| Author | Message | ||
     Oldwesterncowboy |
The more I read on here the more I think "maybe I should have purchased something other than a Buell"  HD dropping Buell, fouls plugs(on 3rd set), bad exhaust actuator(waiting on dealer to get a new one), the ecm is cracked at the connectors due to the seat rubbing them, the wheel bearings are red not black.  I am sure the more I read the more I will find. Now I am unsure about taking any trips with it. I would hate to breakdown days from home.  | ||
| Snakebreak |
All bikes have problems. If you go look at any forum like this you hear more about problems, than the good things. If you don't have problems you are out riding. Overall my Uly has been more reliable than any of my other three bikes. | ||
| Froggy |
I'll give you $10 for it. | ||
| Oldwesterncowboy |
LOL Froggy of all the bikes I have had interceptor, katana, vfr, chief, roadstar, k1200rs, goldwing, ulysses. only had problems with Indian. when I got my ulysses, it was a toss up between it and a fjr1300. I like the fact that Buell is different. I like my uly. just the bugs give that sinking feeling. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Oldwesterncowboy, I understand your frustration with the fouled plugs you've experienced and other ailments you've read about but hang in there. I have an 08XT as well and, knock on wood, I haven't fouled the plugs. I'd look into how you are starting and warming it up, etc. It may be, and probably is, a simple fix. As for the exhaust actuator, I had mine fail at 400 miles and I've noticed others who have had that happen. I could be wrong but I don't think you'll hurt your bike by riding it as you wait for the replacement to come in. Now, the wheel bearings! Having traveled all over this great country for eight years on a 2000 Electra Glide, a bike I loved, I know all about breakdowns far from home (rear cam bearing on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway late on a Sunday afternoon, front cam bearing during a rain storm late one afternoon in a very remote area of Wyoming, a cam chain tensioner back in North Carolina, and a stator just outside El Paso). I finally installed cam gears and had no more problems! I lost a day or two each time but I learned a lot, met cool people I wouldn't have met, and have good memories. Anyone touring on a bike has to be ready for such situations. Having said that, I would rather have a breakdown free trip! lol I, too, got concerned in reading about the rear wheel bearings, front rotor surging, etc., but that is behind me. I probably won't have a problem, many haven't, and if I do I'll deal with it and have a new experience. We have GREAT bikes, Man! GREAT bikes! Good looking, quick, fast, nimble bikes that we're fortunate to have. And how about this great forum? As I said, I understand your thoughts but I hope you can get to a place where you see that you have much more than you don't have. Best of luck. | ||
| Oldwesterncowboy |
Buellerxt yes this is a great forum. I would have never seen the seat rubbing the ecm if not for this forum (will the dealer replace it or do I have to wait for a breakdown, same for bearings) I have mine set up to ride, cruise, xm zumo, radar detector,.. just waiting to get a larger wind screen, the factory one runs air right at my head. now to plan some trips this year... there is no better way to travel than on two wheels | ||
| Froggy |
If you look hard enough, you can dig up dirt on any motorcycle. No matter what you ride, you do what you can to prevent issues from occurring, and ride the piss out of it  | ||
| Buellerxt |
Ah, ecm rubbing? What do I look for and how do I prevent it? Froggy, others? | ||
| Froggy |
Lose 50lbs. You can also try adding another ECM spacer block to the other ECM bolt to prevent the seat from making contact. | ||
| Tocino |
Snakebreak All bikes have problems. If you go look at any forum like this you hear more about problems, than the good things. Agreed. A lot of people only come to forums once there is a problem, so it seems like just about every other post is a problem. Every forum I'm on it's this way - as if the bike/company whatever in question is nothing but problems problems problems. I think with this site it'll be worse because it's THE Buell site, so everyone gravitates to it to ask questions. I guess not so many people start posts with "I've had no problems" (Message edited by tocino on March 10, 2010) | ||
| Two_buells |
