| Author | Message | ||
     Henshao |
Well, gentlemen, been riding my Buell Thumper for about a month now and I'm already tired of asking so much of the little bike. My Firebird runs 2000rpms at 80mph...my bike runs near 6k at the same. Also I seem to be scraping my pegs incessantly. And finally, I'm learning that acceleration is a tool that you want to have in your escape maneuver toolbox. There is an m2 cyclone for sale 2 hours from here for 2.5g's, a 2001 with 7k miles. Very clean looking from the photos, and boy I'm tempted. When/if I go to take a look at it, please consider me a complete buffoon. I would appreciate any wisdom anyone has to share as to determining whether the bike is going to be solid for the next 20000 miles or a nightmare. | ||
| Fuzzy |
if you're dragging your pegs i'd hold out for an xb. can get 03 xbr's pretty reasonable these days. brakes are a lot better too... but then i'm fuzzy and far from wise | ||
| Kilroy |
These are relatively bulletproof if not harshly abused. You should be able to tell just by looking at it if it has been taken care of. Ask if any / all recalls have been done, rocker box gaskets changed yet, motor mount isolators may need changing. 2001 already has the upgraded primary chain tensioner and oil pump drive gear, I think. IF all seems OK 2500 is a fair price, you could always low ball him and see what happens. Kilroy | ||
| Henshao |
gentlemen, thank you for your replies. I JUST pulled the trigger on an 07 Xb9sx at an auction two hours the other way. I couldn't bear to let her go for a mere 3100 dollars. I'm a little lighter in the pockets now, a little dazed from my own impulsiveness, but about to load up in the truck and go get my motorcycle. Now to figure out what to do with my thumper... | ||
| Kilroy |
Good for you. You will be welcome back in the Old SChool when you come to your senses (JK) Kilroy | ||
| Henshao |
Rescind, belay, and furthermore retract that previous post. Apparently someone else was awarded the bike by the auctioneer? And here I had nearly gotten away with highway larceny. Still begging shamelessly on a street corner for wisdom about the torque monster that is the buell hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone depending on where you happen to be. And thanks again to you fellers who have already replied. Most helpful. | ||
| Biggsammy13 |
Henshao, I too started on a thumper and after a month of peg scraping and being passed by soccer mom's with the throttle wide open, I put my exgirlfriend on the bike to teach her how to ride. at 5 feet tall...she looked better on it than me at 6 feet. she fell in love, bought it from me and I picked up a 2002 m2 cyclone with 8000 miles on the ticker. I really wanted an 03 lightning at the time bc I loved that body style...but when I viewed this M2 and the previous owner lit it up...well the rest is history. The odometer now reads 23k and I haven't had any serious problems..especially with soccer moms. The most extensive repair done was replacing the starter clutch, cost $125 and for me about a day of labor. The pro's about the old school tubers are huge. -naked body, everything is easily accessible and interchangeable (try to figure out where your gas tank would be on a new school Buell) -the harley vtwin makes parts easy to find and service can be performed on it yourself (with the help of badweb and a manual) I've since decided that this will be my bike for life...if the engine goes...another will go right back in. I commute on this thing daily, take it through the twisties, and cruise with the wife (big comfy seat). Simply, there is no other bike out there with this look and mean growl. change your fluids on time, baby it as much as you can and you'll get more than your money's worth in gas savings over the years to come. | ||
| Henshao |
Thanks big sam. I'm looking for the same thing you seem to have found, a "rest of my life bike." I was hoping the Blast would be it, and Bambino's certainly close, but not quite. I would like to have a little more confidence in outrunning maniacs in their SUV's, and my boots can only take but so much scraping! These things were expensive! Upon further interrogation the bike in question is an M2L, anything I should know about the low Cyclones? | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
The M2Ls have a lower suspension and a lower cut seat. It has slightly less padding for a lower seat hight. Thats pretty much it. No other deference mechanically. I have an M2L and love it. It was my first bike. I have two other Buells, '00 X1, '09 CR and the M2 is the one I would never sell. The only "major" problem I've had is the starter. I have over 30,000 on it and I just replaced the push rod tube base gaskets, throtle cables and clutch cable, the 3rd for my bike. | ||
| Henshao |
