| Author | Message | ||
     Fresnobuell |
+1 Bobup....please let us know what the diagnosis. I have had little luck trying to get information from the dealer/BMC. It is quite frustrating and I would be even more pissed if my bike was in the shop for a month. My dealer has basically taken the "wait for BMC to contact us on the issue." | ||
| Bobup |
fortunately, most of the time it was in the shop it was cold and wet weather. and when it was nice out...still have my '05 XB9SX to play with....and boy is it weird going from one to the other! | ||
| Baggermike |
You should hear my story Fresno if you think bob has had it bad. I have to go to my dealership again. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
and boy is it weird going from one to the other! Very weird. I rode the XB9SX over the weekend just for a bit and they are such different feeling bikes. | ||
| Two_buells |
Blake, “extreme reaction” yes after owning 7 Buells over 12 years, I’ve come to just expect more. Broken Mufflers with the S1’s Living through the recall years, Shocks, Isolators, etc. The 1999 Fuel Injection bugs I purchased my 2003 XB9R five years ago, zero problems Traded the XB9R on my Uly, other than the broken kickstand bolts, zero problems The XB series has the best warranty record of any H-D product And yes after owning 25 bikes since 1973 I do know that they break and sometimes have trouble. I’ve come to just expect more. Have I been so fortunate? Well…. ya! Working where I work and also living 6 miles from the best Buell Wrench in the country! (He used to work at the Tech School here in York teaching H-D and Buell Mechanics) This guy knows everything Buell! And I take most of my problems that I can’t fix myself to him; I just hate dealing with dealers. I changed the oil last Tuesday and plan to check all the critical fasteners this weekend. I will also check grounds and maybe do a stator and regulator test. Maybe I caused my own problem with my battery. Like I said I changed the oil last Tuesday, than took the bike on a 20 mile ride to recheck and top off the oil. I did pull out the owner’s manual and had the key on with the lights burning for about five min to reset the service odo. The bike did not run until Sat when I tried to start it and found out the battery was low, 11.5 volts. I rode the bike on Sat and Sun with no trouble and rode to work today, It did seem a little weak when I started it after work. Todays temp was about 50. Checked the voltage when I got home and its 12.49 Do I have a problem, who knows until I check stuff out. So thanks for the health concerns, the BP is back to normal. TwoBuells out….. | ||
| Two_buells |
More... I’m still happy with my Buells and will talk you ears off about them. I also live between 35 and 90 miles from three great Buell Dealers and do recommend them often. I think I’m personally jump starting the economy myself since I purchased my 1125R. Two Helmets (one is an Arai) Tail Bag, Battery Tender, Grips, Alpinestar Boots, Lightning footpegs, I just got my Corbin Seat today. | ||
| Exnorton |
My battery just petered out on me too! But it been in the garage waiting for spring. I played with it and had the alarm set and that takes several seconds to disengage and start the engine I suppose that's my fault With a small battery I think they need a circuit that doesn't engage the head lights until the engine starts or at least only works until after you punch the alarm code in | ||
| Blake |
I miss the old days when we had a simple switch to turn our motorcycle headlights on and off as we wished. Nanny-state says we aren't smart enough and must be forced to have our motorcycle headlights on at all times if the ignition switch is engaged. If the bike is running, okay that makes sense enough and helps protect others from the idiots and drunks on two wheels. Easy enough to install our own switch I suppose. My truck has a peculiar glitch where its brake lights will activate as I'm walking away after parking it. It's left the battery drained more than once. If I catch it, a slight tap on the brake pedal temporarily resolves the issue. If I don't notice or forget to pull the brake light fuse, the decision the next morning is whether or not to risk a coast down the driveway, about 8' down in a 80' run, and and a bump start, or to hook up the charger at 50 AMPs for ten minutes or so. I've not been brave enough to try the coasting bump start. If it didn't start, I'd be stringing extension chords to the end of the driveway and out into the street. LOL. I have no idea how or why the brake light switch is being actuated after the thing is parked. | ||
| Blake |
Fresno, "I have had little luck trying to get information from the dealer/BMC. " Exactly what information pertaining you your own Buell 1125R motorcycle are you lacking that you feel you need? I'm here to help. Please advise. | ||
| Blake |
