New to Me Xb12 Best Windscreen?

[RescuedXb]

Hello everyone,

I just recently came into ownership of a 08' uly and really enjoy the bike. The previous owner had installed auxiliary LED lights that mounted under the headlights and a Nautilus horn. I've had troubles with bad voltage drops causing no start issues. hoping its just the previous owners add ons that I have removed to correct that issue

Question is was there anything from the factory that does mount in the two bolt holes under the headlights on the lower triple tree besides the front brake line one the left side(looking from the front of the bike)? And has anyone tried the CalSci taller windshields? I'm looking for a warmer windscreen for the colder northern riding zone I live in.

 

[njloco]

First off, get the battery load tested then clean all the grounds, no matter what they look like, put an anti-corrossive on them, don't forget the ground behind the headlight. Nothing goes under the headlights, can't help with the windshield.

 

[RescuedXb]

I had the local battery store load test the battery and all was ok there. I cleaned all the ground connections including the one mentioned. I also relocated the battery ground as it seemed odd that it was trying to ground thru the battery box and not directly to the frame(battery ground to frame, harness ground wires, battery box mount, then bolt vs the order I found it in which was in exact opposite order). All this has helped. Still have times where it seems as though the bike needs to be mule'd a bit to start after short rides yet still enjoying the handling and ride quality. Did a tps reset with 14k miles on the odometer and that cured the issues others have expressed in other threads. Was able to source a factory original horn to replace the add on replacement from the previous owner/s and the drain issues have almost disappeared. Weather is much nicer now hoping a few longer rides will sort out this issues as I do not know how long it was stationary. I've read other saying buell's have a quirkyness to the starting habits and I may need to learn more about this uly's preferences.

 

[njloco]

You do know not to blip the throttle like they do on Harley's if not, don't do it on Buells, they don't like it !
Sounds like your getting it under control and thanks for posting up the outcome so far.

 

[Cooter]

If you are having cranking issues where the bike will crank-pause-crank-crank-start... the battery is weak or cheap.

I have found that the auto parts store testers don't read motorcycle batteries well, and give false positive readings.

If your Buell is cranking that way, you can either gat a good brand (Deka/Big Crank/H-D) GEL battery with at least 220CCA. The 200CCA Wal-mart batteries won't cut it. Make SURE the terminals are on the right sides!

You can also extend the life of your existing battery by relieving a little pressure on it using the patented Buell Bump(TM)
The Buell Bump helps the bike get over the initial high compression stroke using the cranks own momentum. Just TAP the start button to get the engine to rotate to compression, then after .25-.5 seconds HOLD it to start the bike, and the bike should no longer do the pause thing.

 

[RescuedXb]

I noticed that after doing the tps reset how the Buell efi operates differently than the MMI Harley efi system I am more used to as a late model rider vs a warranty assurance rider. Buell efi manages warm ups at more of a constant set rpm where the MMI utilizes a high and low rpm configuration to accomplish a proper warm up cycle prior to riding. I was going to bring that up as I have not seen it in other threads yet I have not read very many as a new Buell owner. Thank you for mentioning that. . I do not know the ecm background yet as to if its a OEM or EBR yet it looks like a OEM with the factory touring tune program.

 

[RescuedXb]

Prior to doing more long distances away from home and the higher heat of summer I am looking into that also.. I have had other HD batteries last for 4 to 5 years and never had a cranking only issue. The current battery is doing ok yet like you said others do better. The Buell bump I have not heard of or tried yet I will practice it on some of the shorter rides to see if that makes a starting improvement.

 

[Cooter]

Good deal, hope it works out for ya
Post pics of your new baby!

 

[RescuedXb]

 

[RescuedXb]

 

[RescuedXb]

I up loaded a quick photo/s, Still working out sort of. I think I may have run across why the previous owner/s, as I am the third now, installed auxiliary lights. I had a burnt out highbeam bulb and replaced it with a new one all good and since I had the time I installed the missing smaller parking lamp I read about in other threads. Now just the other day as I was warming up to ride I did a quick walk around and lamp check a ok. The green neutral light was on like always yet fluctuated in brightness I fist thought it was just due to switching from low to highbeam and passed it off yet on my second in seat check the highbeam and parking light failed and now refuse to illuminate. The rear parking lamp still functions as normal. So a double check of all the ground I just went thru and hopefully its not a voltage regulator issue. :eagerness:

 

[RescuedXb]

current ironically update, got a new voltage regulator and for peace f mind new battery today, no more lights dimming so yah!!! now stuck with the original grounding issues. everything operates properly except for the starting issue and low mpg's of around the 20's. the previous owner left a set of spark plugs in the luggage compartment so these issues were probably undisclosed at time of sale. so new weekend project chase down grounding problems and a inspection of plug wires, gap, and spark plugs. i snapped a photo of the old regulator/rectifier where the insulation on the back is cracked incase anyone else has run across the same issue with their oem regulator/rectifier or have seen these cracks form on other buell uly's

 

[RescuedXb]

basiclly everything below the black line is dried and splitting or fracturing.

