| Author | Message | ||
     Dynasport |
OK, because of another post here recently, I got to thinking about what would be considered high miles on an XB. I had always assumed these bikes would be good for 50,000-100,000 miles or more. But maybe I am being overly optimistic. So, who has the highest mileage out there and what engine work, if any, have you had to have done. Also, do performance mods reduce engine life? I am embarrassed to say I only have 35,000 miles on my 2000 FXDX, with pretty much only maintenance done. Very little repair work needed. I believe my bike has many, many more miles in it. Are the Buells just as reliable? Lets ride. | ||
| Werewulf |
one of the guys on the tuber section has well over one hundred thou on his S-3... im sure the xb should be able to do at least that.... i read that a water cooled motorcycle motor is good for 250 thousand miles, so i would think that an air cooled one should be good for at least half that...some mods will shorten engine life and others might extend it.. | ||
| Gowindward |
I have 35K plus on my '04 12R. Work done has been the schedule maintenance. I sure hope the bike has more than 100K miles in it. | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
I won't ever get a new bike, they last to long | ||
| Bobbuell1961 |
i have 23k on my uly and i'm one of the low mile ones  check out bb&d section.Bob | ||
| Interex2050 |
I would recommend not setting any expectations... -some last and last -others not so much (my engine went down the drain at 15k) | ||
| Cataract2 |
05 XB9SX with 42,677 miles on it. Slowing a bit due to being in a place that actually has winter. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
2006 XB9sx 20100 miles, owned since 8/2006 Debueller turned in his Uly with over 48k back in december, I imagine he already has near 5k on his 2008 by now. | ||
| Glitch |
I'm well over 60K | ||
| Spatten1 |
Didn't XBR9ski or some username like that have over 50? | ||
| Sparky |
45k on a Blast and countin' ain't too shabby! 50k, 039R, stock; noisy lifters, leaky base & starter gaskets replaced once. Sparky | ||
| Werewulf |
ive got a thousand miles on my new xb since i bought it last week.. | ||
| Jwz7 |
xb9ski had his engine replaced somewhere around 30,ooo miles or so.i believe it was caused by the oil pump having a crack in it or something like that and the dealership had to order one but,told him not to worry about it and did a quick fix on it till the dealership got a new pump and it wreaked the bottom end and in the end i believe the dealership was found at fault and replaced the engine for him. | ||
| Lonexb |
i only got a little over 40k miles on mine. before the engine gave up. brian | ||
| Pwnzor |
I've got over 40k miles on the clock, and I've had to replace the stator, and am currently experiencing a further unknown electrical gremlin. Mechanically, the bike is solid as a rock. The electrical system is as poorly designed as any I've seen. | ||
| Dynasport |
So a few have over 50k, but many haven't lasted that long. I guess I am a bit disappointed by this. For some reason I thought engines not making 50k would be the exception. Sounds like several here haven't made it that long. I hope my big twin keeps running like it does now. | ||
| Americanmadexb |
no one said that they wont last 100,000 miles.. its just nobody has gotten there yet! At least havent posted yet. i remember a guy on another board who had like 120,000 and still running! | ||
| Ceejay |
design's only 5 yrs old. I know some guys put on a lot of miles/yr., but if your getting 20/yr. I need to live where you live. | ||
| Froggy |
Put 17k on my Ulysses in the 7 months i had it. My Lightning Long has only 15k, so i need to get working on that | ||
| Werewulf |
bikes are like cars... it depends on the car and the owner...i had a 1970 plymouth highway patrol car, that i put 173,000 miles on, before it was replaced... god knows how many hours i idled in the median in the hot florida sun...it would still run close to 140 til the end.... i had other patrol cars that were ragged out in 50k miles...my cars would still look like new when they were traded... estimating the life of a buell is just a shot in the dark.. thats my opinion... | ||
| Road_oiler |
I interviewed a guy whom put 415,000 miles on an '87 FLT. H-D traded him even up for a '99 twin cam FLH. The rider- David Willett, warmed up his engine and would not put it in gear until the heads were too hot to touch. he changed oil very 3000 miles. and he washed his belt and pulleys more often than he washed his bike-he'd get 115,000 miles out of his belt and pulleys!!! I also had a chance to ask an H-D XL drive train engineer about 'how long can an XL motor last? based on my discussion with David Willett. I was told that the XL motor (very similar to the XB motor) is a stronger motor due to unit construction, it does not twist and contort itself like the big twin engine/trans set up does. It should last as least as long or longer- given the same care. warm it up. change the oil, etc.etc. and drive it while it's hot!! | ||
| M_singer |
Road_oiler, do you know how many times this high millage HD had to be rebuilt during all those miles? I think that is the most miles that i have ever heard of on any motorcycle. It would be truly amazing if it had never been rebuilt! I met into a older lady at Deal's gap last summer who had put 300k miles on a BMW 4 cyl model and it had never had the head off. | ||
| Road_oiler |
Ah yes. that was why I wanted to view the shop tickets. cam shaft had a 'tick' at 60K and was replaced with a lifter kit. it was not until 275K that Willet was given a new set of crank cases under warranty. The cast in race for the drive side timken let oil migrate into the chain case, filling it up over 500 miles . The new cases were no charge, and Don Tilley said that the motor looked like it had 50K on it, but Don could not resist putting in new guides and valves. .005 over pistons, and over size rollers on the crank/rods. So I guess a rebuild but not because the motor was tired out. still impressive. Willet said it was quieter and smoother than the twin he was given in trade. Fork seals, a couple of primary chains. and I think a big bearing in the transmission. It has been a few years since I looked at that stuff, but I think this answers your question | ||
| Stretchman |
Wonder if he had the bearing issue with the 99? | ||
| Vwflat4driver |
i cant imagine an aircooled engine lasting much more then 100k with out some sort of overhaul.our buells rev higher and from the factory are rated for higher horsepower another factor that i would consider for life expectancy. the xl engines redline at 5500 hundred much like most american v-8's i'd think with reasonable care they would last 100k with our buells and reasonable care high reving engine i'm betting 50 to 60k before a top end overhaul 100k before complete overhaul. any takers on this theory?? | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
any takers on this theory?? After reading a British magazine article about the buell motor. I would take the bet. I don't have a link handy, but I remember they just beat on the bike, and when they did an engine tear down they were shocked. What they found was almost no wear. They commented that the motor was way over built. I bet in a few years will will see a buell motor with 200K on it. | ||
| Bombardier |
12000km in 9 months so far. 2 months of that in the shop for a new swingarm. | ||
| Glitch |
1313 has a Buell with well over 100K it's a tuber no an xb though. I have no worries that my engine will last over 100K. | ||
| Luxor |
Corporatemonkey, I remember that too. The funniest quotes were the comments on how large and heavy the parts were, like the solid bronze fork. They were amazed, and I was too. I believe it had around 40k when they pulled it apart and you could still see the hash marks on the cylinder walls. Vwflat4driver, Good thoughts on a Harley, but you have to remember that the Thunderstorm is not a HD mill. Sure, some parts started life as HD, but Buell redesigned most of the internals just for the performance/reliablity factor. Our jugs may have little HD castings, but they were re-cast and milled by Buell. I have every confidence that with the proper care and feeding my XBs will go 100k. (Message edited by luxor on April 08, 2008) |