"...how far can I lean a low Cyclone? My blast has me a little traumatized with it's like 35 degrees of available lean."<--What I was going to post. What I've found in my research: The Blast has a hard contact of about 30 degrees per side. Couldn't find any info on the Cyclone's lean angle, though I would only hope it's at least 40 per side. My wild guess would be probably 45. I was concerned the low cyclone wouldn't lean as far as the standard Cyclone, but I also found this. http://books.google.com/books?id=HPsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=P A16&lpg=PA16&dq=m2l+cyclone+lean+angle&source=bl&o ts=xzW9NseiHw&sig=rglsw98X64iSW0MC31jJPHR3a1A&hl=e n&ei=lyEFToj4CafL0QGKu8jLCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct =result&resnum=3&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=cyclo ne&f=false The low cyclone has the same compressed ground clearance and thus the same minimum lean angle (of whatever it might be.) Mainly posting this for posterity. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Lean angles are not in the brochures, so I dont think anyone has them. I couldn't find any numbers.   Looks like plenty of lean to me. I've scraped pegs on Dyna wide glide and a 1200 Sportster but never on my M2L. If u need more then get an XB. XBs are supposed to have 50* of lean. | ||
| Gmaan03 |
Good question! How low can you go? | ||
| Brinnutz |
I scraped pegs on my M2L all the time so I put X1 USD forks on it and a Penske shock to rid it of being an L. I also put RRC peg relocators on and haven't had a problem since. Quite a bit more room now and haven't scraped since! Even have smaller chicken strips! Gotta get rid of them, but I don't get to ride as much lately. | ||
| Henshao |
gentlemen, thank you for all your helpful replies. I am now the proud owner of a 2001 M2 Cyclone! Rode her two hours home, and...IT HAS BEGUN. She's an extremely clean bike. I just love how THICK Cyclones are. They're HEFTY. STOUT. If it weren't a bike I'd say it had CHILD-BEARING HIPS. It is the one thing I liked most when I saw her in the ad. Here are the photos from the ad.   While trying to get the right mirror into position on the bike, my cousin and while applying liberal amounts of Grown Man Strength(tm) rotated the bars a little bit in their clamps. This brought them a little closer and seemed to really make the bike flickable. Now it's still ~100lbs heavier than my thumper but I can dodge manhole covers without thinking. Between that and being able to outrun maniac SUV's (hell, this bike is quicker than my Firebird, we're going to have to do something about that!) I think I will be satisfied with her for quite some time. She's idling at like 2500rpms right now which I don't think she's supposed to. Going to try the little twisty thing above the carb (previous owner swore up and down the bike was fuel injected; unless it was done aftermarket, everything I've ever read said all cyclones were built carbureted.) Keep this thread going with the useful stuff or let it fall to the wayside, either way thanks to everyone. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
Looks like you got yourself a great bike - Congrats! Should idle closer to 900 - 1000 IIRC. The idle adjust screw is on or near the disc-like gizmo that the cables attach to. On a carb, that is. Al | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Congrats! So have you scraped the pegs yet? | ||
| Biggsammy13 |
dude - congrats! So happy you were able to find something you wanted. That bike looks clean and I'm sure you've invested far more than 2 hours on it today  As soon as I test drove mine and felt the power behind the m2...I was in love...as I'm sure you are. Good find and happy riding! | ||
| Fuzzy |
LOL, first thing i did was get rid of the humongous seat and tail! then raise the pegs and clipons. and finally an xb front end for the brakes. think 1100 rpm minimum to keep oil pressure up? | ||
| Henshao |
gentlemen, thank you for all your replies. Y'all are some good folk. Allan, I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing. My bike has a cable under the right side of the gas tank above the air box that has a screwlike thing on the end of it, it's purpose is adjusting the idle speed up and down. The mixture seems to be alright. Jacob, I laid my thumper down in a turn not too long ago and my confidence is still a little down. I hit some gravel on a ramp at night and now I'm very cautious about seeing all the way through a turn. As soon as I find myself a long sweeper I can see through I'll put her on her ear. Sam-Liam, when I test rode it I was frightened of it. But there was another buyer there about to put a deposit on the bike and despite being scared of the bike I had to make an executive decision. But during the ride home I short shifted and got used to her and, despite not having the courage to wheelie yet, I'm certainly not scared anymore. It's too soon to call it love  Rex, I'm going to put some bags on her and a windshield if I can find one, but that'll be the limit of my customization (God willing). I understand that oil pressure is a concern on these bikes, now that you mention it I'll shoot for 1000-1100 (the manual calls for 950-1050) | ||
| Ratbuell |
An 01 has the remote idle adjust cable, it does poke out between the air filter and tank. Clockwise = higher idle, counter = lower (think "volume knob"). 1050 is idle spec. All Cyclones are carbureted, you are correct. Congratulations. A 99 M2 was my first bike; I recently added an 01 to my stable and realized how much I'd missed that bike. I love the power curve and the torque that the M2 cam profile gives...and the seat is just COMFY. Good stuff. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Henshao, Sorry to hear that, I know what you mean. The same thing happened to a friend of mine. Every time we come up on a curve he slows done a bit. An '01 M2 was my first bike and I'll never sell it. Enjoy your "new" Buell! | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Great looking bike, $2,500 is a steal of a deal. 01's are nicely sorted bikes. Oil pump drive gears are all old style on all the tubers. You can probably get the bronze part from a Buell friendly HD dealership. Worry about changing it if you run the bike hard often. Seals may begin leaking, especially if it's still got factory paper gaskets - anticipate the rocker box gaskets first. You can keep this at bay a bit by warming the bike up before taking off. Oh, if it's still got D205's on it you'll really enjoy some nice new sport touring tires on there when they're done. | ||
