Noisy Girl

[Cooter]

Aircooled conversion?

Oops! HAHA 34:19, pdksh had so many issues with all his bikes falling apart at the same time I got confused.

 

[pdksh]

I was thinking an air-cooled conversion may run a little smoother

Im down to one sick motorcycle now. I left the best for last. I do have to rotate my car tires and my floor jack is under my 1125. Does that count?

 

[34nineteen]

I was thinking an air-cooled conversion may run a little smoother

Im down to one sick motorcycle now. I left the best for last. I do have to rotate my car tires and my floor jack is under my 1125. Does that count?

Any news on the engine rebuild/swap?

 

[pdksh]

i Have sourced a used 2008 motor with apparently 5000kms but getting ahold of the seller is challenging. I'll give him a week to get his act together, then ill flee bay a head, cylinder and piston...

I do have a question about timing if I rebuild the head. Since the engine was stuck I didn't bother using the crank locking tool or the cam locking tool for TDC. The bottom end makes two full rotations per one rotation of the top end, BASIC 4 stroke therory. When you completely tear down a head you need to make sure the front and rear cylinders are 100% in sync with each other and with the crank and the stroke. Is it the power stroke or exhaust stroke... I'm sure the service manual does a terrible job of describing this. If the used engine doesnt pan out, this will be my next challenge.

I always wondered how does ECM know when to spark IF the cam posistion sensor is on the bottom end of the motor... Does it spark twice? Once per crank rotation? I believe old Shovel Heads and other traditional points ignition engines did spark twice per the full 4 stroke process. Just my random musings.

 

[34nineteen]

i Have sourced a used 2008 motor with apparently 5000kms but getting ahold of the seller is challenging. I'll give him a week to get his act together, then ill flee bay a head, cylinder and piston...

I do have a question about timing if I rebuild the head. Since the engine was stuck I didn't bother using the crank locking tool or the cam locking tool for TDC. The bottom end makes two full rotations per one rotation of the top end, BASIC 4 stroke therory. When you completely tear down a head you need to make sure the front and rear cylinders are 100% in sync with each other and with the crank and the stroke. Is it the power stroke or exhaust stroke... I'm sure the service manual does a terrible job of describing this. If the used engine doesnt pan out, this will be my next challenge.

I always wondered how does ECM know when to spark IF the cam posistion sensor is on the bottom end of the motor... Does it spark twice? Once per crank rotation? I believe old Shovel Heads and other traditional points ignition engines did spark twice per the full 4 stroke process. Just my random musings.

Since the bike has separate coils, it likely is a "single fire" setup.

I tried downloading the 1125 service books from Buellmods, and was getting an error message about the file being corrupt. Luckily, I think I have them on a jump drive somewhere. If you have the same issue, let me know and i'll bounce you over what I have.

There was another motor somewhere on social media. If this doesnt work out, I'll see if I can backtrack my steps and find it again.

 

[pdksh]

I ordered parts from ST. Paul HD and e-bay. Replaced the front cylinder jug, head, piston, timing chain (may have stretched), base gasket, head gasket and new piston rings. Starting to button it up now, have had house guests for the past two weeks. It's been hard to steal out to the garage. I have setup the static timing, just double and triple checking the manual. I used the rear cylinder as the point of reference, the front cylinder was jammed up pretty good. I have to check the valve lash, hopefully I'll be adding fluids and get this thing running for the weekend.

 

[34nineteen]

Pics or it didnt happen. Sending positive thoughts your way! :eagerness:

 

[pdksh]

Oh its happening
Almost ready to start it up,
Painted the muffler while it was off. Man Buell stock mufflers are FUGLY!!! Did they get highschool students to weld these things up?

Fingers crossed

 

[pdksh]

Its now an official love hate relationship!!!

topped up the oil and coolant and left the charger on over night. First thing this morning I pressed the starter button and she started right up!
I wished it was that easy :sorrow:
I left the crank inspection cover off and in about 10 seconds of running, half a quart of oil ran onto the floor. I expected a trickle BUT!!!
Mopped up the oil, pressed the starter button and off she roared to life again
After 10 minutes of running she stalled dead and posted "COMM ERROR" and "THEFT ERROR"
I WISH someone was stealing it at this point! I traced every wire and reseated the ECM and the Frame to pod connectors, still receiving COMM and THEFT errors. No Love. :upset:
At one point it attempted to start but behaved like it had a dead battery. The battery is OK (13v) and the cables were tight. I traced the main ground wire to the frame (runs above the swing arm) and found the ground wire "not tight". I added a star lock washer and tightened the main ground.
Turned the key, the bike cycled up, touched the starter button and VAROOM! :eagerness:

Not 100% sure if the COMM/THEFT error is resolved but the dash board reported a 14v and I measured 14v at the battery at idle. I did the charging rotor upgrade and removed the Harley wire harness in the spring so I'm not expecting any voltage issues.

