| Author | Message | ||
     Fireboltguy |
Hi, I am new to the forum and new to Buells. I just bought a 2003 Firebolt XB9R. I picked it up a couple weeks ago, and pretty much just got to ride it home and then park it in the garage for the winter. So I am really excited to get going on it come spring. So in the meantime, I was just wondering what sorts of simple mods most people do to this bike, or Buells in general. The guy I bought it off of mentioned a bunch of things I might want to do, and I wanted to get at least a second opinion, or a third. So here is what it has: - lowered foot pegs for less aggressive riding position - Jardine pipe - Frame pucks Here are some additions I was thinking of doing. (Let me know what you think of these): - K&N air filter? - Wrap the pipes to take heat away from the engine, and maybe my pants too? - I have heard something about modifying the emissions stuff around the air box? Something about a snorkel? Any other things that are common or recommended? As I mentioned, I am new to Buells, and relatively new to motorcycles, so any advice you could offer would be much appreciated. Thanks! | ||
| Skinstains |
For starters, welcome aboard. We are going to need pictures of the bike and an honest assessment of your mechanical abilities as well as your toolbox. | ||
| Barker |
Welcome! I also have a 03 NineR. from the mods you suggested: buy Buell "S/Lightning" pegs, one inch drop, if you want more room. frame pucks, must have Rip out the rubber restricting air "snorkle" tube in the frame lots of other possibilities. Set up your suspension to the owner manual's spec. Ride enjoy, repeat. | ||
| Skntpig |
Do a track day and get the Rider Mod first. Enjoy your new bike and welcome. | ||
| Xbmacon |
welcome to the white 03 9R club! We're the best this site has to offer! 1st ensure the headlight recall has been completed. If not see closest dealer. 2nd does the exhaust pop a lot? re-map. 3rd (cheap and easy) K&N Filter (Yes) 4th How is the belt? (new, original?) there is an upgraded belt that will last longer that should be on your list. 5th Buell custom seat (comfy) 6th Race ECM | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
1) Hi. 2) New exhaust is a must (if the can you have on is stock). Drummer or the Buell Race can. 3) Traction grips 4) I thought there was a wheel bearing recall/service bulletin as well? If your bearings are red, you're fine. (Message edited by Buellinachinashop on November 05, 2009) | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I guess this is where I usually post my '03 XB notes. Some of these notes, made about three years ago, are a bit out of date, of course. Apologies to those who have seen them before. I had over 13,000 miles on my 2003 XB9S, “Ole Yaller,” so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased a similar model, or are about to buy one, so that they may fully enjoy their recently acquired unit , 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 very likely 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 , the shop manual and the parts book. 2. Bad Web If you have gotten 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. The sponsor section has grown over the last few years, and almost every part and service required can b e found there. Many Buelligans, (including me), order all of their Buell parts from one sponsor or another, a tradition started by the redoubtable Dave Stueve, who now operates his own archery shop, Double Lung Archery in La Porte City, Iowa. Among my personal favorites are Tripp at Precision HD for parts, Al at american Sport Bike for aftermarket stuff and top notch advice on how to use them, Matt at Trojan Horse for European aftermarket stuff, Paul at Gainsville for parts and new bikes, Kevin at Drummer for mufflers, and Odie at Special Ops for the same, and Pammy at Cycle Rama for engine performance parts for Buell and HD. Pete at Grandstand Designs for power coating, and special accessories, and I am sure there are lots of good people that I just haven’t met yet. Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. And one more thing................... There is a nutty old coot on this site named Court. One of the only Bad Webbers who is actually almost as old and nutty as I am:-). Thing is he is one of Erik Buell’s oldest friends, wrote the book on the company, ( with Dave Geiss), and has some kind of unspecified connection with the company. Sort of an unofficial ombundsman. He has his own topic on this site. If you run into a problem with your bike that neither you, your dealer or anyone else can solve, and if you are polite and thinking positively, you might just drop ol’ Court an email. Couldn’t hurt. 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. 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 was in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR when this was written in 2006. 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. 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 an '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. Al at American Sport Bike, and others, 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. One of our members, Saintly has produced a simple chain conversion that cost little more than a new belt. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-6'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 Formula +l in the gear box. The Mobil 1 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. One more thing: some riders have used Mobil 1 gear oil in the primary but anecdotal evidence points to this oil as contributing to premature failure of the stator. 