| Author | Message | ||
     Desertdweller |
Today after starting a ride from Las Vegas to Chapparell motorsports in San Bernardino and then to Big Bear and back, My bike started making loud noises about 200 miles in so I turned back and tried to limp it home. After hearing it get louder and louder I finally threw in the towel and called the wife with the truck. The LOUD knock is exactly like the video of Hughlysses. I am very bummed, don't know what to do. Rebuild? Scrap? try and find a motor? 2007 19,000 miles. Again very bummed. It just happened today so I need to calm down and have a drink or four and figure it out. I just wanted to document another 2007 failure. Build Date Sept 06 (Message edited by desertdweller on August 20, 2011) | ||
| Union_man |
Mine went out too...if I lived closer I would drown my sorrows with you! http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/648281.html?1313878791 A sad day. (Message edited by union_man on August 20, 2011) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Damn- sorry to hear it for both of you. I think this is well past the point of "fluke". Steve- your build date is very close to mind. For both of you, I'd recommend (a) 2008-up crank upgrade or (b) find a nice 2008-up Uly and part out your old one. | ||
| Reepicheep |
How are you getting the build date? What are the last 5 digits of the VINS for the range showing a potential cluster of failures? | ||
| Union_man |
Mine is 00622 | ||
| Mnrider |
The build date is on the tag on the frame on the right front of the bike. Would be great if the rest of you guys you had crank failures would post up your build dates so we could figure out a pattern. My bike is an 06 but has a May 06 build day so I'm starting to get concerns | ||
| Reepicheep |
I'll have to walk out to the parking lot to look at that sticker. But FWIW, it is an 07 uly with VIN ending in 01332. No indication of any crank problems. (Message edited by reepicheep on August 22, 2011) | ||
| Sasquatch |
This is very disconcerting to read after just buying a 2007 Uly. What can I do as preventative maintenance? | ||
| Froggy |
Hang the bike on the wall, and get a 1125R. | ||
| Sasquatch |
Well, okay but it will so clash with my decor. | ||
| Hughlysses |
This is very disconcerting to read after just buying a 2007 Uly. What can I do as preventative maintenance? Etennuly offered a plausible cause for the failures in another thread- carbon build up in the combustion chambers. May be caused by the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system dumping excessive oil vapors into the intake, which eventually carbons up the combustion chambers and piston tops, which could lead to a zero clearance condition, which could cause impact loads on the crank bearings, eventually causing them to fail. Two failed 07 engines we've seen photos of (inlcuding mine) showed a good bit of carbon build up in the combustion chambers. This is all speculation at this point, but it's as good a theory as anyone's put forth. Preventative measure would be to change to either a catch can or open breather (so you're not dumping any more oil mist and unburned combustion products down your cylinders) and do a de-carbonization of your cylinders. Suggested methods for de-carbonizing include using Seafoam (follow instructions on the can for adding directly to intake), using a 50/50 water/brake fluid mix trickled or sprayed into the intake, or use a spray bottle to mist a small amount of water into the intake. All these methods are done on an idling engine. Google it, I'm sure you can find lots of info. | ||
| Steveford |
I believe that the crank is shifting which is breaking the oil pump which is grenading the motor. I heard about this on the Big Twins recently - any dealership employees hear about this with the XB/Sportster motors? What was the fix? It looks like they did away with any shims to take up the end play. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""Etennuly offered a plausible cause for the failures in another thread- carbon build up in the combustion chambers. May be caused by the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system dumping excessive oil vapors into the intake"" But, if that's the case, why just the '07s? Don't the '06s and '08s+, have the same venting sys. into the intake? I'm thinking I might get the heads done by Revolution Performance over the winter, as a way to deal with the existing carbon and free up the heads a little as well. .. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I believe that the crank is shifting which is breaking the oil pump which is grenading the motor. Definitely not the case in my engine- the oil pump and drive gears are still fine. | ||
| Hughlysses |
But, if that's the case, why just the '07s? Don't the '06s and '08s+, have the same venting sys. into the intake? Yea, all of them 06-10 have the same venting system. Maybe the piston-to-head clearance was tighter on the 07's, either by design or tolerance? | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Hughlysses Did you perform the breather re-route, prior, if so at what mileage? I did mine at 12,000 mile and i was stunned at the amount of gunk in the intake. Yeah, mine's an '07 | ||
| Steveford |
Hughlysses, I stand corrected, then. What I was hearing was Big Twin and I figured it was the same with the XB/Sportster motors. When I had the TPS reset on my replacement ECM my old coworker was dealing with a customer who had a crank problem on a recent Road Queen but I don't remember the year - 09, maybe? I was only half-listening to what they were saying and I didn't think to ask him about the XB and Sportsters. The part that I did listen to was "the cranks are shifting and breaking the oil pump". I will say that the end play on the XB and Sportster cranks seems rather excessive. Any ex-Buell employees who could shed some light on the issue? They didn't come out with a new crankshaft because they were bored. (Message edited by SteveFord on August 22, 2011) (Message edited by SteveFord on August 22, 2011) | ||
