newbie to XB need a liitle help

[OverRev]

Hi, I just bought a 2008 XB12S. and i got some newbie questions that i hope i can get some quick answers.

1. the bike seems to lean to the side a lot when i park it with the factory kickstand. It's kinda scary and it seems like the bike is gonna fall. is it normal to all these XBs? and is it adjustable?

2. is there anyway to adjust the clutch lever, i just want to make the engage point closer to the grip.

3. when i ride at low RPM or trying to rev-match when down-shifting, the bike sounds like it's back-firing or some weird sound coming out from the throttle body part, it just doesn't rev smoothly, is it normal to this engine?

4. This is very stupid, i accidentally leaked out some oil, while i was trying to unscrew and clean the black plate one the tranny, behind the shift-linkage... is that tranny oil or motor oil and where can i fill it?

i am total new to motorcycle and XB, pls dont mind me if these questions are too entry-level.

 

[Negative]

1) "A lot" is kind of subjective ... My XB doesn't lean near as far over as my r6 does on the kickstand ... take a close look at your kickstand hardware ... If all looks well (no cracks, excess wear, or bent brackets) you're good to go ... Pay close attention to the Kickstand pin itself for any bad wear spots ... those were a common failure on older buells from my understanding, I believe they even went as far as a recal IIRC? ...

2) There are 2 adjustment points ... one is on the clutch perch itself for minor adjustments ... the other is inside the rubber boot on the clutch line itself further down in front of the motor ... you just slide the rubber cover down and adjust out major slack there ...

3) It's a harley v-twin ... and it seems to be inherent with this bike to not to run that great or smooth below about 3k rpm unless you learn to use any of the tuning programs they have available to you here and spend the time to tune it out ... Now if you're talking about major bucking and spitting, that could be another issue entirely but if you're used to the smoothness of a Japanese 4 cylinder engine this engine is another monster entirely .... I learned that very quickly ...

4) That is your primary gearbox oil ... it is a completely separate oil supply than the motor oil (which is in the swingarm) and they do not come into contact with each other unless something somewhere has gone TERRIBLY wrong ... You drain the primary oil for oil changes underneath the motor on the left side of the engine and refill it through the front "sight plate" on the side of the primary case ... the engine oil is drained from the swingarm and refilled in the swingarm through the dipstick opening (you can't miss it) ... it's 2.5 qts for the swingarm/engine oil and 1 qt for the primary ... there are lots of debates on what kind of oil is best for your bike, just use a very good quality oil of your choosing and don't over/underfill either area of the bike ... as far as what oil viscosity you should use goes, look in your owners manual and see what temperature band you normally ride in and stick with the recommended viscosity for that temperature ... you can't go wrong that way ...

Just as an example I use Mobil 1 v-twin synthetic 20w-50 in the primary and the swingarm ... It's a good, reputable oil and readily available where I live ... There's also AMSOIL dealers on this site who are extremely helpful and can get you any AMSOIL product in their lineup at a good price ... Repsol is good (use to use that in my rice burners but it is quite a drive for me to get some at a decent price) ... Redline is another good one ... Along with Royal Purple ... the list goes on and on and on and on .... Just do some basic research and you'll find a good oil to stick with ... it doesn't hurt to experiment either and find something that suits your fancy ...



I've heard it all my life and read it several times on here ....

"There are no stupid questions ... only stupid answers" .... don't be afraid to ask anything ... I just recommend you dont post 1,000,000,000,000,000 new threads a day with a new question for each one ... for generic starter questions I recommend you just open a single thread with a good generic title like "new bueller with questions" and fire away .... hopefully the bike treats ya well man ... I love mine to pieces, even though it's breaking my bank account to make it what i want it to be ... it's a labor of love ... hahaha

 

[thrstrmech]

good info here^...also go to the "General Motorcycle Chat" forum, lots of info there for those new to Buell motorcycles

welcome to the forum...and you've missed the most important part about the forum...pics or it didn't happen

there's a thread on the before mentioned forum on "How to's" for pics, videos, etc...

 

[mattcreswell]

Read my friend, read everything you can on this forum. Ask questions. It's how I learned! Negative is correct on all points. It's a Vtwin, keep it around 4000-4500 & she's happy. I use Mobil-1 synthetic merely because it's what was used in bike since it was new. Buy yourself a funnel with a hose, makes life easier when changing/adding oil. As far as you kickstand goes, they do seem to lean a bit more than your average bike. I believe the kickstand pins were upgraded for the 08 & above models. Myself personally, I decided to change mine just to be sure. Fishxb12 on this forum made mine & I'm thoroughly satisfied. Welcome to the forum & enjoy your XB!

