New Member: Getting back on two wheels

[iLovetheCurves]

Well i looked at the 04 12S earlier today, and it does look pretty sharp in person. A few scratches on the "tank" cover. Since the weather in NC was poor today, I did not ride the bike. The bike starts/runs fine with no leaks coming from the top-end of the engine as the buyers guide described. Belt looks in good shape, it started up first crank and sat perfectly at 1K RPM.

However, he did say there was an oil leak coming from near the oil filter. The seller tightened down one of the oil lines and believes it to be fixed. I know the bikes vibrate a lot, but would it loosen a critical oil line like that? What else could it be?

 

[Gloomshadow]

well the fittings on the oil lines are all metal to metal.. improper torque specs can cause tiny leaks.. no big deal.

scratches on the plastics is no big deal either... XB plastics are not painted, they are molded in color and are made out of the same plastic that golf balls are made out of.. as long as they are not deep gouges they just buff out with buffing compound and a cheap autozone orbital buffer you can buy for 20 bucks... so no problem there.

also, the vibration is only at idle.. as the revs pick up right off the bottom the bike smoothes out.. its a very low frequency pulse that wont make you go numb or anything like an old 600 will... my old Ninja 600 was like grabbing on to an electric fence at certain rpms.. you wont be pissed off at XB vibes, youll love them.. makes you feel like youre riding a "beast" ... and its sending you signals about when to shift gears.. youll see, youll actually want those vibes on the street, they help out.

 

[iLovetheCurves]

The vibrations were similar to other buells I have ridden, I just found it strange that an oil like would come loose. Don't they use loctite?

Do you guys regularly torque down specific hardware at certain intervals? If so what would you suggest?

I'm going to look at a stock 03 XB9S on Wednesday. It looks really clean, has low miles and the price seems right. If he would take 3k for it I may pull the trigger. The modified nature of the other bike turns me off a bit and leads me to believe it may have been ridden aggressively. The 9 is owned by a trooper.

If the black one ends up in my garage, an exhaust and tune are in it's future.

 

[iLovetheCurves]

Also, would you reccomend purchasing the pre-programmed race ECM from Eric buell racing or doing it the homebrew way with the ECM spy? It looks relatively easy to use. But since I do not have a dyno or tuning experience, I doubt I could get the reliable power gains I want.

 

[Gloomshadow]

I use the homebrew bc you can tune the stock ecm to the exhaust you have.. race ecm was tuned for the Buell race exhaust. I have both ecms and I would take the stock one if you can do the race map swap yourself.

I don't think loc-tite is needed... I have no idea why his came loose, he may have done some repairs on something and didn't torque it back to spec when he put it back together.. don't worry about, Ive never seen one come loose on its own. Its just like a steel brake line on a car, they just don't really come loose by themselves.

You are worrying too much.. just get one that seems clean and take care of things as they pop up, for the most part they are trouble-free.. just don't do anything without checking here first..

 

[iLovetheCurves]

UPDATE: I looked at the 03' XB9SL on Wednesday and it was way cleaner than the pictures. The bike was immaculate. I guess that would be expected from an 03 with 7500 miles. It is stock except for bar end mirrors and an exhaust of unknown origin. Looks very similar to stock. From what I can see, it does not have any aftermarket ECM/tune. I ended up picking her up for 3800 delivered to my city! I am so excited to be joining the brethren of the blue key!

Next, is to adjust the suspension to my liking (should I use the go star racing guide?) and get a tune for the bike. Can't wait for spring!

 

[go cytocis]

Next, is to adjust the suspension to my liking (should I use the go star racing guide?)

I'd just start with the baseline settings for your weight in the manual. If you find they're not working for you, then tweak as necessary. If you're still not satisfied, then look at suspension mods.

 

[go cytocis]

an exhaust of unknown origin. Looks very similar to stock

Perhaps it's a Drummer; they are condtructed from the stock can...

 

[iLovetheCurves]

I have seen the suspension chart but no newbie guide to adjusting the preload etc. Are there any good resources (preferably with picture)s to assist me in setting my suspension properly? I have heard this can make gigantic differences in the bikes friendliness.

Below is a picture of the exhaust. Part of me wants to think it's the factory Buell race muffler.

 

[iLovetheCurves]

Bump, nobody knows what exhaust that is?

 

[Gloomshadow]

http://steveturnbull.co.uk/buell/thexbpages/xbhandling.htm

I would consider doing a tail-chop on that bike..

detailed instructions on setting the suspension are in the "Buell Service Manual" that you can download for free, right here on at the top of the main page of this forum ..

 

[iLovetheCurves]

Losing the cheese grater is #1 on my list of modifications at this point. Any reccomendations for reliable kits that preferably do not require splicing?

Thanks for the tip on the service manual, ill give that a read.

 

[Gloomshadow]

http://hawkperformancemotorcycle.com/content/buell-xb-lightning-tail-chop

check with this guy.. just read the manual on pulling the tail light housing then send him the housing... contact them first though and see what the deal is..

 

[oh9bolt]

That is a Buell Race Exhaust

 

[iLovetheCurves]

That is beautifully simple, I cant wait to pick it up Friday and start customizing it to my liking! Once I pick it up a build thread will begin!

Thanks for being such a solid, supportive community.

 

[Tacoclaw]

Small world, I actually just rode that 08 SCG you mentioned earlier 5 hours back to my house in Ohio. He wouldn't drop quite as low as I wanted in price, but it was such a nice bike I didn't mind.

Congrats on the new bike, man. [cool]

 

[iLovetheCurves]

UPDATE: Sorry for the hiatus, I ran I to an issue shortly after getting the bike. The bike ran fantastically and was a blast to ride and surprisingly comfortable! Since I took the MSF course, I was riding about 4 seconds behind the car in front of me in light traffic and disaster struck me from behind.

Some young moron rear ended me while I was going 40mph. By some act of god, the bike was wedged in his Mazda, causing my bike to stay upright while I was pushed for 30 feet. Insurance believes the bike to be totaled. A sad end to another buell...

 

[go cytocis]

Wow, glad you're OK.

That's one way to do the tail lift mod!

 

[Gloomshadow]

You going to get another one?

 

[Enemy Zero]

Glad to see you came out OK. Hopefully you'll get another one and be back on the road soon.