the only problem I have out of mine is the oil level won't stay consistant. I have no mirrors so I don't have to worry about that. My wire thingy broke too so i got some safety wire and fixed that problem. No probs with the bike being sluggish or the check engine light, or total loss of power. However it has a weird personality sometimes when you start it

 

[burnteyes]

hey i have had the same problems. and on the primary cover i might have stripped the bottom right screw but im afraid to check so ill wait for the 5000 mile service and blame it on them..

 

[The Tin Man]

I told my dealer what I did and they said bring it in for a service and we'll take the blame. Can't go wrong there.

 

[Lokien]

- The clutch cable is held down by a little wire bracket that sits right behind the front tire. It will brake, your clutch cable will melt and warranty will cover it. [Haven't seen this yet and I really hope I won't have to deal with it.]

- If your a do-it-yourselfer like I am and you like to change ur own oil then the torque specs from ur manual are wrong. It is not 26 - 29 foot pounds of torque to install the drain plug in the swing arm. It is more like hand tight then quarter turn past that with a wrench with some Loctite PST sealant. Torquing it too the specs in your book will strip the threads from the swing arm. I did this and was covered under warranty by my dealer. [My dealer is very competent when it comes to regular service so I hopefully won't have to deal with this either.]

- Mirrors will vibrate loose from time to time and are hard to see out of. [Had this happen a few times, smacked the mirrors back in place, getting new bars and and mirrors though.]

- Ur bike may have the engine light come on randomly and you may also have an engine that wants to stop even though ur giving it lots of gas but it still seems sluggish. You may also turn the bike off and it will not start, no power what so ever. This is often caused by the terminals working loose on the battery resulting in poor connections to the fuel injection and electrical system in general. They vibrate loose from time to time. [ :X ]

- You will burn lots of oil when ur bike is new...this is normal for the first 2000kms or so. [Never really checked, but seems logical]

This are a few of the things to look out for that I have experienced with my new Buell. Hope this helps you guys. Anyone who has experienced anything else with their new Buell, please feel free to post it up. This thread is meant to help new Buell owners.

- Peter

Owner of a Euro specs 08 XB12Ss. 4500 km and running. Edited quote to show what I've experienced. Thanks for the helpful info, rate up.

Handlebars: Rizoma Conical Handlebars

Mirrors: Rizoma Mirrors

 

[bajabomber87]

My biggest problem is the mirrors coming loose every 2 weeks or so. Then when you go to tighten them, the powdercoat or paint rubs off on the edges [mad]and thats with using a rag in between [sad]

 

[dave_xb12r]

Sounds to me like you need to use a good fitting wrench. One thing that you can try is heat shrink on nut. It will look clean and it will protect whats left of the paint under it.

 

[Jakkel]

Owner of a Euro specs 08 XB12Ss. 4500 km and running. Edited quote to show what I've experienced. Thanks for the helpful info, rate up.

I' ve got also a 2008 Euro XB12Ss with... yes 4.500km

Until now I've just had one problem. The wire bracket that holds the clutch cable away from the exhaustpipe was broken.

Another not Buell related problem is the Remus exhaust. The supportclamps from the 2008 Remus exhausts where the bellyspoiler is assembled on, are tearing of. It's my second Remus now and again I've got the same problem. Next week they gonna give me a third one. Remus have modificated the clamps now, the clamps are stronger maded. The most important difference between the 'bad' 2008 Remus and 'good' 2008 Remus is there is a plate welded between the fronttriangle clamps to reduce vibrations. I saw the mods with my own eyes, so I think it's gonna be okay now.


The broken clamps

 

[nez6t9]

I just purchased an 08 xb12s about 2 weeks ago, brand new 9 miles. On my second day of ownership, check engine light. Dealer trouble shot, turned out to be defective exhaust valve actuator. Freak malfunction or a sign of things to come?

 

[The Tin Man]

Just a plain out dud...it happens....best thing of all is it just happened proving it was a factory defect. Just a fluke thing is my guess.

 

[Darkhorse]

Thanks for the head's up.
I've got about 2300 miles on my 08 xb12s so far and have had no troubles. ( knock on wood )
My clutch is starting to feel a little bit "slippy" coming off the line but that may be due to too many wheelies.

Only mods are the breather reroute and the D&D slip-on exhaust.

 

[The Tin Man]

Thanks for the head's up.
I've got about 2300 miles on my 08 xb12s so far and have had no troubles. ( knock on wood )
My clutch is starting to feel a little bit "slippy" coming off the line but that may be due to too many wheelies.

Only mods are the breather reroute and the D&D slip-on exhaust.

Did you do a remap of the ecm or anything to allow for the slip on?

 

[Darkhorse]

I haven't heard or read about any remap software available yet for '08 and younger ECMs. I am staying tuned though, as soon as something is available I will finish the job.

 

[Jakkel]

I haven't heard or read about any remap software available yet for '08 and younger ECMs. I am staying tuned though, as soon as something is available I will finish the job.

I have 4.500 km with a Euro 2008 XB12Ss, stock ECM and open Remus exhaust. I've never noticed anything that would indicated that the engine runs hot. The coolfan only runs while driving at very low speed in slow traffic. The headers are not abnormally colored blue.

My opinion: when the only modification on your bike the exhaust is, the ECM will change the very little differences in the a/f ratio.