| Author | Message | ||
     Hootowl |
Yeah, I know, but I've already dealt with it, and the farther I can stay away from my local dealer, the better off I'll be. (Why should I pay some guy $65 an hour to do what I can do myself, and in less time?) I picked up a low mileage new style shock off ebay, ($70) bought a front mount ($50) from Daves and went to town in the garage one night. I needed three hands and a 5 inch tall mechanic to get the mount on without taking the exhaust off, but I managed. If a couple of failed speedo sensors and a bum rear shock are the only headaches this bike gives me, I'll count myself blessed. You don't want to know how many parts I've thrown at my truck over the years. | ||
| Road_thing |
I've seen that truck, and the parts list must truly be awesome. Hootowl "throws" parts like Roger Clemens "throws" baseballs. r-t | ||
| S3thunder |
My rear shock is an early replacement Showa and current setup measures 17 inches eye to eye. I have set compression and rebound to be right for me. Still on very bumpy back roads it will just about buck me off over 50mph. It is leaking a bit of black fluid from the front of the can (no exposed spring) and the can rattles visibly over an eighth of an inch causing a strong vibration at 2000-2300 rpm. I am waiting to find out a price on a Works Performance Ultrasport shock and the dealer is also looking into a factory replacement. I would appreciate any comments that would help me know if I should replace the shock or just keep fine-tuning it. And, is there any danger of it failing in an abrupt manner. Is the Works shock as good as the advertisement says it is??? Thanks. | ||
| Cerbero |
s3: it sounds like you have a similar problem to mine... the early showa shock is notorious for failed seals... i bet the dampening oil has leaked out of your shock, which is probably why it's so bouncy... though i don't have the rattling problem... as for the failure concerns; if it's just the oil loss, you shouldn't have any immediate worry, i've been riding mine every day for nearly a month now without any ill effects, though i'm planning on replacing it soon! | ||
| Mikej |
What were the catastrophic failure mode signals for these shocks? Leaking fluid, a loose can/cover, and an uncontrolled aspect to the function would cause me some concern. | ||
| Bomber |
leaking fluid is a problem, no doubt, but the rattling can would concern me more . .. . it may be just a loose can, but could be indicative of a more serious problem (I don't know, but I've heard of no other "loose" cans) . . . .. I'd proceed with great caution, if at all | ||
| Fuscat |
Forgive me for not researching real deep into the archives but has anyone ever powder coated their fork tubes? or can it be done? Just kind of curios.. | ||
| Davefl |
seeu911 has had it done so it must be possible. here is a pic. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/43/45381.jpg | ||
| Fuscat |
Damn I never noticed that before when I was checkin his bike out. That looks sweet! hmmmmmmmmm | ||
| Hootowl |
What does it mean when my rear tire skips and hops during hard acceleration? Put on a new shock a while ago and am still trying to dial it in. Thanks... | ||
| Bookyoh |
did the 10,000 mile maintenance on my 2000 M2 swingarm Friday and Saturday. At the same time, I upgraded my isolators to the 2001 design. The tips I picked up from the AmericanThunderbike tech article plus a few from Badweatherbikers where absolutely exellent! I choose to use the method of removing the swingarm mounting block and swingarm assembly as a unit and then using old isolator compresssion tools because: 1) I did not have a frame spreading tool 2) I didn't feel I could accurately control hoisting the frame without fear of damaging the front mount. Total job took me the better part of 2 days between studying it, taking things apart, studying it some more, worrying, putting things together, studying it some more, adjusting, readjusting, panicking, ...... Now that I have done it, a next time would probably take me 3 hours working alone. Here are a few tips I can add: 1) Remove the muffler. This let me move a hydraulic jack under the engine to support it. I used a ratchet tie down around the jack and over the top of the frame so that if the bike moved, the jack would move with it. 2) I used a 6 foot ladder and ratchet straps to lift the rear of the bike, I then put jack stands under the passemger pegs to hold the bike level. I kept the bike slightly suspended by the "ladder hoist" as a safety back up in case the bike moved off of a jack stand. 3) Remove the rear fender after disconnecting the shock. This makes the screws much more accessible. 