| Author | Message | ||
     Carbonfiberbones |
Hello to all of the BadWebbers out there. I'm new to the forum and have some questions, as I am about to embark on the biggest mechanical adventure I've ever attempted in my life. I totaled Brutus the Buell about 2 weeks ago. There's now a large jagged hole in the frame & it's been totaled by the insurance company. I've fallen in love with buells, and there's really no way that I can afford to buy another at this time. I should probably say that it was mine, but not in the "legal" sense...the xb was my boyfriend's extra bike. He has a V-Rod and an 1125 CR, so naturally he put me on the xb. I couldn't keep up with him on my little GPz! So, he said if I wanted to try and fix it, I can, and it would then be mine. That brings me to my current situation, & with questions that need answers. I need a frame...Brutus is a 2005 xb12s. Can I use any year frame? What about the firebolt frames, are they interchangeable with lightnings? And, is there any difference in the frames of xb9's and xb12's? I have my service manual on order...it should be here next week. Does anyone recommend getting the parts catalog, too? I don't really know what it consists of, but they're only about 40 bucks. If it'll be beneficial to me, I'll scoop one up. Has anyone out there ever taken an xb apart? Are there any certain/special tools I need to get? Thanks for taking the time to read my cry for help! PS-pictures to come soon...apparently, my pixels are too big! | ||
| Froggy |
Sorry to hear about what happened, but it sounds like you are ok Regarding the frame, there are two style XB frames, often called short and long. The short, which your Lightning has, was on the Firebolt, Lightning S, SX, SL, and SCG. The Long frame, which is a bit bigger, was on the Lightning SS, STT, and all Ulysses models. You can go with the long frame, but it will require swapping out more components as things like your triple trees are not compatible, and the subframe too. Only other thing worth mentioning is the year of the frame. Starting with 2006 models, Buell relocated the air intake to suck in air near the gas cap, and then sealed off the air intake in the frame. The 06+ bikes hold a little more gas, so depending on what you want to do it may be worth it get a newer frame to extend your cruising range. XB9 and XB12 used the same two basic frames, the only difference was the color. XB9s had silver frames, XB12s had grey. Starting in 2009 most models switched to black frames. So to recap and directly answer your question, yes you can use any frame off any Firebolt, Lightning S, SX, SCG, SL. (Message edited by froggy on October 25, 2013) | ||
| Froggy |
Also regarding the parts book, it is a must have. It has exploded diagrams which will make it easy to see how things go back together, and as you find things that are broken you can easily order them up. Example:  | ||
| D_adams |
This is what you're looking to accomplish, right?   Tell Brian he's gotta give you a hand lifting the frame off the engine. If you guys are headed this way, I have a pair of stands that bolt to the engine to make it a little easier to do it. I guess it takes a couple of hours to pull the frame off, then a couple more to put it back together. It's something that can be done in a day and have it running again. | ||
| Froggy |
Nothing to really worry about, as most things on this bike can be done with basic handtools and other things you can get from your local hardware store. The most common fasteners are Torx size 27 and multiple sizes of SAE Allen keys. As long as you have those you should be able to do almost everything. | ||
| Carbonfiberbones |
Froggy - Thanks a shit-ton! It sounds like you know what you're talking about! Dean - A little birdy told me you might just have an xb9 frame....how much? | ||
| D_adams |
Little birdy misunderstood me. Mine's not going anywhere, however, I'll help as much as I can. | ||
| Carbonfiberbones |
HaHa! No worries...I suppose it was worth a try! I'm armed with a bit more knowledge now, as to exactly what I'm looking for. Whenever I acquire my new frame, your help will be greatly appreciated! From what I hear, you certainly know your way around Buells, so any assistance from you will be awesome! | ||
| Akbuell |
Glad you are OK, welcome to the site. Sorry about the bike. Sounds like you have a good plan. In addition to the manuals, an appropriate selection of torque wrenches is necessary. Take time to do the work correctly, and plan to spend a lot of quality time inspecting the take off parts for possible damage. Pay particular attention to the forks and triple trees, wheels and axles, and swing arm attach hardware. Hope this helps, Dave | ||
| Greg_e |
I would just go ahead and replace front and rear engine mounts, we've seen what a broken mount can do to you when riding down the road. They are cheap insurance and it probably needed them anyway. Any thoughts of doing a big bore while you are into it? | ||
| Akbuell |
Good call on the engine mounts. And the bolts that hold them on. They probably took some huge forces in the crash, and not something to scrimp on, given the possibility of 'internal damage'. | ||
| Slaughter |
ABSOLUTELY replace both mounts/isolators. I "saved some money" and didn't... and the rear broke in a race, engine rotated forward and locked the front and put me on my head just shifting into 5th. Front and rear mounts are cheap by comparison:  | ||
| Greg_e |
And people were giving me grief when I changed mine while doing the big bore kit. I figured that the engine is out and it is a 2003, probably should replace them just to be safe. Had a hell of a time getting a couple of the bolts out and broke a bunch of allen wrenches, ended up cutting the heads off two bolts to get it out. Then the threads spun out like nothing and no additional drilling needed. If the bolts don't come right out of the rear mount, go ahead and start cutting and save the time and swearing. | ||
| Teeps |
Slaughter Posted on Sunday, October 27, 2013 ABSOLUTELY replace both mounts/isolators. I "saved some money" and didn't... and the rear broke in a race, engine rotated forward and locked the front and put me on my head just shifting into 5th. Front and rear mounts are cheap by comparison: Not to hijack the thread; but Slaughter about how many miles was on that rear mount? Or, is the rear mount like most of the other parts on the Uly. No rhythm or reason for durability, or distance to failure? | ||
| Sifo |
Not to hijack the thread; but Slaughter about how many miles was on that rear mount? Or perhaps more importantly, how many previous crashes. | ||
| Slaughter |
Barely 5000 race miles but a tumbling endo crash in turn 1. | ||
| Sifo |
That might have something to do with that failure. How long between the tumbling endo crash and the mount failure? It's good to know what can be hidden after a crash though. | ||
| Carbonfiberbones |
Greg, Ak, I appreciate the advice! Slaughter, Thank you. A picture is worth 1000 words. AND, knowing you'd endoed it prior is priceless! I also endoed mine back in april...into a mountain. Needless to say, I've added motor mounts to the list! Thanks, guys! (Message edited by carbonfiberbones on November 02, 2013) | ||
| Slaughter |
Sifo - I blame the rear mount failure on the damage from the previous crash. Yeah, I saved some money right there by re-using the mounts. A friend behind me saw the straight line where the front had locked up going off the track - pointing directly to the wreck. |
