| Author | Message | ||
     Greg_e |
What are the honest thoughts on this craigslist ad: ***************************************** 2003 buell xb12r thunderbolt parts bike - $750 2003 buell thunder bolt parts bike. bike is dismantled, frame and wheels rolling chassis. motor is apart on bench. Was taken apart to replace cam bearings. $750 firm Some plastics missing. ****************************************** Assuming the title is clear and the thing that caused it to be apart is really the cam bearing, is it worth repairing to ride? It's bigger than I really want if it is really a 12 and not the 9, but at the price it might be worth the difference. Obviously this person doesn't really know what is on the bench, so it is a 3 hour gamble, but since it is apart I can probably through it in the back of my car to bring it home. | ||
| Froggy |
I would ask for pics and see. He is calling it a thunderbolt, which means he doesn't know what he even has. Likely scenario is he bought it off a friend that blew the motor so he was gonna fix it, then realized he was over his head. Since the motor is shot, you can drop whatever you want in it  | ||
| Greg_e |
When he responded to me he said pics added and it has a title, nothing about any of the other questions I asked which gives me a feeling of doubt, also didn't see pictures yet, maybe they are slow to update. | ||
| Andymnelson |
Not only does he call it a thunderbolt, but he claims it to be a 2003 Xb12...which they didn't make until 2004. | ||
| Greg_e |
Starting to sound like the guy knows less than I do about these machines, or that maybe it is a frankenbike made up from the parts of dead bikes. Well if I can get pictures I may go out and take a look, bring money and tools to tear it down a little more to make sure it fits in my car in big pieces. If thew tank is empty and the forks are pulled I can probably fit it in my car in a pile of pieces. | ||
| Froggy |
Worst comes to worse, you can probably get at least $750 back if you part it out, should you find out the thing isn't worth saving. | ||
| Biggie |
Here...http://www.google.com/m/url?cd=1&client=safari&ct= res&ei=NPy6SojwO4mntgf4leHFAg&hl=en&oe=UTF-8&oi=bl ended&q=http%3A%2F%2Fhudsonvalley.craigslist.org%2 Fmcy%2F1387706021.html&resnum=1&sa=X&usg=AFQjCNFpD dZDZiB6Q_vglPlQbtJQiKyuRw | ||
| Etennuly |
You already answered your own question. You have doubts. That is usually enough. Walk away, they made a lot of bikes over the years, a lot are available. If you spend $750 on a wreck with the hopes of making it go, and you are in the position that you need to ask if it is the right thing to do, it isn't. You can buy a running bike for less than $4000 in ridable condition. With a blank like that one you could end up building or buying an engine to put into a chassis that may have major problems, but you won't know until the money and time are spent. You could end up with $5000 in a $4000 bike, and spend a year getting there. It is probably one of those that would be a good deal for someone needing parts, or whom already has a stock pile of parts and the experience to make it happen. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Here are the photos, "computer enhanced".   Couldn't be a 2003 XB12, of course, because they didn't make them. And it doesn't look like the seller is going to have much luck in repairing the cam bearings, unless he has a never produced overhead cam version of the never produced 2003 XB12. Looks like the rocker boxes may have been removed. Hard to tell from the photos. That being said, just because the seller doesn't know what he has doesn't mean you can't make a good deal. This looks to me like a later model XB12 with the new timing case, which was introduced in 2008. There might be a lot of good parts here, or there might not be. First thing is to get a copy of the title. If it doesn't say 2008 or 2009 Buell you have a problem. As mentioned above, this is a project for a very good technician, who really knows his Buells, and has ready access to cheap parts: looks like you might need quite a few of them. The fact that the head light and instrument cluster is missing says crash damage to me, might have a salvage title. Bottom line: If you want a Buell to ride, and are not a professional Buell tech or similar, this is not your "Thunderbolt". If you are an experienced home mechanic, you could make a few bucks by parting this thing out, if, and that's a big if, the parts are not crash damaged. Hard to tell from the photos. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Frame is probably stamped 2003. My '03 XB9S has an '02 build date on the frame. | ||
| Juniorkirk |
As far as a 'parts bike' go, there is over $2000 worth of most likely usable parts. So, $750 is a pretty good deal in my opinion. | ||
| Zatco81 |
Your frame is stamped 2003...so is mine but it's silver. Could have been painted/coated or it could be a 12...well the frame anyway. | ||
| Odie |
I would give him $750 for all those parts easily..... | ||
| Greg_e |
Looks like a Lightning tail doesn't it? If I already owned one I think I would jump on this, but I doubt that engine will ever work again without significant parts and machining. As well as not seeing the electronics and instrument cluster/headlights. If the frame is in decent shape and with a clean title, I assume it is worth about $1000 once it is determined exactly what flavor of frame we have. But I don't think I want to play the partout game on this. WOuld probably make me some money but I'm not sure I want to put in the time to deal with it. The link above is of course correct for anyone else that may want to take the risk. It looks to be about 30+ minutes away from Albany New York to give people an idea about where it is located. | ||