Chris, when does you plug fouling occur? Does if happen when your bike is cold? Has the bike been not running for many days? Is your battery fully charged? Do you ever during a cold start try to give the bike throttle to try and keep the bike running? It is very easy to foul plugs if your battery is low or if you try to give the bike throttle while trying top start it when cold. my starting procedure: I've owned 8 Buells in the last 14 years and 6 of them were Fuel Inj bikes. Always have a fully charged battery (battery tender) It hard to do but never give the bike and throttle while trying to start it. Hit the starter button, for five secoonds. If bike does not start, repeat after fuel pump cycles. If bike stalls, repeat after fuel pump cycles. even on the coldest of days, the bike will start and idle after 3 to 5 tries. All bikes have some trouble, some of us are lucky and never get standed. In 14 years, 8 Buells and over 175,000 miles, I only had to be towed home once. Broken Belt. My fault upshifting into second at full throttle. | ||
| Ksc12c |
Chris, I've got a little over 20k miles on my 06. I've ridden it to some pretty remote places such as West Texas,Strugis and Moab. I too was concerned about reliability issues. Wheel bearings,loose ecm connectors and the dreaded 77 connector. The great thing about this forum is you learn allot about your bike and can take some preemptive actions like checking/replacing bearings,installing voltage meter,etc. Ride prepared with a tool kit,spare parts, cell phone and some type of roadside assistance program. I've had some issues on the road like blinking check engine light, (loose ECM connector) and broken ground wires (under/behind Headlamp) In those cases,I knew what to look for and it was just part of the trip experience. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Oldwesterncowboy, Do you use the stock 09XT seat? I have an 08XT and have used both the stock and 'tall' seats. I checked for ecm rubbing, etc., after seeing your post and everything looks good. I do have a slight rub, very slight, on the tip of the ecm spacer and I notice a tiny mark on the underside of both seats where they touched the spacer. I hope that is normal. If not, I'm open to all suggestions to avoid problems. Ths. | ||
| Froggy |
The spacer is there to take the abuse, so your ECM will be fine. Without the spacer, the seat may contact the ECM. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Thanks Froggy. Much appreciated. | ||
| Towpro |
cracked ECM from seat rubbing connector? I am still in development stage, but It works with both my 07 stock seat and the high 06 seat. (not much left to develop accept how to finish them). My latest revision is thinner steel. In fact the 06 seat works better with it, I guess because the plastic has not taken a set from the riders weight yet. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/517589.html (Message edited by towpro on March 10, 2010) | ||
| Oldwesterncowboy |
my seat, factory 09xt does contact both the spacer and the connector plugs. it has pushed them so the sealant at the ecm is cracked. as for fouling plugs, that has been fixed, (note to new buellers- do not touch the throttle at start up, let it idle a couple minuets first.)  plugs happened last winter, this year when I took it out of storage, battery was dead. and exhaust actuator is bad.  last summer I had a flat and it was parked most of the summer. only 3000 in first year. very lame. I am a IBA member.  | ||
| Buellerxt |
Thanks for the update, Oldwesterncowboy. It's weird that your connectors got hit and mine didn't. Maybe the clearance is 'very' small and I've just been lucky. Let us know what remedy the dealer proposes to avoid a recurrence. Ths. | ||
| Two_buells |
<><><>last summer I had a flat and it was parked most of the summer Stan's Sealant! http://stanstiresealant.com/ My 1125R was a month old and one day went to go for a ride and the tire was flat. There was a nail in the tire. I pulled the nail, added 8 oz of Stan's Sealant, filled with air and replaced the tire at 3750 miles when it was worn. My ATV right rear tire has 6 plugs and no less than 20 holes in it. It also has 12 oz of Stan's in the tire. 2 years ago I put a new roof on my garage. I went around the garage with a rolling magnet to pick up roofing nails. Sure enough the very first time I cut the grass I picked up a nail in my lawn tractor. Put in 4 oz of Stan's, filled with air and pulled the roof nail, it has not loss any air in two years. | ||
| Oldwesterncowboy |
