Problem with new (used) 2007 XB12R. What can the dealership do?

[bryanhayn]

Two days ago I picked up a 2007 XB12R with about 15,000 miles and put about 100 miles on it so far. Today after I got home I noticed some oil leaking out of the crack between the seat fairing and the frame above the left rear set (see pic). Anyone know what this could be? Do you think if I take it back to the dealer they will fix it, or will they just clean it enough so that I don't notice it until it reappears a few weeks later and I'm forced to pay for repairs?

 

[50dro]

Is the fan wet too? There's a gasket that causes this but the name escapes me at the moment...sorry.

 

[buellxb9rs]

head gasket possibly

 

[thrstrmech]

rear cylinder head gasket, rocker cover, rocker cover bolts...either of these, remove your airbox cover and base, rear subframe cover and seat. use an inspection mirror and good flashlight to get a closer look at everything. if your fan is covered in oil, remove it and clean well. you can use isopropyl alcohol to clean the oil residue off. turn the bike on and let it run for a bit, shut her off and use the mirror once again, looking for oil residue for possible leaking area.

 

[user_deleted]

^^^^^ [up] spot on as usual by thruster.
90% of the time it is the rocker box cover gasket....5% of the time it is the rocker cover breather valve either popped out of its grommet or leaking grommet. both James, Athena and Cometic make excellent replacements.

 

[bryanhayn]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. Are these problems easily fixed by someone with low-medium mechanical skills? I've taken apart 25-50cc two-stroke motors (installed head kits, cleaned carbs) and done minor 4-stroke Vespa stuff (belt replacement, pulley weights, carb jets), but never taken apart 4-stroke motors before. I live in an apartment with a shared parking lot, so I don't want to do anything too complex and leave tools all over my parking stall overnight.

Also, do you guys think it's worth trying to get the dealer to fix it? The contract I signed says the bike was sold "as is", but the dealer guy did say they "fix everything before putting it up for sale".

 

[mtnmason]

More than likely the rocker box gasket. Do it yourself! There is an excellent pictoral write up on how to rotate your motor (would link it but im posting fr phone). The only hassle is the amount of crap you have to unbolt/unplug/take off. I did it awhile back and im just a shade-tree mechanic myself. I would absolutely recommend finding an indoors place to do it. Provided you dont hit any snags it will take you the better part of the day your first time. Use blue loc-tite and common sense when putting her back together.

Do not! I repeat DO NOT allow a harley tech to touch your bike unless they are a verifiable Buell devotee. One of the worst things you can do with your new pride and joy is allow a harley tech with no Buell experience to monkey around with it. Ive heard of MoCo service depts. charging anywhere from $500-800 dollars to replace a part that costs ~$25 (might as well do the front while the motor is down).

Congrats on the bike, btw. How ya liking it so far aside from the minor leakage? This incident provides you with an opportunity for some real bonding and getting-to-know-you time with your new love. We're excited for you both and here to help. Let us know how it goes.

 

[bryanhayn]

Thanks! I'll look into it. I upgraded from a 2007 883 Sportster (EFI) and I loooove the increase in speed/power. This is exactly the bike I've been wanting. Actually, I was hoping to pick up an XB12S because I love its shorter tail and streetfighter look, but I know they're hard to come by, especially in Hawaii, so I figured the Firebolt was the next best thing and couldn't pass it up when I saw it at the dealership.
The 883 I just got rid of had a rocker box leak that I paid the local Harley dealer about $600 to fix. I had the money and just wanted it fixed quickly, so I paid it, but now that I'm a bit more poor I will try to do the Buell myself.

 

[neilrl79]

I did a motor rotation last winter with a top end rebuild to fix a base gasket leak, it's not that hard at all. If you have some common sense and a service manual you'll do fine with just replacing rocker box gaskets. Just remember to follow torque specs on everything(except drain plugs)!

