| Author | Message | ||
     Clutchless |
I have an 04' xb12s. I have adjusted the head bearings tq. about 3 times now and replaced my front tire and front wheel bearings. My front isolator seems to be fine even tho I have heard about problems. I still get just a little tiny bit of head shake when I let off the throttle at about 40-50 mph. I have tried all the allowable torque for it (something like 38-44 ft lbs.??I dont have a manual if front of me...sigh) and still having a slight wiggle of the handlebars when I let my hands off the bars. I have been the only person to do all the work on it as I'm a certified tech but.....my question really is to any techs out there. Is it just me or do xb's still shake when you adjust bearing pre-load to Buell spec? When you adjust a buell's steering head, is it really even an adjustable thing? I dont want to crack my top triple clamp by doing what I've done on my sporty and tightened by hand until I felt I had my weight setup for the bike. I also heard someone say at work today that the worst thing for a buell is a H-D tech working on them....kinda made me not wanna put a heavy hand on it seeing as how I'm a H-D tech. (kinda hurt my feelings too, if I had any) any suggestions? steering head bearings are my next and last route but I dont wanna have to take this apart on my bike if I dont have to. | ||
| Buell_bert |
Not a tech but simple would be to check the balance of the wheel. I used to be a auto mech and sometimes balance/vibration would show up at certain speeds. Hope it helps. | ||
| Buell_bert |
Actually check both tires balance, vibration can migrate | ||
| Bad_karma |
Kelly Did you check the break away pull of the forks. Not sure about the XB but I know the S's service manual specifies this procedure. Good luck, let us know what you find. Joe | ||
| Blake |
A slight shimmy when you take your hands off the bars during decelleration at 40-50 mph is not something I'd even be concerned about. | ||
| Clutchless |
Alas, I have found it. All components on the bike were fine (i.e. nothing broken) But an old friend of mine (like an old mech. about 60 years old.) Put a little bird in my ear. He says to me as I'm smoking a cig outside checking out bikes. "hey man, your not supposed to balance a buell tire with wheel weights, it will make it shimmy a little bit" so I made a fast line to the tire balancer in the back and I balanced my tire by turning the rubber on the rim to find its balance point and not using stick on weights. I knew this would be kind of an issue over 110 mph, but I didnt think it was gonna be noticeable. But sure enough after a re-balance of both tires without stick on wheel weights, she is smooth as silk. Note to self, Buell tires and rim weighs less that just an H-D tire not including rim. That makes them sensitive to balance at speed I guess. Thanks everyone for your input! | ||
| Ridrx |
While aligning the tire/wheel balance is the most important part of a good balance, stick on weights are fine, sometimes necessary...it's the precision of placement/.oz's that is important. I've got stick on's with no vibes up to 90mph on or off the throttle. | ||
| Clutchless |
I agree, I think it was my error in putting them to one side of the rim and not the center of the rim, like the valve stem. Also I am 5'6 and maybe 140-150 lbs. so I dont exactly weigh the bike down  , steering damper here I come. | ||
| Jos51700 |
If you read the service manual (Gasp!), you'll learn that the Buell XB wheels have a painted "dot" on the inside of the tire mount area that dictates where the tire balance dot should go, and also that the wheel weights ARE specific to one side of the wheel (I'm not going to say which, to make you look it up.) The XB head bearings are NOT adjustable, and significant overtightening WILL damage the bearings. As mentioned, a tire balance/tire wear issue at the rear can cause tail-wagging-the-dog issue. Is the tire you installed a Dunlop as originally fitted? Is it a retread? I've seen some brands/styles of tires cause a similar issue, but oddly enough, only on certain bikes. The wheel weight thing can definitely result in a similar issue, but again, only on certain bikes. Also, as Buell has told me on a similar issue on a Uly, "Why are you taking your hands off the bars? That's nature's steering dampener!" |