 when I first got my uly (and every vehicle I ever get) I put this in the tires: http://goo.gl/k5hQ However, I put way too much in my uly. unbalanced the tires, over 80mph, violent shaking. had the dealer pull the tires and remove the sealant.$200  about a month later, I got a nail in the rear tire.  luckily I keep this on the bike http://goo.gl/em1l | ||
| Froggy |
I run RhinoTire's on my Uly. I will put it to the test one of these days. | ||
| Husky |
The seat on my 08XT touched the left side ECM connector and the spacer. I removed the RT side ECM bolt and twisted the tab on the metal support down so when the ECM is installed the connector side of the ECM is tilted down towards the seat pan and battery. I also double backed tape bonded an additional 3/16" spacer on top of the OEM front spacer. This gave me the clearance I needed! Now the seat clears the ECM Husky | ||
| Oldwesterncowboy |
Froggy wow http://goo.gl/P9Kx I have never seen that, way cool. I see they do it to just about any tire  (Message edited by oldwesterncowboy on March 10, 2010) | ||
| Froggy |
I don't know, I usually wreck bikes before the tires are done. I did it to a pair of Diablo Stradas, they are at 10k miles, still have plenty of life in them. For reference, I have seen 15k on Scorpion Syncs and wasn't showing the cords when I swapped them out. | ||
| Itileman |
09 XT closing in on 8k miles - ECM and seat don't touch. Only problem I've had was a coil that died in Chugwater, WY during Sturgis Bike Week as I was coming back from West Fest in Colorado last year. See how it goes this year as I have some extensive travel plans. 4k on the Sync's and a lot more left. Original plugs - sits on a tender, very rare that I run it less than a half hour with a good portion of that at speed. (Message edited by itileman on March 10, 2010) | ||
| Blake |
Ride, enjoy, life happens, no guarantees, but the 2009 Buell Ulysses XB12X is one fantastic bike. I'd not hesitate to take off for a ride around the country on mine. Had it out today enjoying the 78oF Spring day here in Kilgore. Is Good!  | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
+1 for me too Blake!! And yes,Life is good!  | ||
| Pso |
I would not hesitate to take an 08,09 or 10 out anywhere. Buell has been great in fixing or reengineering problems, within a year or two of discovery, on newbikes, so most all the bugs are worked out or there are work arounds such as the new wheel. I unfortunatly have an 06 and have been left twice due to electrical problems. I am still angry about hardley pulling the plug, I was intending to trade up to an 2010 this summer, but the market fell out from under the used bikes and no new 2010's. Not sure what to do, but I do no trust the bike enough for a 14 day trip to remote areas. | ||
| Froggy |
Buy an 09 1125, then your 06 will rot in the garage like mine | ||
| Blasterd |
I would not hesitate to ride my 09 XB12XP to anywhere in the country, fantastic bike! I've owned: Suzuki x 2 and 1 left me stranded Kawasaki x 2 and 1 left me stranded Yamaha x 2 neither ever left me stranded Honda x 4 and 4 left me stranded Harley x 1 and 1 left me stranded 3 times Buell x 4 and none left me stranded just my personal experience... (Message edited by blasterd on March 11, 2010) | ||
| Ratbuell |
I'll give *you* $10 for your '06, Froggy | ||
| Mojo |
Oldwesterncowboy: I can relate to your concerns about motorcycle reliability, but i really believe that the Uly is a very high quality bike. I think its a bike that needs lots of long haul trip reports written about it, and i intend to be one of those riders doing just that. I live in BC and ride to remote areas of the Arctic. In the past I had a R1100GS and had problems with surging and oil leaks (head and shaft) while driving the Dempster highway. I also got stuck in northern BC because my KLR decided to ingest water during a thunderstorm (had to flush it out). I took my Wee strom up the Dempster twice had bent rims as a result. All of the trips were very memorable and I expect Uly (08 xb12x) will be up the adventure as well - my job is to keep an eye on the beast, respecting that it does require maint., like any other mechanical beast. Read Ted Simons first book "Jupiters Travels" and get out there.  | ||
| Mnrider |
My seat did contact my ecm connector so I removed the rear ecm bolt and got a longer bolt and put a nut on it and screwed it in untill it was above the ecm and tightened the nut. Now my seat hits the head of the bolt and not the ecm connector. | ||
| Pso |
Ratbuell: add about three 000's after the ten and before the decimal and you can have mine.  |
