| Author | Message | ||
     Buellbum |
OK, I got motivated to get my 99 Cyclone back on the road. Caffeine probably had something to do with it... I added rear LED's and my newly fixed and painted fairing... to my amazement and amusement, I got the wiring for the tail light and turn signals right the first time. everything works so tomorrow i'll get the plates renewed. NO INSURANCE REQUIRED ON MOTORCYCLES IN, FLORIDA! I still have to fix the air cleaner and polish et.. but it's taking shape. The fairing was an orange and flat black rattle-can disaster.  | ||
| Falloutnl |
Every new thing I learn about Florida just blows my mind lol. You're doing a small service as well? Fluids, filter and such? | ||
| Buellbum |
no, i'll just check the brake fluid and oil after I get it un-sumped. Is there a way to know how much oil is in a sumped Buell? I drained the gas long ago so no problem there. I'm just going to clean that filter and it'll be fine. the battery I'm using isn't cranking the bike over so I have to get another battery. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Un-sumped? What's that? As for the capacity: "When you fill the oil tank, only add 2 quarts before running; after warm up bring the oil level just above the LOWER FILL LINE, otherwise you will overfill and make one hell of a mess. Oil is checked with WARM OIL after running." I'd change it personally. Takes next to no effort and it's cheap insurance. Other things to check before taking it out on the road: 1 - final drive belt tension. Too tight will kill the output shaft bearing. Maybe someone has a figure for the amount of slack you should be looking for. 2 inches unloaded is what I'm remembering. 2 - you could consider lubricating the output shaft bearing by using a syringe. | ||
| Buellbum |
good advice but the gas cap lever is stuck. i can't put gas in the pos. which way is unlocked on the mechanism? toward the back or front of the bike. I need to know because I don't want to break it by forcing the lever if it's in locked position. how nice of buell to not put a little U or L on the cap so we know which way is which. | ||
| Buellbum |
UPDATE: I got the cap off but stripped that plastic lock mechanism in the process. there are some old posts about this issue. a company made some metal units but that was such an old thread that none of the links worked. does anyone know where i can find a metal replacement for that pos black plastic? In the mean time, i'm trying to fix the plastic part and I'm coming close by inserting small pieces from a cotter pin. I heat it up then push it into the plastic with the flat part facing the flat part of the screw . I did one side and it now works but I'm going to do the other side too. I'll upload a pic of this process later. will finish tomorrow.... | ||
| 89rs1200 |
Badweb user ratbuell makes replacements in metal; https://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/boa rd-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=ratbuel l-users https://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/47 623/858983.html?1598113602 | ||
| Buellbum |
thanks, i'll check it out BUT.... I went nuts with JB Weld and bits of cotter pin and I got it working but who knows for how long. all you really need is a small steel piece with flat sides to go into that cheap plastic hole. but it's working for now. the secondary problem I had is that the inner rubber seal has shrunken and it's making it hard to turn the lever to get the cap off. so I removed the entire cap mechanism and got stretched that gasket by hand. so far so good. I'll get it back together and fill it with gas and see how it goes. | ||
| Buellbum |
Oh, another problem was that the cheap plastic piece had a cut in it that kept it from coming out of the tank. I had to file that down. this was a huge PITA job. | ||
| Buellbum |
ok, my first fix worked but the inner rubber gasket was too tight and it caused my fix to break so I went to plan "D". I got a washer that fit into the plastic opening and the center was just slightly smaller than the diameter of the bolt that turns the mechanism. I put it in my vice and made it slightly oblong then filed the inside sides flat with jewry files and the filed bit more on the curved side to make it fit the bolt with the flat sides. THIS IS GOING TO WORK. It took me about 15 minutes to make this washer. Then I glued it to the plastic part with JB Weld. Letting it set-up overnight. I'm confident that this will hold because the washer fit in the opening very snug and with the JB Weld should hold. IF it eventually comes loose I'll file some sharp edges in it then glue it back in but I don't think that will be necessary. Had I thought about making some sharp edges before I got it in there I would have but this should work because the JB Weld is strong and the washer is slightly oblong so it's not likely to move. the flat side bolt fits in perfectly.  | ||