| Desertdweller |
I have been so pissed that I couldn't even think about it. I pushed the Uly in the corner and put a tarp over it. Next comes off the licence plate and cancel the insurance! Its gunna take a while before I decide on what to do. | ||
| Froggy |
Maybe it isn't the best idea to cancel the insurance just yet, what would happen if the bike fell off your truck on the way to the dealer? *wink* | ||
| 7873jake |
On the preventive measures: Some of the carbon deposits I've seen in some bike engines looked darn near ceramic in its consistency. Very hard and crusty stuff...or at least hard enough to make you wonder if you want it floating around in your engine before it gets pulverized. If you can, presoak the combustion chamber with the Seafoam or some other combustion chamber cleaner to soften that crust before embarking on the water mist (or more Seafoam) through the intake. Just a thought | ||
| Reepicheep |
For 07, VIN ending in 01332 is Nov 07, FWIW. | ||
| Rdkingryder |
Desert, mine seems to be the latest build date with the problem, see my thread here or on Advrider "Trouble With '07 Uly". Jun '07. Buell tech told me they had "marginal quality control when they ramped up production of the engines for '07s" My noise came quite suddenly. I don't believe in the carbon theory myself, I believe it was a problem with the lack of hardening of the crank pin that has caused the problem. The fact that it seems mileage hovers around 30K makes sense of this. (Message edited by rdkingryder on August 22, 2011) (Message edited by rdkingryder on August 22, 2011) | ||
| Rdkingryder |
Hugh, guess this is getting closer to the class action my brother was mentioning. This is starting to get crazy. | ||
| Mnrider |
My money would be bet on Bad bearing crank journal cut wrong rod cut wrong rod clearance side to side To me doing the breather reroute would make the engine dirtier because engine vacuum pulls out crankcase gasses. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Did you perform the breather re-route, prior, if so at what mileage? John, I didn't do the re-route until 20,000 miles or so (failure occurred at ~29,000). There was a lot of gunk in the intake, and especially in the rear intake port and on the intake valve. Of course, the front connecting rod bearing is what failed in mine, and that intake port didn't look as bad. | ||
| Towpro |
in another thread I think I read something to the affect that HD started using a higher silver content on the lower rod bearing cages in 07 (to fix a known issue?). the person who posted said Blackstone was questioning where the silver in the oil analyst was coming from. If someone with a failure was to press open the crank, did the cage fail? (Message edited by towpro on August 23, 2011) | ||
| Wbrisett |
Sorry to hear this... With the prices of used Ulys on the market as low as $4K, I'm not sure I would spend the money myself. Wayne | ||
| Needs_o2 |
Did any of you who had crank failures notice a ticking or slight knocking prior to it becoming loud and violent like Hughlysses's video? And if so, how long did it take to get really bad? | ||
| Union_man |
Needs_O2 I heard a slight ticking at HWY speed. I pulled over and could not hear the noise at idle with my helmet on. I took my helmet off and then I could hear a slight ticking on the right side of the motor when I bent down. The noise was not obvious or obnoxious. Just a quiet ticking that would change with throttle input.. I was less than 2 miles away from La Crosse HD and decided to ride there (very slowly) to have them look at it. I pulled into La Crosse HD and asked a Tech to listen to it. He came out and at first said that he couldn't hear anything. Then I rev'ed the engine and he heard it. They took it in and pulled the primary cover and found no problems. The next day they called me and told me about the crank failure and the cost to repair it.  | ||
| Desertdweller |
I left for a 700 mile day trip knowing there was a new noise from the motor. After 150 miles of 100MPH+ open Nevada roads I pulled to a stop and heard a louder noise. I knew something major was wrong but after thinking about the options I turned around and took off for home instead of calling for help. The noise got louder and louder until it started hurting my ears so I threw in the towel and called for a truck after another 100 miles of backtracking. I didn't stop right away because I have a love\hate relationship with that bike. It has let me down alot so I thought whats the worst that can happen? I am sure I tore up more parts by not stopping but at this point does it really matter? I still haven't made the Scrap it or fix it decision. | ||
| Desertdweller |
Will a 2008 "Ulysses" Motor bolt up to an 07? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/08-09-XB12-xt-Ulyss es-engine-motor-thunderstorm-/170680638832?pt=Moto rcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27bd5bdd70 | ||
| Hughlysses |
Will a 2008 "Ulysses" Motor bolt up to an 07? Yes, BUT you need a 2008/2009 wiring harness and ECM, and 2008-2010 oil cooler and hoses. See my "My Uly Sounds Terminal" thread for complete details. | ||
| Rdkingryder |
The engine on ebay includes the ecm and harness, at least the one from Wa. As to my engine noise, it was really faint. Thought it was just primary chain noise. At idle, it's pretty quiet, reving it caused it to rattle like Hugh's. I posted a video on my thread, so you can listen. Some said they didn't hear anything wrong. I starting thinking I was wrong and went out and started it after that comment, nope it was definetly there. You have to rev it a couple of times to hear it. It was fairly sudden also. One day I thought it was pinging and a few days later it was knocking. fini | ||
| Texas_firebolt |
Just picked up an 07 Super TT that had a horrible knock. Tore it down and it has rod failure on rear cylinder... |