This bike has had me in the fetal position, rocking and crying. My wallet is a lot lighter. My knowledge about the liquid cooled Rotax motor has significantly improved. I'm not sure if this motorcycle has lost it's will to live OR if it just hates me. I'm considering taking it to family counselling. This has not been a pleasant BUELL season for me, and for some insane reason I'm considering buying an EBR1190RX!!! I totally need to go to counselling.

I'm very greatefull to the BUELL online community, the good folks at buellxb and badweatherbikers have been an incredible aid. Both mechanically and encouraging. I have found a 2008 1125r with 1000 miles... hmmm... I'm sold on the 1203cc Thunderstorm motor, but I want the power that only the liquid cooled 1125/1190 can provide.
Is there a cure for being a BUELLAGIN!

The SAGA continues...

oh an the oil that leaked out of the inspection cover totally ruined my fresh muffler paint job!!! :mad-new:

 

[pdksh]

Since the bike has separate coils, it likely is a "single fire" setup.

I tried downloading the 1125 service books from Buellmods, and was getting an error message about the file being corrupt. Luckily, I think I have them on a jump drive somewhere. If you have the same issue, let me know and i'll bounce you over what I have.

There was another motor somewhere on social media. If this doesnt work out, I'll see if I can backtrack my steps and find it again.

Did some research and I found a thread on BadWeatherBikers that someone stated that there is no CAM sensor (yep) only a CRANK sensor. The ECM measures the speed of the crank and the crank is slower on the intake/compression stroke than the power stroke. The ECM then calculates the appropriate spark mapping.

Sounds Legit to me!

 

[34nineteen]

Its now an official love hate relationship!!!

topped up the oil and coolant and left the charger on over night. First thing this morning I pressed the starter button and she started right up!
I wished it was that easy :sorrow:
I left the crank inspection cover off and in about 10 seconds of running, half a quart of oil ran onto the floor. I expected a trickle BUT!!!
Mopped up the oil, pressed the starter button and off she roared to life again
After 10 minutes of running she stalled dead and posted "COMM ERROR" and "THEFT ERROR"
I WISH someone was stealing it at this point! I traced every wire and reseated the ECM and the Frame to pod connectors, still receiving COMM and THEFT errors. No Love. :upset:
At one point it attempted to start but behaved like it had a dead battery. The battery is OK (13v) and the cables were tight. I traced the main ground wire to the frame (runs above the swing arm) and found the ground wire "not tight". I added a star lock washer and tightened the main ground.
Turned the key, the bike cycled up, touched the starter button and VAROOM! :eagerness:

Not 100% sure if the COMM/THEFT error is resolved but the dash board reported a 14v and I measured 14v at the battery at idle. I did the charging rotor upgrade and removed the Harley wire harness in the spring so I'm not expecting any voltage issues.

This bike has had me in the fetal position, rocking and crying. My wallet is a lot lighter. My knowledge about the liquid cooled Rotax motor has significantly improved. I'm not sure if this motorcycle has lost it's will to live OR if it just hates me. I'm considering taking it to family counselling. This has not been a pleasant BUELL season for me, and for some insane reason I'm considering buying an EBR1190RX!!! I totally need to go to counselling.

I'm very greatefull to the BUELL online community, the good folks at buellxb and badweatherbikers have been an incredible aid. Both mechanically and encouraging. I have found a 2008 1125r with 1000 miles... hmmm... I'm sold on the 1203cc Thunderstorm motor, but I want the power that only the liquid cooled 1125/1190 can provide.
Is there a cure for being a BUELLAGIN!

The SAGA continues...

oh an the oil that leaked out of the inspection cover totally ruined my fresh muffler paint job!!! :mad-new:

View attachment 12281

I've heard of the COMM/THEFT message coming on when there is voltage issues. Sharp thinking on your part nailing it down so quickly.