4) I had a tough time getting the new grease seals installed. I used the 36mmm socket for the rear axle nut and a hammer. I started gently tapping it in place and could not get it in ! I wound up distortng the seal. I switched to the other side and took a new seal. This time I just hit it firmly and it went in. I few more less firm hits and I had it installed. Three lessons for me here. First, buy an extra seal in case I screw one up. It takes at least a week to get one from my Buell dealer so spend the extra $6 just in case. Second, line up the seal and hit it firmly. And third, find a place to buy these seals besides Buell next time. I imagine they will be much less expensive. 5) I was very nervous about setting the preload on my swingarm bearings. I tried the recommended 11 foot pounds (132 inch pounds)and they were way to tight. What I did was remount the swingarm block loosely to the transmission, started at 40 inch pounds, and kept increasing the torque on the adjusting bolt until I got the desired preload. I found that it took 3 pounds on my fish scale to lift the swingarm with no preload on the bearings. I kept increasing the torque in 5 inch pound increments until I got the scale up to 4 pounds. The FM says 3.0 to 3.7 but I thought it felt really nice and smooth at 4 pounds. By the way, I found that my swingarm had no preload and very little grease in it after 10,000 miles. For me 85 inch pounds worked out. Increasing to 90 to 95 inch pounds gave a significant preload increase. 6) The old isolators as compression tools worked very well. I brought the swingarm block as close to the engine as I could and tapped it up with a mallet until I could get the holes lined up. I then used the two easiest to reach bolts to pull the swingarm block up to the transmission by alternately tightening each one. 7) Lining up the isolators to the swingarm bearing blocks was very trying. BE SURE YOU HAVE A 5/8" X 18 TAP AVAILABLE IN CASE YOU SCREW UP THE THREADS!! The first one I tried to install messed up the threads. The head on the torx bolt is huge and rubbed into the side of the isolator. This forced it to start sideways and bugger up the first couple of threads of the swingarm bearing block. After chasing the threads and blowing out all the chips, I used the oringinal isolator allen bolt to kind of do a final alignment. I then installed the torx bolt after putting some anti seize on the isolator rubber where the head was rubbing too. This time it went in OK. Well that was it. It was a big job and I had recurrring visions of how would I get all these pieces to the HD/Buell dealer if I couldn't get it together. Now that I have done it once, the next time will be far far easier. Mark 2000 M2 Cyclone Cincinnati, Ohio | ||
| Reepicheep |
Mark... Excellent writeup, thanks. Unfortunately for you, I am also in Cincinnati, also have a 2k M2, and am just waiting for my belt to finally go so I can do the isolators at the same time I replace the belt... You work for beer?  If you ever need parts, I work in Dayton and can hit F&S Buell at lunch. They generally have just about everything in stock, and I have had much better luck dealing with them then the Cincy dealers. | ||
| Ocbueller |
Mark, Thanks for sharing. I dread the day when I need to do the swingarm. Posts like yours help to ease me into it. SteveH | ||
| Stevew |
All, My 2000 M2 currently runs the 17 inch rear shock. I've bought a 15 inch rear shock from an S3T. Is the so-called "revised" shock mount (bracket) available for the M2 that allows me to use the 15" shock? If so, does anybody know the official designation of this part so I can order it? Better yet anyone out there with one to sell? (I have a note in parts-wanted) The local H-D dealer ain't Buell savvy. Thanks, SteveW | ||
| S1lightning |
Does anyone have a legit problem with the Isolators being replaced and Harley busting the front head @ the passenger side motor mount bolt?????? If so I need your testimony to get a local dealer to replace my head they broke!! Paul F | ||
| Hootowl |
Steve, Yes, I just put one on my X1. It'll run you about $50. Just tell them you need the front shock mount from a 2002 model Cyclone. | ||
| Jasons1 |
I'm really sorry for having to ask this, but I did a search and came up with over 500 results! After 36,360 wheelie-filled miles, the final drive belt finally snapped on my '96 S1. This weekend my buddy Wes and I are going to tackle the job of replacing it. While I'm in there, I'm going to throw a new set of rear isolaters in. I guess I'm just looking for any quick tips any of you pros can give me to help the whole thing go a little easier. I've got the service manual and all the tools it says we should need, so I'm fairly confident we'll get it done, but I'm sure a few of you have learned a trick or two as you've done your own, and I'm hoping you all will share some of them with me. I'm doing the install this Sunday, April 25th. Please reply here or e-mail me at jasonfuhst@hotmail.com with any words of wisdom you may have. Thanks in advance for the help guys! - Jason | ||