Bobup, "I keep reading these posts and I feel compelled to tell y'all that it probably is not the charging system....it more likely is an issue with DISCHARGING." That's a good point at least for your case. However, the few reports we have seen here are varying in symptom and effect and some have been absolutely been resolved by replacement of a voltage regulator or a stator, or by proper torquing of ground straps and/or battery terminal connections, or simply by applying a good full charge to the battery. Who knows what effect low voltage may have on the power consumption of a dormant bike. If the battery voltage is already low, it doesn't take much additional drain to render the battery unable to start the bike, headlights burning, maybe? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Why are batteries draining mysteriously? Can this be a one-time isolated event? Does BMC have a systematic method of testing, diagnosing and/or repairing the electrics on the 1125r? | ||
| Baggermike |
Blake help me. I made a promise to Cody, he made a promise to me, I have kept me end of the agreement but he has not, My bike was brought into a shop for a week for nothing, I have done test and know for a fact that my charging system is not working like it should, yesterday I rode around town with my high and low beams on, I got home and battery voltage at the battery with a volt meter was 11.9, the battery was fully charged when I left. after a while of riding around I felt the bike running rough and then switch the high beams off and could feel the difference between riding with the high and low beams on or just the low beams on, the bike ran real good with just the low beams on and when I switch to high and low beams the bike ran rough so the ecm was not getting the power needed to run good. after waiting this week I am going back on my promise to him because of him not keeping his. Mike | ||
| Court |
Very unusual. So the theory, on the street, is that running the high beams makes the bike run rough? I'm not questioning this, just a lot of chatter unrelated to the problem (promises, agreements, dealers and whoever the heck Cody is) and I am trying to make the connection between high beams and rough running. The thinking is that the ECM, with the high beams, no longer has enough power to keep the EFI happy? Has anyone else reported this? Are we dealing with a "plague of 1" or multiple bogeys? | ||
| Baggermike |
I read on the web how to test the stator and it said if it does not put out over 50 ac volts at 3000 rpms then the stator is bad, if true my stator is bad I could only get around 40 at 6000 rpms. Mike | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Cody is a tech at Buell, I believe. My service manager has mentioned his name at times. | ||
| Baggermike |
Hi Court I also got home and my battery read 11.9 volts. I remember a long time ago my bagger got discharged because I left something on, it was a carb bike so I jumped it with a car and went for a ride and it ran bad for around 15 minutes, sort of like putting a noose around your neck and pulling it tight, the brain does not get blood and you start to DIE. Mike | ||
| Baggermike |
Two Buells was very helpful in instructing me on how to test the stator, he said at 2000 rpm the ac voltage should read 32 to 40 volts across A + B and that add 16 to 20 ac volts per 1000 rpms and that would be 48 to 60 ac volts at 3000 rpms, I tried to get the bike to be at 2000 rpms but was hard to do myself but was able to do 3000 rpms and gues what 35 ac volts when I should have been reading 48 to 60 ac volts and what I seen under 3000 rpms was real low. BAD STATOR WHICH I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR MONTHS. Mike | ||
| Ducxl |
Mike,if you do not use a battery charger,does the bike lose enough voltage to NOT start? If you go for a ride does it die for lack of voltage? Have you been stranded? Or do you THINK you'll be stranded? All this talk of 11.9 volts.Does/will it start under that condition? | ||
| Baggermike |
Hi Ducxl I am afraid of being stranded, when I was told I was good to go home and when I got home the bike would not start, the ride was from Maine 110 miles away all highway and I live right off of the highway, 1.5 miles and the bike would not start, it spent over 3 weeks in the shop and got it back and all they did is replace a fuel pump that had locked up and still was discharging, I then was told to bring it in to the shop near by and I was made a promise that I would have facts and I have yet to get any facts, I seen this bike in the 14.5 charging volts and now only under 13.8 volts, something is wrong, Two Buells wrote me back on how to test the stator and he assembles at the York Penn plant and gave me instrutions as to how to test the stator, I did the test and came up with numbers that looks like it is not putting out enough AC volts to his specs and I think he gave me the new buell stats that are based on a weaker charging system, the new XB have a single phase 405 watt 30 amp charging system, I have a 3 phase 432 watt 32 amp charging system, so going by the book the stator is not putting out the power it should, if he is going by a less powerful charging system and is suppose to put out 48 to 60 AC volts and mine is only putting out 35 AC volts at the same rpms. Buell sent a team down to Florida to work on someone elses bike and the stator was bad and then I was made a promise and I made a promise and I have kept that promise but no longer going to because he has broken his promise, so I get the brush off and went with out my bike for almost a week and got no facts that I was promised to get. I am riding to my dealership Thursday and if there is a problem I will end up right were I need to be, at the Buell dealership. So I have had many trips to the dealership and two long stays one over 3 weeks and one almost a week so that is a month I went with out my bike not to mention all the time I have been to the dealership and my bike can not even handel high beams on. Mike | ||