 

[Negative]

 

[OverRev]

thanks for the info, guys. i went on youtube and found some video on oil change, i have all the tools for the job and i believe i will just go for either motul or Mobile1.

the oil that i leak out is the primary oil, which i leaked about 50-60ml as i was trying to remove that black side plate with 3 screws on it, to clean it.. then oil leaked out and i quickly put the panel back on.

i will take a pix of my bike and show you guys how much it leans side-way, i am just afriad it'd fall. i have a 08 and it only has 7000km so it should be in relatively good condition. but i will look at the pin or the assembly tmr.

thanks aagin.

 

[Negative]

Man!! ... if it's leaning over far enough to spill your primary oil out when you take the sight cover off that thing must be damn near on it's side!! ... Unless somebody overfilled the primary with oil while it was on a rear stand and put the cover back on ...

I read somewhere on another buell forum while chasing down ECMspy info that a guy had been putting his bike on a rear stand every oil change and putting a lot more than one quart in the primary since he bought the bike ... he thought the sight glass functioned almost as a "weep hole" apparently ... As in, he would fill the primary up with oil till it started coming out of the sight cover and then close it up ... he didn't know it only took one quart in the primary ... Hopefully that's not what happened to yours ... mine doesn't leak a drop when I take either of the side covers off ... But this is just my $0.02 so far ...

 

[chief_of_smoke]

the 3 screw cover is your cluch cover. but i havnt had any oil drip out of there when making adjustnents while on the kick stand. as far as leaning to much it seems to me that soming is bent or broken. the only time mine leans that much is when the ground is wet and the stand sinks into my gravle drive way.and yes it has fallen over while warming up. so be carefulk of where you park.. .

 

[Negative]

Carrying a crushed coke can in the tail section works wonders for parking on hot asphalt, gravel, and/or wet grass/dirt also... Just park and put it under the kick stand on the ground... I've learned that the hard way through lots of bar end mirrors being snapped off, fairings rashed up, and blinkers broken off... Hahaha... Just a small bit of advice in case you'd never heard of that...

Any update on the bike's stand?...

 

[OverRev]

ya,,. the clutch cover. i had my bike parked on the kickstand, then i removed the clutch cover to clean it and.. oil started leaking out, is there supposed to be oil?

 

[Negative]

тнєʀє'ѕ ѕυρρσѕєɗ тσ вє σιℓ ιη тнє ρʀιмαʀу уєѕ..
вυт ησт єησυgн тσ ℓєαк συт ιƒ уσυ ʀємσνє тнє ċℓυтċн ιηѕρєċтιση ċσνєʀ ʝυѕт тσ ρєєк ιηѕιɗє...

 

[Theycallmecrash]

It comes out cause its suppose to be checked and serviced when its up-right. This could indicate that its leaning a tad more over than new. You always check transmission fluid and service in the level position. Engine oil is checked on the side stands.

 

[88b]

#2 you can adjust the clutch bite point , I'd strongly advise buying a workshop manual although I think the owners hand book shows how to adjust the clutch it also shows the correct oil level in the trans primary. Remember this motor is Sportster based not big twin, slacken the clutch cable turn the screw on the clutch ( under the cover ) counter clockwise until resistance is felt then in 1/4 turn. Read the book.

 

[OverRev]

Hmm, no wonder I found it very difficult to get neutral when the engine is running, maybe I needa drain the primary oil and refill it, but first I gotta buy a bike stand.

And here are a few pix of my "kinda leaning too much" XB12S at park.

 

[Negative]

Well... You're not wrong at all... But I didn't service mine on a rear stand... I just drained it (lifted it up off the side stand and held it there till the oil stopped pouring out) and put one quart in it... Works fine for me, and neutral is no challenge on mine... Really just sounds like you might have had too much oil in it..

Judging from the photos your xb doesn't seem to be leaning too far at all... Hardware looks good from the photo as well... Nice bike

 

[OverRev]

Thx, negative.

Looking from the rear the buell does lean more than my Honda, guess it's the way it is..

I will get some amsoil oil soon and do a oil change on it soon. Damn it's $22CAD / bottle here in Vancouver BC. At Canadian tires.

 

[Negative]

Whoa!... Did you get in touch with the amsoil guy on here?... He might be able to help ya out some more....