| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_A |
Another reason for not putting those forks on any other bike is the valving is likely quite different. Reportedly Showa had never designed forks for a bike having the XB9R's geometry/weight/weight bias. | ||
| Court |
TRIVIA: Want a good one.....look at the 1997 Buell brochure. Look very CLOSELY at it and see it you can tell me what is wrong. HINT: The pics were "created" photo unnits for media creation. | ||
| Crosmyn |
Helmet Lock? The XB I rode at Daytona Bike Week didn't have a helmet lock (much to the surprise of the Buell rep when I inquired about its location). I was wondering if this has changed on the current production models? | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Reason to gloat Blake....na, I'm finally growing beyond puberty. The X1's can't have preload adjusters with the stock handlebars as one of Newton's laws so clearly states...2 objects cannot share the same space (or something to that effect). So, what size (diameter) are the XB forks???? Neil Garretson X0.5 | ||
| Cro13 |
Crosmyn, No helmet lock on my XB. Carter | ||
| Peyote |
no helmet locks that I know of on xb. I'm looking into alternatives as I don't like carrying my helmet into places. *footnote: I'm glad the xb's don't have any ugly little pegs to lock helmet but there could've been some alternative in place. the 954rr has a lock under back seat. | ||
| Mikej |
I thought the X1 or S3 had a cable that attached under the seat to use for a helmet lock. | ||
| X1glider |
Neil, I don't know the fork diameter but I do know that because of the XB's perimeter brake system, the X1 caliper mounting won't work. The hole spacing may be different and it wouldn't be in the right place for sure. Not as cheap and easy as you thought, is it? Of course you could buy an XB front wheel, caliper, rotor, forks and trees, bars...  | ||
| Two_Buells |
if the fork tubes are the same size, what about just buying the XB/M2 caps to add to the X1 fork tubes. that might be the cheapest way  | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Caliper mouting...???? Huh??? I just want the preload adjustable caps (if they're the same size as an X1's). I'm not about to buy new forks to get preload adjustment. Nope, M2 forks aren't anywhere close to the right size. 42mm v. 53mm. Neil Garretson X0.5 | ||
| Two_Buells |
the question are the XB caps the same size as the X1/S3 caps. if they are it would be a cheap way to get pre-load adj for your forks | ||
| José_Quiñones |
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| Psychobueller |
I'd like Cook and that fat-ass Boehm try to catch an XB on a good twisty road. If John Burns couldn't do it on an R1 or RC51, then I doubt they'd be able to. | ||
| X1glider |
Ok, I see what you're after Neil. Why not go to http://www.racetech.com and get some new springs to suit your weight and riding style. If you use their valving search it will print a sheet of what can be done to your forks and shock and recommended adjustments. Still no preload but the new spring should eliminate the need. (Still would be nice to have it I admit.) I was checking it out yesterday. I wish, I wish, I wish... | ||
| Furaxjoe |
Hello Salut Buells Fans !!! News of my SITE Firebolt http://furaxjoe.ifrance.com/furaxjoe/Translogic-systems.htm http://furaxjoe.ifrance.com/furaxjoe/ISR.htm http://furaxjoe.ifrance.com/furaxjoe/Schift-light.htm http://furaxjoe.ifrance.com/furaxjoe/Amortiseurs-Rélages.htm bye Furax | ||
| Chainsaw |
Calling All Firebolt Owners! When is the first sceduled service? My dealer told me 500 miles, owners manual says 1000 miles. (Not like the dealer will ever do non-warranty work on mine). If anyone has the real-life-service-manual, what does it say? I have had mine since 1pm on the 28th, 119 miles right now, and I have the weekend off. I expect (weather permiting) to hit the 500 mark by Sunday night. Have ya'll been following the break-in period to the letter? 55 mph and 3500 mph SUCKS! Thanks! ChainSaw | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Well, I've got heavier springs. Suspensions aren't a set and forget thing (for me). For daily commuting I like a little softer ride. For weekend fun and track days, I want it much stiffer...hence preload adjusters. Truthfully, it's not *that* big of a deal to change the spacer in the USD forks on a X1 for a track day...but it's too much for hard weekend ride. Neil Garretson - I just like to fiddle. X0.5 | ||
| Blake |
Neil. Preload does not affect softness of ride unless you are running progressive rate springs, and even then it has little effect. Your preload really should be a set and forget type of adjustment on the front forks. Adjust damping to vary apparent stiffness of the suspension. For track day you might want *stiffer* springs. Increasing preload won't stiffen your suspension, just give you less rebound travel and more compression travel. In fact, by increasing front preload on a track day, you would be altering steering geometry towards the less snappy side (more trail). You probably reduce sag in the rear too so it largely is offsetting. Still something to think about. I can see how on a nice smooth track you wouldn't need very much sag/rebound travel, but could use more compression travel. Did I just nake a point?   | ||
| Elvis |
Am I the only one who thinks the new fairing for the Triumph Sprint looks suspiciously familiar? http://www.motosport.ch/de/index.asp?mainsite=/de/artikel.asp?artikelID=1124&rubrikID=1 | ||