| Mikej |
Look at the top of this page and print out the two Isolator service bulletins. Then rummage around in the archives for a link to the current American Thunder Bike dot Org web site procedure. Other sites have it as well. | ||
| Josh_ |
Try limiting your search to this forum for the past year referencing american thunderbike and isolators. Make sure you get the updated ones that require you to modify the front sprocket cover and make sure you measure the locator pin height as specified. | ||
| Bookyoh |
Jason: If you decide to change your isolators using the swingarm removal method then I think you will find what you need in my posting above and by reading the Tech article at Americanthunderbike.org on the Isolator tool and changing the Isolators. Mark PS: I have noticed a change in vibration characteristics with the new isolators. I think I have less vibration at idle and then a little more up to 2800 RPM. | ||
| Buellkowski |
Looking at the right outboard side of my front fork (S3T), I see a hole drilled into the axle pin with nothing in it, no pin, cotter or otherwise. Will someone advise whether or not this hole should have something in it?  The other side of the axle has a beefy-looking nut securing it. (other folks' pics show nothing in the hole...) edited by Buellkowski on April 22, 2004 | ||
| S1lightning |
REAR ISOLATOR PROBLEM Written in 1998-1999 Studying this isolator problem turned out to be a bigger job than I thought. The more I looked into it the more I saw. To start out with, I would like to state that the following are my opinions and thoughts. I have talked with the Buell factory, different dealers, many Buell owners, followed much of the chatter on the Buell related web sites and input from people with good mechanical knowledge. My back round is a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. I've had a wrench in my hands since I was 3 years old and I have a good understanding of how things work. Taking all this into consideration, here goes: The Problem: The premature failing of the rear isolators is the problem. This is where the rubberlike compound separates from one of the washers that are in the isolator. The highest % of this type of separation occurs at the first washer that lays next to the swing arm. There are many signs to look for. You can see the rubber tearing around the isolator, you will feel more vibration in the bike and when you look into the hole in the side of the frame, you will see the bolt head laying against the top of the isolator casing. When these things happen, it's time to replace the isolators. There are various mileage reading when this is happening. The biggest group seems to have this happen in the first 2,000 miles, some as soon as 900 miles. Ted Marshall's 1998 S3T had this failure at 1,300 miles. TJ Leach had 2 sets fail in 2,000 miles. The next group lasted between 5,000 and 10,000 miles. After that, they could last up to 40,000 mile or at least until you change the rear belt. Time wise, it all started this summer. Last year I heard nothing about an isolator problem. What years and models are showing this problem? Well it seems as though that a large majority are 1998s and some late 97s. The S3 seemed to be the most affected at first but later S1s came up too. But how many bikes am I taking about? This would be impossible to find out, without BMC actually telling me. I ask Manchester H-D/Buell how many Buells have required replacement of the isolators? I was told that 6 was it. That works out to 2.5% of all the Buells they sold for 1996-1998. If we only figure on late 97s and 98s sold, then it works out to about 5%. No matter how you figure it, it's a small percentage. What made the isolators fail? Now here is where things start to get interesting. I have found five possible reasons for the isolator failure. I'll list and explain them in order, but first I need to basically explain how Erik's frame design works. There are two separate sub assemblies that make up Buell bikes. One is the motor, swing arm mounting casting, the swing arm, rear suspension, rear wheel and rear brake. The other is the frame, seat assembly, tank, front end, front wheel, front brakes and all components that mount on the frame. These two sub assemblies are connected together by two mounting systems. The first is the heim-joints that connect the two sub assemblies together in the horizontal plain. These prevent any movement side to side between the two sub assemblies. They don't hold up any of the weight of the bike or riders. They do prevent any twisting or flexing from side to side. The second mounting system is the front rubber mount and the two rear isolators. These hold the sub assemblies together in the vertical plain. They also allow the motor to vibrate in the vertical plain and absorb most of the