| Author | Message | ||
     Bcool83 |
I was long overdue... As much as I love my SV, I started getting the itch again recently... 03 Buell XB9S, both previous owners were wimmin, bone stock except a Factory Race Pipe and the Voltage plastics set (which will be swapped out for Hero Blue as soon as I can find someone to trade). 1339 miles when I picked her up! Also came with a Buell tailbag, crappy Buell helmet, bike cover, and a Buell touring seat of some kind.       First mods will be getting rid of the cheesegrater out back, bar end mirrors, and some kind of smaller turn signals. Plus a tune up, oil changes, fork oil changes... I think it already has SS brake lines, appear to be at least, so that's nice... (Message edited by BCool83 on February 21, 2008) | ||
| Sleez |
congrats, need to update your profile now...cool! | ||
| Darthane |
Holy crap, does that thing still have the special D207s on it?  I thought it was a rule that they had to be changed as part of any title change.  I love the bodywork, that set is gorgeous. Welcome to the club! | ||
| 1324 |
Congrats. I too came over from an SV...I liked the bike alot, but the Buell holds a very very special place in my heart. Although, your SV looks much nicer than mine was...gsxr fork? 650 or 1000? Brake lines are definitey SS unless the other owner down graded them for some reason. And someone will probably want those plastics. I remember being wowed by the prices Buell was asking for them! | ||
| Typeone |
forgot you're over here now too, Bill. congrats again!! i agree, ditch them sneaks, set up your suspension properly and let the smiles begin.. . | ||
| Hexangler |
Welcome to the dark side!  +1 Pirelli Diablos! (also synthetic motorcycle oil 20w50) Nice bike! Hex | ||
| Elf |
Might not want to hack the cheesegrater. Is that you-know-who's signature I see on there? | ||
| New12r |
Welcome to the club!! Stop on by the 3% forum and say hi. Yes those are SS Braided lines and Factory HH pads. See you over on BSB! (Message edited by new12r on February 21, 2008) | ||
| Rubberdown |
Treat yourself and your bike to a pair of frame pucks. Enjoy. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Congratulations. Great bike, had one m'self,( without the girly plastics, of course:-). If I may beg my brother's indulgence yet again, I will take the liberty of posting my notes on owning an '03, even though they may be just a bit out of date. I have over 13,000 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. 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. Trojan Horse, ( Matt) and American Sport Bikes, (Al Leighton), both also sponsors, are 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, but many brothers have done it for peace of mind.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. Another option is a chain conversion, which has been much discussed on this site: see the knowledge vault. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-3'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. ( I subsequently converted to Dunlop Qualifiers for better handling). Several brothers have learned the hard way to always replace tires in pairs: the front may look ok, long after the rear is obviously worn out, but its profile will have changed, compromising handling. 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. 4. 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 Super Tech ST4967 oil filter was exactly the same as the factory part, (manufactured by Champion), last time I bought some for two bucks apiece. I change every 4000 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 tires. NOTE: There seems to be some anectdotal evidence that Mobil One Gear oil may cause premature failure of the stator insulation. I now use Formula+ from Harley. 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¢ Ol' Yaller  | ||
| Redponcho |
Nice bike and welcome. If the cheese grater has Erik's signature on it dont hack it off get a donar and chop it. I love my 03 9S. It is the most fun I have ever had on two wheels. | ||
| Barker |
welcome to the madness. 1300 miles, it's still a puppy. | ||
| Towjam |
The Brag Organization is a great owners group that sponsors fun events around the country for Buell owners, R.I.P. | ||
| Xb9er |
ss lines are a factory thing with buell( their always looking out for us), your seat is a street fighter seat. Cool bike welcome to the madness | ||
| Glitch |
ALRIGHT! Another local! You're from Snellville, I'm in Lawrenceville. What are you up to the last weekend in March? Come up to Suches with us and meet a lot of these Buelligans. Nice bike, even the plastics look ok to me. The touring seat you have there is the Street Fighter seat, MUCH better than the stocker. I see you have the Buell Race kit, that's a keeper too. Those are hard to come by now that they stopped making them. Nice score! | ||