| Buellbum |
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I intentionally destroyed the locking mechanism on the gas cap. that thing was a huge PITA and who the Hell steals gas from a motorcycle anyway? I was constantly forgetting which way was unlocked and it would often lock itself from vibration creating even more confusion. I cut that sucker off and ground it down. the outside still has a key slot but the locking mechanism is no more. So far so good for my gas cap fix. that washer is working great and there is no slop in the mechanism either. I fired it up again today and the top end is finally getting good lubrication and stopped making noise so I took it for a quick spin. It's strange riding after taking a long break. It makes you realize how dangerous these things are . I still have some things to check but its come a long way from sitting in my dining room for years. If you put your buell on ice so to speak, drain the tank and loosen your gas cap or that plastic piece will stick to the rubber seal in the tank. If that happens don't force it, just remove the entire gas cap assembly instead of forcing it. | ||
| Falloutnl |
"It makes you realize how dangerous these things are." Dangerously... awesome! | ||
| Kc_zombie |
Dangerously...awesome! Yeah buddy! | ||
| Buellbum |
Y'all should try this gas-cap fix. just get a washer the size of the flat sided unlock bolt then put it in a vice and crush it oblong. then file the long part with a jewlers file until it fits. the flat sides might need to be lightly filed to get them to fit snug. Then rough it and the plastic part with sandpaper and JB weld it into place. it works great and has no slop what so ever. it's a cheap fix and you don't have to wait for parts. The Buell Cyclone is one of the best looking bikes ever built custom or otherwise.  | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Does JB Weld hold up well near gasoline? I've used it with random stuff, but never used it in a gas tank to know. Hopefully it holds no problem though. I have the metal gas cap piece and it was a great upgrade, definitely worth the money not having to worry about your cap getting stuck anymore. There was also a second fix made, but I don't remember who sold it. I think it was shaped more like a T-nut, and it had a couple holes drilled in it for screws. You drilled out the bottom of the plastic piece slightly larger, inserted the new metal piece, then secured it from the bottom with a couple of screws. I'm sure it worked well enough but it was easier to just buy the aluminum piece and be done with it. found it: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/716383.html?1373206627 | ||
| Buellbum |
The Gasoline has not effected the JB Weld at least not yet. If it does, I'll let y'all know. The only problem I'm having now is that the cap doesn't lock down tightly. The washer is only a 32 of an inch but maybe that plastic piece that grabs the inside of the tank has shrunk. I look at it again tomorrow. | ||
| Buellbum |
I wish we could edit our post here. sometimes I fade out and get words mixed up . | ||
| Court |
Editing is not difficult. See Help / Instructions at the bottom on the page EDIT: All you need do is click on the “white sheet of paper” ( far left icon) to bring up the EDIT POST option. (Message edited by Court on December 30, 2023) | ||
| Upthemaiden |
The tension on the cap is adjustable. If it's not tight enough when you latch it you should be able to pull the cap back out and tighten it slightly then try again. If you mean that you tightened yours all the way and it still won't get tight enough, then you'll probably need to try a washer or two. | ||
| Buellbum |
yeah, I think that the cheap plastic has shrunken a little and the washer I glued in to fix the stripped center section caused the release bolt to not stick as far down as stock. it's only about 1/32 of an inch though. So I ground down the flat sides of the release bolt allowing it to go further into the plastic part. this helped a lot and it's ok now. Not as tight as stock but I think it'll be fine. If I crash it might not be though.... one would think that Eric Buell would have taken a safety feature like a gas cap a little more seriously and not bought cheap caps made in Taiwan. | ||
| Buellbum |
oh, I forgot to mention that I also replaced that big O-ring seal and that helped snug it up. | ||
| Buellbum |
"Does JB Weld hold up well near gasoline? " so far so good.... |