| Gtmg |
Court, Can't you help Bagger? It is getting old and is making me wonder. Is it him or the bike? thanks for all of us. | ||
| Ducxl |
Mike,in my mind,you really need to show the dealer that the bike(if it really is) is unreliable.So take it for a nice long ride to your dealer and maroon it there for them to fix.Or do like Interex,and demand a refund,or something like that. | ||
| Court |
>>>Can't you help Bagger? It is getting old and is making me wonder. Is it him or the bike? Yes, I can. But I have taken vacation to spend 15 hours a day preparing term papers in 3 classes and from reading this I am unable to unscramble it. I'm trying to keep an eye on it. Ducxl is on the right track. That bike needs to be in the hands of a dealer. I fear the cumulative tinkering may have obviated any clear chance of ever determining the root cause. I, in the days when I was doing most my Buell riding, count on reliability. I used to get on, ride for 14 or 15 hours and get off. Simple. When I sent my S2 to get the 88" kit the overriding constraint I asked for was "always err on the side of reliability". Frankly, having heard some of the things about the 1125R I'm fighting the urge, the moment finals are over, to hop on one, ride to LA for lunch and back to NYC just to see what happens. For the record . . . I don't think Mike has caused this but like tossing a stone in a still brook he's damn sure muddied the water. I'm, and it's just a personal thing, am a bit of an advocate, at least during the break in and perhaps some of the warranty, of keeping a bike as close to stock as possible, Once you make multiple mods you make it difficult to sort out and you basically lift the manufacturer off the hook in terms of liability and responsibility. I'm keeping an eye on this. In addition I am watching for a common element with other 1125Rs. . . When I see Josh and Neil reporting concerns that heighten my concern. Court | ||
| Dentguy |
I have no idea how or why the brake light switch is being actuated after the thing is parked. Blake, Maybe you already checked, but some of those brake light switches are adjustable and the adjustment nuts come loose and don't let the plunger push all the way back in to cut off the lights. Not sure what you have there, but usually those switches are mounted near the pivot for the brake pedal. You probably already checked this , but just in case you haven't. Sorry to get off topic. (Message edited by dentguy on April 08, 2008) | ||
| Ustorque |
o.k. BaggerMike i can hold back no longer....none of what i'm about to say is an attack so please don't take it that way. i have watched these threads since the release of the 1125 to see how the new bike would perform and as expected in any brand new machine problems have been present and problems have been rectified and i have watched as your problems have persisted. first off i can't help but go crazy when i go to a thread about guys enjoying their new bikes and sharing their stories and running into another voltage, watts, ohms, ac, dc same old same old i've seen every day for months now. my advice to you would be to remove all the electrical gadgetry you've added to your bike and return it to stock(if possible)and ride the bike the way it was delivered to you and see how it performs. if the problems (do) still exist then drive it to your dealer tell them the problem and leave it there for them until they have found and solved the problem. one thing that makes me curious about you situation, if there is one, is wether or not the conditions in which you put your bike through may be a contributing factor in all this. you and i both live in new england, when winter rolls around my bikes come off the road they are serviced and stored out of the elements. you on the other hand supposedly ride year round and introduce potentially bad ingredients to your bike(salt,ice,sand)on a daily basis which i would be very concerned with. you ride through this during the day and then park your bike at night uncleaned(i'm sure you clean it but not after every ride)leaving all these substances to wreak havoc on your bike and electrical system. now you may have a legitimate problem with your bike and none of the above may be accurate but in my mind it's just another piece to the puzzle that needs to be looked at. and a cheap car may be in order soon. hope it all works out for ya either way. (Message edited by ustorque on April 08, 2008) | ||
