New BUEL3R

[jramz_dc]

And I got the tag to prove it...

In any case, hi. I'm a relatively new biker, and I am the proud [3rd] owner of a 2005 Firebolt as my very first bike... Super in love with the bike, though it did take a bit of getting used to its power after the Ninja 250 I rode for MSF... lol

Been keeping myself busy putting almost 400 miles on the bike in the month that I've had it and making incremental modifications and updates to the bike here and there (replaced front turn signals, added led mounting bolts for the tag, installed a charger/mount for my iphone 5--which involved 3 long trips to Home Depot to find the right parts to bodge together mini "bar" mounted in the center of the stem cap nut made out of brass plumping bits, and have a set of 6000K HIDs on order that should be in this week)

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions, and will be reading up here a lot (have been lurking for a bit now getting a lot of helpful info, so thanks for that!). Figured I should finally register and say hi.

One question off the top of my head right now is:

I would like to replace the rear "seat" on the bike with either a plastic "trunk" lid that matches the rear fairing (carbon fiber or something would be okay) or both seats with a single assembly, the goal being to eliminate the superfluous back seat (I'll never use it...I've even taking the rear pegs off) but provide access to the trunk and (hopefully) provide a bit more headroom in the boot... Appreciate your thoughts and insight.

Haven't gotten an opportunity to take any really nice pix of the bike yet, but here it is next to my girlfriend's R6...

 

[oh9bolt]

Introduce Yourself

 

[jramz_dc]

Done! Thanks for the pointer.

Question #2:

I replaced the front turn signals on my bike and they work(ed) fine... Lately, though, the left signal is increasingly failing to engage when I push the slide actuator... I suspect it's an increasingly loosening wire on a relay somewhere that I might have upset by obsessively wire tying various wires to the bar assembly and such... is the signal relay the black box tucked under the right side of the bar (at least on my bike... after going thru the bike a couple of times doing things, I've noted that the previous owner(s) have done a fair amount of work themselves, not all of it as meticulously tidy as mine, so some bits might be in slightly different locales than they should be)...? Is a loosened wire a good guess, or is this an indication of something breaking? Though I'm rapidly increasing my interest in it, I've never been much of a hands-on gear head...like to drive, pay someone else to fix... lol

Question #3:

I notice that the exhaust pipes that come out of the engine into the muffler have some spots that have a copperish color. Is that the original color of the pipes which are now tarnished grayish/blackish? If so, would something like brasso be an appropriate cleaning agent for removing said tarnish?

Question #4:

I don't have a clue what the wheels are actually made of / colored by, so I am hesitant to use just any cleaning agent to remove brake dust and sundry ick from the wheels. Recommendations?

Question #5:

Is the airbox cover supposed to have a break in the plastic on the front side of the ring that goes around the gas cap or is this a present from a former owner?

... more to come, I'm sure...

 

[buellbradski]

Seat cowl

Nice intro+1[up]
I just clean wheels with soap n water
Welcome to the forum

 

[user_deleted]

Is the airbox cover supposed to have a break in the plastic on the front side of the ring that goes around the gas cap or is this a present from a former owner

no and yes....it's a present.

I notice that the exhaust pipes that come out of the engine into the muffler have some spots that have a copperish color. Is that the original color of the pipes which are now tarnished grayish/blackish? If so, would something like brasso be an appropriate cleaning agent for removing said tarnish?

many including myself have nicely cleaned up the header assembly with simple scotch-brite pad and WD or Kroil. any penetrant will work in conjunction with a ton of elbow grease. once it is cleaned and wiped down any metal polish would add to the finish.

 

[50dro]

Nice vanity plate! I did one too!

+1 on the Scotch-brite/WD40 trick on the headers! Add a little metal polish after that and they'll look like this. I usually do this before each riding season to keep them looking good. It's not as much work as you might think. They'll have a goldish look to them once they heat up once but I think they look great!

Welcome to the forum! Please continue to ask questions as you have them! Lots of good folks here always willing to help a "Buell3r" out! Please also have a look at our site and let us know if there's anything we can help you with!

5-0dro
www.5-0dro.com

 

[jramz_dc]

buellbradski:

That cowl that you linked... does that entirely replace the existing rear seat or does it go over it?

 

[oh9bolt]

The seat slides in to the bottom of the cowl.

 

[J20tD]

Nice vanity! here is mine haha

 

[jramz_dc]

dang... so no extra headroom in the boot with that solution...

 

[oh9bolt]

You need this I would PM onelogue and see if it didnt sell on ebay.

Here it is brand new. Link