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 hard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and very 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˘ If you need any more modifications suggestions, here are a few. Of course you don't have to do them all at once. Performance Mods: 1. K+N air filter 2. Snorkel removed 3. Open air box 4. Buell Race ECM 5. Original Drummer muffler 6. Front Suspension - Ohlins FG 43 1676-17 front forks 7. Rear Suspension - Ohlins 46HRCLS shock, remote preload, 1092-34 spring 8. Hal's competition chain conversion swing arm 9. Secondary Gearing - Sprocket Specialties 46 tooth rear sprocket / 20 tooth steel front sprocket. 10. XB 9 primary gears - 57/34 tooth sprockets 11. D.I.D. 520 ERV3 racing chain. 12. Ohlins side mount steering damper with custom mounts 13. Michelin Pilot Road 2 tires 14. Denso Iridium Sparkplugs - IXU24 15. Drummer Catch Can 16. CRG Brake lever # An- 531 (modified to suit Shindy 14mm remote reservoir front brake master cylinder 17. CRG Clutch Lever # An-621 18. Custom Billet shift pedal 19. Custom Billet rear brake pedal Other Mods/Misc/Customization.: 1. Firebolt tail section/ quick release front seat 2. Buell Deluxe Seat 3. Remove all decals 4. Prototype Drummer front sprocket guard/ cover for electrics made from stock Buell cover 5. Painted primary chain inspection covers to match engine cases with Buell Magnesium Tone spray paint. 6. Replaced inspection cover screws with longer Stainless Allen heads 7. Polished headers with 3M Scotch-Brite Fine Finishing Sander # 9416NA, 320, 600 and 1500 wet or dry sandpaper, and Luster Lace Metal Polishing Strips, (wide) 8. Trojan low profile air intakes painted to match frame. 9. Tommasselli adjustable Clubman's handle bars. 10. Modified Joker Machine billet custom risers. 11. Buell Traction grips/ opened ends 12. Shindy 14mm front brake master cylinder with remote reservoir, CRG levers 13. Shock Racing Mini 9 LED directionals with 10 watt 10 ohm resistors to correct blink rate connected in parallel. 14. Buell frame pucks 15. Dipstick visibility mod: covered dipstick with yellow shrink tube 16. Crystal orange fork and swing arm sliders by Ricta/ custom s/s front mounting axle 17. HVMP Heavyweight Stainless steel handlebar ends 18. Third Eye bar end mirror on custom stainless steel mounting bracket 19. Buell X-1 domed Timing cover, Pegasus engraved, painted Magnesium Tone to match engine cases. S/S Allen head 10/32 mounting screws, to match primary side covers 20. Buell Chrome, (brushed), front heel protectors 21. LSL Billet round foot pegs on 1" dropped mounts 22. Carbon fibre extended rear hugger 23. Buell Carbon fibre front fender 24. Powdercoat swing arm graphite black to match frame 25. Powdercoat wheels: graphite centers, polished rims, clear coated. 26. Buell Aluminum, (brushed), upper chain guard 27. Frameless Plexiglass license plate mount 28. Personalized license plate: "XB12SR" 29. 90 degree Ariete valve stems/ custom machined rims to suit 30. PDG Moto "Black Kleen" Dash Face 31. Precision Engineering Billet brake line clamps front and rear.  | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
how long did that post take you Jon? Very well done. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Thanks China Shop. Only took about five minutes: its a cut and paste job. Of course, it took about five years to figure it all out.  | ||
| Midknyte |
K&N Filter w/o fuel re-mapping, it will just make your engine run even leaner and hotter. I ran with one for a season or two and went back the stock filter. Engine and frame noticeably cooler after going back. | ||
| Rah7777777 |
www.xblights.com | ||
| Fireboltguy |
WOW! I am really impressed with all the help. This is a great forum. OK, so with all these tips, here is what I am thinking: - I like the more upright stance for now, so I will keep the lowered foot pegs - The Jardine exhaust is already installed. I am getting a little popping, but then I don't really know how much of that is normal. I really don't know how it should run. So by adding the K&N, it probably won't be a good idea unless I do a fuel re-mapping? What is involved with a fuel re-mapping? - I have the frame pucks and plan to install them - I think I will pass on the header wrap for now. - I will rip out the snorkel. Can anything bad come of this? Why would they put it in if its no good? - Headlight recall. How do I know if its been done? - Are the wheel bearings visible without taking anything apart (can I just look for the red/orange)? Sorry for all the questions. I asked some of the guys some questions at a local dealer and they had no idea! Sorta frustrating. Thanks for all the help. | ||
| Xbrad9r |
you can click on my name and see my profile pic...i took off the mirrors and did bar ends, and i took off the tag bracket and cut off the reflectors ground down the edges and repainted it and then flipped it around and bent it up to clean up the tail area. two small changes that made a big difference in my eyes. I did the lightning pegs too. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Fire: With K+N and Jardine you need more fuel. Buying a Buell race ecm is the easiest way to get it. Remapping requires a way of reprogramming the ecm. which requires experience and a way of accessing the ecm. Only for experts. Frame pucks are a must. Make sure frame is super clean before install. No header wrap: good idea; pipes can corrode under the tape. The pipes on your bike are easy to shine. See Knowledge vault. The snorkle was only there for EPA noise regs. no problems from removing it. Headlight recall. Your dealer should be able to check your bike on the HD net. Assume it hasn't, make him replace them if he can't prove otherwise. The red bearing seals are easily visible. May have to clean them a bit first. No disassembly needed. Get the shop and parts manuals. The further you get from your dealer the better, as a general rule, unless they are one of the few Buell friendly ones. Use the Buell Motorcycles, Parts, Service, & Accessories (sponsors) section of this site for access to good dealers and parts suppliers. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/171 43/17143.html?1257466679 |