| Two_buells |
BaggerMike, In my e-mail to you I said that the stator test I gave you was from an XB12X service manual. I do not know the specs for the 1125R! I also said to let your dealer test and fix your bike and without the service manual and proper tools you could not properly test your bike. | ||
| Baggermike |
Two Buells I mis worded it and did not mean to say the specs were for the 1125R and that if you gave me specs from the ulysses does not mean the specs are the same for my bike. I thought I had said above you gave me the xbx specs not the 1125R and I was asking for help and if anyone knows what the 1125R put out for ac volts at the stator, sorry for the misunderstanding Two Buells sometime what I mean comes out wrong. Ustorque the bike is stock except for a garmin zumo, volt meter shift light, and battery tender cable, I installed led running light and they take hardly any power, leds run on very low power so I replaced ten watts with less than one watt, I am sure my zumo and shift light hardly uses any power, if you go on buells website under FAQ and type in electrical the 1125r electrical system come up and says above 3000 rpm it will run heated grips that are 36 watts and high and low beams, I been riding over 4000 rpms and still discharging with high and low beams on with the garmin zumo and one green light that comes on when I hit 4000rpms which is what I cruise at, Nobody ask me any more questions I am not answering any more and going to camp out at my dealership to it is fixed. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Mike, I don't think your values for voltage output from the stator would be right for an 1125R. Whats redline on that thing, 10,000 RPM? If so, you would be looking at... what... 200 volts as the bike approaches redline? That sounds way high. I've been following your threads, and you have reached a lot of conclusions that are reasonable, insightful, and wrong. I respect that, and we are all learning a ton, but thats not the best way to get your bike fixed fast. I've learned over the years to stop giving advice and opinions to mechanics / repair people when I have to throw in the towel and ask for help... When I do, they reach the same reasonable, insightful, and wrong opinion I had. If that opinion was right, I probably would not have had to call in the professionals, so its less the helpful. | ||
| Baggermike |
Reepicheep I hit like close to 7000 rpms and only got 50 AC volts. I have been accused of adding all these accessories and is wrong all I been riding with that is extra is gps and a volt meter shift light, now I have moved up my rev cruising range and still when high beams are on I discharge the battery, anyway I am going to the dealership thursday and hope buell calls back the dealerships tech guy I gave him my info, can you explain why I can not get a strait answer from BMC when I was promise I would get facts by a BMC TECH, and have you read about the bikes charging system on Buells website under FAQ and type in electrical and it will tell you all about the charging system and that above 3000 rpms the bike is made to handle high beams and heated grips and my bike can not handle high beams on over 3000 rpms. I am working blind because I do not have access to a service manual, but I was told by BMC tech guy to use the ulysses 06 manual as a guide, can you test your stator and give me the numbers you come out with? and the DC charging volts at the battery at different rpms? this is what I need these numbers from a good charging system, it is real easy to do and just have to remove the seat and there is a plug by the left side of the bike by the air box cover and has three yellow wires and test at 3000 rpms the AC volts between A&B A&C B&C, can anyone do this for me to give me something to go by, I am asking for HELP from anyone, please HELP me out and do this test, this will shut me up for good. Mike | ||
| Zac4mac |
Mike - I've got snow and sleet for the next couple of days. I'll try and get some numbers for you from Loretta. She's going to be down for a couple of days anyway as she gets transformed to Gold/Blue/Black. Had an issue with Loretta running rough in Texas. Called BMC last Thursday before I left. Matt called me today and told me they looked good for Colorado and I told him the numbers were from sea-level. For some reason, she never updated the mapping for the lower elevation. If I was staying there, he said they'd do a reset, but since I'm back home, all is good. Z (Message edited by zac4mac on April 09, 2008) | ||
| Court |
Buell Techs are pretty much limited to dealing with dealer tech personnel . . . it's a simple matter of logistics that 3 guys can't be on the phone with 2,000 owners a week. The prescribed relationship is Buell to dealer to owner. Moving the parts around confuses things at this point. You may not have a service manual (trust me I am haunting the Buell folks about that daily) but your dealer, the guy you NEED to be dealing with, has all the resources necessary. Court |
