| Author | Message | ||
     Breezy |
Here's my Uly story and the hard data: purchased an 06 in January after riding demo and loving it. At 150 miles and my first freeway ride on the new bike I noticed it wobbled at 70-80 mph, enough to make me very uncertain if the bike would stay in control. Then while stuck in traffic I heard a whiny noise coming from the trany area. A bit later the clutch started slipping. While waiting for a tow truck I noticed a bit of oil was leaking from the hose that connects to the charcoal canister and from the oil cooler. Buell replaced under warranty the clutch. The service tech test rode and also noticed a wobble, he tightenend the head bearings and adjusted the suspension, tightened the oil lines, and had no idea why there was oil in charcoal cannister. There was some improvement but not a cure. I jumped on their demo uly (an 06) again and it doesn't wobble. I then paid to have some used Metzler m1's from another bike of mine put on, having read this forum. The metzlers pretty much curred the wobble, but the tech and Buell customer service said they wouldn't further investigate the problem since I had installed aftermarket tires. I probably would have left it at that but then the engine shut off just after I passed a line of traffic. I turned the ignition off and on and it restarted. It died once more on the way back to the dealer. I paid to have my OEM tires put back on and made an appointment for the Buell rep to check the bike for handling and engine issues. He rode it and reported to Buell that it ran fine. I then had a frame and wheel specialist check the alignment as the bike wobbles at speeds above 65mph and when braking hard into a turn it feels like the rear is pulling around to the front and it is hard to get it settled without pushing on the bar. He did a steering head roll check and measured an 89.632. 90.0 would be perfect, a Buell race bike he had set up for Vallejo HD measured 89.96 and anything 89.9+ would be ok. As I understand it, the swing arm linkage is not easily adjustable and a custom bolt/ bracket would allow it to align up. The dealership I bought it from (Golden Gate Harley) seems ok, all the employees are very friendly and seem to care, but Buell just won't acknowledge this as a problem. The motorcycle has spent over a month for 4 different visits in service and is going back tomorrow for a day to install the BAS which finally came in. I've ridden BMW 1200GS, and KTM 950, and race an 04 GSXR. The Uly is a great design and perfectly marriages sportbike and sport tourer. Mine is just broken and I want Buell to replace it or fix it. I'm not even asking them for the $270 towing bill or the $280 to change out tires.... Any suggestions are very welcome, thanks Court! | ||
| Hughlysses |
Breezy, I followed your thread over here from the XB board. Hopefully Court's connections will get you fixed up soon. I guess the frame specialist is saying the swingarm on your bike is not aligned perfectly with the frame. Since the swingarm is fastened rigidly to the engine case, it seems like this could be cured by adjusting the tie rods (part of the isoplanar engine isolation system) that allow the engine to move up and down, front and back, but prevent lateral movement. Hopefully the problem will turn out to be something simple like this that is easily corrected. Just a thought... Good Luck, Hugh |
