| Author | Message | ||
     Psycrow |
Hey Guys I picked up a 2002 M2 Cyclone (blue) this spring from a dealer (13,000KMs/ 8000miles) and have been lurking here ever since trying to soak up some wisdom. I like to wrench a little and have done so on past bikes but I’m really a novice and past experience has all been on Metric bikes this HD/Buell is a different beast. Anyways I wanted to introduce my self and ask a couple of questions. I just got back from a 5000KM / 3000 Miles Tour to North Carolina from NB Canada, and I have to say Im still in love with this Buell but the Honeymoon is over. For the first 2000KM (what I put on the bike before the trip) I was not experiencing any abnormal behavior. Once on the Trip however the M2 started leaking fluids. I had to stop In Virginia to have two seals replaced in the primary cover, it was leaking Transmission fluid. This was a surprise to me none of the Metric bikes I’ve owned over the years needed separate fluids. The other problem I was having started after the 2nd day of riding. The bike started spewing oil all over my right pant leg. On examination it was coming from the Stock Air Box. This must be the famous Breather Puke I had read about on this forum. My question is this, just how much Puking is normal. I had to clean the airbox out every other night to prevent accumulated oil from leaking past the foam seal and out onto the bike and me. Over the 8 days and 3000 miles I had to replace a quart of oil. I asked the Service guy in Virginia if this was normal and he said yes “the nature of the Beast” when running hard. I personally don’t consider 65 – 70 MPH freeway driving “hard” so I’m a little dismayed at the sheer volume of oil being “dumped” on my leg. I really feel this is something the dealer I bought it from could have warned me about. Anyways if it the consensus of this group that this amount of spooge is normal I will have to modify the air box with a catch can or dump the cash into a XB rocker box conversion. Sounds like a lot of $$ and time to “fix” a stock bike. BTW the Dragon was awesome on the Buell it was one heck of a ride when it wasn’t spitting on me! | ||
| Kyrocket |
Let me first qualify this by saying I have the X1, welcome to Buell ownership by the way, a 1999 X1 to be exact. I too am a metric conversion, liked the Buell for its unrefined naked look. The separate fluids don't bother me as much as the puke but I have to say once my level is down it is happy. Every time I change my oil I inadvertently add a little too much, I guess to compensate for the filter and the filter cooler and it burps a little out of the airbox but once it's done I get very little if any coming out and I can't justify adding the catch can or new tops just for the oil changes which are fewer and farther between since my ride time is minimal. Anyway, that amount of spooge is not normal on MY X1 and wasn't when I was riding often (boy I miss those days) but there will definitely be more posts here so see what the others have to say. Welcome Aboard. | ||
| Cpres |
My M2 has puked since new and used oil, one very important thing to remember is to check the oil HOT and with the bike level. I believe that running the oil below the full mark also helps it not puke. I have found many hoses routed wrong on my bike and crushed and split open from poor quality service at dealers. When I put bike back on the road I will have a better idea as to how much affect they had on oil usage/pukage. My suggestion is to hang out here when you aren't riding and buy a factory service manual. I have taken nine state trips two up on my bike and it is not a normal bike. | ||
| Djkaplan |
The higher you run the oil in the oil bag, the more it'll blow out through the breathers - it's not a bad recommendation to run it lower (as stated above) on the dipstick (use the longer Dyna filter, it bolts right on and increases oil capacity 1/2 of a quart). I just make sure the oil is just touching the very bottom of the stick, but don't do this unless you get a larger filter. I also run XB rocker covers with PCV valves and routed the breather lines to a home made, vented catch-can with an oil mist filtering media. I get very little spooge (emulsified oil and water)... mostly water when I empty the catch can. I go through 2 or 3 tanks of gas before I empty it. As far as oil leaks... it's just something you'll have to deal with as they come. | ||
| Bluelightning |
Welcome to the world of owning a Buell/HD!! As DJ said, the XB conversion is a great way to go especially if you ride a lot. One of the 1st things you want to do is get the oil line re-routed out of the air box as this will help clean up your bike and make it run better, remember some of that oil spooge is misting back into your engine when it is running. You said that you are used to metric bikes that like to rev high, well the Buell/HD motor is a different animal and prefers to be run down low, hence the 6k redline that you see on the tachs. One of the things that cause the spooge is failing umbrella valves that are located in the rocker box. Get yourself a service manual and look into replacing them as they do get hard and stiff over time causing the oil to "blow by" and out the breather tubes. Which is why alot of us went with the XB tops as this gets rid of the umbrella valves and uses a PVC valve on the top of the cover. Sorry for the long post, just soo much to say about things to do, check out the KV and this forum for more tips on what to change out. | ||
| Cyclonecharlie |
If you do your own work, the XB conversion is not that expensive. Mine(2K M2) put out a lot sponge in stock trim. With the XB tops I routed the hose out the back(with little filter on the end) and don't use a puke bottle. It probably won't be long before you have a rocker box leak(gasket) that's a good time to make the switch......  Charlie |
