| Author | Message | ||
     Ccryder |
John: You 1 funny guy  . How did yours look? My Technician replaced the OEM grease with the high pressure stuff they use on the "Springer" front ends. He feels that this grease is heads and shoulders over the stock red stuff. From the factory they don't put enough grease in anyway. He mentioned that they recommend greasing springer's every 2500 miles. Since they went to the green grease, he usually doesn't need to do it untill 10,000. Old grease he had to replace the bearings every 2,500 miles!  Ride more, lean more Grin more. Neil S. | ||
| Ralph |
Jeepers Neil, work on smoothing out the wheelie landings. Mine had definate wear, but no where near that visable. You might consider going to a heavier front shock spring. bighairyralph | ||
| Ccryder |
BHR: Thanks for the praise . Anyway it only had 19,660 miles on it. Besides it's mostly due to the excelently maintained roads here in So. IN. I guess I'll stop jumping those railway crossings. But a Buelligan has to have FUN! Time4Sleep Neil S. | ||
| Joeb1 |
Has anyone put a X1/S3 front end on a 2000 M2 ? If so what was the outcome? | ||
| Tims |
Hi Have any of you guys fitted the alloy swingarm to a 97-98 frame??? Can anyone give me the run down on doing it? Will the 97-98 shock be ok to use, or is there a different lengths involved? Thanks Tim | ||
| Buellahland |
Tims, I want to put that alloy swingarm on my 1998 S3 also. I was wondering the same thing as you. Also, what happens if I install a new Penske shock to the new alloy swingarm? And, does anyone know if install that front frame brace (made bt West-Tec) makes a noticable difference? | ||
| Ara |
Buellahland, I installed an ASB frame brace on my 1997 S3 and did notice a firmer feel to the bike. I recommend it. Personally, I think that the ASB brace is better looking than the West-Tec part. | ||
| Henrik |
Aluminum swingarm: I had the conversion done on my '98 S3. IIRC it only take a bit of machining of the swingarm mount to ensure clearance. You'll also need the new rear inner fender and possibly a new rear brake line (?) and maybe a new rear brake hanger. I think part came out to about $4-500. There was a write-up in an old issue of B2W. Polish *before* installing  I like the ASB frame brace as well well designed and manufactured piece. Henrik | ||
| X1nut |
I realize this topic was discussed some time ago, but I just pulled my neck bearings out today. I don't think the bearings wear because of the grease being washed out. I've been riding in the rain just about every day for the last month or so, and my steering neck bearings still had plenty of grease. The races were still trashed. Especially the top one. My wife's M2 looked the same. I think it's because the bearings ride in the same place on the races most of the time. I dunno. Anyhow, they were way loose, and with the front end in the air, you could actually feel the notches. As far as installing the races, there is a correct tool. It's called a bearing/seal installer. It's made of aluminum and (at least mine) has different sized heads to fit different sized races. Of course, if you don't want to part with the $60 for the tool, the old race usually works quite well to drive in the new one. Only problem with that is, if the race sits deep in, you'll have to knock out the old one. Although, it's not the case here. I'll try to get some photos posted. The installer tool is just sooo nice...A couple firm swats with a heavy object (hammer), and the race is home with no damage.  | ||
| Blake |
X1nut, Loose steering head bearings will significantly exacerbate their demise. No different than any other motorcyle in concept. Keep them adjusted and lubed, they will last a very very long time. | ||
| X1nut |
Blake, Yeah, I found that out the hard way. I'll check the adjustment at least every oil change. | ||
| X1glider |
X1nut, a homemade tool that I use for installing races in bike frames should work equally well for the Buell. Get some threaded rod, flat washers and nuts. Cut off a piece of the end of a wooden clothes rod from the closet, drill a hole thru it. Get a small piece of 2x4 and drill a hole thru it too. You assemble the rod thru the wood with the nuts and washers on the outside so that when you turn the nuts, it squeezes from both ends and pulls the races into the steering head. Works on other things that have interference fits too. I used it to install the cam bearings in my TC recently. | ||
| Blake |
But, then where do you hang your clothes? Single guys! Sheesh. ![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| X1glider |
We singleton's rarely wear clothes. Perhaps when I get married... | ||
| X1nut |
x1glider, Sounds pretty cool. Just make sure your races are fully seated! Ugh...those dreaded cam bearings in the twincams...Did you find a better set up? I hear the gear drives are better than the chains. | ||
| Blake |
TMI!!!  | ||
| X1glider |
S&S Gear drives are about another 300 bucks and although I'm probably just as skilled as anybody else at aligning the gears properly, that doesn't mean I'll get the timing mark set perfectly, as will they. They say chain drive timing can vary +/-4 degrees and although I'd recommend it for really high lift cams, it's just not worth the cost for most people. That said I do prefer the gear drive. The EPA does not. Blake: TMI? Excuse me for not being enough of a geek to know what that means. I do know what "SWBF seeking SWM for 1NS" means! | ||
| Blake |
TMI = "Too Much Information!"  | ||
| Chucks1w |
