| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
If you're talking about your screen name then you should first print out your profile if anything in there is important to you. Next you cancel your registration. Then you re-sign up again under your new preferred name. That's about the only real way to do it. | ||
| Krieket |
This is probably the wrong place to ask, but I figure if anyone would know, it would be Buellers! So... I was thinking of buying an armor jacket since it gets so hot (Arizona) here. I know armor jackets are primarily designed for off-road use, but will they hold up on the street? I've looked around the web to see if anyone had answered this question, but it seams I'm the only one curious about it. =P Opinions, personal experience would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! =D | ||
| Firemanjim |
David,depends on what you mean by armored jacket,I have at least 3-4 different cordura type fabric ones now,have an Areostich which is an ok warm weather as it has no liner,had a Canyon jacket and loved it,but wore it out,now have a Teknic with armor and a liner,use it in the winter here in CA----actually I use it nearly year round as it is only hot when stopped. | ||
| Tym29 |
Does anyone know where I can get a picture of a XBS with a chromed out engine? | ||
| Krieket |
Jim, I guess what I meant was the kind of jackets made mostly for motocross. The kind made of mesh or some other highly breathable material with plastic armor attached on the outside, fully adjustable, etc. I don't see why it couldn't be used for the street, I'm just a little concerned about its protection for the street since it's a little bit of a different environment. I think I'll go ahead and get one though. I think my all-black leather jacket will cook me in the summer. =P | ||
| Bartimus |
Krieket, come over and check out my jacket(s) next weekend. I don't have any mesh jackets, but all my jackets do have vents, and I'm pretty comfortable all summer long. I also use what's called a "cool vest" that acts like a swamp cooler, LOL. it works great! Kelly has an Icon mesh jacket, maybe I can get him to come over. I'm in glendale, what part of town are you in? | ||
| Leashrn |
What the hell? Today was the first sorta warm day, 50 degrees, here in Cincinnati, so we went for a ride. I still on my beloved 'Thumper' (still need a few more miles before the XB12Scg) and my husband on his Katana 600. We only went 10 miles, got a bite to eat, went to leave and his bike wouldn't start. It appeared the battery was the problem. But after we push started it, got it running and he still had NO instrumentation, we thought it was some major electrical thing. We rode about 5 miles and the Katana stalled (quit) and while attempting a rolling re-start it just back-fired and it was done. Dead. Any ideas? Should I post this on the tech boards? Does anyone know of a Susuki posting place? As good as this? All I have to say is....What's up with the bullet proof Japanese engineering? This is the second time in the last 4 cold months that my husband's bike has had to be towed home (it has <2k miles) Cheers to my little American 'Thumper Wonder' it always runs. Help? Ideas? | ||
| Panhead_dan |
It's possible that the Suzuki needs some attention paid to it's battery. | ||
| Leashrn |
Well, our bikes are on trickle chargers continuously and parked in a heated garage. And we start them and let 'em run >5mins every 2 weeks. The Katana was last out for a ride in Dec. So not a dead battery, I don't think. Anyone? | ||
| Iamike |
Find a voltmeter. It sure sounds like a dead battery. They always work once before they die. | ||
| Jramsey |
If the bike runs after bump starting and you have no instruments working means low voltage, probably a bad battery. My X1 did that to me about a month ago sluggish starts, speedo quit,installed a battery and the speedo came right back and starts fine now. Zook's (I have three right now)are generally bullet proof but batt's don't last forever,and are some times junk off the shelf. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I dunno... unless the battery was *really* bad (or gone), once running it would probably stay running. It would be when you stall it that it won't come back without a bump start. It does need clean and solid connections though. The bike generally needs the battery to act like a capacitor to run smoothly at low RPMs. Clean all the connections and recharge the battery and see if it comes back. If it does, let it idle for a while and watch the volts closely... they should start at about 13.8 volts. It should stay solid at 13.8 volts if things are right. If it's slowly going down, you are running off the battery. If thats the case, then the stator / alternator / generator (whatever Suzuki calls it) is probably the problem, or maybe the voltage regulator, or some wiring associated with it. Shipps Yamaha is also a Suzuki dealer I think. I dealt with them when I had my Yamaha, and they were OK. Like an average (but usable) Buell dealer. I've got a Saturn that needs a new exhaust can welded on, a Toyota minivan that needs an oil change (and coolant flush, and transmission fluid change, and lubing...), a KLR-250 that needs an airbox swapped out, that I will try and work on this weekend. So if you snuck the Zook in the line of needy vehicles I probably would be half way through working on it before I even noticed it wasn't one of mine  | ||
