New Owner!!

[IrishLad]

Hi all, I have just a 2004 XB12R. Had a few sports bikes before but tis is the first Buell I have had or even seen on the roads here in Scotland. I have a few things to get done to the bike, a service is the main thing. Just one question, the fuel pump, is it supposed to be quite noisy? I can hear it easily when engine is idling. Never owning a Buell before I find it a bit disturbing, if its a normal thing then thats cool and I can relax a bit Also when I work out how to post a pic, there seems to be a bracket on the left hand side of the bike that doesn't seem to be doing anything, when I questioned the last owner he said he thinks it was for a crash bung, I'm not so sure tho. When I get a pic I will upload it
Thanks in advance

 

[34nineteen]

Hi all, I have just a 2004 XB12R. Had a few sports bikes before but tis is the first Buell I have had or even seen on the roads here in Scotland. I have a few things to get done to the bike, a service is the main thing. Just one question, the fuel pump, is it supposed to be quite noisy? I can hear it easily when engine is idling. Never owning a Buell before I find it a bit disturbing, if its a normal thing then thats cool and I can relax a bit Also when I work out how to post a pic, there seems to be a bracket on the left hand side of the bike that doesn't seem to be doing anything, when I questioned the last owner he said he thinks it was for a crash bung, I'm not so sure tho. When I get a pic I will upload it
Thanks in advance

When you say it is loud, do you mean "it is louder than the engine when the bike is running" or "if the engine is running, you can very faintly hear the fuel pump if you listen closely"?

If it is the former, you likely have a fuel pump on its way out (it is about 16-17 years old). If it is the former, its probably OK.

There is a forum member known as Barrett who sells QUALITY replacement fuel pump kits for a decent price. Last I heard, he is in Alaska hunting grolar bears with his bare hands, so he may not be back to his homestead in Amish country.

 

[IrishLad]

When you say it is loud, do you mean "it is louder than the engine when the bike is running" or "if the engine is running, you can very faintly hear the fuel pump if you listen closely"?

If it is the former, you likely have a fuel pump on its way out (it is about 16-17 years old). If it is the former, its probably OK.

There is a forum member known as Barrett who sells QUALITY replacement fuel pump kits for a decent price. Last I heard, he is in Alaska hunting grolar bears with his bare hands, so he may not be back to his homestead in Amish country.

I wouldn't say its louder than the engine but you can easily hear it when the engine is just idling. I will try and track down Barrett

 

[RidetheLightning]

I wouldn't say its louder than the engine but you can easily hear it when the engine is just idling. I will try and track down Barrett

You may be able to tell pretty quicky after a ride or two if it seems to be faulty. Once mine started going it was pretty obvious, then died (luckily, close to my house). Seems many posts lately are about fuel pumps, and I just got my kit from Barrett as well. Even if you think it might be fine, better to have it for when you need it, or just go ahead and rebuild it since it'll happen sooner or later.

 

[IrishLad]

Hi Barrett, thanks for getting in touch mate. Ok so when I turn the ignition on my bike makes the same sound as the video, priming the system, then goes totally quiet until I start the engine. On idle the fuel pump is clearly heard.
Are you still able to supply the fuel pump kits? If you are, would you be willing to send one to Scotland? I would of course cover any postage fees etc. I would rather just get it sorted before I get stranded somewhere.

 

[Endopotential]

And to our friend overseas - while you're tuning up your bike, you may also want to check out your voltage regulator.

There are a couple good threads here on how to put a voltage gauge in your dash. Mine was showing wildly erratic numbers, which I naively/foolishly didn't do anything about. The voltage regulator died a couple months later, stranding me along the roadside.
I imagine things are colder in Scotland, so don't want you to suffer the same fate. Or get eaten by Nessie...

 

[Cooter]

Viper says stay off his island ay? Less'n ya want somma dat hash.

 

[DozerBoy]

While we're (kinda still) on the subject of fuel pumps, I'd like to pose a question:

Here's a video of my bike (2006 Ulysses - 40.5k miles) priming:
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/8t6itgh2xm68u7v/IMG_9002.MOV?dl=0[/video]

Sounds remarkably similar to the pump in the video that Barrett used as an example of a "good" pump, at least to my ears.

Here's a video of my bike idling (poorly) after today's ride (about an hour, 30-ish miles, 50-ish degrees, started with full tank of gas):
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqlob3qq64tfdl8/IMG_9179.MOV?dl=0[/video]

Didn't have any trouble idling at stop lights, etc. This rough idle started right as I pulled it back into the garage.

If the pump sounds good.... could there be something else at play here?

Maybe she knew that it was her last outing before the snow flies... :upset:

 

[34nineteen]

The flexible corrugated fuel hose on the fuel pump have pinhole(s) in it OR Someone else posted a pic of the fuel filter "bushings" gone bad. Both can cause a loss of fuel pressure while the pump is working fine.

The hose is on the LH side of the pic.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1438773445...EBblH55B6VG5tsXHxg0OGanViMwvKEuRoCu_YQAvD_BwE


https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?56531-New-Buell-for-me&p=624948&viewfull=1#post624948

 

[RidetheLightning]

While we're (kinda still) on the subject of fuel pumps, I'd like to pose a question:

Here's a video of my bike (2006 Ulysses - 40.5k miles) priming:
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/8t6itgh2xm68u7v/IMG_9002.MOV?dl=0[/video]

Sounds remarkably similar to the pump in the video that Barrett used as an example of a "good" pump, at least to my ears.

Here's a video of my bike idling (poorly) after today's ride (about an hour, 30-ish miles, 50-ish degrees, started with full tank of gas):
[video]https://www.dropbox.com/s/rqlob3qq64tfdl8/IMG_9179.MOV?dl=0[/video]

Didn't have any trouble idling at stop lights, etc. This rough idle started right as I pulled it back into the garage.

If the pump sounds good.... could there be something else at play here?

Maybe she knew that it was her last outing before the snow flies... :upset:

I know mine can be a bit rough on idle after a hot start. Was the bike still hot when you fired it back up? Mine also idled roughly after a full tank, but it sounds like yours may not have been full anymore. I believe cooter gave me some logical reason at some point on a random thread about why that might be happening, so maybe he can remind me. Intake seals are a common issue as well, and can cause idling issues. I'm not sure that's what's causing my hot start rough idle, but I'll be replacing them as I'll have the motor rotated for a different job.

 

[34nineteen]

Cooter is a random thread.

 

[Cooter]

He doesn't lie ^^^^

 

[Mardi Gras Jester]

I know I'm a little late but congrats on the new Buell! I'm a recent new XB12R owner myself. Just picked up a 2007 with less than 5k miles on it, ending my 6 month long search for the right one.

 

[evilokc]

i bought my 07 with 3000 miles today. we can be the noobs.