| Author | Message | ||
     Captainkirk |
I called to order some parts from the local HD stealership where I bought my Cyclone 9 years ago. I asked for the service manager to ask a question about said parts. "I have a '99 M2 with a transmission problem" I said. His reply "'99 M2? What's that?" He was serious. Darkness is quickly approaching..... | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Yikes!! Just tell em it's a Sportster if they are shutting the door already. I'm fortunate that I know many of the parts guys by name, and they know me, even when I only go in once or twice a year the last few years. Good luck! | ||
| Rick_a |
My local H-D parts guys know me and my bike...as they should...I worked there for four years! Sometimes they still give me a big discount on the nickel and dime stuff I buy. | ||
| Buellistic |
WORD TO THE "WISE" !!! Get a a FACTORY SERVICE MANUAL and PARTS BOOK for your YEAR/MODEL and learn to be your own MECHANIC and PARTS MAN !!! When you go to the LOCAL HARLEY-DAVIDSON PARTS PERSON you go with the HARLEY-DAVISON Part Number out of your PARTS BOOK and never, never say BUELL as they have been known to say it will not fit !!! It will also help when you deal with after market suppliers ... | ||
| Captainkirk |
Yeah, already got the FSM and PM and have been doing my own wrenching since Day One with the exception of some warranty stuff early on that they wouldn't let me do. Well worth repeating. It was hard enough to find someone that knew what they were doing Buell-wise when they were still building them. Now.....  | ||
| Buellistic |
Back in the day "SPORTSTERS" were the HARLEY-DAVIDSON "STEPCHILD", "BUT" as soon as the "LADIES" started buying them that all changed to some extent ... The old hard core chopper/DRESSER mentality kind of accepted them("i" say kinda), }then they let go on BUELLs ... (Message edited by buellistic on September 24, 2011) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Odd to have a company so successful while fostering so many ingrained biases toward segments of its own product line-up. I always described my Buell as what a Sportster would have grown up to be had its parents not hit it in the head with a hammer as a child. | ||
| Buellistic |
What a "SPORTSTER" could and would have been has already happened, it is called a XL1200X !!! "AND" it weights a "TON" compared to a TUBE FRAME BUELL !!! "i" refer to it as the BUELL "SPORTSTER" and the SALES PERSONS do not like that, even some of the FACTORY PEOPLE that "i" have talked too ... | ||
| Guell |
one of the parts guys at the local harley dealer used to own a rr1000 and a white lightning. I dont get scared going to them. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I view the XR1200X as a feeble attempt of HD to copy the oldest technology Buell had to offer. Even then they STILL managed to screw that up. HD was once on the cutting edge of motorcycling. Their motors were the best and most modern the market had to offer. The problem was the technical development was stunted. Instead of progressing from finger painting to landscape portraits, HD worked to produce the best most advanced finger painting they could make. Take a bright aspiring young child and club them in the head until they are retarded and this is what the modern Sportster is. Hell, it was once called "SPORTster" for a reason:  | ||
| Captainkirk |
LOL at the poster! I did get a hold of a tech that knew something about Buells (still couldn't answer my question though), but my point is this; If a SERVICE MANAGER doesn't know what a '99 M2 is, how long before this filters down through the rank & file? Manufacturers are required BY LAW to provide parts support up to 7 years after the demise of a specific model (unless they go out of business). A year has come and gone and we are already seeing behavior like this from dealerships that couldn't wait to offload the Buell line even while they carried them. We tuber riders will soon be orphan owners if not for folks like Al Lighton at American Sport Bike. Personally, I think I would prefer to buy my parts from him in the future, even if it means paying extra for shipping. Once the light goes out, it's gonna get awful dark in here.... | ||
| Rick_a |
Guys, H-D is in the cruiser game. Most of the popular import cruisers have been unchanged or only relatively so for decades. There's a LOT of these cruisers that require valve adjustments at least every 8K miles, still have a drum brake in the rear, have the most rudimentary of suspension, and make relatively poor power. On top of that most of the cosmetic metal parts are substituted for plastic these days. The higher end of the metric cruisers don't represent the bargain they used to. After working at an H-D shop for four years and now having spent a few years in import shops, I find myself badmouthing H-D a lot less. As far as reliability goes, Harley's are just a lot more predictable for what might go wrong. As far as parts go, since I've been out of the H-D/Buell shop, 95 percent of the stuff I've needed I can get aftermarket. The little in gaskets, seals, and specialized pieces of hardware I go to the stealership for, as it saves me from buying the stuff in bulk, or having to get creative. Most of that stuff is Harley parts, which I'm sure will be available for a long time. | ||
| Buellistic |
