Author |
Message |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - 01:56 pm: |
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Not me. Mine's in the garage. |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 12:23 pm: |
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Ok, Low Country HD/Buell re-flashed the ECM with the new patch and I got a fresh tank of 93 octane immediately after. Let's see what happens to my fuel consumption. One thing I noticed immediately was the roughness just below 3K RPM was gone. Mike Kelly, the Buell Tech, said he had a hard time getting my bike to accept the patch and I was the first '08 owner to come in. He was familiar with the patch for the 1125R (they were getting lousy mpg also) so he wanted to know if mine made any difference. |
Guell
| Posted on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 09:27 am: |
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Well im finally going to do my wheel bearings, looked at the wheel last night, it still rotates smoothley but has a ton of side to side play! Dont want to wad it in the middle of nowhere. |
Guell
| Posted on Friday, June 20, 2008 - 05:56 pm: |
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Wheel bearings finished in under an hour! Crappy weather, i cant ride it now! |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 10:35 am: |
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Gerard, Hugh and Matt Anybody know which stations in Summerville sell gas with no ethanol? I'm starting to believe the 10% stuff at Hess may not be helping my mpg. |
Xblaw
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 03:26 pm: |
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The ethanol has not affected my mpg. I just got back from a round trip to Augusta at 53 mpg. That even included a handful of 100 mph+ blasts and one @ 135. I do not think ethanol is messin w/ anything. |
Jeffsd
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 03:35 pm: |
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135? Did you attend a track day or stop by a drag strip on the way back from Augusta? I know that you would not ride like that on the street. |
Jomama
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 03:39 pm: |
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I wish I could get that kind of gas mileage. Im getting 32-35 mpg on the 08 XB12R. Im getting better gas mileage on my chopper. Ridiculous. But I am taking the firebolt to the dealer today to get the ECM update. Hopefully it helps a little. Especially with my trip to Ohio this Friday. Jim, are you seeing no gas mileage improvement since your ECM reflash? |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 04:05 pm: |
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Joe, I haven't had time to run a tank through since the re-flash. I only mention the ethanol because my one-time tank of 45 mpg came on no-ethanol regular and I've heard other Buell riders mention it as a factor. Are you riding to the AMA Museum for the Moto-Stars exhibit on Saturday? I've been thinking of doing the same but haven't decided whether to leave Thursday and camp that night at Willville in VA, http://www.willvillebikecamp.com/ or do the whole 600 miles Friday. I planned on camping at Lake Jackson, south of Columbus, Friday and Saturday night. |
Jomama
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 04:39 pm: |
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Jim, I am not going to be able to make it to the AMA Museum. I cant leave out of Myrtle Beach until after work on Friday about 5pm, and am going to Mooresville, NC for the night. From there I am leaving early morning and heading up to Canton, Ohio to visit some family and friends and then on to Cleveland. I dont think I will make it up there early enough to the exhibit without feeling rushed. I am originally from Ohio and havent been back to visit in several years. So its more of a vacation as I will be up there all week. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 04:50 pm: |
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Jim- I've been keeping an eye out for non-ethanol gas. The only local stations I've found so far that don't have the "May contain up to 10% ethanol" sticker on the pumps are the Exxon stations. I don't have a lot of confidence they don't actually contain ethanol, but at least they aren't labeled that way. I know that Sunoco, Hess, and Amoco all state they have ethanol. |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 - 05:27 pm: |
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Joe, What a coincidence. Ride safe and don't pass any black Ulys you see on the side of the road. Hugh, I think there are Exxons on Dorchester at Ladson Road and Bacons Bridge. I guess I could go in and ask if they mix it with ethanol. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 10:58 am: |
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I've purchased gas a couple of times recently in my truck at the Sonny's Exxon at the Ladson Road/highway 78 interchange. That's where I first noticed the lack of the ethanol sticker. Later confirmed this at the Exxon at Dorchester and Bacons Bridge. It'd be nice to have one source of non-ethanol fuel available. |
Guell
| Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 - 04:58 pm: |
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i just fill it up with whatever is closest. |
Scbuellkat
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 08:52 am: |
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Dido!! Price dont bother me either. 10 dollars on average. Thats nice as well. |
