| Author | Message | ||
     Kyryder |
Hey all I am going to look at a 2002 M2 this weekend. The pictures look great and of course the owner says it runs fine. But so far I have only owned Jap bikes so I am not sure what to look for with these. And tips on what to look for will sure be appreciated! | ||
| Gmaple |
Ride before you buy. Buells have vibration at idle but smooth out as u ride. If it vibrates down the road the rubber isolators are shot. Not a deal breaker but a "negotiation" for a better price for u to replace. It will probably leak a bit as well. I love these tubers easy to work on and maintain and learn to do it yourself. Good luck | ||
| Jamie04 |
I'm on my second 2002 M2 and put almost 20k miles on each of them, relatively trouble free. Most of the bugs were engineered out by '02. Regarding shopping for one: The closer to clean, original condition the better. If the bike looks abused, I would pass. Compared to the Japanese bikes that you are used to, these will shake, shift clunky, and maybe seem a little crude. But these have more character (I think), and the sound is therapeutic. Some problem areas are leaking rocker cover gaskets, broken exhaust mounts (mostly on aftermarket mufflers) and cracks in the fiberglass seat cowl(from vibration.)This forum is full of information from lots of knowledgeable owners. If you buy one, it is advisable to invest in a service manual; They are well worth the money. Good luck. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Give it a good test ride, but keep in mind if you've come from Japanese bikes, this one is gonna feel rough, it'll shake, make noises, won't shift as smooth, redline is way lower. You'll have to take a good look over it and see if you can spot anything... check the top end and where the cylinders meet the bottom end for oil leaks, try to look at the oil tank(black plastic in front of the rear wheel) for any oil. Take a good look at the exhaust mounts for any cracks/repairs. Search the site for "Isolators" to tell how to know if they're in good shape, or if he's upgraded to the newer style(2002s might've come with them, I'm not sure what year they switched over). A clean bike is always a good sign. Mine was filthy, I met the guy 4 hours away and only got a crappy test ride in the rain. Less than idea conditions but these bikes can be hard to come by, so you take what you can get. I ended up having to replace all kinds of parts on mine, but the bikes are easy to work on regardless. Someone with more info about 2002s could hopefully say for sure whether things like the primary chain tensioner, clutch spring plate, or oil pump gear were upgraded by 2002 as well. Those are all things you can't tell without pulling side covers off of the engine, but worth keeping in mind they may need updated at some point. | ||
| Buellbum |
i recently bought a nice M2 Cyclone and the test ride didn't let me know that my 2nd gear dogs are BAD. i didn't want to beat this guy's bike so i just made sure it shifted into all gears. you really have to twist the grip to get it to skip out of 2nd gear. so tell the owner you need to test for this known issue. | ||
| Buellbum |
the cyclone is not what i would call a user friendly bike. you have to get used to it. it's tall, shakes, is not smooth at low speed and the clutch is grabby. after you own it for a while it will become easier to ride. i love the looks, simplicity and reliability of these bikes. jap bikes all end up in the scrap metal yard because they eventually cost more to fix than they are worth. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I bought my old XB9S without a test ride. It was at a dealership 4 hours away, I called and put down a deposit over the phone, caught a ride out with a friend who was driving through that area and rode the bike home. My previous bike was a 600cc inline four. I got on the buell, pulled out of the lot, gave it a handful of gas, hit the redline half a second later and though "what?! where's the rest?!". It was definitely an adjustment. I loved the bike, sold it after a while looking for something faster, bought something faster, ended up selling that and buying an S1 anyway. Of the bikes I've had, the XB is the only one I've ever regretted selling, but the S1 is the perfect replacement. All that's meant to say that first impressions with these bikes are hard. If you're gonna love the bike, you'll already know it just by looking at it. They have their weak points, but they're way more suited to riding on the street than a Japanese I4. They're not as fast, but they just work well for the street. I think they're meant for people who's ability to understand an appreciate a motorcycle has evolved beyond just wanting the fastest thing on the road. Check the M2 for bad leaks or broken/rusted parts, but just go into it expecting it's going to be rough, and shake, and shift rough, and make noises. That's just what they do and you'll learn to love it. Pay more attention to how much fun you have riding around on the thing on every road, as opposed to spending all your time on a Japanese bike looking for the perfect road so you can REALLY enjoy going fast for 2 miles each ride when you can actually get into the top half of the RPMs. | ||
| Mike_lee |
get the bike. this site is packed full of good people that wont leave you hanging when you have questions/issues. | ||
| Big_jim59 |
I bought mine after a very short test ride down the street. The bike was very clean with normal mods (air cleaner, pipe and shock). It farted and was hard to start but had a 2016 tag on it. The price was right and after running a few tank fulls of 91 octane through it it runs great. If the bike is clean I say go for it! |
