| Author | Message | ||
     Samuk |
One of the local group member tried last September to reach Patagonia with his Ulysses - Due to one protection design flaw on the belt cover, a couple stones stuck between the primary belt gear and the gearbox, causing the clutch to give up 1,000 kilometers after he left. After all the frustration to have the bike broke in the middle of nowhere, in a foregin country - having to loose all the investment in the trip - he hauled the bike back to Brazil, where the local dealer is refusing to give a good care in this case.Could anyone help me contact the factory to have a decent conversation - discussion ? Local representant is not giving much attention to our bikes, not even the stand recall was put in place. Anyone had similar problems?, is a little peble going to stop Ulysses???? | ||
| Samuk |
Here are some pics of the damage. First the place where the stones got stuck, rubbing against the gear and causing the clutch to give up: The second are the clutch discs worn.   | ||
| Blake |
Sorry to hear of your friend's misfortune. I'm not sure I understand the exact scenario where the dealer or Buell should be held responsible. How did a pebble between the sprocket and cases issue lead to a clutch problem?  Are you saying it put the final drive in such a bind that the clutch burned out trying to repeatedly overcome the resistance? If so, shouldn't the rider have detected that something was seriously amiss and taken simple action to identify and resolve it? Surely in such a case a rider would be unable to manually move the bike in neutral which should lead one to inspect the final drive, especially if the bike had gone down in the dirt. No? If my assessment sounds accurate, then I'd suggest a live and learn, all the wiser approach; replace the clutch and ride on. I've ridden chain driven motorcycles that have had similar wheel binding issues. The solution is usually to take an old screwdriver and mannually clear the troublesome debris. | ||
| Samuk |
Blake, we are trying to understand, your questions were made to the owner before, he claims that the bike was heavy and the conditions in Patagonia, road, winds of 50 to 90 miles per hour, made difficult to notice the drag. You are right, how about the movement on neutral, have not got an answer back. Thanks. some pics of the trip condition     | ||
| Blake |
Nice Texas flag.  | ||
| Mainstreamer |
Samuk, sorry to hear of the troubles your friend is having. When your Adventure Tourer fails you during the tour it makes for more adventure than you want. Raising the suspension, putting a duck bill fender on & strengthening the wheels does not make an adventure tour. I happen to own a Uly and think I understand it's limitations better now. Thanks for sharing your friends experience with us. | ||
| Blake |
Right, much better to have the frame cracking or the drive shaft falling apart like on a serious adventure tourer, you know, like the BMW R1200GS. | ||
| Court |
When subjecting any "Adventure Tourer", Ulysses or BMW, to those conditions it is the OWNER, not the dealer or the factory who is responsible for repairs. Be mindful that neither the Ulysses nor the GS, in spite of their "going gets fun when the road ends" advertising were ever intended for such service. The Ulysses is find on dirt and gravel roads for certain distances . . crossing a continent off road are beyond what any reasonable owner would expect. The customer service phone number is on the "For The Factory" page. |
