| Author | Message | ||
     Escham |
and I am now a Buellaholic. Picked up my 06 Xb12s (Black) and OH MY! I have ridden a GSXR750 and this thing pulls like whoa. It has been about 5 years since I rode the GSXR and I was a little nervous about hopping on it and riding it off the lot. I just idled up and released the clutch and off I went. Felt like I was born to be there. Very easy to ride and minimal input for turns. Throttle is sensitive, but not too much for low speed turns. I had contemplated a Daytona 675, but I am soooo glad I went with the XB. Thanks to all of you for the information. The XB is as advertised. Oddly enough, I went out to get the "orientation" from the shop guy (and he races a tuber). My salesman (raked out chopper dude, but really good guy) accompanied me and he listened as the guy went over the features of the bike. When we went back in he told me that that was the first time he had ever taken the time to hear the attributes of the bike and now was actually leaning towards picking one up himself. All in all this has been a great day and I am very happy to have finally gotten the XB. I intend to buy pucks, the tail bag and select seat this weekend. That should hold me through the first 1000 miles and then a service and a trip to Hickory for the Drummer, ecm and filter. One question, is the fan supposed to run continuously? It runs the entire time I ride and about 1-2 minutes afterward. Thanks all and to my wife for her understanding. Escham | ||
| Xb9ser |
welcome to the insanity!!The fan will run less as the engine breaks in and will contenue to run when you shut it off if riden in hot weather or if ridden hard to cool the rear cylinder.Check out C3 in storm fronts. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
The fan will run alot while its breaking in. I wish I still had a copy of Gentleman_Jon's rules for the first year of ownership, maybe someone else does....... | ||
| Hotrats |
hi Escham, so the madness has begun... i know you're going to enjoy your new ride. come on up to Eden and ride with us some weekend. we go up around the parkway - hwys 57 & 58 and such. it's not that far from you and good riding. enjoy your new addiction! | ||
| Jetbuilder |
I could not agree more with your assesment of the Buell. I am an old man now but in my 20`s in Germany i had a GS750E and then I got a 750 "katana (1984 model) with all the upgrades pipe fairing brakes etc. the katana was a fast bike in its day the german 750 had I think about 85 hp and about the same in torque they were different than the us models in power. But my Buell would kick its ass.Anyway I had a bad wreck and did not ride much for 20 years but was always a big fan of the Buells it took 10 years and 3 bouts of cancer to get around to it but I have finally got my Buell (XB12R) I told the wife on a friday I was getting one and the following friday I flew to TX and picked up. I then rode it 1587.00 miles in 3 days to get it home. In short you are in good company now with all of us "buell junkies" you wont be disapointed. Although these things do seem to make us do strange things I cut my thumb off about 2 months ago and the very next day I rode my Buell down the road,my wife was pissed but I could not help it I love riding this thing. Stay low. Red | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Not exactly a set of rules, but perhaps you will find one or two helpful suggestions in this review of my experience of buying a 2003 XB9S and owning it for the first year. I just got a ‘03 XB9! I have over 6000 miles on my XB9S, “Ole Yaller,” so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased one, or are about to buy one, so that they can enjoy their unit to the max, and perhaps avoid a few pitfalls that I have already encountered. These motorcycles will be seen as true classics as time goes by, and they probably provide the most fun for the dollar of any bike on the road today. 1. The dealer situation. The Buell dealership situation is in flux. At first most Harley Davidson dealers carried Buell. Many of them were not too enthusiastic about the brand, so Harley is reducing the number of dealers, to increase the importance of Buell at the dealers that actually carry them, and provide better support to Buell customers. The other dealers can no longer repair or sell Buells, and many of these have sold off their ‘03 Buell stock at low prices. The result: there are some excellent Buell dealers out there, but relatively few of them, very few. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the new XB line of Buells are well made, reliable, need little service, and parts are very readily available. Virtually all required service can be done by a motivated owner with an ordinary set of tools, bike stands and the shop manual. The ideal situation: buy your ‘03 leftover from a Buell Dealer who actively supports the brand if you can find one. Expect to pay around $6500. 2. Bad Web If you have got this far, you probably realize the one of the best resources for the Buell owner is the Bad Weather Biker web site itself. The knowledge Vault has excellent discussions of every aspect of the Buell motorcycle. The Brag Organization is a great owners group that sponsors fun events around the country for Buell owners, and there is the Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. The questions most asked by new owners are: A. The first thing to do. I always recommend buying the shop manual and parts list if you plan on working on the bike yourself. This is a bike that lends itself much more than Japanese or Italian sport bikes to home repairs, due to its inherent simplicity, and design. Parts are normally readily available, and not too expensive either. One of our member sponsors, Daves, ( Dave Stueve at Appleton HD), regularly monitors this board. He is very Buell knowledgeable, very helpful, and a great source for original and after market parts. American Sport Bikes, (Al