vibration from the motor. The isolators are 2 * " round, rubberized cups with a metal washer at one end and the cup on the other. The washer end is bolted to the swing arm assembly by a bolt through the cup end. The cup end fits into a hole in the frame casting . The amount of isolator that fits into the frame is about * inch deep. In a normal modern motorcycle design, the frame is the main structure that is very stiff and strong. All the other assemblies are bolted on to the frame. The swing arm/ rear motor mount area has to be very strong to keep all sub assemblies in line. The force lines run through the rear wheel, down the swing arm to the frame, through the frame to the front end and down the front wheel. The real ingenious part of Erik's design is how these two sub assemblies work together. I needed to think of the principles of a wheelbarrow and slowly assemble the two sub sections in my mind to understand how Erik's design really works. Think of the motor/ rear assembly all by itself. First it's very strong and rigid and keeps the whole drive train in line. Now stand in front and think of wheelbarrow handles mounted at the front isolator mount. When you lift it up, it will feel balanced like a wheelbarrow but there would be a lot of weight on your arms, because the motor is up closer to you than to the rear wheel. The majority of the weight of the motor/rear assembly is right at the front isolator. Next, think of the frame assembly by itself with the wheelbarrow handles on the back of the frame. Lift it and it will be very light, with the front wheel carrying most of the front end weight, so the rear of the fame is just holding itself up with the body parts and all the little things that mount on the frame. Now lets start to put the two sections together. First we will hook up the front isolator and the heim-joints. Remember that the heim-joints don't hold up any weight. The front isolator is the key to this design. We know it's carrying the main weight of the motor section. Now look where it is connected to the frame. Right behind the front end, which places all that weight on the front end. If you pick up the wheel barrel handles at the rear of the frame, you will be surprised how light it is. All the weight from the motor section is right at the front wheel. Now you can see that there is not a lot of weight on the rear isolators when the bike is by itself. Their main loads come from the weight of the rider and passenger. The force lines, on a Buell, start up the rear wheel, through the swing arm into the motor, up through the front isolator, down the front end and into the front wheel. Loading the front wheel is the designer's dream for high performance motorcycles. They have tried moving the motors forward, using steep head angles and reduced trail to make bikes steer quicker. Erik did it by isolating the weight and putting it where he wanted. The front of the frame does all the work and the rear carries the rider. My hat is off to Erik Buell for a truly ingenious design. Now lets look at what I have found, that may cause the isolators to need service: 1. Defective Isolators. Sometime in late 1997, H-D may have gotten some isolators that would fail in a relatively short time, 1000 miles. This made up the largest group of bikes that had isolator problems this year. The isolator was not holding it's bond between the washer and rubberized material. Because of it's quickness and numbers, this problem created quite a stir. From my knowledge, they were all fixed under warranty and promptly. Under part # 47564-86, I found that there are two version of the isolator. Buells from the RS up to somewhere into 1997, used the version that has three rings around the outside and has a dull rubber finish. Somewhere in 1997 the second version appeared, that has two rings around the outside and a shinny glaze finish. When I checked a couple of dealers parts bins, I found that there was a date on the bag that the isolator came in. Checking the dates, I found that 6/97 was the last date on any of the 3 ringed isolators, that I saw, and all the 2 ringed versions had 1998 dates. The timing, between the new ones showing up and the sudden problems, is interesting. 