| Author | Message | ||
     Slitherin |
Ok, so I'm heading out Saturday to pick up a 2003 XB9R. I'm really excited about it. Anyway, I'm going to be making a 9 hour drive to pick it up. 2 questions. First, not knowing much about Buells, is there something I should look for? Less than 2500 miles on it. Also anything I should look out for being an out of state purchase? | ||
| Eboos |
Does the seller have the title in hand? That would be my main consern. If the bike in your profile is the one that you are buying, you should be good to go. Otherwise, I would look for signs of the bike having gone down. How much are you getting it for? Say hi to Professor Snape for me. | ||
| Slitherin |
Yes, it is the one in the photo. It is at an auto dealership. 2400 miles for just over 4k. Sounded like a good deal. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
If the long timers on the board will pardon my repeating myself, I will take the liberty of posting my 2003 XB notes for the benefit of Slitherin, and other brothers who may not have seen them before: "I have over 13,000 miles on my XB9S, “Ole Yaller,” so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased one, or are about to buy one, so that they can enjoy their unit to the max, and perhaps avoid a few pitfalls that I have already encountered. These motorcycles will be seen as true classics as time goes by, and they probably provide the most fun for the dollar of any bike on the road today. 1. The dealer situation. The Buell dealership situation is in flux. At first most Harley Davidson dealers carried Buell. Many of them were not too enthusiastic about the brand, so Harley is reducing the number of dealers, to increase the importance of Buell at the dealers that actually carry them, and provide better support to Buell customers. The other dealers can no longer repair or sell Buells, and many of these have sold off their ‘03 Buell stock at low prices. The result: there are some excellent Buell dealers out there, but relatively few of them, very few. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the new XB line of Buells are well made, reliable, need little service, and parts are very readily available. Virtually all required service can be done by a motivated owner with an ordinary set of tools, bike stands and the shop manual. The ideal situation: buy your ‘03 leftover from a Buell Dealer who actively supports the brand if you can find one. 2. Bad Web If you have got this far, you probably realize the one of the best resources for the Buell owner is the Bad Weather Biker web site itself. The knowledge Vault has excellent discussions of every aspect of the Buell motorcycle. There is the Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. The questions most asked by new owners are: A. The first thing to do. I always recommend buying the shop manual and parts list if you plan on working on the bike yourself. This is a bike that lends itself much more than Japanese or Italian sport bikes to home repairs, due to its inherent simplicity, and design. Parts are normally readily available, and not too expensive either. One of our member sponsors, Daves, ( Dave Stueve at Appleton HD), regularly monitors this board. He is very Buell knowledgeable, very helpful, and a great source for original and after market parts. Trojan Horse, ( Matt) and American Sport Bikes, (Al Leighton), both also sponsors, are great with after market parts too, many imported from Europe where Buells sell better than in the USA. 1. The belt. If you bought the bike new, it probably has the original belt. These often had a relatively short life, and have been replaced by an upgraded model that seems to be much better. If the bike has more than 3000 miles on it, it may already have the new belt. The '03 belt is now in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR. The belt parts number is permanently marked on the outside of the belt. If you don't have one of these, you might want to fit one the next time you change tires, cost about $136 from Daves. Lots of hard riders, such as Glitch, one of our leaders, has tons of miles on his, no problems. With the latest '03 belt, the conversion to the '04 belt doesn't seem to be as necessary, but many brothers have done it for peace of mind.The conversion requires new sprockets, belt guards, belt, and a few other parts. Daves or Al can give you an estimate of what it would all cost. Another option is a chain conversion, which has been much discussed on this site: see the knowledge vault. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-3's: many members report better steering and longer life with these than the original equipment Dunlop 207’s. I am now replacing my first Michelin Pilot Power rear tire, and I was very happy. I got 4200 miles out of the rear, including one track day, and they still work great, just running out of tread in the middle. ( I subsequently converted to Dunlop Qualifiers for better handling). Several brothers have learned the hard way to always replace tires in pairs: the front may look ok, long after the rear is obviously worn out, but its profile will have changed, compromising handling. 