| Author | Message | ||
     Xben12 |
hi all, looking at a 03 xb9s, it looks sweet, buyer says been in storage for 4 years but has been recently serviced, any thing I should be aware of / look out for? seller says genuine 13000 ks / 8078 Miles, any way to verify that its genuine? cheers | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
It is hard to verify mileage without seeing service receipts. While resetting digital speedos is theoretically possible, I would not know how to do it. I think false mileage reports are more commonly done by replacing the speedo unit. Here are some notes I made a few years ago after having owned a 2003 XB9s for a while. Perhaps you will find something useful in them, even though they are somewhat out of date. I had over 13,000 miles on my 2003 XB9S, “Ole Yaller,” so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased a similar model, or are about to buy one, so that they may fully enjoy their recently acquired unit , 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 very likely 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 , the shop manual and the parts book. 2. Bad Web If you have gotten 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 sponsor section has grown over the last few years, and almost every part and service required can b e found there. Many Buelligans, (including me), order all of their Buell parts from one sponsor or another, a tradition started by the redoubtable Dave Stueve, who now operates his own archery shop, Double Lung Archery in La Porte City, Iowa. Among my personal favorites are Tripp at Precision HD for parts, Al at american Sport Bike for aftermarket stuff and top notch advice on how to use them, Matt at Trojan Horse for European aftermarket stuff, Paul at Gainsville for parts and new bikes, Kevin at Drummer for mufflers, and Odie at Special Ops for the same, and Pammy at Cycle Rama for engine performance parts for Buell and HD. Pete at Grandstand Designs for power coating, and special accessories, and I am sure there are lots of good people that I just haven’t met yet. Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. And one more thing................... There is a nutty old coot on this site named Court. One of the only Bad Webbers who is actually almost as old and nutty as I am:-). Thing is he is one of Erik Buell’s oldest friends, wrote the book on the company, ( with Dave Geiss), and has some kind of unspecified connection with the company. Sort of an unofficial ombundsman. He has his own topic on this site. If you run into a problem with your bike that neither you, your dealer or anyone else can solve, and if you are polite and thinking positively, you might just drop ol’ Court an email. Couldn’t hurt. 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. 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 was in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR when this was written in 2006. 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. 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 an '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. Al at American Sport Bike, and others, 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. One of our members, Saintly has produced a simple chain conversion that cost little more than a new belt. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-6'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, Harley Formula +l in the gear box. The Mobil 1 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. One more thing: some riders have used Mobil 1 gear oil in the primary but anecdotal evidence points to this oil as contributing to premature failure of the stator. 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 hard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and very 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˘ | ||
| Zatco81 |
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. What's the mileage limitations on this? This is only if still under factory warranty right? | ||
| Froggy |
Zacto, pretty much. It was a service bulletin if I remember right. Anyway, orange bearings are no longer the latest and greatest, they are back to using black again just to confuse the hell out of you.  | ||
| Xben12 |
Gentleman_jon, you are are a true gentleman! thanks for your time sir! some great info here! cheers  | ||
| Glitch |
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| Whitexc |
Get it, ride the heck out of it, and smile.... | ||
| Delta_one |
I am also buying a XB9s (sl because I am inseam challenged) but I want to know about the kickstand. how do I know if it is the good one or the bad one? was it a free fix or did it cost? I know I will be following Whitexc's advice here. I am as exited as a kid on Xmas morning! | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
should have an "R" on the bottom. | ||
| Delta_one |
the good one or the bad one has the "R"? | ||
| Glitch |
One of the reasons I like the Lightning vs the City Cross, is the suspension. It's the same as the R, it rails! | ||
| Xben12 |
was completely unaware that the suspension was any different, how do the 2 compare??? | ||
| Glitch |
The older XB suspension had less travel so you could tune it for better (IMHO) street and track use. Not that more travel or the City's suspension is lack luster, it's only my opinion. | ||
| Aptbldr |
Anyone have reference, link, of XB history of models, features, and component change/redesign milestones ('03, '06,'08)? | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
The "R" on the bottom of the kickstand means it is good. Model Year Changes http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/254393.html?1170225909 (Message edited by not_purple_s2 on June 11, 2009) |
