New 2003 XB9s owner. Some questions and pics

[arcticcatmatt]

Hello everyone! I have always wanted a buell. I have put 30,000 miles on my 2001 SV 650. A 2003 XB9s came up on craigslist and I had to jump on it. Just got it home and cleaned it up. Only "bad" thing I notice so far is an oil leak by the rear right side base of the cylinder. Could be where coil attaches or corner of cylinder. I wiped it up and will have to run it to see where its leaking from. After idling for 5 mins, no visible leak... yet. So will have to ride in spring to see. I don't think its crank case breather hose but I could put a new clamp on that just in case. It has a flat tire, I have 2 new ones sitting here for it.

The bike has 20,900 miles on it. The previous owner only had it for 3,000 miles. He said "I had harley go thru it when I bought it and they did a bunch of tune up stuff to it". He said it has an upgraded belt pulley system on it because it was slipping under hard torque. He also mentioned wheelies. Might have been all talk. I didn't care much because the bike was pretty mint. He also said he put a KN filter on it and had it remapped for it. I want to change the exhaust, not sure where to look for one or if it will need remapped again. I also want the 'grates' to go over the headlights.. always liked those. Is the fuel cap upside down? Looks like breather goes down into the chin spoiler. Is that normal?

I removed the monster stickers (3) and fixed a bar end mirror. He gave me the stock seat and passenger foot peg brackets and some long alumium pieces I have not looked at yet (maybe extra rear seat frame?). Also gave me tank bag and new brake pads. The seats look the same except the cover? Looks like spacers were added to jack the rear end up. Why? I have no idea.

I have stands for my SV. Where can I get rear spools for this buell? My plan is to paint frame and rear swing arm black and anodize the forks to black. I have a guy waiting for the wheels to powdercoat them blue for me. Feel free to let me know what you notice from these pictures. I can tell turn signals are not stock. Timing cover disk not stock. Looks like something added to front left thats fake carbon fiber. Mirrors not stock. Seat and spacers not stock.

Here are some pics! I posted more under this in 2 replies. One is the oil leak. Having photo attachment problems. Apologies.

edit- brake light doesn't work with front brakes applied.. but works with rear brakes applied

 

[arcticcatmatt]

 

[arcticcatmatt]

Oil leak area

 

[wickedchop]

Damn alot of new guys. This is great. Absolutely beautiful machine. Welcome to the zoo. The oil leak will quickly be addressed by one of the gurus. I'm the wrong cat for that diagnosis..lol. enjoy your new to you buell.

 

[Flatout]

Very nice looking bike, could be starter gasket leaking there.

 

[ToneTheMoan]

Hi arctic that is one neat and tidy bike you have there i like it!, from the first 3 photo`s above, the last one on the right is just pure porn!! lol :eagerness:

 

[AZmidget91]

You have a XB9SL, factory lowered, or someone swapped the suspension to it. Yellow spring and fork matching up with the upper fender bolt confirm that. Everything for a XB9S will work for your bike too.

You have an aftermarket exhaust, looks like the buell race exhaust painted black or a Hawk.

5-0dro.com Will have spooled sliders for your bike.

Xoptiinside.com for all your tuning needs

I have a headlight grill I wouldn't mind letting go of...

 

[xb9swilsonville]

Congrats on the purchase! I love my XB9S!

 

[qurtrn10]

In 2003, 1094 xb9sl's were made, and of those, 574 were in Midnight Black (the rest were yellow).

 

[user_deleted]

picking away at your questions as follows:
1-your "coil" is mounted under the air intake system base plate and to the left of the engine V-configuration. not at bottom rear of motor.
2-all 9 series XB's take the same muffler if you're not happy with yours. is yours a buell race muffler or a hawkins as cole astutely suggested? kneel down beside the bike with a flashlight and look at rear of muffler. there is a large weld that encircles the entire rear of it laterally. if it is nicely done with no splatter in all likelihood factory race muffler and desirable. if amateurish looking with lots of splatter it's a Hawkins. still desirable but less valuable.
3-factory fuel tank breather dangles down to left rear corner of frame and thru small captive plastic loop. there is no engine breather dangling down anywhere. the stock breather system terminates inside the airbox. you probably have a "breather re-route" done to yours in its lifetime. IMPORTANT: remove entire airbox assembly which takes about 10 minutes. check the breather valves....one per valve cover...readily visible. if cracked or loose they mist oil everywhere. might be source of leak.
4-fuel cap backwards. when sitting on bike BUELL readable.
5-belt guards missing. might want to consider locating a set though alot of board members run without them. i do not.
6-if you plan on keeping the bike and riding in warmer temps consider adding factory right side scoop set-up. the 2 pieces and 3 attachment screws around $70 retail and money well spent.
7-headlight grill is Ulysses/CityX part. factory part # is M0023.1AJAYT and lists for approx. $59

 

[BuellyBagger]

edit- brake light doesn't work with front brakes applied.. but works with rear brakes applied

Maybe the PO broke the the switch in the right control when changing the grips or a lever? Pretty easy fix if that's the case.