| Elvis |
Here's another angle: http://www.motosport.ch/de/index.asp?mainsite=/de/artikel.asp?artikelID=1124&rubrikID=1 | ||
| Elvis |
Sorry, that didn't work. Just go down the page and click on the image for the front view. | ||
| Anonymous |
Just got my August copy of Motorcyclist. The FB made the cover. Comments after the test are less than flattering calling the motor a "lump" and mentioning that the Honda VTR has more low end torque. They also say handling feels "heavier" than they would have expected from the frame geometry. Praises were hailed to EB for his fantastic vision and enhacements in performance to the 1957 motor as well as the FB's innovative ideas. | ||
| Darthane |
Hello all, The very first bike I ever threw my leg over was a 2001 Blast last June. I've been waiting impatiently for my XB9R to show up since I placed an order for it last September. It finally arrived this past Friday, and was it ever worth the wait. The power band on it is so smooth, and it fits my 5'11" frame perfectly. I must admit I was a little nervous about getting on something so much more powerful than my Blast, but the 'bolt proved itself to be just as well-behaved on city streets as my venerable little single-cylinder. Not having ridden any of the other big-twin Buell's, I'm not disappointed with the power output of the new engine at all. This is a deceptively fast little bike. I can't wait to get through the break-in period and really open him up. I would like to know if anyone with an XB9R out there has come up with their own performance mods in the absence of aftermarket parts. One very simple one that I've heard of is to remove the rubber snorkel in the Ram Air/airbox to let a little more air into that massive thing. Anyone tried that, and did it make any noticeable difference? Bryan | ||
| Spiderman |
Wonder where you heard about the snorkel cause i heard that too  . Welcome to the Bad Web family and congrats on your new bike, like you havent heard that before  . | ||
| Blake |
Congrats Bryan! I'd think removing the tuned length snorkel would probable hurt performance, not help it. | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Well Blake I think your assuming a few things incorrectly. a) I'm talking small changes in preload. It is setup correctly for the track; but backing off on preload will soften the ride some (not a vast amount, just some). For instance, the difference between my 'track' spacer and my 'cruising' spacer is only 5mm....but it makes a difference. b) Preload is not set and forget. Springs are akin to a capacitor (i.e., stored energy) and the amount of this energy is what reacts with the other circuits of the front suspension (compression and rebound)...way over simplified, but works to illustrate the point. You can fine tune this w/ preload. c) preload adjustment is a fine tune thing only. Not a band-aid for poor spring selection. But your right, preload can't make up for poor springs; and too much will start affecting suspension travel and the compression/rebound circuits ability to function fully. Just as a total aside...Buells, more than anyother bike I've owned, really demonstrate the interaction between the front and rear suspensions (and I'd love to know why). My Penske has been off the bike for the past 2 months getting serviced and upgraded, so I've been running the recall shock (which is too soft w/ my frontend setup)...holy cow does it not feel right. The back is bouncy, uncommunicative and makes the front feel very harsh. Neil Garretson - some people spend thousands for a few hp....I spend that on suspensions. X0.5 | ||
| Henrik |
Neil: just af few things I could think of: - The soft shock alone will have the rear sagging,changing your rake and trail numbers. - If your damping front/rear is not set up to allow equal return you'll get additional "rocking horse" effect. Front and rear should ideally compress and rebound at similar rates. - If you're running your Penske longer than the stock shock, that will make the stocker feel slow as well. - The longer Penske will also minimize the rear compression under accelration, whereas a shorter stocker will compress and make you steer wider than you're used to. Many things going on, all affecting one another, all at the same time. There is a good reason I do all my suspension stuff through Traxxion  Henrik | ||
| Lsr_Bbs |
Amen. Extremely knowledgeable, very nice, and have bent over backward for me lately. As a total aside, I found an interesting tid-bit of info out when I had my penske serviced. Was talking to Max about what I wanted done, and he mentioned that I have one of the steel bodied Pro Thunder shocks. Was never suppossed to be sold to the public...whoops. Supposedly only 6 made, by hand at Penske. They've been looking for it ever since. To my surprise, even after sending it back to penske to have the body cut down to work with the recall mount, they sent it back to me. This was like a $6k shock!!! Explained why mine never looked like everyone elses. Neil Garretson X0.5 | ||
| Mikej |
I can just imagine their looks when they opened up the package for the work. | ||
| Anonymous |
Darthane was misinformed when he said of his Firebolt "I can't wait to get through the break-in period and really open him up." Much like the dinosaur eggs in Jurassic Park, all Firebolts have been intentionally engineered to be females. There is even a Quality Assurance inspector at the end of the assembly line whose sole responsibility is to verify gender (don't ask how).  |
