| Author | Message | ||
     Mfell2112 |
Here I was praising these wonderful Buells while trying to convert a Duc rider to buying one and he gives me this link. http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/Article_Page.aspx?ArticleID=125&Page=7 I can't blame him for not wanting one after seeing this. A darn shame really. Can somebody provide a logical explanation for this? Mike | ||
| Blackbelt |
well that article said a bit about that broken mount, but then went on to say that it was a good bike, and the writer even said "Dare I say that I even considered it as a possible addition to my garage of the future." So it isn't as Damning as you might think, | ||
| Outrider |
Well written article. Seems to be objective in reference to both positive and negative respects and would not cause me to pass on buying a Buell. Most of the issues the author mentioned that could be considered a negative are merely things that make riding a Buell different in every sense. Additionally, these issues and more have been addressed here on the BWB and don't come as any surprise. Makes you wonder what his favorite bike is that he uses as a benchmark for measuring others, eh? | ||
| Slaughter |
Makes me wonder. My first racing crash was at over 120 MPH in Turn 8 at Willow Springs - and that casting held up so well, it tore the bolt out of the cylinder head. If you feel the need, you can get billet mounts - American Sport Bike sells them. | ||
| Ingemar |
Seems he focuses on that last page, but did you point him to phrases like "The common opinion is the Harley-sourced air-cooled V-Twin isn't a sportbike motor. Don't listen - this thing rocks." "Saying the XB12 is torquey is understating its available grunt down low..." "The zero-lash driveline and seamless fuel injection results in less helmet bashing, making the XB12 a great two-up motor." "The XB12R is worthy of consideration, especially to those who enjoy riding something a little different." "The bottom line: The XB12R Firebolt is a breath of fresh air in a mostly cookie-cutter sportbike scene, and it offers a robust platform to personalize an interesting bike even further." Did you mention the pictures on that site of riders putting their knee down? | ||
| Mfell2112 |
It seems to me many focus on Buells when they break and rarly talk of the good they have to offer. Buells still have the bad rep with some from the days of the tubers. That said these Duc riders sure are forgiving of their bikes despite horrible reliability.I have to say one thing though it seems the Duc riders are at least interested in the buells and many are even willing to go out of their way and take them for a test ride. Mike | ||
| Raraf |
Tell him it is by design. Like how the engine in cars are made to drop out instead of landing on your lap. | ||
| Anonymous |
What is frustrating about this article is that the exact situation was that these magazine test bikes were pre-production bikes, and this one had had an engine change where the mechanic forgot to torque down the motor mount bolts. The magazine was told of this, and even given a specific laboratory report on it proving it, but they didn't publish it. You will not find other instances of this occurring. Unfortunately a lot of folks know only what they read. | ||
| Anonymous |
Juast a little more on this: The sharp-eyed XB owners among you might be able to see that the bolt is loose by the way it is sitting in the recess. Loose bolt, no clamp load, mount bounces up and down and breaks. Totally discoverable by first seeing that the bolt is loose, then checking the back side of the mount for fretting, and then duplicating the failure in the lab. Also, the FEA work indicated that the bolt needs be tight to have the clamp load to make the mount survive. So, always check your manual for torque specs when working on your bike! | ||
| M1combat |
All I can say is that I've got >12K miles on my 12R... Probably 30 wheelies and 30 jumps about 6-10" high... NO broken mounts. The little wire that holds the clutch cable in place on the front of the engine broke, but that happened while I was swapping the header... I did it. Tell him to buy what makes him happy, but if he gets anything other than a Buell he will have made the wrong choice  . The Buell will make him happier than any other bike as long as he's going for a sport bike. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
I saw this article before but it was a non issue for me in that there is literally a "cradle" preventing the engine from falling forward even if the isolator does break. I figured it was a freak occurrence. Anony just confirmed that for me. | ||
| Whodom |
