| Author | Message | ||
     Swon |
 I thought I would post a picture of my 4-valve heads installed on my bike. We are still mocking things up and checking out the fit. Hope to have it finished soon. We added the shelf for the head to sit on and two new countersunk bolts. Work and other commitments have slowed us down but we're getting back on track. swon | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Aaron, Actually I was talking about a stock Buell engine or 88", nothing that modifys the frame. If you offered engine building services and I sent you my credit card with the following requirements; A streetable (pump gas) Buell engine built to achieve the maximum horsepower and torque without substantially impacting the engines reliability. --- I understand reliability can suffer from the riders behavior, consistant prolonged high RPM(s), hitting the revlimiter, maintance issues and so on. Example ... from a financial standpoint, it wouldn't make much sense dumping 10 grand in my RR1200 sporty engine to achieve lets say 140 ponys, if I had to tear it down every couple of months. At leat to me it wouldn't. Just thought a delta existed, Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Jim_Witt |
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| Jim_Witt |
Sam: Do you have any higher quality pictures available of you mods (homepage, gallery, pBase)? Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Ron |
On the off chance anyone is still interested in oil loss problems that do not seem to be sourced in the breather I have the following update. Quickly: 2000 S-3T, 17,500 miles. Oil use from day one. Some oil loss from breather. Re routed the lines vented outside bike - no difference. Found bad front exhaust valve guide seal - Dealer replaced seal, and rings in front jug. Installed "The Cure" and Spike krank vent. Seemed to slow down the use somewhat - not enough to really tell. Then begain using more and more mostly after 3500 rpm but increasingly at lower speeds until it began using well over 1 quart per 1000. Finally returned the bike to my dealer. They tore down the engine and found both cylinders were out of round with bad bad taper to boot. They were actually undersized at the bottom of the jug and caused piston scuffing. The tops of the intake valves had very heavy deposites. So now we know where all the oil went - - - finally. Currently waiting to see what Buell plans to do. The dealer vowed this problem would be fixed right regardless of what Buell does. Just want to state that I could not ask for better service from my dealer nor better efforts to keep me posted on the progress and problems found. I cannot recommend Latus Motors H-D/Buell in Spokane Washington highly enough. Ron | ||
| Swon |
Sorry Jim. I have no better pictures at this time. I had to downsize that picture to get it to work here. That's why it's a little fuzzy. Also, no homepage as of yet. swon | ||
| Aaron |
Okay, now we have some parameters to work with. The nice thing about the 88 is it's cost-effective, it can be done with stock cases. A number of folks have 88's in the 110-120 range, for example, Pammy. Ron's got a set of STD's on the 88 in his S2. That bike is probably capable of 130-135 reliably. He's always modest when making claims about it, though. He also says he has it a bit undercammed at the moment. Ron also has an 88 with Baisley dual-carb heads that makes 153rwhp. It's a street bike, and doesn't break far as I know, but it's a little bit out there on the ragged edge of streetable. He twists it some ungodly rpm for a 3-13/16 stroke. He'd really be the person to talk to about this stuff. That 100" Zipper's motor in Crim's bike is only something like a quarter inch taller than a stock motor. It'd fit a Buell frame. It made 142hp on my dyno. It's a bit of a radical motor, though. Pammy's shown some dyno sheets of a Cycle-Rama 100" motor that was in the 135hp range if I remember correctly. So I'd say that if you're talking an 88, with stock heads maybe 115 plus or minus, with aftermarket heads maybe 130ish, go 100" (which requires new cases) and you're talking 135 to 140ish, add a second carb and those numbers go up. Another way to look at it is to use Denish's guidlines ... mild: 1.1hp per ci moderate: 1.1 to 1.25hp per ci race: 1.25 to 1.45hp per ci maximum effort: 1.45 to 1.70hp per ci BTW, the LSR motor that Axtell built was in the high end of that maximum effort range, over 100hp from 61". But, a good XR750 can break 2hp per ci. Short stroke and they can wind to the moon. You can probably create a motor in the low end of the "race" range that has reasonable reliability and longevity. You really create a big problem for yourself when you try to make the motor bigger without making it taller. Piston to piston clearance and rod angularity become issues. You end up without a whole lot of skirt. AW | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Aaron: As usual, thanks for taking the time to respond. Yes you answered my question(s). Now all I have to do is keep my focus and priorities ... stay out'a the classifieds ... new garage ... new engines ... then new bikes. BTW, I backed out on the turbo S2. Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Jeffsd |
I have a 00 X1 (w/race kit) that has 5271 miles on it. It was making a new noise so I took it to my local dealer. (South Coast HD in Chula Vista, CA) After me insisting that it was making a new noise, one of the mechanics said that it had a rod knock. The Buell mechanic dissasembled the front cylinder and said that the front rod was loose. The bike is two years old so no factory warranty applies and I did not buy an aftermarket extended warranty. Many questions arise. The service writer (Lyle, new guy at the HD dealer and much better than the last guy) said that he will write up a "good will warranty claim" and see if HD will fix the problem. Needless to say, I hope that HD will step up to the plate since the bike only has 5271 miles on it. Has anyone else had work done/or refused under a goodwill warranty claim? How does the motor company decide which goodwill claims to honor? Either way, the motor will eventually have to be rebuilt. I can't help but think that the HD "SHAKE" is detrimental to the overall health of the bike. So, I would like to eliminate the off idle washing machine effect. I am told that this can be done by balancing the flywheels. Any one tried this approach. Also, I'd like to know what I should have done while the engine is apart for power/longevity. If I end up paying for the rebuild, I won't be putting much $ in for improvements. But, I would like to replace parts that are weak or may cause problems in the future. Can anyone reccomend an engine builder. Nothing too radical. It will be a daily driver in a few months when I move to Georgia. I'm still not sure what to do. I knew of the Buell curse when I bought the bike, but I did expect the engine to last more than 5000 miles. (Is that an unreasonable expectation on my part?) Obviously I don't ride it very much as indicated by the low miles. All the recommemded maintenance has been done at the required intervals and I try to keep the motor between 3 and 6 grand when riding. I noticed that someone at the top of this page is asking about loose rods/rod clearance so I see that I am not the only one plagued with this problem. I'm at a loss. My bike is down for an extended period of time no matter what happens. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Jeff | ||
| Ron |
IN the ongoing saga of my 2000 S3-T and the oil loss problem. As I stated above both cylinders were found to be badly warped. I just called to see how things went with Buell. They told me Buell denied any warrenty claim even though this has been an ongoing promlem and there are obvious factory defects. The dealer assures me it will get fixed without my having to pay for it one way or the other. While I will certainly continue to patronize this dealer I think this will be the very last Buell I own. I love the bike. But dealing with Buell has been and continues to be nothing but a heartache. And here I though they wanted to sell motorcycles! Ron | ||
| Jeffsd |
Ron, I feel your pain. Jeff | ||
| Ron |
Not trying to be a whiner - Actually, principle asside, I wanted an excuse to get a set of Millenium Tech jugs. Now I have the perfect excuse. Like I said - I like my S3-T, will keep it for some time and enjoy it. But most likely won't get another one. I am hoping that H-D in it's infinate wisdom might come out with a VR based Sport pig of some sort. Rode the V Rod and was really impressed with the power. I know the information is probably somewhere on the list here - but I wonder if someone could save me the trouble of a search and let me know if there is anyone at Buell I could talk to myself (nicely of course). Thanks Ron | ||
| Doncasto |
Buell Customer Service? 1-414-343-8400 (John, Renee, et al.) | ||
| Blake |
Ron: If what you say is true, I'd talk to an attorney. First, I might try calling Buell Customer Service to see if they could help. | ||
| Ron |