Ft_bstrd, The XL883 in he POSTER is a 1958 Model with a RED and WHITE gas tank, RED fenders ... Notice the SAFETY BARS !!! "i" had one just like it, "BUT" with out the safety bars ... | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Rick, I worked for HD selling bikes as well. I'm not at all badmouthing HD for the products they produce. What is coming out of the MOCO today is the very best, highest quality bikes HD has ever made. My point was that HD is still producing models that were at the pinnacle of engineering decades ago but simply never progressed the way other manufacturers do. Honda produced the CB500 and later the CB750. The IL4 bikes they produce today have little in common with their 70's era ancestors other than 4 cylinder configuration. Other than basic refinements, there isn't a lot different between the Sportster of today and the Sportster of yesteryear. My concern is the inbred and ingrained revulsion to advancement of technology and design among HD customers as well as HD employees. The problem isn't the quality of the motorcycles HD produces. The problem is that the "classic" designs are simply not resonating among newer, younger buyers. HD is an anachronism selling to a market that increasingly respects predominantly technological progress: Its core customers have grayed, and they are buying new bikes less often. The average age of a Harley rider is 49, up from 42 five years ago. But company executives don’t seem outwardly worried by the lackluster growth among those 35 and younger, even as it takes steps to turn them into Harley owners. | ||
| Rick_a |
It's a market where there hasn't been a whole lot of progression from any manufacturer, aside from styling. A lot of metric cruisers are still carbureted, use drum rear brakes, and screw and locknut valve adjusters. I agree about the classic design thing, but it's not a market known for being at the forefront of design or technology. Every time H-D has tried to branch out they have failed. Realistically, the closest ancestor to the current XL power plant goes back to 1986, with the direct descendent appearing in 1991. The current chassis dates back to 2004. The Twin Cam came out in 1999, and has little in common with the Evo Big Twin aside from having pushrods and twin 45 degree cylinders on a common crankpin. Softails were revamped in '00 with a tweaked chassis and counterbalanced Twin Cams. The FL's have had an all-new chassis since 2009. The current Dyna chassis was introduced in 2006. In '07 the engines got bigger, and IIRC all H-D models have been fuel injected since 2005. When people speak like H-D hasn't changed in fifty years it's annoying, not that I have any loyalty towards H-D, but in that such sentiments are so ignorant. All that said the only Harley I would personally own is the XL's from 1991-2003, the Sport being my favorite. The market is what it is, and unfortunately so is H-D. There is only so much diversity to be had in a single market segment. The problem I have with most bikes these days is that they are refined to the point of feeling soul-less. People, especially new riders, it seems, detest things like character and minor imperfection. Anyway, back to topic, Tuber parts will be around for a long time. My only fear would be tweaking the frame beyond repair...years from now. | ||
| Buellistic |
BASIC UP-DATES on the 1957 SPORTSTER engine to the end of production run on the TUBE FRAME BUELL engine: Outwardly the engine looks basically the same !!! 883cc(55ci) to 1201cc(74ci) ... 6 volt systen to 12 volt system ... Foot crank to electric start ... Ignition points to electronic ignition ... Duel fire ignition to single fire ignition ... No valve guide seals to valve gide seals ... Engine pressure controld valve between the crank case and transmission to a crank shaft oil seal ... No crank case pressure relief to PVC valves in the heads ... Top END from IRON to ALLOY ... Solid Tappets to HYDRAULIC ... Carburetor to fuel injection ... Transmission from 4 to 5 speed ... Clutch push rod release on the left side on the engine moved to inside the clutch ... Dry clutch to a wet clutch ... Do not have to remove Primary Cover to adjust primary chain ... Generator to an alternator ... Oil filter moved from the oil tank to where the generator was ... Foot shift moved from the right to the left side of the engine ... Oil pump from 1/2 turn oil pump to an oil pump that is like the 1/4 turn KR oil pump that also pumps the oil oil of the cam cavity ... Dry sump(as little oil as possible in it)to Simi-wet sump ... Better performance OEM cams ... Better OEM exhaust system(2 into 1) ... Much lighter ... Mechanical speedometer drive off transmission to electronic pick up off transmission ... Still used: The same Part Number(-36) wrist pin bushings ... Still uses cam bushings ... Still uses a Timken bearing on motor sprocket shaft ... Still used caged roller bearings on pinion shaft ... Still has trap door transmission ... BUELLers, If "i" have missed anything "PLEASE" let me know as that is remembering back 45 years from 2002 and 54 years back from this year ... "WOW", most of you'll were not even born yet(just a twinkle in grandmas and grandpas eyes to be passed on) !!! (Message edited by buellistic on September 25, 2011) | ||
| Rick_a |
So, with a few minor upgrades it's gone from this  to this  Good to know. | ||
| Court |
>>>Manufacturers are required BY LAW to provide parts support up to 7 years after the demise of a specific model Show me the law. | ||
| Buellistic |
The "BOTTOM LINE" here is you have to know what parts "RETRO" fit from other HARLEY-DAVISON Plate Forms as parts are still being made ... Do not forget the BLAST as some of its parts also retro fit ... A BUELL SERVICE CENTER will be glad to order you BUELL Part Numbered items ... "BUT" if you know the HARLEY-DAVISDON Part Number that "RETRO FITS" the part will be at the HARLEY-DAVIDSON "PRICE LEVEL" and just cost a "FEW DOLLARS" more which will surprise you on how much more ... Of course there is a limit to what retro fits ... (Message edited by buellistic on September 26, 2011) | ||
| Guell |
im pretty sure the blast was shut down too... | ||
| Buellistic |
"CORRECTED" my post as the BLAST was shut down just before the XB's were shut down ... | ||
| Captainkirk |
>>>Manufacturers are required BY LAW to provide parts support up to 7 years after the demise of a specific model Show me the law. I can't. |