| Roadrash1 |
I have had a really dead battery in the Summer (on a Buell) and after getting the bike running, it wouldn't run well at all. Replaced battery, problem solved. I do wonder about starting your bikes to let them run for 5 minutes. I'm not sure it is actually more harmful than helpful to do that. It is just long enough to probably create moisture in the oil, but not long enough to heat it up enough to disipate it. Just my 2 cents. -roadrash1 | ||
| Bcool83 |
Don't start any motor and leave it running for only 5 minutes. Anything you start, should be left running long enough to get up to operating temperature. Otherwise you don't allow the battery to charge back up, and you create moisture in the exhaust that doesn't dry up due to lack of heat. | ||
| Leashrn |
Ahhh, yes have heard about this (moisture problem) from another biker friend of ours. So now during the times when the bikes haven't run in a few weeks we start them and let them run for like 10mins/until they get hot. We still leave them on the battery tender as well. We ride when we can - I rode yesterday! As long as it's in the 40's and dry I'll ride. The 60 mi/gal is way better than what my pickup truck gets! My husband is gonna start with the voltage regulator. And then on to the generator. It seems like it's running on the battery. We were going to it ourselves, but it appears that you gotta tear the bike apart to get to the voltage regulator! SO REEP.....maybe I'll sneek the Japanese piece into your garage and you won't notice.... (I'll leave the parts taped to the seat - kinda like the parts fairy) | ||
| Cowtown |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEWaxU9VLe8&feature =related | ||
| Zane |
Hi Ladies and Gents, New poster here. New to motorcycles too. I'm looking for cheap dependable transportation and a motorcycle seems like the way to go. I have been doing my research and a Buell Blast looks like a good first bike and dirt cheap to run. What does this group think about: Is a Blast a good first bike? How long have you had yours and are you still happy with it? Is a Blast a good to and from work bike? Does the manufacture mgp rating come anywhere close to reality? Which accessories are must haves and which are nice to haves? What am I not thinking of? If not a Blast then which make/model for a first bike? Ok that's enough for now. zane | ||
| Cowtown |
Zane, For everything Blast: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/201 64/20164.html?1203363248 Here's a recent discussion that may help: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/336308.html?1203354468 | ||
| Pammy |
What year Kat is it? How old is the battery? Has the bike been dropped? The voltage regulator can be checked in a cheating sort of way by charging the battery fully and then cranking the bike. With a volt meter on the battery leads rev the motorcycle to about 2500 RPM's and see what the voltage reads on the meter it should go up to about 13.8-14 Volts at that RPM. If it does then you know that the regulator/rectifier is okay. If it doesn't go up, then the reg/rect is bad or the stator. The service manual will give the specs for testing the stator. Usually metric bike info is easily accessible on the web. Oh, if you are running the bikes for 5, 10, 20 minutes at a time at idle only, you are reallyjust running off the battery. The charging system doesn't kick in until you get further up in the RPM range...off idle, for sure. | ||
| Rclaytonsharp |
Do I have a great Boss or what? Back in September my Boss asked me if I had a set of full leathers. I told him "Of course". "Good, your going to Barber motorsports in October to ride the 1125R." Yesterday, he asked me If I wanted to work at the Buell demo tent during Bike Week! I hope to see some of you there. It will be awesome! | ||
| Light_keeper |
Yes Zane the Blast is a great first or otherwise bike. Had one for awile and loved it. Been away for a bit job changes and all. Seem to be back on track. Hey Jack be quick ya out there? | ||
| Cheddarheads4erik |