 

[bryanhayn]

So I got the dealer to take a look at it and they said the oil was coming from the breather and that my air filter was soaked in oil. They said it could be due to riding the bike hard, which I wasn't, or overfilling the oil tank. But after searching online I found that it could be caused by worn piston rings. Do you guys think worn rings could be the cause on a bike with just 14,000 miles? Dealer says they will ride it more Monday to see if whatever they did fixed it.

 

[jamason_2000]

Where are you at in Hawaii? And did you happen to purchase that one at city cycle?

 

[jamason_2000]

Not gonna lie it looks vaguely familiar....... If you are schofield area, you'll see one almost identical raising cane and having a good old time. Just stop me and we'll check it out.

 

[bryanhayn]

I live in Hawaii Kai, and I did buy it from Cycle City. The picture I posted isn't of my bike, though mine is also yellow. Mine has a Jardine pipe with wrapped headers.

 

[jamason_2000]

I know the bike, the dude that owned it was up here on schofield. I know he ran it hard....... Down load the service manual here on the site, go through it with a fine toothed comb. I know he had a few minor issues, mostly due to the way he rode. Just be safe about it and check everything. City cycle is a reputable shop when it comes to hogs, but not so much the buells. I don't even know if they have a certified buell tech in the shop anymore. I have the exact same bike, I do 75% of my own work on it. If you the least bit tech minded you'll find that it is very rewarding to do it on your own.

 

[bryanhayn]

Great... I have a feeling I will be putting a lot of time and money into this bike

 

[jamason_2000]

Na not really, check it over, make sure for yourself it's gtg and ride this hell out of it. They defiantly love to be ridden. They make hella power over 3000 rpm's. And will allways want more when your ready to do it again. Did race ECM tune on mine and it pulls like a freight train. The more I feed it throttle the more it wants. Just sayin yes he might of rode it hard, the bike likes it rough. Lol

 

[bryanhayn]

UPDATE: dealer still has the bike...they say it has a high oil pressure problem when riding and when at idle, which is causing oil to leak into the airbox. They did a compression test and it passed, so no blowby problems. Anyone have any ideas what it could be? The tech I spoke to sounded kinda stumped (he said they had to contact Harley for tech assistance).

 

[07Bolt]

What its doing is regurgitating out through the breather hose and spewing into the intake and out past the rear cylinder and into the fan. My 07 did the same thing. Had so much oil it shorted out the fan. Also, check the "REGULATOR" connection and see what style pins it is. If it is a flat-pin style then you need to upgrade to the round-pin style.

I ended up doing a breather re-route on mine. What's happening is, at high-speed/high-rpm, the oil is splashing out of the breather tubes. Your bike idles and runs around 425-475 degrees F. Also, the best temperature to do a TPS reset at. Which is what you need to do as well.

I even had the breather tubes coming unseated from the holes on top. Finally siliconed one in permanently. The oil gets so hot that its like water and seeps out of the breather.

The oil pressure is key to. Changing (primary, inspection, oil filter) gaskets a lot causes more possible leaks. Overheating and head gaskets leaking cause problems. Just keep an eye on your idle range (950-1050 rpms) and any maintenance you might do concerning gaskets.

 

[DualSportDad]

are they saying that you have too high of oil pressure or crankcase pressure?

a few months ago my bike was consuming a lot of oil and it turned out to be i flashed race maps to the bike with a stock muffler on it and the o2 sensor was bad and not adjusting the afv correctly (pulling fuel). the bike was running rich and and washing the cylinders down with fuel causing the rings not to seat well and the blow by was going into my intake. i replaced the o2 sensor and it's been fine, i just took a 400 mile highway trip last weekend with the bike and it didn't use any oil. here's a link to when mine was using oil, you can see a picture in their where the intake is soaked with oil. http://www.buellxb.com/Buell-XB-For.../Troubleshooting/where-is-all-of-my-oil-going

 

[jamason_2000]

Simple fixes first, start with the breather mod and see how that helps. If not it surely will not hurt. Then I would look into the o2 sensor.