2. Inadequate preload. The fit of the isolators to the frame, is the only thing keeping the rear of two sub assemblies together. Having the isolators fit nice and tight into the frame is very good. Preloading does that. Put some compression on the isolator and everything stays put. Without preload, there may be some looseness developing between the isolator and frame. The looser it gets, the quicker the isolator will need service. I think this problem is happening in the Buells that are loosing isolators between 5,000 and 10,000 miles. It takes longer for the problem to surface and the result is a shortened life span of the isolators. The Buell factory has just mentioned this problem in their dealer bulletin and have a kit available to fix this problem. The part # is 91360-99Y and from what I was told, it consists of two isolators and two .030" washers to shim the isolators and add preload. This kit will make installing the isolators harder. When replacing the isolators without preload, the isolators are fitted into the frame and then the frame is lowered on to the motor/rear assembly. Most of the time the isolator just slides over the swing arm/motor casting. With preload added, the distance between the back side of the two isolators will be less than the width of the swing arm/motor casting. So the frame/isolators will have to be shoe horned onto the swing arm/motor casting. But the end result will be worth it, a tight fit for maximum longevity. 3. Riding Double. Remember the rear isolators are mainly responsible for holding up the rider and passenger's weight. The more weight, the more shearing forces that are applied to the rear isolators. This is something you can't get around and still ride double. The result may shorten the mileage between normal replacements or bring up problems 1&2 quicker. 4. Normal Replacement. The bottom line is the isolators are a service item that will need replacement in time. Ideally you could replace them at the same time as the rear belt. This will depend on the what effect the first 3 problems have on your Buell. 5. Rear Belt adjustment too tight. I've heard this from a couple of places but I think the forces of belt tension are isolated to the motor assembly and produce no forces through the rear isolators except for some added vibration. You would have to run with a tight belt for a very long time to have any effect. Conclusion: The rear isolators have to be replaced in time and because of a small % of defective isolators and/or not enough preload, there have been some early replacements. What these early replacements did was to uncover the real problem here, the amount of work it takes to replace the isolators. On the earlier Buells, S2s, RS1200s and RRs, the frames have removable isolator plates. The rear isolator replacement is a 15 minute job. Unscrew 3 screws and disconnect the linkage and the frame side plate come off exposing the isolator. Take the old one out, stick in a new one and install the frame plate. Easy, quick fix. The S1s, M2s and S3s use frames without removably side plates. So now it take a trained Buell mechanic 6 hours to change the same isolator. Don Cichocki did his in his garage. He said to follow the service manual strictly, no short cuts because they don't work. It took him two afternoons/evenings to do the job and it was a pain in the rear isolator! When I saw the right side isolator plate in the early pictures of the X1, I thought that BMC had fixed this problem. I was disappointed when I saw the left side, not isolator plate. The left side will take a lot of extra work to change the isolator. If all Buells were built with removable isolator plates, on both sides, then when ever an isolator needs service, it's a 15 minute fix. It becomes no big deal. This whole isolator problem would have been a quick fix and I would not be writing this article. Now we are looking at a $300-$400 repair bill or two evenings of work every time we have to service those isolators. In Baseball, I think they call that an Error. As far as I have heard, Buell covered all of the early replacements. They have in some cases, covered owners after their warranty had expired. The only hassle I heard of, was a few dealers not wanting to do all that work under warranty. But a few phone calls to E. Troy and all the work was done under warranty. What I'm going to do: I'm going to buy a couple of pairs of old style isolators and put them away. When I do have to change them, I will make sure there is plenty of preload. Finally I have started designing a removable side plate system for my S1. Hopefully, I will have it finished before the isolators need replacing. Rear Isolators,part Deux I thought I would pass on a few tid bits that I picked up over the last month that might add to this whole isolator thing. The first is some feed back on riding double. Two separate members told me that they were aware of the problem and were checking theirb isolators frequently. They both had found that after a long ride with a good size passenger, over back roads, their isolators had failed. One had 10,000 mile and the other had 2,000 mile on their bikes. Checking the Buell brochure for max. load weight, it state between 380 and 400 lbs. Both members were in the upper limits. It does show that the more weight the bike carries as rider and passenger, the sooner the isolator may need replacing. To show you the other side of this, John, from Force Motor Products, say he has 35,000 miles on his S1 and still have