| Author | Message | ||
     Mgownr |
I have been lurking for awhile and need to finally post something I could not find here. I am going to post this in the racing sub forum as well. recently my X1 blew a seal and dumped oil again for the third time down the right side and all over the swingarm and tire. This has inspired me to get a new daily rider. The new bike is going to be a 1998 Laverda 668 Ghost Strike. This brings me to contemplate turning the X1 into a full on track bike. I know it will be different but I am all about different. Not to mention from what I have read the Buells are just plain fun on the tracks. I should clarify that it will be a predominantly road course racer with the occasional drag strip visit. So I bow to the wealth of knowledge on this site. Here are the specs on the bike 2002 X1 Lightning mods: race ecm, wiley co titanium muffler, race header(factory I am told) exhaust wrap on header to collector It is not a lot but the bike seemed pretty quick on the street. All opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance. | ||
| Oldog |
my X1 blew a seal and dumped oil again for the third time down the right side and all over the swingarm and tire timer seal? push rod? x1 race bike, sounds like fun to me.. | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
how many miles on the x1 What service has been done? Yeah, where is this happening at? | ||
| Nocompromise |
My $0.02 is that Buells are among the best streetbikes available, but are not ideal for the track. The Sportster engine falls short in both reliability and high rpm performance (where you spend most of your time on the track). Running that air cooled lump at continually high rpm is asking for trouble imo. The engine is AWESOME on the street, where it is nicer to have lots of torque everywhere because you don't cruise around near redline. The general consensus in the sportbike world is that 600s are the best track weapons and liter bikes are 'better' (although overkill) for the street. On the track the 600s have sharp handling and good power at high rpms, but not so much that you scare yourself silly. On the street, the tables are turned and the torque of the liter bikes makes it easy to ride your favorite twisties without ever having to shift. In regards to handling, I think tubers are also better suited for the street. Unless you put on some aggressive rearsets, you will run out of ground clearance pretty quickly. I haven't ridden a supersport bike in the last 8 years, but I imagine they probably have better handling in high speed turns than a tuber. I know my 96 GSX-R750 felt rock solid yet responsive at all speeds, and it would laugh at me for going slower than 80. Just think of it this way - modern supersports are designed for the track, from their riding position to their chassis to their engines. Even a 750 is overkill for the street, much less a fire-breathing liter bike. Tubers were designed for the street - great handling coupled with a torquey, soulful engine. The reason I sold my Gixxer and bought a S1 was that I could see how quickly sportbikes looked 'old'. I didn't want to feel the pressure to 'upgrade' every couple years to the latest, greatest wonder-bike. Take advantage of that mentality and pick up a used 600 supersport for a decent price. Even last generation would make a KILLER track weapon with minimal prep. Also, from my reading on a sportbike oriented forum it sounds like you really have to do a lot of track days every year to justify the expense of a track-only bike. I guess it just depends on how often you are planning to go, but I would advise you to use it for both street and track. Or.... you could go RACING! | ||
| Smoke |
i have a great time riding my track only s1w and sv650. the sv is easier to ride but the s1 is a lot more fun to me and i really have to work harder to go fast than the sv. if you have the nickels, a track only bike is the way to go. i have low sided both of them on different weekends and still rode my street bike during the week. it is difficult to pass the 4 cylinder bikes because they will gap you on the straights and some will hold you up in the corners. i did 9 track days this year and missed some for work and play schedule and also have 3 more scheduled. it is addictive! maintenance on the buell trackbike comes often. vibration breaks things. lose the fuel injection. have fun!! tim | ||
| Mgownr |
Thanks to everyone for the replies. It looks like the seal that blew again was on the front pulley for the belt on the right side of the tranny. The bike has a little under 8k miles on it. The service is a complete new front end. Literally everything is new, we rebuilt the tranny about 500 miles ago because I low sided it and bent the shifter rod. Other than that it has had routine service and is running screaming eagle synth for all the fluids. As far as my ambitions on the track go, I was really only looking for some fun and want to run a track with more twisties where the low end grunt would really show. I say that now, but knowing my competitive nature eventually I will want to run hard and fast and I will prolly buy a 600 like a cbr or r6 but I love my buell. Smoke thanks for the first hand info. I know how much things vibrate loose. I actually lost my rear tag one day. | ||
| Akbuell |
It would seem that having the trans output shaft seal fail every 2700mi indicates a problem somewhere else. Primary breather hose plugged or kinked? The last thing you want is to have the seal fail again, entering a right-hand sweeper. | ||
| Mgownr |
I wanted to say thanks to everyone and I think i am going to spend the winter cutting weight( I need to drop weight for my health, performance, and the leather suit) and prepping the bike. I am going out just for fun and to make laps at first but eventually I will make a run at competition. Akbuell- i am going to break down the whole bike. It was beaten before I got it so it could be a plethora of things. And I can imagine a full speed turn. It dumped on me when I was riding home from York on some twisty PA backroads. That was a white knuckle ride. | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
You sure its not jest the tranny vent blowin /pukin all over the bike? X1's are fun at the track but they are not fast and can get labor intensive. I'm thinkin, keep the Buell as street and getin a Japer for the track trashing. |