| Pokinatcha |
I got hero blue plastics I wouldn't mind trading out I suppose. You gunna be in town for bike week in Daytona perhaps? | ||
| Deadduck |
nice ride Bill, And like Glitch said, "alright, another local!" I'm down in Stockbridge. Look forward to seeing you around. Also keep a check on the 3% page in storm fronts for local activity | ||
| Ratbuell |
If you want Hero Blue, let me know. Might have a full body here in a box...  | ||
| Old_man |
Before you spend any money on anything else, GET RID OF THOSE TIRES! The best mod you will ever make to the bike. | ||
| Crashbuell |
Someday I will step into this decade and buy an XB (City X please). Your a lucky man. Hey, off to the side in that photo, is that the "other woman"?  | ||
| Bcool83 |
My first squidly mods: Parking light. Too bad it's way too light to see unless it's actually dark out...  Spliced two wires to make the low beam not go off when you switch to high's. Also, removed front reflectors.  Shortened turn signal stalks. I'll probably leave them like this and not get some kind of flushmounts.  Removed reflectors, added obligatory GA-spec temporary license plate, and tinted taillight. At most, the tint lowers the light by 5% - you can't tell it's tinted when the light is on.  | ||
| Chrislightning |
I would go with hero blue also. Or black with orange rims. I have Continental Road Attacks, I think they will last, already with 3,000 and very little sign of wear. | ||
| Xb9er |
yes the conti's wear really well and are a great tire | ||
| Bcool83 |
Darthane – yep, still the stock tires. Hell, there was still an inch of chicken strips on the rear tire!! I’ve got a set of Qualifiers that were waiting to go on the SV, but I may just put them on the Buell instead. I’m gonna try out the bike on the stockers for a while first though… 1324 – Yep, Gixxer 1000 front end and rear shock on the SV. Bunch of other little goodies too… Typeone – setting up the suspension is on the “to do” list for sure! Rubberdown – frame pucks are sitting on my workbench now. Going to install them Monday after work! Gent Jon – already have the service manual (thanks Clinton!). You’re right, it’s a must-have for Buells especially, since they’re so different from the rice burners. Thanks also for the tip on the belts. I’d read something in passing on BWB about 03 belts being questionable, but hadn’t found p/n’s or anything. I’ll be sure to check that out tomorrow. …really, just great post overall!! Glitch – anytime you want to ride, give me a holler! 2o3 3o5 o798. I’ll definitely be hitting up MBV… Let me know if you want some company on the rides up there as well… Rat Buell / Pokinatcha – I already found a set of Blues to buy actually…but that means the Voltage set will be up for sale soon…keep an eye out on the FS forum ;) I think I’m gonna keep the D207s on there until 1) they give me trouble, 2) I find Blue or Orange wheels, or 3) I figure out how much powdercoating will be… | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Before you spend any money on anything else, GET RID OF THOSE TIRES! No, before he spends any money on anything, he should get some frame pucks on that thing. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
1300 miles on an '03. Unfreaking believable. People and their garage ornaments. They probably sold it for 1/3 of what they paid for it--not to mention, paying insurance and registration while it collects dust. Did these people wake up one morning and decide to buy a motorcycle that afternoon? | ||
| Jackelfox |
not that it matters, but you have the streetfighter seat on her. | ||
| Bcool83 |
Fresno - tell me about it! Not only that, but this bike had been sitting unregistered and uninsured in the girl's garage for the past three months, while she made monthly loan payments on it! Hell, I put more miles on this bike this weekend than the first owner put on ever! | ||
| Metalstorm |
Welcome to Badweb And Thank you for giving that bike a good home where she will be loved & cared for. Life will be so much better for her now that she can run free rather than stay cooped up in a garage all day & night. I'm sure the adoption will go extremely well for the both of you.  | ||
| Bcool83 |
OK, so some more mods. I installed some frame pucks and a headlight grill; painted the muffler, front pulley cover, and idle pulley black; Hero Blue/black plastics, painted the center of the chin fairing, removed stock mirrors (bar ends are on the way), removed upper belt guard, and front and rear axle sliders. Also did the breather hose re-route - very nice to not have the backfiring anymore. And did the airbox mod, which I'm not finished with yet ;)        |