the original isolator. He weighs 165 lbs and rides solo. The next item wasn't mentioned in the first article, but has come up since, that is wheelies. Buells, more than any other bike, seem to encourage their riders to preform wheelies. They are fun and the fans love to watch them. The problem is not the pulling up of the front wheel but how the front wheel comes down. Many rides get nervous when the wheel comes up and then chops the throttle and the front wheel comes down hard. Riders have blown fork seals and indented steering head bearings as a result of this. These forces from slamming the bike down on it's front wheel creates a lot of force through the isolators. But as TJ said, "I'd rather replace the isolators than give up my wheelies!" This item was the best piece of news. Through a series of conversations, I ended up talking with Jim Carrozza, service manager @ Hacienda Buell in AZ. He and his mechanics have come up with another way of replacing the isolators. Before I tell you the trick, we need to practice a Homer Simpson move. Smack your forehead with the palm of your hand and say Doy! Try it a couple of times. OK now we are ready? First set the bike on stands that hold the frame up by the passenger peg brackets and under the motor so that the frame and motor are stationary and stay that way. Remove the rear wheel. Remove the rear fender. Unbolt rear master cylinder and move to the side. Remove the front pulley cover and motor brace. Unbolt the rear shock from the swing arm. Unbolt ground strap from swing arm. Unbolt rear Heim-joint from swing arm carrier. Unbolt rear muffler bracket from swing arm carrier. Unbolt the two isolator mounting allen bolts. Remove the four bolts that hold the swing arm carrier to the motor. Slide the swing arm/carrier out the back of the bike. Replace the isolators in the frame. Slide the swing arm/carrier back into the frame. You may need some help. Two people may be needed to spread the frame a little to let the carrier slide in. Make sure that the two mating surfaces are very clean. Once the swing arm/carrier is in place, just bolt everything back on. Replace the four carrier/motor bolts with new ones each time. This is a high stress area and it's unwise to reuse bolts. That's it. I would say that if you had all the tools and the stand ready, it's a 2-3 hour job and you don't have to touch the rest of the bike. I contacted BMC and told them what I had learned. They are going to try it themselves before making any official comment. But the guys at Hacienda Buell have done a couple of Buells this way and said it worked like a charm. Thanks guys for seeing the obvious when we could only see the complicated. The last bit of info is that the removable side plates are coming along. I have the plates worked out and what needs to be removed from the frame. There are two or three of us that are going to tear our bikes apart this winter and modify the frame for the side plates. While we are at it, we will add a cross brace at the front Heim-joint and a tab for a fourth Heim-joint at the front head. I will be writing an on going piece about this, so stay tuned. Rear Isolators,the Final Chapter In the first two articles, I went over as much of the isolator troubles as I knew. Now it's time to go over what BMC is found out and how they are solving this problem. First I need to mention the long term road test that Motorcyclist Magazine did on a 98 S3T. They went to the plant and watched BMC build the bike for them. Then spent the summer, riding to many of the national rallies and logging as many mile on it as they could. For the first 11,000 miles, they loved the bike for all the reasons we do. Then the turd hit the fan and the rear isolators went. Unfortunately, they kept riding it for a while. By the time they had the isolators fixed, there was damage to the oil lines, wiring harness and choke cable. These problems started accruing after the isolator fix so it seemed the them as if there was one problem after another. Finally at 15,000 miles, the rear isolators went again, along with the front motor mount and the motor stared making bad noises. That was it for the magazine and they returned the S3T back to Buell. The factory went through it and found that all the problems stemmed from the isolator failure. Needless to say Motorcyclist reported all this, though I thought they were rather kind about what they said and really loved the bike if it had held together. An article like this, was the last thing BMC needed but I think it may have help them get to the bottom of the problem and find the cures. So what's Buell doing about this whole problem? First they had to figure out what was causing the isolator problems. I covered most of this in the other articles. They now have a isolator kit, PN 91360-99Y that contains two new isolators and two shims to add