| Henshao |
Thanks Joe. One thing I do love about the Cyclone is that flat torque line. It doesn't even qualify as a curve. The bars are still a little low and forward for me and man I'd love to not have so much wind-suck at 80mph. But the seat...I dare any cruiser to try and match the Cyclone seat! It's amusing also passing by a Harley who didn't see you and having him look around for his brother... Jake, I'm going to be reckless and touch a peg down in the near future, just for you. I'd like to think I'm not nancy-ing these turns too badly but until I come across a good squid or a good rider I guess I won't know. Mr. Siegel, 2500 is indeed a steal of a deal. One thing about me that is a recurring trend is I rarely buy anything unless I can get it for way less than it's worth. Get this, the bike was first owned by a guy who lived next to the dearership...he rode it about 5000 miles and sold it in maybe 09. I imagine it's...probably got all the latest stuff already in it. Probably. Tires are fresh, dunno what they are but the tread seems like a pirelli. It has a vance and hines down low and something aftermarket on the intake. Looks carbon fibery. Thanks again everyone. I'm really digging that cam lope exhaust (with the MUSCLE to back it up) Any of you ride near northern va? | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Nope, sorry I'm in Texas. Here's a pic of my M2.  | ||
| Henshao |
Nice bike Jake. There was a custom painted Cyclone for sale in Bells, Texas, on eBay. It went for 24xx not a week ago. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item =120738758858&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT Today I tried but I just couldn't get a peg to touch down. Too much traffic, and my Blast taught me the value of body positioning...hard to scrape a peg hanging off the bike. Question for you guys: Are the body panels of the Cyclone molded in color like the Blast, or are they painted and need to be maintained? Also, Jake you seem to have a snowflake on your front wheel. Might want to have it looked at. | ||
| Jacob83z28 |
Haha, thanks I'll have a look at it. Thats a pretty rare thing here in San Antonio. The last time we had real snow was in '85. The Cyclones are painted, not molded in color. Did you end up getting a low? | ||
| Mtjm2 |
Chris , you did good . Nice bike | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Siegel? That's the Buell Pro Series race intake on there, good breathing part there. Under the left side of the tail section is your ignition, you don't need the Lightning ignition to get the best out of it, but it raises the hard ceiling on your rev limiter. In case you wondered about the ignition. From here it looks like you've got the latest, greatest fully adjustable remote reservoir Showa shock. But you're a long way away, so it's kinda hard to tell. That's the Braking Wave rotor on Jacob's bike. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Chris - I'm just at the top of 270, in Frederick MD. We have better roads up here  If you want to come up for a spin sometime, just drop me a note. And...S3 bars will fit just fine on the M2. Little more rise, you can roll them for some more pullback, and with some mild re-routing the cables will all reach. And I'm pretty sure S3 and Blast bars are the same. | ||
| Henshao |
Yes sir, my bike is supposedly an M2L. Got a windshield on the way. Found a national cycle deflector dx for 60 bucks on ebay. Don't like the pressure trying to blow me off the bike at my usual cruising speed of a-little-faster-than-everyone-else-mph. Mark, I think you mistyped, I believe the saying is "You done good." Thank you sir. Bugsy (Siegel), I did a little research and found that out today. The Buell Racing Air Cleaner is considered an off-road only part The fact that I own a large tropical storm is still sinking in, I'm mentally happy if I have the latest greatest showa shock on there but emotionally I don't even CARE...I came to realize today that this isn't even a sportbike, it's a MUSCLEBIKE. Now, sure it'd be nice to have a tall 6th gear so I could do illegal things more easily but up to any reasonable speed I doubt there's much that can catch me! Have to remind myself when I hold first to 50 mph that I, ultimately, got a bike for the gas mileage. friend of mine has an R1, should I be scared? Joe, I appreciate it the invitation. I'm a little particular though, I never go into Maryland unless I have to, I have certain rights I don't like to be infringed...and are you trying to tempt me to take my blast apart sir? You are a bad influence. A bad bad bad influence. I've been hard enough on that bike as it is! Besides I seem to have developed an oil leak (on the thumper) that is depressing me even more than my bent forks. Here's hoping it's something simple, it's an 01 so there's a very reasonable chance it's that paper all back off up in there (I think) Thanks again everyone (am I repeating myself? ) |
