| Author | Message | ||
     Ddaleuly |
Before I start - got to say how much you guys have enhanced my experience - learned so much and able to do so much more than I ever could have. OK - back in July I clipped a deer going about 75 (shades of Dr. Greg), the bike went into a speed wobble, and went down hard on it's right side after tossing me off. Thank God for ATGATT - dead else - got life flighted with broken ribs/hemo-pneumo/internal bleeding and bruises on about all my joints. The bike slid on it's right side - smashed the front cowling/windscreen, but only a little scratch on the right rear swingarm. Hepco-Becker cases tougher than I thought. Got the forks rebuilt by the Race-Tech shop here in Houston, and Andy also put on the new bars - I replaced the rest. All works good. As a testament to my powers of observation, I just noticed the tail section is displaced about an inch - the 1X4s in the picture are for reference. The tail section members are displaced - don't think they're bent as they are cast metal and I can't see any change in the coating anywhere. Not liking the idea of the frame being deflected at the tail section attachments as a new frame is better than a grand - not to mention the fun of changing it out. Anyone got any experience/ideas with this sort of thing? | ||
| Ddaleuly |
Sorry - first five tries to upload image failed.  | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Check front to rear tire alignment. Wrap some strong cord several times around the rear-most portion of the rear tire. Tie the loose ends to weighted objects (bricks) that you can set forward of the front tire. Run the strings straight forward so that they just barely touch the front edge of the rear tire. Now you have a set of lines that are parallel with the rear tire. With the front wheel pointed straight ahead (distance from sidewall to string is the same, front & rear) see if the front tire is centered with the rear tire. While a few bikes DO have an offset between the front and rear tires, I don't think that Buell is one. If the tires are in-line, then the chassis is straight and it is the rear subframe that is bent. It's not impossible, some castings can flex quite a bit before breaking. Mark SE AZ | ||
| Pos90 |
You could try loosening the 4 subframe bolts to adjust it. I know theres some play with the bolt holes, but I'm not sure if its enough in your case. | ||
| Ourdee |
Don't trust the board on the left. Move the one from the right to the left and look at it again. | ||
| Joesbuell |
G'day Dave this may help, Myself and a friend bought new 09 Uly's this year and when I was following him on a ride I noticed that his tail section was twisted to the left making his number plate looked crooked. He booked into the dealer to has assessed and turned out to be a faulty tail light section casting. They ordered a new one and fitted and now the tail is nice and aligned. What we did to try and work out what was wrong was to get the bike standing straight, Take the seat off and use a spirit level across the subframe rails at the point closest to the tank and working back. We found that his rails were perfect but once you got to the back it started to twist. Don't bother trying to undo bolts and tweak it! The shonky dealer here tried that and we reported his results to Harley Davidson Australia. The dealer also jammed a piece of metal in between the frame and rail to twist it to were he thought was straight! Hope this helps you. Here's some pictures of what our local shonk dealer did!   Cheers Jodie | ||
| Nevrenuf |
i guess shonk means shoddy which in laymens terms means, halfa$$ed dealer. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Since you had a crash, it would be a really good idea to check your rear isolator/engine mount as well. See thread here on the subject: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/517072.html?1262583265 | ||
| Buelldyno_guy |
Just noted that it was crashed, so try and follow this if you can: 1. First center the bike in a front wheel chock. 2. Next jack the rear wheel off the ground 3 Now loosen the right hand side real axle clamp bolt. 4. Back off then tighten the rear axle. 5 check if the center of the tire is running true in the swingarm. We race both XB's and 1125 and it is common for the axle to move in the clamped side following a even minor get off. It should center it's self if you loosen it. ... Terry@jtsperformance.com | ||
| Glen |
this website is so freakin awsome..... | ||
| Ddaleuly |
Thanks for all the ideas guys... I checked the Front to rear alignment and it's spot on; had already tried loosening the bolts (no play); also adjusted the boards - it's bent; and have changed out the rear tire since the accident so the tire is true. I'll check the rear isolator/engine mount to be safe, but what I'm thinking of is to recreate (force wise) the accident from the other side - supporting the rear left on the case mount and the front on the frame puck then pushing the right side on the frame somewhere in the middle. I'll post back with pics if/when I grow the cajones - will probably check with my Race Tech guy first though. Thanks again - ride safe in the New Year! | ||
| Longdog_cymru |
Take a look at this picture from the 2010 Buell online catalogue......... http://www.buell.com/en_uk/bikes/adventure/XB12X/c olors.asp Maybe it's a "design feature"......!!!! Don't know if this helps, but my old 2006 model was exactly the same as yours. | ||
| 88b |
well spotted Mike HD / Buell seem to have a history of fu** up's in advertising pictures. Last years brochures had all the CVO models with the pictures mirrored so they all had right foot gear change | ||
| Etennuly |
The problem with your "bend it back with opposite force" is aluminum, once bent, will tend to crack going back to it's neutral position because over flexing is required to get it to stay. You would be better off identifying the bent brackets or mounts, then anneal them (heat them to let the molecules realign)then straighten them individually and test fit. It may take a few times, but you will learn how every thing fits up, in a way few others will ever know it. | ||
| Ddaleuly |
You're right Longdog - perhaps it was always that way. You too Etennuly - but adding heat to the brackets would ruin the finish, while I'm not about to heat the frame/tank. My Race Tech guy wasn't keen on bending it either. I'm thinking it will be good to ride like it is (especially since it took me so long to notice). After looking at the thread posted by Hughlysses, I'm going to replace the rear isolator (looked ok but...) and get a spare front while I'm at it. Every time I get it up over 50 (every chance I get), I'm haunted by the idea of that thing letting loose and rotating the chin spoiler up into the front wheel - not fun. |