preload. The kit sells for around $30.00, which is very reasonable since one old style isolator cost $46.00 each. The new isolator can be identified by a raised "B" on the side. BMC also found that some of the locator pins that set the isolator in the frame, were too long and now have a spec for that. The last thing they found is to make sure the isolator does not twist when the center bolt is torqued down. With all these changes, the isolators should now last as long as the rear drive belts. BMC sent a service bulletin to all their Buell dealers, in Dec.1998, covering all this information plus procedures to install the isolator kits. BMC also put into effect a Product Program. This says that all 1996-1998 Buell owners can bring their Buells into their dealer for isolator inspection. If the isolators are found damaged, they will be replaced with the new kit for free. This covers all Buell 96-98 whether under warranty or not. If your isolators are still good you will be sent on your way and you will have to wait until they go bad for replacement. Everyone get the first new kit free. After that, it's a normal service, paid by the owner. This program is open ended, time wise. So if you original isolators fail in a year from now, you’re covered. This program gives the dealers authority to do the replacement without contacting BMC for authorization. The bottom line is we all get the replacement isolator kit for our 96 thur 98 Buells. This is great news but why wait until they fail somewhere on the road? Why not just have the dealers contact their Buell customers and arrange a schedule replacement service. They are going to replace them all anyway, why not save the aggravation of a breakdown on the road somewhere. My friend Peter just bought a 98 S3T but won't use it as a touring bike for fear of being stranded somewhere. He may buy the isolator kit and put them in himself so he can have faith in the bike. The other thing is to make sure you get the kit and NOT an isolator out of the parts bin. You could end up with another defective isolator. I know of a few owners who had their isolators replaced, before the kit was available, to have the new ones fail soon after. A new problem may have arisen from all this. I first became aware of this when I was talking over the isolator problem with Cliff Hagwood. He had them fail on his 98 S3T, early in the summer. He had them replaced. Months later, he had a complete front motor mount failure. The two motor mount bolts sheared, the triangular motor mount cracked and a piece of the head broke off. We both tried to figure what made this happen, to no avail. It couldn't be a design problem because we had never hear of any problem like this on the RSs, S2s or 96 S1s. During the time I was investigating the isolator problem, I had heard of 3 or 4 owners, who had what was described as front motor mount failure. All the bikes had had their isolators replaced. This fall, I heard that John Jackson's 98 S3T had the front of his motor drop out while riding. The same thing had happened to his bike as Cliff's. Both motor mount bolts had sheared and the mount broke. He too had his isolators replaced. Why was this happening? Next I read the service bulletin on the isolators, that BMC put out in Dec. In it they describe how to replace the isolator. Basically they say to disconnect everything in the back of the bike and take a lift and raise the rear, pivoting on the front isolator and front heim-joint. I called Don Cichocki about this for he had changed the isolators himself and is a good mechanic. He said that he was very careful when raising the rear and he disconnected the front heim-joint to keep some of the pressure off the front motor mount. He said he raised the rear just enough to get the isolators out and in. If he raised it too much, it would put too much pressure on the front. The last bit was when I talked to a bunch of dealers about the isolator problem. Some of them described tying the motor down to the repair stand and using a fork lift to raise the rear. Now the pieces of the puzzle came together. I can just see a couple of mechanics using a "precision instrument" like a fork lift and raising the rear end plenty high enough so that they could get at the isolators real easy. Basically they have just put stress fractures into the two front motor mount bolts and after a couple of thousand miles of motor vibration and riding stresses, the bolts shear and the motor drops out. I have notified BMC of my observations and conclusions but have heard nothing back from them. What can you do to prevent this from happening to your Buell? Well, if you had your isolators already changed and are worried about the front bolts, just change them. Go to your Buell dealer and buy the correct bolts, PN 3425Y and 3436Y, and carefully install them. You can do one at a time and make sure