 

[njloco]

That VR looks like it's been through the ringer and probably over due for replacement, good you did.
What black line ?

 

[njloco]

That VR looks like it's been through the ringer and probably over due for replacement, good you did.

 

[RescuedXb]

yup, under 15k miles yet 12 years old, also realizing how finding a good ground when everything frame wise contains a semi flammable liquid is different from traditional motorcycles as I am learning from others experiences with buell motorcycles. Thank you for the :encouragement: I am almost to the point of just welding chain to the tail section and daisy chaining it fhe the other ground points and throw it out on the ground every time I stop somewhere and go back to start the bike when I leave. Since Ulys have luggage compartments :up:

 

[RescuedXb]

New update in tracing down the no start issues and bad grounding. No i didn't expend a lot of time resurfacing and prepping the tail frame components yet many other post indicate that is the source of many uly electrical oddities. So the other day I invested in a auto-zone version of other members remedies to the bad ground no start problem by sourcing a premade 24" earthing battery wire with loop connectors already in place. I followed the same path from battery to the throttle side of the breaded ground strap under the airbox and cleaned both ends and applied electrical anti corrosion grease and fastened the other end of the autozone grounding cable there. now the uly starts like a any other Harley Davidson based engine or better. I left things at that and took the motorcycle for a test drive. The hickups were mostly gone and the engine ran smoother by a large percentage yet still has idle issues of fluctuating rpms. I parked the bile for several hours after the test ride and still started terrifically yet all the mentioned issues remained. Now I am wondering if the other needed ground modifications are going to provide the improvements to the other issues as many other posts have seen positive results from trying to fix these repairs also. I will post more results as I try the other incremental grounding modifications. My big concern is longterm relying on the modifications verses in-depth stock cleaning and repair to all the needed tailsection frame components where the largest of the grounding issues seem to be as all the display and control grounds seem to be functioning without issue. I will post photo's also.

 

[34nineteen]

New update in tracing down the no start issues and bad grounding. No i didn't expend a lot of time resurfacing and prepping the tail frame components yet many other post indicate that is the source of many uly electrical oddities. So the other day I invested in a auto-zone version of other members remedies to the bad ground no start problem by sourcing a premade 24" earthing battery wire with loop connectors already in place. I followed the same path from battery to the throttle side of the breaded ground strap under the airbox and cleaned both ends and applied electrical anti corrosion grease and fastened the other end of the autozone grounding cable there. now the uly starts like a any other Harley Davidson based engine or better. I left things at that and took the motorcycle for a test drive. The hickups were mostly gone and the engine ran smoother by a large percentage yet still has idle issues of fluctuating rpms. I parked the bile for several hours after the test ride and still started terrifically yet all the mentioned issues remained. Now I am wondering if the other needed ground modifications are going to provide the improvements to the other issues as many other posts have seen positive results from trying to fix these repairs also. I will post more results as I try the other incremental grounding modifications. My big concern is longterm relying on the modifications verses in-depth stock cleaning and repair to all the needed tailsection frame components where the largest of the grounding issues seem to be as all the display and control grounds seem to be functioning without issue. I will post photo's also.

Your issue appears to me more about "ground maintenance" rather than "modification". There should be a ground cable attaching from the battery to the tailsection directly. You may want to verify the ground connections there, and verify/replace the main ground cable. Also, be sure that the interface between the tail section and the main frame are clean and tight.

I think in the FSM, there is an illustration calling out the main ground points on the bike. I believe it is in the very back of the book, and it doesnt look like the ones on buellmods.com captured those last pages.

 

[RescuedXb]

Yup, that seems to be the common indicator of all the performance issues I've encountered in the short ownership I've been experiencing. By using the modifications/testing procedures others have posted or shared all performance issues disappear and the bike returns to factory or better.

 

[34nineteen]

In the past, I’ve used jumper cables between the negative terminal, and a suspect area. I once did it on a car to prove to someone the reason why he kept cooking starters was due to a bad ground from the engine to the frame. Since your bike exhibits a lot of corrosion from the pics you showed, it would be prudent to make a weekend project out of searching and cleaning all grounds. I would also remove the subframe and clean where it bolts to the main frame. Go into a harbor freight and buy a cheap kit of wire wheels that work with a dremel or small drill. It’s a huge time saver.