 

[neilrl79]

edit- brake light doesn't work with front brakes applied.. but works with rear brakes applied

Remove front brake light switch, disassemble switch, clean copper contacts with an abrasive material (I used a wire wheel on a Dremel), reassemble switch, reinstall switch, check brake light operation.

 

[xb9swilsonville]

I second lunatic's number 6 suggestion, made my fan run way less since having that right hand side scoop and it looks cool!

 

[UMDterp13]

That's factory Race exhaust AZ.

Yea someone put quite a bit of work into that bike.
It probably has a base gasket leak. Really common.

If you have basic tools it's easy to fix.

 

[AZmidget91]

Yeah, looking on the computer now instead of my phone it is the race exhaust.

 

[arcticcatmatt]

wow! Great responses, exactly what I was looking for thanks a ton!! I found out the company that makes my stands has an adapter for the bike since it doesn't have spools. Perfect, that way I can remove the wheel. So this is 1.5" lower than the standard version.. not sure if I like that or hate that. Guess time will tell. I'm 5'10" so I don't really need it lowered.

I talked to the local harley dealer today and he said after 15,000 that leak is a common problem. I will get into it more when its not 12 degrees out and post pictures and get it figured out. I am a hands on guy and not too worried about tearing it apart if I have to. I did read on here that the new gasket kit requires you to remove the O-rings on the dowels holding the cylinder on. If you leave the O-rings on, it will leak.

I am curious.. the translucent air cleaner covers and flyscreens.. are those still available? I'd love to paint the frame and swing arm but I don't want to disassemble the whole bike for it.

I will get a better picture of the exhaust in coming days. Sounds like a few of you are pretty sure its a buell race exhaust and that is kind of rare. Where did people buy these from? Option from HD? I uploaded a video of it running


Is there a site for online schematics? Here is a neat maintenance link I found that some of you might take interest in. Its giving me some things to check out http://www.twinmotorcycles.nl/artikelen.asp?cid=20

I need to find a manual for this and get educated. My SV is a wet clutch system with engine oil.. it appears this is different. I'm looking at taillight options at the moment. I really don't care for what is there and the led turn signal strips don't meet NYS inspection requirements. Any recommendations on brake/clutch levers? The brake one is bent, the clutch one seems stock (which I'm fine with).

Thanks for the list of other things to check out on it. I am on top of them and will do what you said! Oh and in case anyone is interested.. here is my SV

 

[thrstrmech]

View attachment 2791
Oil leak area

possible two reasons for the oil leak: rear cylinder base and or seal from stator wires come through the left case, unfortunately that seal can't be replaced, it's attached to the wires. clean as best as possible from both sides of the case and seal itself to remove any dirt/grime that may affect the seal to case mating surfaces. just my two cents worth since both were the case with my 9s.

 

[AZmidget91]

Yes, some of the translucent plastics are still available.

Twinmotorcyles.nl is great for finding part numbers

Levers, definitely ASV levers from 5-0dro.com

In my opinion, the 2010 led tail light is the best option.

Buellmods.com has pdf versions of the manuals and they have full wiring schematics in them. I do successful picking up a hard copy though, they are still available through Harley for relatively cheap.

 

[qurtrn10]

I am curious.. the translucent air cleaner covers and flyscreens.. are those still available? I'd love to paint the frame and swing arm but I don't want to disassemble the whole bike for it.

I need to find a manual for this and get educated.

I just totaled my xb9sl and am bike shopping. I may get another xb, but I'm also looking at an EBR and a Ducati. If I go away from the xb, I'll be posting my translucent plastics for sale. My blue set was on the bike, but I have a perfect set of the trans. red plastics, and the trans. orange airbox cover. (I also have the matching wheels).

I should know which direction I'm going with on the bike this week. If you buy any of the plastics, I'll throw in my Buell service manual at no charge.

William

Mine before the crash, and my garage with spare parts:

 

[Chicknstripn]

Where's your totaled bike at? You have some nice parts on that thing! Any chance you could strip that ztl2 front brake set up off it? If you can, I call dibs!
Buellmods.com download a service manual