| Author | Message | ||
     Wilcom |
I have been trying to sell my Buell and there has been no interest. Today a guy drives 60 miles thru Los Angeles traffic to come and look at my bike, a 2009 XB12R with 277 miles on it. I open the garage and roll the gleaming thing out on the drive way and put the key in and hit the button........and it starts up on one cylinder just ah shudder'n and ah popp'n. The smell of raw fuel from the dead cylinder lingering in the air. Of all things to happen, One serious buyer and this thing takes a dump and runs on one cylinder when he walks up............. " Gimme a call when ya get it runn'n", he says! I'm more calm now, but earlier, I sure cudda pushed it off a cliff LOL. Back to HD in the morning, aaaargh Thanks for the space to vent a lil bit....... | ||
| Jasonnennig |
Sorry Wilcom... Not to be a di@k, BUT don't you think it may have been a good idea to warm it up and check it out before he got there??? | ||
| Wilcom |
I'm always suspicious of warm bikes when I go to buy one, just means there probably some kinda of starting issue. So if my bike has no problem I usually leave them cold for the buyer to see it fire off when cold with no issues. The last thing that was on my mind was that a damn near new bike wouldn't fire like it had done the other 15 or so times since I had it. I figure the stars were misaligned or something. I have fired it a couple of times since and it's still " one lunging" so it's not a bump in the night , its a real issue. | ||
| Dentguy |
I'm always suspicious of a bike I'm looking to buy that is already warmed up too. I want to see it start from cold and have sold all of mine that way. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The last thing that was on my mind was that a damn near new bike wouldn't fire like it had done the other 15 or so times since I had it. I think we might have found the problem. On average that's about 18.5 miles per start. Not good for a bike. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Change the plugs, and charge the battery.  | ||
| Wilcom |
Over time, short hauls will take their toll, oil not getting warm enough to boil off the condensation, etc. This is a hard failure, injector died, or ecu forgot about the other cylinder, plug wire fell off etc......... | ||
| Wilcom |
Ganut............ it's going back to Harley, I don't wrench on stuff with a warranty | ||
| Jasonnennig |
In my days of selling bikes at a used shop, I would go out of my way, to know when the buyer would pick up a bike to make sure everything was cool with the machine before he got there. There is nothing worse than screwing a good deal by having some unforeseen little problem pop up when you go to deliver. There is nothing wrong with that and IMHO, I would think twice if the seller did't give a shit to make sure things were right... | ||
| Hmartin |
Being an '09, doesn't it have the spark plug clearing function? Hold the throttle open, hit the ignition and run switches, wait 4 seconds? | ||
| Tepiddeath |
what is the spark plug clearing function? i have problems intermittently with my o9xb12Ss sounds like either a missfire or coughing out the air cleaner, is this what you are referring to? btw, my ruby is an everyday rider | ||
| Hmartin |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/529850.html?1264006024
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| Pkforbes87 |
Spark plug clearing function works like a champ. I've used it on a Uly that was firing on one cylinder. During the process, I got a loud pop and a puff of smoke as the extra fuel burned out of the dead cylinder. Started up just fine after that. "it's going back to Harley, I don't wrench on stuff with a warranty Warranty on my '09 too, but that doesn't mean I'll let an HD tech put their greasy paws on my bike. | ||
| Tepiddeath |
thanks for the info, i just went down stairs and tried it, i don't know if it will help my problem, but it definitely did make different noises. i will have to try this when she is acting up. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Remember the 7P's! Properly Planned Presentations Prevent P*ss Poor Performance. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I totally agree on cold starts. Whenever I'm buying any vehicle I always tell the seller I want to start it from cold, & that if it's at all warm when I get there I'll just leave it. I got bit on an old Mercedes diesel many years ago by not sticking to my own rule, it was lovely & shiny & looked the dogs b******s but I ended up having to swap the head & injectors. | ||
| No_rice |
This is a hard failure, injector died, or ecu forgot about the other cylinder, plug wire fell off etc......... id place money on it being a fouled plug, especially if the battery was even a little low. but what do i know.... | ||
| Etennuly |
I would not own my '06 Uly that I bought new, if a little thing like that was a real problem. They fired it up in the show room and it sputtered on one cylinder. Too many cold starts in the show room so people could hear what it sounded like, and not warming it up before trying again. Fifteen minutes in the service department, they replaced the front plug, and all is well. Simple fix, easy to avoid. Start it when it is going to be ridden. When someone wants to hear it run, fire it up, without blipping the throttle, put your helmet on, run it up the street and back, then tell them when their check clears they can do the same. Starting, revving a few times, and shutting it off will kill the plugs on most bikes. | ||
| Brumbear |
fouled plug for sure | ||
| Nevrenuf |
i was told that you don't want to start it up if your not going to ride it period. | ||
| Wilcom |
Thanks guys.....Sure sound like the consensus is a fouled plug. I haven't fouled a plug on anything I own in 20 years or at least since electronic ignitions were the norm, but the knowledge of the list sure sounds spot on! And......... since you guys say there is a "fouled plug clearing procedure" that even tells me "they" expected it to happen Thanks again, I'll change the plugs and shut up LOLOLO | ||
| Froggy |
Yep, people bitched about it for years, so the provided a fix that can help in some situations. The other fix isn't to start it unless your are going to ride it for half an hour. | ||
| Rainman |
Yow, that'd be tough for me. I start the Blast, ride the 5 miles to work, shut it down, sit at the office for two hours, start it up, ride about 10 miles to do an interview, shut it down, do the interview for an hour, get on the bike, ride to work ..... well you get the idea. So far, the Blast has given me no problems except a battery that died after six years. Maybe the little brick is the most reliable Buell? | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
Or ride a tuber so you've always got easy access to both plugs  | ||
| Milt |
Only six years from a Blast battery? I'm going on eight. I can't imagine any bike being more reliable. With 1 cylinder and a simple carb, what could go wrong (besides the boot!). | ||
| Gohot |
Too bad you lost a sale.... probably could have used it this time of year. With so little miles, sounds like you need to go out and ride for 25 miles or so, and blow out the motor. | ||
| Wilcom |
I hate to go put a bunch of miles on it just to keep the plugs clean LOL. Now, its like a first date, with some petting at 277 miles. If I run it up between 500 and a 1000 miles , that's like penetration, and no longer "as new". It seems odd to me that a computer controlled engine with Fuel injection would be prone to foul plugs. Fouled plugs went away with flat head Fords and 6 volt ignitions for me. In time I will get used to the beast I guess | ||
| No_rice |
they really arent prone to it, but if the battery is a little low, if you blip the throttle, a few cold starts with no real run time, things like that will foul one. ive had a bunch of buells and if i remember correctly i have only fouled one plug. and thats when i was trying to force it to start with a very low battery lol. and if they do foul it is almost always the front plug. | ||
| Wilcom |
"and if they do foul it is almost always the front plug" .....No Rice At your suggestion I snatched out the front plug and it was pure "soot", wire wheeled the plug reinstalled It fired off and settled into an idle. I immediately ran it a couple of miles easy like(no full throttle) and stashed it in back in the garage. Thank You Sir | ||
| No_rice |
no problemo  glad its running for you. |
