winter engine build

[Marc83]

While my bike/engine only has 5k miles, i was messing around and came across these, and wondering if anyone has every used one of these rebuild kits? more than likely the last option for $1200.

http://www.nrhsperformance.com/ekitbuellxb12r.shtml

What else is needed with these kits?

 

[Chicknstripn]

Unless you're engine is blown I don't see the point in these kits. I have one installed on my bike but only did it because my crank gave out and I was too stubborn to take a loss on my bike and just buy something else.
If you're not an expert with ECMspy or tuner pro forget about the 88 cubic inch kit. That kit takes some good tuning to make it streetable, and at the time I did mine NRHS did not offer any tuning packages.
There are many miscellaneous things that will add up. If all you're thinking of doing is a 1250 kit it's probably more cost effective to find a full exhaust system and associated tune.
That's my 2cents on the big bore hype.
If I had it all to do over again i would just buy a nice used 1125

 

[BambamXB12r]

You definitely hit the nail on the head with the nice used 1125 instead of that kit. Even if my engine needed a rebuild I don't think I would do the 1250 kit. I would just do a nice rebuild of the 1203 and skip the headaches of tuning. Then again that's my opinion and I am definitely not a tuning master.

 

[casual_observer]

I just bought a 1250 kit from them and am very pleased. Dan treated me fairly and I would buy from him again. This isnt going to be a huge improvement as the XB motor is already a potent beast (for a Sporty based motor).

Unfortunately, with the price of XB's these days, spending any more than necessary to keep them running is a bad financial move. But isn't owning a motorcycle in general a bad financial move ?

For me this is a hobby and puts a smile on my face, so I don't mind spending money on my baby.

 

[Marc83]

cool beans. I wasnt sure to be honest what all the 88ci kit did for the bikes.. and of course they make it sound like a huge power jump on the site haha.. hopefully i never have to use a rebuild kit, or my motor blows for that matter lol. But i always have the speed tripple in my garage as well

 

[ocgreenmachine]

Another option you may look at is Hammer Performance. They also have bolt on 1250 kits. In fact, the owner of Hammer and NRHS used to work together (there has been a little bit of a bruhaha between them in the past, but their products have been developed under similar conditions). I have a friend who has the top of the line Hammer Performance 1250 kit on his 2006 Sportster and dynoed it at 120 HP (a lot of engine work... valves, cams, etc) so it is possible to generate a ton of power with the 1250 kits if you have the time to tinker. Hammer's website has plenty of Dyno printouts for customer bikes so you can see a comparison of stock power to power after 1250 kit installation. I have one installed on my XB12 and my XL1200R as well, but as Chicknstripn said, you will need to get a custom map done. As for whether it is worth getting done, I have noticed a bump in performance. I also had some major engine work that was done where the cylinders had to be replaced anyways, so the 1250 was a easy choice (the kit was actually pretty close in price to a stock setup). If my engine was running perfectly fine, I would avoid doing the kit unless you had money burning a hole in your pocket. As for getting a 1125, I personally would love a 1125CR, but there are considerations that would make owning a XB a more attractive choice. One being the type of riding you plan on doing for the most part. If you are going to be riding in traffic, commute a lot, or ride the twisties, I find that the XB has much better gearing and is much more enjoyable to ride. Another consideration is maintenance if you wrench on your own. I owned a sportster prior to the XB, so I got used to wrenching on the Evolution engine and feel much more comfortable working on the bike. Not having to do valve adjustments is also a big plus to owning a XB versus the 1125 if you put miles on the bike.

 

[Subarubrat]

Earlier this year I did a build because I wanted to, and that was reason enough for me even though I have an EBR. The 1250 by itself isn't going to make allot of power, but as part of a system it does make total sense.

That said I suggest the 1275 kit, more displacement for the same investment, but again as part of a total system approach. http://www.hammerperf.com/xlbigborekits.shtml This is the package I ordered from Hammer Performance, I have tuned and verified AFR and timing but have not gotten it dynoed for HP/TQ but the improvement is dramatic! Yes, there are "better" ways to go that fast or faster for the money but I like this bike this way.

1275cc cylinders/ pistons
Cometic gasket kit
Crush head porting (7mm valves, 1.900 intake, 1.610 exhaust, conical springs, titanium retainers, 30deg squish band)
605/591 cams (some clearancing was needed for the bearing race but a nice fit)
3/8 hammer pushrods
Throttle body port/match
And the bike already had a Drummer exhaust and K&N filter

@Marc83, I just saw you were in my area, if you want to check out my build I am sure we could meet up sometime.

 

[Marc83]

heck yea dude. what part of Nova you in?
On a side note; life long subaru head myself. Just sold my last STi after owning 3 of them. Love them man haha

 

[casual_observer]

A user on here or the other board did a build up of a 90ci R for a friend. They put a lot of money into it, it sounded amazing and looks like it made amazing power "for an XB". Probably almost as much as a stock 1125.

 

[Chicknstripn]

I don't think any of the dyno sheets on the NRHS site are from an xb model. If you look those are all from tubers with big bore kits and carbs. I'm yet to see a dyno sheet supporting the HP claims for a buell that is 2003 to 2010. To me this only supports the fact that EFI tuning is where this upgrade loses its luster. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my engine, but the cams, push rods, head work, 1250kit and miscellaneous gaskets, sealants and what nots cost a pretty penny. I think when all was said and done I was at over 2500 bucks. Then add the fact that I upgraded my crank to an 08, had that lightened and balanced, the engine was around 4K! I would love to find someone to dyno tune it but around me NO ONE WILL TOUCH IT. I did all this a little over 3years ago because instead of buying a used bike I wanted to resurrect mine. It was a ton of work and money for minimal performance gains.
That's just my hindsight opinion.

 

[Subarubrat]

I ran a standalone wideband 02 and verified I had healthy AFRs, and I did so other than a more sophisticated timing map I don't think I am leaving much if any power on the table. I really want to get it dyno'd just to know where I am at with HP/TQ gains but it runs so well I have just not bothered. I found a place near work so I hope to get in there soon.

 

[Chicknstripn]

I'm interested in the wide band set you're running. Have any links for study purposes you could refer?
Also interested in knowing about the timing set up. I set mine per service manual and run an Buell race ECM. The bike runs fine the way it is but I know I'm leaving something by my lack of tuning know how. This seems to be the kyptonite in any xb engine build.

 

[Subarubrat]

I have one like this: http://www.aemelectronics.com/products/wideband-uego-air-fuel-controllers/wideband-failsafe-gauge

I had it in my supercharged Lotus during some back and forth adjustments with the vendor and had removed it after verifying the tune so I had it on hand. ANY decent AFR/Lambda will give you the data but this style is super easy to use while riding. Any changes you make to the map can be verified easily by making a few runs. Stock ignition timing had too much advance for this new CR under load, my current setting is about 1 tick mark retarded from stock with the Buell race map loaded. However, I have been slowly editing the timing map and returning the mechanical timing to stock to see what I can gain Vs a wholesale timing reduction. It is by no means done, AFR and CH temps are remaining good with no knock but idle and transition to idle is getting slightly better so I think it is worth the effort, but probably not much difference in performance.

However, if I load the Buell race tune, set AFV to 114%, enable fuel cut on decel, and retard about 1 tick mark I get good AFR and CH temps and no knock or ping and and nothing to complain about, I am just playing now. Pretty cool considering I was prepared to swap to Sportster electronics to get support for their galaxy or tunes and tools. I kind of still want to do that for a few reasons but with a great running bike it kind of went back burner motivation wise.