3. Steering bearings: The steering bearings on the Buell tend to require tightening from time to time. The symptom is a clunk when you put on the brakes, that is often mistaken for a problem with the brakes. Takes about ten minutes to adjust as per the shop manual. The top triple tree is a bit delicate on these bikes, and have been broken more than once by over-tightening: the pinch bolt only needs about 18 ft/lb. Now a days a torque wrench is pretty much a standard item in the home garage. The front forks must be off the ground to do this properly. A rear wheel stand, and a scissors jack under the muffler jacking points is a simple way to do this. 4. Wheel bearings. Long story short: if the seals are orange, you are good to go, if they are black, they should be replaced by any Buell dealer at no charge to you. 5. The lubricants. The oils that seems to be preferred by many of the members are : Mobil 1 15w 50 in the motor,Harley Davidson Formula + in the gear box. These are available at Walmart very inexpensively, especially in the 5 qt. jugs and the Walmart Super Tech ST4967 oil filter was exactly the same as the factory part, (manufactured by Champion), last time I bought some for two bucks apiece. I change every 4000 miles, probably a bit excessive, but it can't hurt, and doesn't take very long to do. Factory recommends 5000 miles between changes. Certainly every year if your mileage is less than 5K. You can’t go wrong if you simply change the oil and filter every time you replace your tires. NOTE: There seems to be some anectdotal evidence that Mobil One Gear oil may cause premature failure of the stator insulation. I now use Formula+ from Harley. 6. Suspension settings. Because of its somewhat radical frame geometry, the suspension settings on a Buell DO count! You can assume that they are not set just right for you, so go to the owners manual, ( shop manual not required for this one:-), and follow the directions. Shawn Higbee has some settings for aggressive riders which work great too, and I use them. See Knowledge Vault. 7. Dipstick. The dipstick is located on the top of the left side of the swing arm: no kidding:-). Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to read. I put some yellow shrink wrap on mine to aid visibility. Using a little wooden coffee stirrer and comparing it to the dipstick markings works even better. 8. Frame Pucks: The Buell OEM frame pucks will keep you from denting your frame if you accidentally drop the model. They can be painted to match the plastic or the frame. These are really a must have item, because it is not to heard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and expensive to replace. That should get you up and running for a while, while you plan how you want to personalize your mount: it IS legal to run a bone stock Buell, it's just that no one has ever tried it:-). First 1000 mile service. I take a preventive maintenance point of view to this service, which takes place shortly after the bike is broken in, and the new owner has pretty much got the hang of things. So in addition to the factory recommendations, which are basically change the oil and filter, check and normally adjust the primary chain, and reset the Throttle position sensor, I recommend the following be done at this time. a. Fit the factory “race kit”. In spite of its name, this is more of a “make it a bit more fun to ride on the street “ kit. Improves mid range, makes it sound like a motorcycle instead of a lawn mower. Easy to fit, works fine. Requires a TPS reset, and removing the belt tensioner, so this is as good a time as any to do it. There are several other aftermarket mufflers, D+D, Drummer and Jardine to name just a few, that are louder and have found favor with many of the Bad Webbers. b. Replace the belt. Why worry about the belt breaking when a new better one only cost $140, and you already have the tensioner off. c. While you are replacing the belt, you have done most of the work to remove the rear wheel, you might as well replace the original Dunlop 207s, which only have about 1000 mi left on them, with some better tires like those mentioned above which will greatly improve the handling, and last twice as long. d. check the steering bearings. The have probably started to loosen a bit, even if you haven’t noticed it. After doing this additional work you will have a bike that: 1. Sounds cooler 2. Runs faster 3. Steers much better 4. No belt worries 5. Mostly likely will not need anything but gas for 4000 miles:-). Just my .02˘ | ||
| Djkaplan |
That was more like $29.99 | ||
| Slitherin |
Where do I send the check? This has been some of the best information I've seen and all in one spot. I'll be sure to print this off and post in the garage to look back on this winter while I get this thing ready for the spring. I know the people on this forum are great people and ready to lend advice whenever possible. I actually road with several members 2 years ago up in the Pocono mountains here in PA with a member by the name of PNut (Tony). Also with a great guy by the name of Jay from Reading PA. Great guys. I was on a Honda and had a blast riding with the group. | ||
