noob questions on performance

[kwon su]

I have a 04 xb 9sl low lightning. All stock part (except for some custom cosmetic stuff I did).

I dont know a lot about how much more performance I can get with the parts available. Can anyone help, and where should I start?

 

[dave_xb12r]

open airbox, K&N filter, ECM remap and an exhaust of your choice.

Or if you can find it, a race kit.

Americansportbike.com

 

[dave_xb12r]

I forgot... you should start with a reroute mod

 

[maybebuell]

leave it alone your gains will be small to nothing compared to the money you invest and gas mileage you lose

 

[mrdozer2you]

Ok first off, I bought my bike for the fun of riding...not gas mileage. Second, I want to mod my bike for better performance/throttle response to increase the "fun factor" thats up to me. Third, maybebuell--for not actually owning a Buell, you sure like telling everyone what to do or not do to theirs.

 

[maybebuell]

Posts: 1027
Reputation: 9
[?] User Rank: Major
Major
Ok first off, I bought my bike for the fun of riding...not gas mileage. Second, I want to mod my bike for better performance/throttle response to increase the "fun factor" thats up to me. Third, maybebuell--for not actually owning a Buell, you sure like telling everyone what to do or not do to theirs.

he asked a question ..i gave my thoughts was not addressed to you ..what does owning a buell have to do with knowing harley v twim motors..i dont own one for a reason....when gas milage goes down you gained nothing no power pretty simple enjoy your bike its louder sucked down more gas but it sounds faster...its all good

 

[mrdozer2you]

..i dont own one for a reason

And that would be?

when gas milage goes down you gained nothing no power

I increased the fun factor.

pretty simple enjoy your bike its louder sucked down more gas but it sounds faster

5-7 hp with better throttle response IS noticible on a 400lb bike. You have to consider the power/weight ratio. My Buell with 95-100 HP is faster than my Charger RT with 350+ HP.

your gains will be small to nothing compared to the money you invest

Hmm...breather re-route, open box, exhaust and re-map. $700 or less? (depending on exhaust and tuning time) Sounds pretty good for the gains. To get that type of improvement on my car would be $2000+ easy. ( now thats wasting money )

 

[maybebuell]

mrdozer its all good i have to agree its all about the fun factor bottom line....are those dyno gains on your bike or off a web site

 

[mrdozer2you]

are those dyno gains on your bike or off a web site

Rough, off the exhaust shootout. Keep in mind that those are just the exhaust only. $700 is a ballpark guesstimate on the average setup. Pipe, tune, airbox mod and filter, re-route. Depending on the brand and where you get your parts, could be more or less[up]

 

[kwon su]

thanks dozer

do you mean this

Ok, I,ve heard different things about this but havent found any instructions on how to do this. Here's how I did it and what you will need.

2x 5/8" plastic male tee's ( hardware store )
1x 2.5'-3' piece of 5/8" rubber hose ( I got fuel line hose from auto parts store)
1x small breather filter ( auto parts store )

total cost- about $9
time- 20 minutes

1. Remove airbox fairing
2. Take off top air box cover
3. Remove lower air box ( dont know what its called but there's 4 bolts holding it to the frame.
4. Disconnect the air sensor and take off lower air box and shove the 2 hoses back through their respective holes, it slides off the air intake ( big rubber horn looking piece)
5. I had to cut maybe 1" off the stock hose on the left side in order for the T's to fit and not pinch the hose
6. Connect the 2 hoses on the bike into 1 of the "T" connectors
7. Connect the piece of hose you bought to the other end of the "T" connector
8. Take the hose and run it under the frame towards the back of the bike so that it comes out near the swing arm in the rear. ( this is the hardest part and took me the longest, I used some black cable ties and connected the hose to existing wires to keep it off the engine )
9. Establish where you would like to put your breather filter ( mine is on the left side near where the swing arm and side rails meet )
10. Cut hose and connect the other "T" connector and breather filter
11. Connect the hose to the last spot on the "T" and run it down to somewhere on the inside of the swing arm ( a small bit of oil may drip out of here from time to time so make sure that it won't drip on the path of your tire. You can connect a catch can as well if you like but a minimal amount of oil will drip if any.)
11. Out of your leftover hose cut maybe a 6"-8" piece and shove one end through one of the empty holes in the lower air box. ( thats where you removed the hoses in the beginning ) Then shove the other end of the hose through the remaining hole.
12. Put everything back together and you're done, and remember to make sure that the new hose is secured and not rubbing-pinching any thing else