Xblaw
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 10:16 am: |
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I have been really surprised with the fuel economy my 04' XB12s gets. I have calculated it a dozen or so times. On the highway, I get around 51-55 mpg, and on the twisties, I get about 38-42 mpg. Not sure how I get that great of fuel economy, but I am not gonna change a thing. I have the Buell race kit and that is about the only mod to the engine. I have ridden it like this for 10k and have never had a problem. |
Cyclonecharlie
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 11:02 am: |
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Matt, That's the nice thing about a carb'd bike, no sensors to get excited about a little ethanol. You are the sensor,what you hear,feel and see. |
Rcontroler
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 11:49 am: |
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Might as well get used to the ethanol thing as I believe it is here to stay and will appear in all brands of gas B4 it is all said and done. How about octane? I have been using 89 in my XB9 with no noticeable ill effects (sags, spark knocks, etc.) since last winter. Did notice it fired quicker in sub-50 degree temps. Am I the only non-premium user? |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 07:39 pm: |
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RC- when did you get the XB9? I've never tried 89 octane in my bike, but I've read of a few Uly riders who have. Of course, some had problems with pinging on 93 octane too. Everything I've read says as long as you don't get spark knock, run the lowest octane you can. Lower octane gas actually has slightly more BTU's/gallon. |
Rcontroler
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 09:50 pm: |
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I 'rescued' it from previous ownership last October. Sold my Blast! last month to a dude in NY. Having a ball with the Lightning. It's yellow too. 2003.... (Message edited by rcontroler on June 25, 2008) |
Cyclonecharlie
| Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 - 10:16 pm: |
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RC That nine is a great motor, I wish I had one in my Cyclone. |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 07:00 pm: |
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Congrats RC. I always did like the yellow XB9S's. |
Rcontroler
| Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 09:11 pm: |
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The XB9S showed up at Augusta HD Buell shortly after I bought my Blast from them. I sat on a yellow one they had on the floor. Right then I said to myself "Self, you need to purchase one of those one day." So I did!! |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 09:38 pm: |
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Leaving out at Oh Dark Thirty for the AMA Motorcycle Hall of fame Museum in Columbus, OH. Hope to meet the guy that got me started riding around on two wheels 39 years ago. It'll be interesting to see what the ECM patch does to my fuel consumption. Good night. |
Guell
| Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:49 pm: |
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have a safe trip jim! |
Hughlysses
| Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 - 07:36 pm: |
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Cool trip Jim. Guess you're on the road now. We need a ride report when you get back! |
Jwnsc
| Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 11:29 am: |
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Matt and Hugh, Got back last night. 1250 miles round trip. Uly did great but only 42 mpg trip average. I was getting that before the re-flash. Maybe it didn't install right. I'll talk to the Mike Kelly, the Buell Tech at Low Country. As for the trip, it was 9 1/2 hours one-way and mostly I-77. It got scenic in the mountains of VA and WV and I especially enjoyed the two tunnels. I also got to practice motorcycle toll booth procedures six times. I did about 200 miles in the rain so maybe it's time to check the wheel bearings the next time the wheels are off. The AMA Museum was mildly interesting. It has some neat bikes (including a custom Uly for a rock star which was the only other Uly I saw on the whole trip) but I can think of several famous movie bikes that weren't there. Some minor celebrities that are into bikes were there, but Michael Parks was a no-show. |
Xblaw
| Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 05:46 pm: |
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Had a fella at Lowcountry tell me he did not think I needed to change my synthetic oil in the Buell but every 5000 miles. Just change the oil filter every 2500. Anyone else do that? |
Buellistic
| Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 06:35 pm: |
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It is being said the you can go longer between oil changes with full synthetic ... "BUT" REMEMBER THE OIL IS THE GARBAGE CAN OF YOUR ENGINE and IT IS AIR COOLED ... "i" change my synthetic oil every 3000 miles ... Have almost 104 thousand miles on my 97S3T now !!! |
Xblaw
| Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 - 06:41 pm: |
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104k!! Holy geez. I thought 5000 was a lot for an air cooled motor. I understand it may hold true for a liquid-cooled motor. Still leary of doing that. I just turned 12,500. The dude told me to wait for 15,000. Paying $60 for oil and oil filter does make it tempting to do that. |