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Court
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 07:21 am: | 
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>>>>Plenty of other bikes have similar forums and you simply do not see "this many" problems with ANY other bike.
By the way, not only is that statement patently inaccurate as it relates to motorcycles, the same could be said for cars.
I was at our local Zone 1 Porsche meeting yesterday afternoon and if you want to hear folks whine and complain about how bad a company is tune into a Porsche forum sometime. Of note to me was that very few of them have opted out in favor of the Dodge Caravan. |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 08:50 am: |
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I felt a lot better about my Buell after hanging around on ADVrider for a while and seeing all the problems people have with other brands.
http://advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3
Not that I think "brand X sucks so we can too" is a good mentality, but it is nice to know that I didn't do something totally stupid by buying a Buell.
The internet does magnify problems. No one posts "the bike worked great today" (nor does anyone want to read such posts.) People post about their problems.
Not that I'm saying all is rosy. I challenge anyone to ride through Death Valley at night, where there is no cell phone service, an no civilization with in walking distance, and not think about the reliability of your bike. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 09:01 am: |
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Hang out on the KLR forums for a while, 650 or 250. Goodness... for such a reliable bike, they sure are unreliable 
Or the Yamaha Radian forums. These days it's lucky to find *any* of them that are really running right (unlike Sportsters from that same vintage, FWIW).
And don't get me started on the Saturn forums, and the Saab forums are even worse...
All great resources for solving problems though. |
Neurorider
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 10:20 am: |
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Thanks, Court. That's exactly what I was thinking. I love being able to benefit from the experience and talent of other owners. I sometimes wait till they get the answers sorted out, then I can make a modification or repair. Maybe we should start posting positive stories and not just problem-solving issues!
Richard |
Electraglider_1997
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 10:32 am: |
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For a piece of sheet, our 89' YX600 Radian keeps on running. My son has ridden it to Buell Homecoming the last two years without a hitch. Gets 60 plus mpg. Of course I keep it maintained. Low torque bikes are perfect for gaining experience on and it is the perfect size for smaller folk. Paid 1500 bucks for it about 10 years ago for my 5'3" wife. Changed both sprockets so it would cruise 60 mph at 4K rpms. That particular bike has proven to be pretty bulletproof over its 29,000 miles. Mobil 1 15W50. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 11:06 am: |
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I still have a soft spot for the Radians... It was a cool UJM, complete with sportster and dirt tracker styling cues.
Old age and 4 carbs generally make for a fairly unhappy combination though. At least it was air cooled, thats one less thing to get fubar.
I never got much over 35 MPG with mine, but that was stock gearing. And I remember the day it "sprouted a new footpeg".
That was odd. It was a monster motor mount bolt that went through entire frame and motor, and somehow sheared off mysteriously. The bolt worked its way out until it was "another footpeg". No idea how anything could have sheared a bolt that big without exploding something. The new bolt was $28 and took over a month to arrive from Japan...
Fun memories. |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 01:23 pm: |
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Once the clutch cable end/lever pivot get dirty/gritty in there the cable will resist rotating at that point and failure can occur. Clean it all out and regrease it every time you ride dirty or every 1k, or do it real well and install this:
Good for clean operation for thousands of miles.
Lots of things can be done to ease concerns especially before a big trip. Pull the wheel bearing seals and regrease every service and/or tire change. Install and monitor a battery meter, weirdness will show up hopefully long before your systems croak, inspect the 77-connector and fix it, and so on.
Just this weekend I did a 900 mile round trip to Tucson in up to 100-teen heat and believe me all these and more were on my mind. I've got 50k on my '06, I just droned the Interstate at 75 mph to keep the stress down and stopped often for cool downs, Uly did fine. And got the best trip mileage ever for me, one tank at 61 mpg and most of the others in the fifties.
Only problem I had was a pretty good case of Buell Leg  :
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Aeholton
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 01:40 pm: |
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Are you riding in shorts? Mesh pants? |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Monday, August 04, 2008 - 02:01 pm: |
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Are you riding in shorts? Mesh pants?
Nope, this trip was in 501's and leather jacket, Sidi On Roads. It was sorta red when I got to Tucson, but most of the way back through the desert the winds were hitting me from the ten o'clock direction and blowing the engine heat through the right side.
Didn't know it was blistering until I got home... 
I just threw that in there, the point is now my bike is out of warranty and I'm paying close attention to areas of potential problems.
The bike did great although it pinged miserably when opened up so I just rode it easy through the sweltering heat. When I got home I parked it in the driveway and opened up a cold one and just admired it for a while.  |
Michael1
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 04:25 pm: |
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Thanks for the Honda boot part number. That'll be a nice addition and hopefully cure the problem.
I clean and lube all my cables every 5k miles or less... Guess it wasn't enough.
BTW...the dealer is coming tonight to pick the bike up and fix it. |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 05:47 pm: |
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Also check the the recess in the lever where the ferrule rotates. I greased and adjusted my cable repeatedly but still couldn't get a really smooth action. Even bought a new cable, no change.
Then I took the lever off to grease the pivot and discovered the cable had cut a slot in the edge of the ferrule recess creating a burr that was catching the ferrule. I removed it and smoothed out the recess and installed the boot, been great ever since! |
Chadhargis
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 06:27 pm: |
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I think I'd invest in a quality pair of riding pants. |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 - 08:01 pm: |
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I think I'd invest in a quality pair of riding pants.
Got some, Olympias with air flow mesh and waterproof liner. Thought about pulling over and putting them on over a pair of shorts but it's no big deal, not the first time won't be the last... |
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