Leash, just use my old acronym when you got trouble; G.A.S= (Gas Air Spark) It's what the bike needs to run. Sounds like the Katana has either bad gas that's not been Stabilized? Or, the gas tank vent is not workin proper;sometimes all you have to do is open the gas cap to unlock a vacuum situation-"vapor lock"; You've run the machine and gotten it warm, warming up cold fuel that has been sitting a couple of months. So, use the GAS acronym and check your; Gas; is it old gas that may have settled water into the fuell filter, or is the fuel petcock turned to the OFF position, and go on and on checking fuel related items.(Particularly dirt-bikin I "run out of gas" with the petcock turned to OFF position a lot.) :-) AIR; Got a mouse-nest in the air filter housing? Very common in the off season. SPARK; Here's where battery health comes in but if you're on Batt. Tenders all winter that's pretty good. Check spark plug coils for cracks, look for ground wires that are loose or corroded. Winter running; I'm not a real fan of starting bikes in the winter and letting them run w/o taking them for a ride. If you have a heated garage and keep the machines on B.T.s, and have done storage maintenance (oil/filter changes, and got a load of Stabil running into the entire fuel system) they *should* be good to go w/o the occasional start up. See, when you do the start up/idle exercise it drains the battery-you need to ride the machine at higher RPMs for a good distance for the alternator to fully charge the *entire* electrical system and get things "hot". Holy crap I just wrote a small chapter. The coffee's extra strong this morn.! | ||
| Skntpig |
Leashrn, You would probably be better off not starting it if you aren't warming it up and running it through the gears. There are many reasons including condensation in the exhaust, top end of the motor, oil etc. Cheddar is right. Just let it sit on the tender until you can ride it for 15-20 minutes at least. When you go a little while without riding don't rev when starting from cold. Let it idle as for a while} to get the oil moving before opening the throttle. Your bearings will thank you as well as your plugs. It does sound like a battery issue. I had a 600 Honda that would run terribly if not on a full charge. Hope this helps. | ||
| Knotrider |
Knot sure if this is the right place to put this so I will put it in a few spots. I am being transfered (for work) from Dirty Jersey to California. Since I am senior of the losers being transfered, I have my choice of cities to work out of. I will be commuting in a company pick-up truck so lane-splitting is not an option. All I do when I'm not working is ride / race my Buells and ride my road bicycle. The cities I get to choose between are San Francisco and Los Angeles. I am basing my decision on distance to racetracks that have trackdays and racing and work commute time. I am searching Roadracing world & motorcycle technology for track riding groups and racing groups. Any info/advise that helps me make my decision would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. | ||
| Felicita |
Hey everyone! Just wanted to share - if you demo a Buell at participating dealerships from April 15 to June 30 you will receive a new Buell Hydration pack http://www.experiencebuell.com/participating_deale rs.aspx <-- check it out! (Message edited by felicita on April 17, 2008) | ||
| Skntpig |
Thanks Felicita, I got one today. Pretty nice. OOOOH I rode the 1125r and it is sooo sweet. It will be mine soon. | ||
| Felicita |
Skntpig, Was it as easy as taking a ride? Did you have to listen to the sales pitch? | ||
| Skntpig |
Felicita, It was easy but I know most of the staff there. Last year when they were giving away the backpack I took a ride. Long story.. but a spirited ride on a xb12r. Lets see how this thing leaves a stoplight. Drag race style start, run through the gears, tip it into the sweeping corner, on the gas up to triple digits. I'm stopped at the next light for about a minute...Screeching tires and I was cuffed and stuffed before I could get off the bike. I was brought back to the dealership by a cussing, frothing at the mouth, state trooper. Complete with new shiny bracelets. I used to work at the dealer so they all got a kick out of it. Didn't go downtown but darn close. I didn't really think they would let me ride the 1125r. I got plenty of warnings about po po and speed limits. I guess it depends on the dealer. It seems like they get some sort of credit when you fill out the test ride form. I don't think you even need to take a ride. | ||
| Gun_for_hire |
Hey all, I'm Planning a trip late May, Four bikes trailered to Athens Ga from Key West. WE are leaving Athens and travelling to ride the Blue Ridge and Vicinity . We have 4 - 5 days of riding available. ANy suggestions from those whoa are in the area, must sees, warnings etc will be greatly appreciated. We have 4 different bikes: My new ULy, a Concours, a Bmw r90, Sportster 1200. All I know is, We will be stopping often to gas Brent's Sportster..... ANy advice out there ? Stevo | ||
| Smoke |
hwy 129 to the top of the lookout,left at 180 at the bottom of the hill, left at 60, stop on the right at TWO, continue south on 60 to the stop sign and rockpile. take left and continue to next stop sign. take left on 129 and repeat. or continue north on 129 to next destination. have fun. tim |
