| Author | Message | ||
     Leeaw |
Everyone and anyone, I was just emailed by another person about the front pulley nut going south; his for the second time. I suffered the problem last year with less than 8,000 miles, as explained in prior posts, and suffered further mainshaft failure to the tune of $800 out of my pocket. I wrote a nice letter last week to BCS explaining my problem, and what I learned on Badweb, and asked about reimbursement. I got my Return Receipt from USPS and am awaiting their response. I know my bike is not one of limited run of 2000's affected by the Buell Front Pulley Virus, but I would like to create a listing of those who had this problem, year, mileage, etc; so I have some greater understanding of the magnitude of the problem, and for possible evidence for a recall. If you suffered the failure, please email me with the following: Model and year: Mileage when occured: In/out of warranty: Covered by warranty: Cost of repair: Number of failures: And any other info you would like to contribute. You can send email to leeaweiss@hotmail.com Thank Don Casto for the idea  | ||
| Kinger |
Leeaw, I suffered that same problem on the 3rd. It was evident once the cover was taken off that the problem had been around a while. I bought my bike from a private owner in April. I had the sprocket replaced yesterday, it was covered by the extended warranty that the previous owner purchased and I transferred. The cost was $195 for the sprocket, cover,and labor. I paid the $50 deductible and was on my way. I will gather all the info you requested and forward it to you. My milage was 6215. | ||
| S3carnage |
Do not use the M6 I can e-mail you pictures if you want. | ||
| Aaron |
Recalls are generally only done for safety purposes. Does this nut failure create an unsafe condition? | ||
| Leeaw |
Aaron, It may not create an unsafe condition, but how would you feel laying out $800 for something that may well have been defective? Customer service means the world to me, and I if I were "done" with Buell, I would take my losses and get something else. That is not the case though. Do you think I am in the wrong here, or are you just commenting on the issue of being a recall? Would Court have any insight as to how this should be handled?  | ||
| Lake_Bueller |
Lee, Let's get this ball rolling!!!! Year: 1998 Make: S3T Mileage: 1st repair ~10,000 2nd repair ~15,000 The first time was covered under extended warranty. Now I'm trying to at least get the part (if not labor) covered for the second repair. What REALLY gets me riled is the fact that they don't think there is anything wrong! Before they replaced the pulley the first time, I had to bring it to the shop 3x. Then the fix only lasts less than 1 year. WTF!!! | ||
| Aaron |
Whoa whoa whoa ... I didn't weigh in on this at all, please don't read something into my words that isn't there. I'm just pointing out a fact. Recalls are about safety. Show me one example of any recall they've ever implemented that wasn't about safety. If a recall is what you seek, as you suggested, you'll need to make the case that this is a safety issue. Which it may or may not be, I honestly don't know. Your second post indicates it's about the money required for a repair. I can guarantee you they won't do a recall for that. That's not a comment on what they should or shouldn't do, it's just a fact. That's not what recalls are for. Now, for my OPINION ... Buell has generally done a good job standing behind their products when they made a mistake. The vehicle they use in non-safety related cases is a "goodwill warranty". I think that's the right policy for them to have, and of course, I hope that they will continue doing it. How your survey will be viewed by them, whether it will have a positive or negative influence, make goodwill warranty coverage of this more or less likely, well, I have no idea. I personally don't see anything wrong with what you're doing. We live in the information age. In my view, companies should embrace that instead of hide from it. Not all do, as we saw with Force. | ||
| Leeaw |
I apoligize, but my dismay and lack of sleep with a newborn are causing me to jump the gun. I understand it is not a "recall" and would be a goodwill warranty, if they support me, but anything having to do with interfering with me staying upright at 55 mph on two tires is potentially dangerous. I feel that if I present greater evidence than either they know, or they are willing to admit to, I may have a stronger case. My letter in no way made any demands, as was a quest for discussing the matter further. No one knows if anything will come of it, but for me, I will have piece of mind trying. I, for one, am devoted to the product and seeing Buell blossom. I have had this problem, am on my 3rd shock, gasket leaks, and purchased my bike 5 days after the first mass recall in 1999. I am not complaining though. I have been treated fairly with the weeks of lost time as my only complaint. But just like with my 1995 Ford Windstar van with the ill-fated 3.8L engine, I will no longer buy a Ford because of their failure to acknowledge the numerous head gasket and engine failures until enough people complained to the government. Customer service is worths its weight in gold, and can make or break a relationship with consumers. When I have had enough, I will pack it in. I am not there yet  | ||
| Blake |
I think "Goodwill Upgrade" is the commonly used term like with the SRP shock upgrade, the muffler hanger upgrade, and the isolator upgrade. | ||
| Roadrunr |
 OK, Just did my 10,000 mi. service on the X1. everything went fine until I fired it up. I have this ungodly clacking in the lower end which seems to be coming from the primary side of the motor. I adjusted the primary chain so it has just under 1/2" play, checked at 10 diferent locations. Any input would be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Road_Thing |
Runny: Have you got the old style adjuster? Could it have cracked and come loose in the case? r-t | ||
| Mikej |
Check your tensioner rub block support plate. You can sort of see it from the clutch inspection cover. Also check your fluid level. | ||
| Roadrunr |
R-T; Not sure what you mean about the old style adjuster mine has a 5/8" nut which holds an allen screw that goes through the bottom of the case.I did adjust the tension slightly but torqued the nut back down. fluid level is full and I couldn't really see the rub block through the clutch cover. Guess I will get a little mirror and try to see it that way. Thanks buellers!..............Steve | ||