Leighton), also a sponsor, is great with after market parts too, many imported from Europe where Buells sell better than in the USA. 1. The belt. If you bought the bike new, it probably has the original belt. These often had a relatively short life, and have been replaced by an upgraded model that seems to be much better. If the bike has more than 3000 miles on it, it may already have the new belt. The '03 belt is now in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR. The belt parts number is permanently marked on the outside of the belt. If you don't have one of these, you might want to fit one the next time you change tires, cost about $136 from Daves. Lots of hard riders, such as Glitch, one of our leaders, has tons of miles on his, no problems. With the latest '03 belt, the conversion to the '04 belt doesn't seem to be as necessary. The conversion requires new sprockets, belt guards, belt, and a few other parts. Daves or Al can give you an estimate of what it would all cost. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-1's: many members report better steering and longer life with these than the original equipment Dunlop 207’s. I am now replacing my first Michelin Pilot Power rear tire, and I was very happy. I got 4200 miles out of the rear, including one track day, and they still work great, just running out of tread in the middle. 3. Steering bearings: The steering bearings on the Buell tend to require tightening from time to time. The symptom is a clunk when you put on the brakes, that is often mistaken for a problem with the brakes. Takes about ten minutes to adjust as per the shop manual. The top triple tree is a bit delicate on these bikes, and have been broken more than once by over-tightening: the pinch bolt only needs about 18 ft/lb. Now a days a torque wrench is pretty much a standard item in the home garage. The front forks must be off the ground to do this properly. A rear wheel stand, and a scissors jack under the muffler jacking points is a simple way to do this. C. Wheel bearings. Long story short: if the seals are orange, you are good to go, if they are black, they should be replaced by any Buell dealer at no charge to you. 5. The lubricants. The oils that seems to be preferred by many of the members are : Mobil 1 15w 50 in the motor, Mobil 1 75w90 gear oil in the gear box. These are available at Walmart very inexpensively, especially in the 5 qt. jugs and the Walmart ST4967 oil filter was exactly the same as the factory part last time I bought some for two bucks apiece. I change every 2500 miles, probably a bit excessive, but it can't hurt, and doesn't take very long to do. Factory recommends 5000 miles between changes. Certainly every year if your mileage is less than 5K. You can’t go wrong if you simply change the oil and filter every time you replace your rear tire. 6. Suspension settings. Because of its somewhat radical frame geometry, the suspension settings on a Buell DO count! You can assume that they are not set just right for you, so go to the owners manual, ( shop manual not required for this one:-), and follow the directions. Shawn Higbee has some settings for aggressive riders which work great too, and I use them. See Knowledge Vault. 7. Dipstick. The dipstick is located on the top of the left side of the swing arm: no kidding:-). Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to read. I put some yellow shrink wrap on mine to aid visibility. Using a little wooden coffee stirrer and comparing it to the dipstick markings works even better. 8. Frame Pucks: The Buell OEM frame pucks will keep you from denting your frame if you accidentally drop the model. They can be painted to match the plastic or the frame. These are really a must have item, because it is not to heard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and expensive to replace. That should get you up and running for a while, while you plan how you want to personalize your mount: it IS legal to run a bone stock Buell, it's just that no one has ever tried it:-). First 1000 mile service. I take a preventive maintenance point of view to this service, which takes place shortly after the bike is broken in, and the new owner has pretty much got the hang of things. So in addition to the factory recommendations, which are basically change the oil and filter, check and normally adjust the primary chain, and reset the Throttle position sensor, I recommend the following be done at this time. a. Fit the factory “race kit”. In spite of its name, this is more of a “make it a bit more fun to ride on the street “ kit. Improves mid range, makes it sound like a motorcycle instead of a lawn mower. Easy to fit, works fine. Requires a TPS reset, and removing the belt tensioner, so this is as good a time as any to do it. There are several other aftermarket mufflers, D+D, Drummer and Jardine to name just a few, that are louder and have found favor with many of the Bad Webbers. b. Replace the belt. Why worry about the belt breaking when a new better one only cost $140, and you already have the tensioner off. c. While you are replacing the belt, you have done most of the work to remove the rear wheel, you might as well replace the original Dunlop 207s, which only have about 1000 mi left on them, with some better tires like those mentioned above which will greatly improve the handling, and last twice as long. d. check the steering bearings. The have probably started to loosen a bit, even if you haven’t noticed it. After doing this additional work you will have a bike that: 1. Sounds cooler 2. Runs faster 3. Steers much better 4. No belt worries 5. Mostly likely will not need anything but gas for 4000 miles:-). Just my .02˘ | ||
| Jlnance |
Welcome to BadWeb Eric. I'm in Raleigh, not too far from you. Come over to the C3 group and say hello. There is a small bug active collection of NC riders there. | ||
| Daves |
Welcome! | ||
| Diablobrian |
welcome to badweb! |