they are correctly torqued. It's a 5 minute job. If you are going to get your isolators changed, I would recommend having the dealer use the installation method described in the Dec. Weather report and on the tech page on ATC's web site. It's easier, takes less time, and there is no chance of stressing the front motor mounts. Remember, it's your motorcycle and you're riding it, so the dealer should listen to you, or find another dealer. So, I hope this is it for the isolator subject. I hope all of our troubles are or will be solved and Buell marches forward, a better bike. The one thing that I would wish BMC to do is please, please, put back the removable isolator plates, on both sides and on all models. This would make Buells a service friendly bike in all areas. The removable plates are not just for isolators, but for replacing the rear belts ( 20,000-40,000 miles) and servicing the rear swing arm bearings, which the factory calls for every 10,000 miles. The picture to the right shows how easy the isolators are to service, on a S2 or RS. Disconnect the linkage and remove 3 bolts. That's it. It's so easy that an isolator could be replaced on the side of the road, with a couple of tools and a new isolator. | ||
| S1lightning |
I believe that hole is to remove the axle with, using your axle removing tool. (screwdriver?) | ||
| S1lightning |
The above lengthy post about Isolators was written by a guy on the AmericanThunder.org site, NOT ME. He knows to much to be me, Just thought it was interesting. | ||
| Tripper |
If you would have discussed your isolator failure with your fellow riders, we wouldn't be looking for a new head. Go to the XB head. | ||
| Djkaplan |
S1, thank for reprinting the post, it's definitely going in the vault. | ||
| Ehjort |
2000 X1 Lightning fork Trouble. I went down friday night. Everything seems to be a cosmetic fix except for an issue with the front forks. If anyone can help me, I would be greatfull. Q: I have found the front forks to be fine, not bent, but what I have found is that the two silver brackets that hold the fork tubes are just missaligned. The top one is strieght, but the bottem one, as your looking at the bike needs to be turned to the right. (Its like when you were a kid, and crashed on your peddle bicycle and turned the front wheel. You threw one leg on each side of the wheel, and gave the handle bars a twist) I know its more complicated on a Motorcycle, but the same concept. If anyone can help me out, to make my tire turn back to the right, I would be greatfull. I do have a service manual on order, but I'm worried that it wont have adjustments like that in it. Please help, any answers or suggestions to put a fellow Buell rider back on the highway would be excellent. Thanks for your time. | ||
| Henrik |
Eric; get a lift that will get the front end off the ground (lifts under the steering head bearing) - straps around the rafters will work as well, just be sure the bike is held securely and work gently. Then loosen the axle pinch bolts, the axle (don't need to pull it all the way out), the triple clamp bolts that hold the forks and get the forks pulled back in alignment. Then tighten the triple clamp bolts, make sure the axle is threaded but not tightened down. Then ease the front end off the stand, clamp the front brake and bounce the front end a couple of times. Lift the front end again and continue to tighten everything back up (follow manual torque specs). Hopefully that will do it. Henrik | ||
| Ehjort |
Hey, thanks so much, I will get started on that when I get home, I thank you again, Eric | ||
| Henrik |
Eric; just came across a Sport Rider article on just your problem - june 2004. Here is their description, which, far as I can tell, doesn't require you to lift the front except for the last step. But please read carefully in case I'm wrong. YMMV, think for yourself, I take no responsibility etc. etc. 1) loosen the pinch bolts on the right fork leg, the top triple clamp bolts and the steering stem nut. 2) without applying front brake, push down on the top triple to compress the suspension as much as possible - that should take any twist out of the front end. 3) loosen the bottom triple *on one side*!! and rotate the outer fork leg in the clamps - it should turn freely. Be sure not to change tube height when doing this. Tighten the bottom triple clamp and repeat on the other side. Again, please note; do not have the bottom triple loose on both sides doing this step - bad things will happen ... 4) tighten everything up according to the manual 5) final check; requires a front end lift IMHO - do not do this without taking the weight off the front end. A front end lift that lifts under the forks will *not* work. Loosen both fork tube caps and gently compress the front end all the way. It should move smoothly and without any binding. Henrik |