At the Buell event at TWO a couple of weekends ago, U4EUh (Ditch Digger) took a spill in a ditch on his XB9. A quick visual found nothing structurally wrong, so he rode the bike ~20 miles back through the twisties to TWO. Later, Rubberdown and I were looking at the bike when I caught a glimpse of a raw metal edge buried back up in the frames above the transmission. Turns out the rear isolator had fractured where it attaches to the top of the transmission case. The reason I mention this is because this happened only after a fairly extreme impact (low side into the dirt at ~60+ MPH after which the bike 180'ed end-for-end and abruptly stopped). The bike was ridden like this and only some slight additional vibration was noticed. After we found the rear mount broken, I remembered the article mentioned above and carefully examined the front mount and noted it was completely intact with no damage. If U4EUh (Ditch Digger) didn't break his, I don't think you'll ever break one in actual service. Clown and Stone Mountain were nice enough to let us "borrow" a mount off a brand new XB12S as they didn't have the rear mount in stock, and U4EUh (Ditch Digger) was able to ride the next day. I don't think there is any way you'd ever break either of those mounts except in extreme circumstances (i.e.- a crash or mis-installation as anony noted above). The fact that this bike was rideable with a broken mount is pretty confidence-inspiring too. | ||
| Rocketman |
That's the first time I've seen an XB with a broken mount and I'm glad to see from Anony that it was on a pre-proddy model. I'd further state that this is NOT the same scenario that happened with some of the tube frame models and their front mount issues. With the tube framers I believe the problem was the head casting and NOT the mount. My own findings revealed this to me to be too short a bolt was used plus the fact that in Sportster application that part of the head casting is used as a head steady and not a motor mount. I've seen only one snapped mount on a tube framer and that was on an M2 that had been bought from a salvage yard after a not so serious crash. Some miles later after been put back on the road the front motor mount snapped in two. There were other issues with this M2 though which involved the 'new' owner fabricating various items to compliment his ride. A rear rack and top box no less and some additional strengthening tubes around the rear frame work welded in and reports of excessive vibration there after!! Some things were made to be left alone. Rocket | ||
| Cataract2 |
What annoy. said. I've seen many XB's now and never once heard much less saw this problem. I myself have 6,400 miles on my XB and have not had a single problem. | ||
| Kenb |
sloppy wheelies eventually break parts, i broke a triple tree on a zr750 and a buddy of mine broke a triple tree on a zx6 twice !! Street bikes are not meant to be slammed to the pavement repeatedly. The article was pretty positive on the bike so I would say they knew they had a hand in that poor front mounts demise | ||
| Al_lighton |
I recall seeing one other XB that had that problem, but without knowing what had been done to it, it would be way premature to say it is a design problem. I suspect it is exactly as anony says. However, that is exactly the reason why I don't advocate or carry the LSL frame sliders that bolt to the bike using that (and the other) engine mounting bolt. Al | ||
| Kevyn |
...on another note, the Ducati SS line ('93-'98 someone correct me if I'm wrong on the dates) using Verlicchi(aren't these the folks providing the beautiful frames for the XB's?) made frames, were notorious for 'cracking' and Ducati is still replacing frames as needed from the factory...not a big problem, no dramatic separations, but cracks at critical points like where the steering head/neck brace and tubing join and at other weld spots...it's well documented and no big secret. Buell's and Ducati's have much in common...ever ride a M900? M1000DS? S4R? If you want a Ducati fan to consider a Buell, yes the test ride is mandatory; but so is a test ride for the Duc! You need to be able to compare apples and oranges after having sampled both!! | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Hey it's easy to prove to people the strength of the XB, just tell em to watch what Craig Jones does with one! | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
What surprises me is the guy mentions the leak at the oilfitting...its a fitting, I have yet to see any bike model on the road with an oil fitting that hasn't suffered from several bikes having leaks from an oil fitting...wtf? couldn't find anything else so you use a cheap unquantifiable leak as a step of to a rareity issue? utter BS and poor journalism. | ||
| 2k4xb12 |
If you feel the need, you can get billet mounts - American Sport Bike sells them. I couldn't find them on the American Sport Bike site... Gotta link? Steve | ||
| Cluckcluckpush |
anything that isn't torqued properly can break. |