Thanks for the # Don. I'll keep my Buell for as long as I can just because the 'Badweb' is such a great place to be. I have continually gotten better help here than I could ever have hoped for anywhere else. Thanks - perhaps I can sweet talk the customer service folks into action. Ron | ||
| Jeffsd |
Pammy, it was nice talking to you this morning. Thanks for the help. Jeff | ||
| Pammy |
You're more than welcome, sir. | ||
| Marks3tbillet |
Started disassembling my '00 S3T to replace rocker box gaskets. Got the front upper cover off, but the middle one is hanging up on the engine mount. I have never heard of this before. Has anyone else had this problem? I hope I don't have to remove the engine mount, I know how the procedure reads in the service manual. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Mark, My M2 is a bit tricky also. Just need to turn it a bit and lift from the right angle. It's kind of a compound manuver. Brad | ||
| Jeffsd |
Still no word from HD on the good will warranty claim. I'm thinking that no news is not good news. Jeff | ||
| Blake |
Jeff: Have you called customer service? | ||
| Raticalbuell |
I have just started removing my motor from my S1 frame and I am wondering what is the easiest way. Either to detach trans from bracket that goes to the swingarm pivot or to drop the swing arm pivot with the motor. | ||
| Ralph |
Dude, leave the swing arm in place. Just take off the four bolts that hold the swing arm mount on the motor. It is super easy. I can drop a motor in less than two hours in my sleep. bighairyralph | ||
| Aaron |
How long does it take you when you're awake? Seriously, how do you get it back in place? Seems like it would a pain to hold it just right while you put all the bolts in. I did the RR like the factory, just pulled the frame off. | ||
| Jeffsd |
Blake, no, I have not talked to customer service. I was waiting to hear from the HD shop about the outcome of the warranty claim. I'm not terribly optimistic. I talked to Brian Nallin today, just in case. His 1250 cc kit and stage 2 heads sound very tempting. If I can just get over the sticker shock, I'll be fine. I'll keep you posted. Jeff | ||
| Ralph |
Aaron, when I'm awake I just look at it real hard and it falls out  I take everything off the motor except for the front mount and the four swing arm bolts. Then I loosen all of those up and put a floor jack under the motor. From there, the only thing left to do is pull the last bolts and lower the motor out of the frame. Usually I lift the frame off the motor as much as drop the motor. The only hard part about putting it back together is that the swing arm mount wants to pivot on the isolators. After I lower the frame over the motor and lift the motor to its normal position, I block up the rear tire to hold the block in the position I want. Then I'll loosely attatch the front mount to hold the motor some what stable while I line up the rear. To line the rear bolts up I manipulate the swingarm as much as the motor. I can typically have the motor back in the frame and bolted in place in fifteen minutes. And that's with help from my sister  If I had three hands, I could do it five minutes. From there its just reattaching all the other junk. The first time I took a bunch of pictures to make sure I had all the hose and wire routing correct for reassembly. Now I can do it with my eyes closed. bighairyralph | ||
| Jeffsd |
Ralph, were those digital pictures? And if so, would you consider sending me a copy? I may have to take my engine out of the frame to ship it off to get rebuilt. Thanks, Jeff | ||
| Ralph |
Jeff, I ditched those pictures a long time ago. Go get a disposable camera and take pictures as you take the motor out of what you see as important to remember. bighairyralph | ||
| Jeffsd |
Has anyone had any major engine work done in San Diego at one of the local harley/non harley shops? I know that Fread at San Diego HD races Buells so I guess that his work is done there. I'm looking for a place to have my bottom end rebuilt in case the good will warranty claim is denied. I just got off the phone with John at customer service. Really nice guy. He is going to make some calls and call me back. Much better sevice then I expected. Thanks for the heads up guys. Jeff | ||
| Jmartz |
Jeff: I'm curious, how many miles had you put on your bike before realizing the bottom end was worn out? Did it suffer premature wear on account of a poorly performing oil pump/circuit or was it a part failure that spread metal particles throughout? Jose |