| Road_Thing |
tensioners Steve: Click on the link for a picture. New style on bottom, old style on top. There's a lot of discussion on this in the KV around last Aug 8. r-t | ||
| Reepicheep |
If you search the knowledge vault, you will find at least a half dozen shots of the older tensioners with the split backplate (including one of mine). It is a tricky little problem, as the nylon plastic shoe part is strong enough to make it look like you have set the tension correctly while everything is at rest, but will flex when under load, and not tension correctly. All the while, those backplates get more and more chewed up while trying to work their way into your transmission.... Go get a new one before you even pull the primary and just replace it regardless. If it is not broken yet it will sooner or later. You will also (of course) need a new primary cover gasket (I tried re-using one that had only been on a week or so, and sure enough it leaked) and more sport-trans fluid (though you will get better shifting with Mobil 1 Synthetic made for the Gear box). | ||
| Blake |
"If it is not broken yet it will sooner or later. " I don't think that is necessarily true. None of my three M2's suffered tensioner failure. Yes I did just recently upgrade anyway. Replace it with the beefier version yes, but let's not make such definite statements. There are still a bunch of Buells running around with the old tensioner assy. | ||
| Roadrunr |
Well, it still seems to be in the right place,so I will re-adjust closer to the min. tolerance and see how it sounds. R-T Cant tell what style it is without pulling the case off. YET  I am guessing that it's the old style though. You guys are great! | ||
| Roadrunr |
R-T;It's the new style  | ||
| Ralph |
"If it is not broken yet it will sooner or later. " My original tensioner had over 36,000 miles on it before I put in the new one. Why? Just 'cause. It was in perfect (worn some) shape. bighairyralph | ||
| Hootowl |
I replaced a perfectly good old one as well. | ||
| Roadrunr |
I tightened up the chain to about .470 -.480 and it seems to be a little quieter so I will ride it a few days and see how it holds up.  | ||
| Road_Thing |
 You can measure chain slack to a hundredth?? I AM impressed-if I've got it to within 1/4" I feel like I'm doing pretty good... r-t | ||
| Roadrunr |
dial calipers. And really just an estimate. I haven't had my left eye calibrated in over 6 months, so it don't really count...  | ||
| Ara |
Ah yes, I remember those. Steve Austin had a bionic eyeball, too. Pretty handy for sure, but they're a booger to service.  | ||
| Reepicheep |
OK.. OK... I will revise my statement and try to back off the absolutes in general.  How about... "Even if it's not broken yet, I would replace it now anyway, as the part is cheap, the job is easy, and there have been a non trivial number of failures which could have easily resulted in transmission damage". I understand how my original failed, what I don't understand is how everyone elses has not. I don't do wheelies, stoppies, or other general bike abuse, and I kept the tension set exactly by the book and watched it closely. The only thing I could figure is that I run my belt as far as I can get towards the loose end of what the manual calls for... maybe that has something to do with it... or maybe not. | ||
| Blake |
How do you downshift? When downshifting without blipping the throttle to match engine and tranny speeds, if the clutch is released too quickly, the lower run of the chain and thus tensioner can be subjected to severe peak loading in almost an impact type scenario. Also consider that the more the tensioner is extended into the primary to take up slack in the chain, the more load it sees under engine braking. Obviously, regardless of the loading severety or the amount of extension of the tensioner, it should be designed to withstand such worst case loading, repeatedly for the life of the motorcycle. My suspicions about the root cause of the failures we've heard about are threefold as follows: 1. The tensioner was not properly designed to withstand the most severe loading conditions described above. While okay for the sportster, the Buells may for some reason experience more severe loading that may have been overlooked. 2. Some change to the material or manufacture/source of the tensioner, perceived as minor and/or insignificant, was actually detrimental enough to significantly degrade its structural integrity. I've seen this a LOT in my professional career. A change in source or a switch to a less costly manufacturing process or material have cost companies lots of money. 3. Even though we might be thorough in trying to find the "tight spot" when tensioning the primary chain, some may miss it, and some may also adjust the chain to the tight side of the specs. This scenario could easily set up a repetitive cyclic loading resulting in fatigue failure of the tensioner in very short order. The combination of being too tight along with being subjected to the most severe operational loading would put the integrity of the tensioner at even more peril. I guess my messge here is, regardless of which version tensioner you have. Be very careful to follow proper procedure when adjusting it, and always blip the throttle and avoid dropping the clutch too hard when downshifting. You can safely downshift without throttle blipping, but clutch release must be smooth just like when taking off from a dead stop. Or alternatively if coming to a stop, you can simply hold the clutch in while shifting down through all the gears, all the while waiting for your speed to slow appropriately before each shift. | ||
| Roadrunr |
Well then, acording to blake, I am a most excellent downshifter...   | ||
| Henrik |
>>the Buells may for some reason experience more severe loading that may have been overlooked<< My guess would be engine braking during more "spirited" riding. Most of the HD crowd will get on the rear brake for slowing down. Henrik | ||
| Reepicheep |
Henrik may be on to something, I come from an inline 4 background, and engine brake (with smooth and gradual application of clutch) as a general practice. Maybe it is me  | ||
| Jrh |
Anyone whos installed the updated beefier style primary chain tensioner;Is it safe to assume the factory assembled and torqued the top nut on the new unit?(the nut under the new shoe)i dont want to remove the new nylon shoe to check the new nut tighness if i don't have to but of course i don't want to have the nut come off later if it wasnt loctited + torqued at the factory. Thanks |