| Greg_e |
OK, one last question before I totally forget about this bike... In it's current state, could I put the front tire in a dolly and tow it home? I have a Prohoist dolly that I'm going to try and fit to my car, if I can get the 2 inch receiver it will fit. I ask because I thought the swingarm was attached to the transmission/engine case so it should be disconnected right now, right? A cheap lightning would be better than nothing until I can find my Firebolt. If all the parts for the engine are there, and the case, cylinders, etc. are not damaged I can learn to put it back together. Never torn one of these down but I have completely rebuilt VW Beetle engines before, can't be all that much different and there should be no shortage of different shop manuals to help me through the process. (Message edited by Greg_E on September 24, 2009) | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
In it's current state, could I put the front tire in a dolly and tow it home? I have a Prohoist dolly that I'm going to try and fit to my car, if I can get the 2 inch receiver it will fit. I ask because I thought the swingarm was attached to the transmission/engine case so it should be disconnected right now, right? The swing arm is probably held in place by the shock. Easy to remove. One bolt. The forks will slide out of the triple clamps in five minutes. Front wheel needs 7/8" hex, if I recall correctly. Should be able to get it in the trunk after that. Never actually tried it myself. | ||
| Bumblebee |
Wow! A great winter project!!! Just check to make certain there isn't any serious crash damage, that can get expen$ive. If it all checks out I'd go for it. | ||
| Jeffroj |
track bike!! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good parts bike, bad restore project, IMHO. If you want a restore project, get one crashed but complete and intact, so you at least know what's broken and can replace it. | ||
| Slaughter |
$750 for a titled parts bike with a USABLE rolling chassis is a GREAT idea. Tell you what, I'd pay a grand for the roller alone. Seriously. | ||
| Iamarchangel |
Anybody see any airbox, seats, wiring, any of the other plastics? (Message edited by iamarchangel on September 24, 2009) | ||
| Greg_e |
That's the next set of questions, I'm not going to waste the $50 in fuel to go out and see that more than just a few bits of plastic are missing. Aside from the local dealer there are 4 or 5 good Harley service places in town that could probably slap that motor back together | ||
| New12r |
A child could assemble the motor, really. If you can read a manual and all the bearings are pressing in you are golden. If I had the $750 I would already own it. | ||
| New12r |
I sold my FRAME, no other parts, no bearings, no fuel pump nada for $800 with a clear title. | ||
| Nillaice |
winter is right around the corner... | ||
| Americanmadexb |
Looks like a Lightning tail doesn't it? No that is a Firebolt tail. I'm also guessing that bike is at least an 04 with an 08 motor! | ||
| Froggy |
With the cam cover off it looks like the 08 motor, but I doubt that it is. | ||
| Fast1075 |
If I could have found a deal like that a week ago, I would be building a XB/Blast right now... | ||
| Jeffroj |
I passed a deal like that up before, I regret it now. | ||
| Froggy |
The mostly done Xblast is still for sale last time I checked. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
I spent over twice that price on an 02 X1 last December. All I knew at the time was that it wouldn't turn over - I gambled that the seller didn't know what he had, and ended up being wrong. The front exhaust valve had floated or seized and blew a quarter sized hole straight through the front piston It was a lot of work and quite a bit of money, but now I've got a bike that I know inside and out mechanically, and couldn't be happier with it. BTW I'd never done anything more complicated than replacing rocker box gaskets before that project. If it's lack of mechanical knowledge you're worried about, don't! And PLEASE don't waste a good project by paying someone else to do the work. If that XB went up for sale in my neck of the woods, I'd be grabbing $750 and going for a drive! | ||
| Greg_e |
It is not a complete bike. DOn't think any of the electronics are there, and I bet most of the plastic is gone. He didn't tell me exactly what he had or did not have except that the title is clean and that if I wanted a complete set of pieces I should look elsewhere. Since I have an 03 XB9R lined up, I sent this guy an email because the 9R needs a new front tire, might as well get a few other parts while I'm at it, so I may go ahead and grab this for parts. Then it might be worth playing the partout game with the pieces that I don't want. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Sounds oddly familiar to what I was saying after buying the 02 X1..  "I'll have a cheap bike to take apart and learn something. Don't have to worry about breaking anything" "there will be a lot of 2002 X1 parts in the classifieds soon." You're headed down a very addicting road! |