I hope you guy's can help. I've got the Timkin sealed bearings and I'd like to do the whole front end at once. 1. What's the best way to replace rotor and carrier...stick with the stock Buell parts or is there after market available at less cost? 2. Is it worth replacing fork springs after about 25,000 miles, if so again stock or after market? 3. Fork oil...synthetic or mineral and what brand? Thanks. | ||
| X1glider |
Chuck, what bike do you ride? If you have an X1 or S3(T), you do not have preload on the forks. M2s do have preload. Depending on your weight, you might want different springs. It seems to me, they're set for a 170 lb rider. Racetech makes springs for up to 200 pounders in 10 lb increments. Other than that, springs should last a lot longer than 25k, possibly 75-100k before they start to sag noticeably. Fork oil, should be replaced at 20k intervals. What kind of oil? Check out racetech or taxxion dynamics on the web and see what they recommend. | ||
| Chucks1w |
Thanks X1 that's a good start, I go about 2oo lbs so I think I'll look into the heavier springs. By the way my bike is a 98 S1 White Lightning. | ||
| Tims |
Hi Just bought a butchered 98 S1 frame ( seat subframe cut off) and will be welding it back on. Problem is I got a plastic oil tank off a 96 S1 that doesnt look like it is going to fit when the subframe is in place. The mounting points are in the right place but the tank seems a little too tall Anyone know if the oil tanks and frames between 96 and 98 had been changed??? thanks Tim | ||
| Bookyoh |
Hi: I just did the 10,000 mile maintenance on the steering head of my '00 M2. In the process, I added a grease fitting. Here are few things I learned while doing this job for the first time: 1. I improvised a very inexpensive rear wheel stand out of a 1/2" diameter steel rod and two jack stands. The rod slips through the hollow rear axle and then sits on the jack stands. It takes two people to get it on the stands safely. 2. I decided to change the fork oil while I had everything apart too. I loosened the upper triple clamp bolts then loosened the fork caps. This way, I was able to take off the caps later without needing a tool to hold the slider tubes. 3. The hardest part of the whole job was slipping that front caliper off the front wheel. Put some masking tape on your rim to avoid scratching it. Before reassembly, I ground off part of the caliper casting so it would slip on without interfering with the front rim. The next time I have to remove the caliper, it will have more clearance now. 4. Once you loosen that second triple clamp bolt, the fork will slip out very easily ! Hold onto it so you don't drop it. 5. The upper bearing was still well greased after 2 years and 10,000 miles. The lower one was slightly discolored, perhaps from moisture, and needed to be repacked. I used gasoline, then brake cleaner, then some WD-40 type spray to clean out the bearings. I don't have compressed air so I let them air dry for a while. Installing the grease fitting was very straight forward. I bought some zerks at Autozone, bought a 1/4 x 28 tap and the correct drill bit (a number 3 I think). I practiced first on a piece of steel pipe. I located it on the left side of the neck, about 1" below the bottom of the bearing race. I put the tap in my variable speed drill and carefully used it to tap the hole. After installing the fitting, I squeezed some grease in without the steering stem installed to see what it looked like. I don't really know if it will do an adequate job or not. I'll try it next year and see if grease oozes out of the dust covers. Reassembly, including changing the fork oil was straight forward, just according to the FM. I also changed my head light brackets to 2001 model to improve the fit of the flyscreen to the tach kit I installed last year. All in all, the front end maintenance was a time consuming but simple job. I expect the next time will be under 2 hours. My next task is to grease the swing arm bearings but I'll wait till my tire needs replacing which should be in the next 1000 miles. Mark '00 M2 '98 883 '74 CB550 '72 F7A Cincinnati, Ohio | ||
| Hootowl |
Mark, Taking out the brake pads before removing the caliper allows it to slip off the rotor without touching the wheel. Kind of late now, but I thought I'd tell you. Jeff | ||
| Bookyoh |
Jeff: Thanks for bringing that up. I did remove the brake pads and I just had this one little corner on the inside of the caliper that just did not want to clear the rotor. I probably ground off or rounded off about 1/8" of that corner and it made a world of difference for the next time. Mark | ||
| Hootowl |
That's odd. I didn't have any problem getting mine off. I have PM wheels. Do you have stock? Maybe that's the difference. Jeff | ||
| Bookyoh |
Yes, I do have the stock cast wheels. Mark | ||
| Rick_A |
I replaced my sidestand stop this weekend...on top of a bunch of others...and the sidestand hangs a bit lower than usual...like 3". It scrapes on hard lefties. How do they look stock? Mine used to ride parallel to the swingarm before it fell apart. I'll probably just take a Dremel to it. The simplest part installed ends up being the only one with trouble  | ||
| Jst |
Emergency help please! In a previous post someone said the swingarm and neck bearings are the same. Are the races also the same? I'm in the process of putting EM back together and I found out the powder coater sand blasted my swingarm races. All I have on hand is my new neck races. The plan is to use the new neck races and buy another pair after Christmas. Thanks guys Merry Christmas JT | ||
| Doncasto |
JT: A quick look at the parts manuals show the same number for both steering head bearings/cups and swingarm bearings/cups for your 99 M2. Hope this is of some help. Don |
