| Author | Message | ||
     Buellhardey |
25 miles on the bike (17 when I bought it new a few weeks ago) and I set about to adjust the suspension this evening. Folded the seat lip up on the right side w/no problem and removed the screw. Went to do the left side and there was no screw. I thought, ah well...I'll replace that, only to discover that not only was there no screw, there was no metal grommet in the plastic seat mounting tab and the insert in the frame was gone! The plastic had (in 25 TOTAL miles) also rubbed the paint off the frame and the hole appears now to be oversized!  I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow, but I'm guessing that some Monkey pulled the entire mounting point straight out of the frame, screw, tab, insert and all...perhaps when installing the battery or adjusting the suspension? This sucks because the fix is going to have to be an oversized insert within the frame that accomodates the same screw. Furthermore, the seat is shot because there's no metal gromet in the mounting tab...it'll just pull through with the screw. Anyone seen this before? Thanks. | ||
| Buellhardey |
Here are some pics for reference:    | ||
| Xb9er |
Yeah, sure.....uh Huh. Whatever you say.  | ||
| Buellhardey |
Er, I'm a little more mechanically-inclined than your jab implies (no harm/no foul...I figured someone would take a shot) What you don't see in that picture are the 3 125cc shifter karts I built, race and maintain, the blata mini bike and the 383 cubic inch supercharged small-block ford in the corner...I've practiced screwing things up on more expensive parts, so I figured tinkering with the XB would be easy...one screw into it and I haven't even had a chance to do it myself!  I'll be the first to admit if I f*** something up, but in this case, I'm grumpy because the first freakin' thing I set to on the bike is already broken... The hole isn't pryed up around the edges, so my theory about someone pulling the whole thing out may not apply, but I don't get what the hell happened here and why the grommet in the seat tab is gone, also... I'm sure the dealer will be just as helpful...  edited by Buellhardey on April 17, 2004 | ||
| Buellhardey |
Not that this is anything major, but I figured that someone might someday have the same problem... Visited the dealer this morning. Showed them the pictures, they're going to try to re-install a new insert and replace the seat. If that doesn't work, they're going to have to replace the ENTIRE REAR SUBFRAME!  I picked up the bike a few weeks ago and had to go out of town, so yesterday was the first day of riding/toying with it, hence the low mileage. At any rate, we'll see what happens. | ||
| Fullpower |
that battery in the photo was manufactured in August of 2002. either the bike or the battery is not as new as you think. | ||
| Buellhardey |
It's an 03 XBR not an 04 -- was manufactured in Aug 2002 as was the battery. It's new to me!  Thanks for lookin' out for me though. BH | ||
| Xb9er |
I would demand a new rear subframe under Warranty. Mike. | ||
| Buellhardey |
Dropped the bike off on Wed. and went down today to see where we were in terms of progress since contact via the telephone is about as successful as herding a team of chickens...the service writer told me he had no idea if the parts were in because he "...has too much to take care of and can't manage little details like that. Go see parts." Uh, ok. See, on Wednesday, a new seat, screw and nutsert were supposedly "ordered." When I queried regarding an ETA, I was told "could be 3 weeks." For a freakin' nutsert and torx-capped bolt! Wow, must be a popular part... I did suggest that this was the most stupid thing I have ever heard, but was told that I, and every other Californian, were an impatient breed. At this point I just chuckled since it was so humourous. This was now an issue of conscience and pride. I just purchased this freaking bike and I wanted it to be every bit of perfect it should be before I decide to go ride it in anger. Checked with parts and everything was supposedly in except the seat. Went back to service (seeing a trend here?) and asked how long to install the new nutsert (I don't have the tool, else I'd do it myself.) Much to their credit, the service manager said they'd get it taken care of immediately (after I told them that I had another seat @ home and I'd take care of installing it if they would just get the damned nutsert into the frame.) No problem! My service writer *was* sympathetic to the fact that I couldn't ride my new bike and *did* express the fact that he was glad we could get it worked out. 1 hour and 12 minutes later, turns out they didn't have the nutsert. I, er, suggested that perhaps we think outside the box -- rip one out of a demo bike, steal one from a 69 Dodge Charger, or fabricate one out of billet! I don't give a shit, but I'm not leaving my bike here for 3 weeks for a $0.07 part! I don't know where they got it or what they did, but one showed up installed on my bike about 15 minutes later. I just hope the next guy who buys a Buell there checks his seat first! My wife suggested that this might have been what happened to me!  At this point, I wanted out of there. Seat had two screws in it. Strapped her down in the truck and fled while the fledding was good. Once I got her home, I deloused the chassis and checked it out. Turns out that they don't quite understand that in order to fasten the front of the seat, one needs to slot Tab A into Slot B. The seat was (again) just riding on top of the tab...it occured to me that with this simple game of physics, one could quite easily face the potential of just see-sawing a screw, nutsert and all, right out of the hole if one climbed far forward enough. ...new Nutsert installed...No, really, I like the bare metal look...no need to paint it like it came from the factory when I purchased it from you...   Great. Time to call HD corporate and see if the story about the selective extended factory test ride applies to my bike or not. If not, then those 17 initial miles probably came from a crapload of test rides. So much for a "new" bike. I'm sure all the test riders never took the bike above 2500 RPM... ;( Well, I am thankful they didn't have to replace the entire subframe since installing a seat seems beyond their capabilities at this point (twice?) It's a shame too, since this particular dealer has had every other single part (besides the one I NEEDED) in stock when I went to the parts counter. I guess I oughta get familiar on doing my own work or find someone in the greater LA area to work on my steed. Any ideas? |