 

[pdksh]

It’s a Buell - 99% of the time electrical problems are ground related. - Do I owe Lunitic a royalty?
That doesn’t stop dealers from replacing ECMs. I’ve heard of entire wire harnesses being replaced to fix gremlins. Makes me wonder....
Anyhoo it was the cheapest route. I’ve spent this weeks bike parts budget.

 

[pdksh]

All buttoned back up. The 1125cr is running, I still can't get over the sound. It sounds like a handful of bolts are rattling around in a coffee can. To be fair I must have adjusted my XB's primary chain 38 times the first month I owned it.

 

[34nineteen]

Did you ever figure out what triggered the meltdown?

A handful of bolts doesn’t sound right.

You should post a video for us to listen to.

 

[pdksh]

Yes, I think I’ll do that, post a video. I hear a noisy valve train, not the slapping/clapping that I did before. The issue was a valve shim that slipped out. I don’t know why it slipped out. I did use a shim that put the measurements to the loose end of the tolerance. That shim then interfered with the exhaust valve. Then BOOM! Followed by silence

 

[pdksh]

I was seriously low on oil, in my excitement to get it ready, I short changed it by half a litre. Knowing I would change the oil in the very near future, after break in I wasn’t too careful.

Changed the oil, did the proper oil level check, 2.7ish litres and it sounds much better. Still a very noisy top end IMHO.

This thing is insanely fast. I wish I could squeeze the 1125 motor into my XB12XT. I’m too old and fat to hump this thing. Instead of my normal Buell **** eating grin, I had terror in my eyes.

 

[Cooter]

1125's do have a VERY loud valve train. Make sure you're using a V-twin specific oil, and the correct weight for the lowest temp you will ride in like the manual states.
Track days in 100*+ heat in Florida had me running straight 50w* in the CR. She got MUCH quieter, seemed to run smoother, and definitely ran cooler water temps as well.

*People do freak out about using thick oil for some reason, but because straight 50w is not any thicker than 20w-50, it's obviously safe. The 20(winter) part is for cold temps, the 50 part is for hot temps. Since I was only using it in extreme conditions in very hot weather, my theory was to put in more of the 50 part and less of the 20(winter) part. Worked for me

 

[rb70383]

Instead of my normal Buell **** eating grin, I had terror in my eyes.

Yea that sums it up for me when I first rode my EBR. I still want a CR....someday. Glad you got it running. Still amazes me how important oil is...

 

[pdksh]

The Oil Flame Wars on motorcycle forums are always interesting. I can say Amsoil in the primary makes my XB shift like butter. Thick vs Thin, synth vs mineral... I have been running mineral oil, mostly because of cost. If I only ever put half of the rated mileage (mineral) on my oil, it's hard to justify the expense. I don't flog it around a track and I find that its contaminated with clutch material anyways. I considered putting 10W/40 in the 1125cr but went with 20W/50. With the little riding I plan on doing, and being a fair weather bike I could probably run straight 50.
Years ago I put 20W/50 Amsoil synthetic into my air cooled Ducati. Almost immediately I noticed clutch slip at high rpm; 8000 to 9000 (bike has a wet clutch). I flushed with 10W/40 a couple of times and even replaced the clutch springs. The bike only had 12,000KMS. She still slips at high rpm and one of these days I'll replace the clutch plates, I suspect the Amsoil messed them up.

 

[34nineteen]

1125's do have a VERY loud valve train. Make sure you're using a V-twin specific oil, and the correct weight for the lowest temp you will ride in like the manual states.
Track days in 100*+ heat in Florida had me running straight 50w* in the CR. She got MUCH quieter, seemed to run smoother, and definitely ran cooler water temps as well.

*People do freak out about using thick oil for some reason, but because straight 50w is not any thicker than 20w-50, it's obviously safe. The 20(winter) part is for cold temps, the 50 part is for hot temps. Since I was only using it in extreme conditions in very hot weather, my theory was to put in more of the 50 part and less of the 20(winter) part. Worked for me

What brand were you running? I've only seen straight 50w in conventional, and I've seen 60w only at Harley. I'm running Castrol (I think) V-Twin 20W-50. I dont hear the valve train on mine. Mine is less clattery and more "gear whiney" like a Japanese bike.