| Author | Message | ||
     T9r |
Back in July 2011 my 04' XB12R motor exhibited a halt to being propelled forward (motor no go). Here is a picture of the bike when it was running:  After buying and repairing an 07' XB12X with engine issues and upgrading it to an 08' powertrain I am back to working on the 04' XB12R. I bought this 08' XB12R (S tail conversion) January 2017, (14,540 mi) to start the rebuild:  I'll keep a log of the progress and pictures. I am kind of looking forward to this! | ||
| Corpse |
Looks awesome, what makes the 08 better than previous ones? | ||
| T9r |
The oil pump system was redesigned and ultimately improved, larger oil cooler, redesigned TPS and ECM interface. The lower case was redesigned for the cam gears. Those are just some.of the upgrades to the +08 models. Upgrades listed here: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/253 912/290800.html | ||
| T9r |
I pulled the engine & drivetrain from the 2004 XB12R and will use the frame to receive the 2008 XB12 engine and custom swing arm. On the 2004 XB12R I previously put the XB12X rims. I will get them powder coated blue metallic in the future. The 2008 XB bike is hidden under the pillow.  | ||
| Greg_e |
The question jumps up... Why not just register the 08? Was it a missing or salvage title vehicle? Also the question of why not rebuild the 04 motor, was the case cracked? | ||
| T9r |
The 08' was a salvage title. It also may have some electrical harness issues. If I have to test and repair that harness I might as well install my extra 08' harness. All in all it may work out like you mention and then have 2 XB bikes to ride  I have not put the time into successfully diagnosing the 04' motor issue past the "stopped working" event. I have owned 3 XB motors that have had oil and oil pump related failures. I'm thinking that is what this one was too based upon the noise that came from the crank shaft just prior to the "poof" sound and ceasing to fire (but still would rotate). Why upgrade to the 2008- There were so many improvements to critical areas on the 08' motor that I would have it over any 03' - 07' XB motor. | ||
| Greg_e |
I agree, there are many improvements. And something that you think had an oil failure may not be worth fixing. Too bad for the salvage title, but I guess that made the price low enough to where you could do this. | ||
| Shoggin |
One guy with THREE XB motor failures!?! Wow. Good luck man, looks like a fun project  | ||
| T9r |
03' XB9r oil pump drive gear failure 04' XB12r TBD motor failure (noise in crank area) 07' XB12x tick sound in the motor (bought knowing it had a bad motor) | ||
| Phelan |
Thad, what is this custom swingarm you speak of? Do you mean the 06-10 model swingarm? You will want it with the motor swap unless you are okay with making custom oil lines. Among other things you will need for the motor swap into an 04: 08-10 wire harness, ECM, intake manifold, and throttle cables. | ||
| T9r |
The custom swingarm is a stock 2007 XB (short) swingarm with custom paint job. Yes, all of those items are needed. Also the 08 oil cooler is different, with more fins, so it is highly recommended to have it upgraded. As for other needed items, it is interesting to see what parts changed, even electrical connectors. This will be my second 04-07 to 08-10 motor swap project. It must have been "enjoyable" enough that I'd tackle it a second time. | ||
| T9r |
Sold the 2008 XB12R w/ S tail to another local Buell enthusiast. I am just going to tear into the 2007 motor and repair it, for placement in the 2004. |