| Kootenay |
I currently own a 2003 XB9R, which I bought (new) almost exactly 2 years ago--I also had to drive a ways to get mine (no dealers close by). I have put 24,000 km on it over two summers (only have a 6-month riding season up here), and have gone through 3 sets of tires so far. No real problems so far--the bike runs like a champ. About the only thing I'd suggest you really have to worry about on a bike with 2500 miles is that the tires, if they're the stockers, are likely shot. You want new ones anyway. Other than that, change the oil(s) and go! | ||
| Diablobrian |
Welcome to the family Slitherin. Buells are addictive. I first started looking at Buells because of the engineering, the people however are the best group of riders I have ever been tolerated by  There are the occasional exceptions, but most badwebbers are just great people, and I have seen, contributed to, and been the recipient of, amazing acts of kindness and generosity during the past year and a half I've been an official Buelligan. I have never seen the kind of commraderie there is amongst Buell riders with any other brand of motorcycle I've owned over the past 27 or so years I've been riding. If you have any questions, I suggest trying the Knowledge vault first, but do not be afraid to ask any questions you may have. Never feel embarrassed asking a question. Odds are someone else is wondering the same thing and is too embarrassed to ask. The PMs (Private Messages) go to the email address you registered with, so don't waste time trying to hunt it down on the board. Finally if there is anything I can help you with do not be afraid to PM me with the question. The worst you'll get is an honest "I don't know" and a reference to someone that probably does One last thing, be sure to use the smileys where appropriate to avoid confusion about the tone of your messages. More feathers get ruffled over the lack of smileys than any other way on message boards. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
 My Buell gets 300 to 500 smileys per gallon | ||
| Alanshouse |
Slitherin where are you getting your bike at 9 hours away? There was the identical bike for sale here in williamsport not too long ago, with less miles but probably more $. I may still have the number at home. | ||
| Blake |
Great Post G. Jon! Thank you! | ||
| Slitherin |
The Bike is in Boone NC. Not a bad ride and I'm looking at MapQuest and it says its a 8 1/2 but I'm thinking I can make it to Deals gap in about 9 and from the looks of the exact location given to me is is near The TN boarder and near Johnson City. I can make it to JC in 7. Either way its a full day away from the wife and kids. 2 buds from "The Spirit World" (Honda Shadow Spirit forum) are jumping in for the ride. I like the fact that the Buell's are rare. Not that they are not available but when I go to a typical bike event on my SS750 I may see one or 2 others. I like the fact that the Buell is the same way. Not many in the crowd. I really appreciate everyone giving me a warm welcome here and I'm sure I'll be around asking all the stupid nubie questions. I will promise to use the search function as much as possible so I don't waste everyones time. I can't wait to get this bike. It's been on my wish list for quite some time. Know anyone who wants a 2003 Shadow Spirit 750 with many upgrades? | ||
| Court |
Jon: I love you man! Court | ||
| Slitherin |
Kootenay Yes, I think the tires are going to be shot. I bought a set off the forum here and will be putting them on this winter. They are off a 2005 XB so they should get me through next year. Or at least the first part. | ||
| Kootenay |
Slitherin, when I suggested you'd be wanting new tires anyway, I was actually suggesting something other than the OEMs (although I've read good things about the Pirellis which came stock on the 2005 and up CityXs, and I understand Buell now uses Pirelli OEM tires on all it's models). In 03, Buell mounted Dunlop 207s as OEM tires (apparently they were "special" OEM versions, made with a very lightweight carcase specifically for Buell), and these were widely reviled as poor handling tires which, thankfully, would wear out quickly as well (around 2500 miles). When I changed to Pirelli Diablos, the change was amazing--the bike handled far better, the tires lasted far longer, my sex life improved, and I got a raise! Replacing the OEM tires with good aftermarket rubber was definitely worth it... | ||
| Slitherin |
Yeah, I know the OEM tires are not great. However part of my thinking is that I want to keep the bike as close to stock as possible to start. Then make upgrades that will make noticeable improvements. I think the first thing I need to do is learn how to ride this bike. I had a Yamaha FZ600 back in school but its been a while since I've been on a sport bike. If the tires ware out as quick as most people say they do then come June I'll be on my second set anyway. |