Sorry about not having the techincal terms for everything but hey i'm not a mechanic

 

[maybebuell]

Rough, off the exhaust shootout. Keep in mind that those are just the exhaust only. $700 is a ballpark guesstimate on the average setup. Pipe, tune, airbox mod and filter, re-route. Depending on the brand and where you get your parts, could be more or less

........well didnt mean to get anyone in a twisted mood...not hear to talk anyone out of mods did more mods and more dyno runs then i care to think about lot of money spent and thats with a good friend who did all the work through the years that also had a dyno machine .....had harley v twins from 85 hp to 120 hp with 130 tq....myself and my buddys learned one thing....nothing is what they tell you or read,, .....do a few rollons with other buells in higher gears to see if your or any motor is running stronger with the work that was done....usually the guy behind is the guys saying he has all this hp but wants to go again but sayes let go another 1/2 mile longer....are never mind just rambling ....but the injection really screws everyone out of making power for cheep money

 

[Stevenc150]

Kwon Su,

Yeah that's the right mod. Though there are many different ways and everyone has their own take on what is the better way (you'll see once you start reading the thread) Main thing to me about the re-route is that you learn some about your bike and get some great satisfaction knowing that you've improved you're ride. Let us know of any questions and ride safe. [up]

 

[kwon su]

thank steve, however i have another question...

... do you guys personally think its worth upgrading a 9, or should I just get myself a 12scg (im too short for the reg)

 

[FIDOSOL]

well kwon, it depends on what direction you want to take your bike. So what exactly do you want out of your bike?

 

[kwon su]

well the 9 is fun as H. E. double hockey sticks,
considering the only other thing Ive really ridden is a Shadow 750 (my starter bike).

The fact that Im short limits me (5'6") but ive always been more interested in acceleration then top speed anyway, which is why i LOVE buell. I guess what I want is more speed and more chances to work on my bike. Nothing too fancy, not like im opening up a garage.

 

[Stevenc150]

Kwon Su,

I wanted to start out with a 9 originally, mainly because, in my mind, it would be better for me since I hadn't ridden much. After checking around, there wasn't really very much difference between the 9 & 12, at least from the a "seat of the pants" view. In my mind, I would think the 12 would have the advantage of better "grunt" (comparing stock 9 to stock 12), off the line power. But, even the MPG is rated the same so there can't be a whole lot of difference. Anyways, I began looking for either one and ended up with a 12. Had I got a better deal on a 9, I would've got it. But these other guys will have more experience than me on this subject.

By the way, is your real name Kwon Su? Just wondering.....I'm Korean/American.

Oh yeah, and the 12's stock seat is approx. 1" lower than the 9's stock seat, so if you can find one it might help some. I got the 12 Low seat and I can touch the bottom of my feet to the ground now. [smirk][up]

 

[kwon su]

really, the 12scg is only 20lbs more max with 10-20 more HP and 10-20 more ft lbs of torque depending on the year. Thats a big difference in power to weight.

And no, kwon su is just my favorite saying from my favorite movie. Surf Ninjas.

Adam: Kwon su dudes!
Adam: They love this word. It must mean...”Free Beer" or something.

 

[Stevenc150]

Again, I've only got experience with the 12. All I know of the difference between the 9 & 12 is what I've read from others, which most tend to say, "seat of the pants", there's not a whole lot of difference.

Best way for you to know would be to go to a Dealer and ride a 12. Let us know what you think about it. [smirk]

 

[FIDOSOL]

The 12 and 9 are built to run about the same. NOTE: "about the same" means there will be some wiggle room in better or worse for both the 9 and 12 depending on the bike you happen to get ahold of.

Since you already have a 9 don't waste your money trying to trade it in on a 12, you can use that hard earned money on mods for the 9 to make it pull more off the line.

 

[kwon su]

thats all i needed to here

thanks alot guys
[up][up]