| Author | Message | ||
     Mistaandypants |
I already posted this once but no one noticed. (Is it in the right spot?) Recently when I ride, right around 3500 rpm only in the lower gears I think. I hear a loud tapping gurgling noise coming from the motor (I think). HD dealership couldn't find whats wrong with it. They thought it was vibration so they retorqued all my bolts. I am starting to get worried. The bike is only 4 months old 2700 miles. I would like to hear anyones thoughts on what this might be. | ||
| Jester |
HELP!!TextText  I am going through alot of oil, I just checked/refilled with 2 quarts (alot). Had oil changed last week (7/17/02) @5400 miles I now have 6416 miles. The bike is a 96 S2T it has a Bad Boys Oil Cooler and an extended oil filter. The breather lines do not enter into the air filter, they route down like a "Y" and into a filter above the rear inner fender, where incidentally, there is the only sign of oil. The temp outside is 113 so I would prefer not to have any oil deficiency issues. Thanks Jester | ||
| Budo |
I too have noticed a number of vrods unsold. A local dealer has six all in a row, looks kinda wild. Priced at 18,999.00. Marked down from 22,500.00 just a couple of months ago. Probably everyone is waiting for the 100th anniversary bikes to come out. | ||
| Mikej |
Jester, Check your gear lube level. Have a drip pan handy when you remove the clutch inspection cover to check the level. Have the bike sitting level (on a swingarm lift/stand, or have a friend hold it upright). If oil and gear lube start pouring out when the cover is removed, you have found your problem. If not, then you have eliminated a potential problem of a main seal leaking from the engine side into the primary side. Mistaa........., Have another Buell rider listen to it. Or ride two-up with the service tech and tell him/her when the noise starts and stops. Might be normal, might not, can't hear it from here. Your description of "tapping" coupled with "gurgling" doesn't go together. Tapping indicates dry or loose or normal, gurgling indicates too much fluid or overfilling or something not flowing right or a hose/tube is full and is about to belch. MikeJ (Probably no help at all.)  | ||
| Mikej |
A local dealer here has a 2003 bike on their floor right now. Don't know if it's sold or being held or is shop-owner owned like their first V-Rod was. Could be the economy is starting to hit the discretionary bike fund market. Don't know. | ||
| Budo |
Jester, are you saying you have gone thru 2qts of oil in 1000 miles? I would think that you have a leak somewhere. I don't think it is possible to burn/blow that much oil. So you might try starting the bike and checking the garage floor for oil drops. You might have to rev the motor a bit to run up the oil pressure. It is suspicous to me that it was ok (it was ok, right) before the last oil change. It is a good bet that whoever changed the oil fouled something up. could be the oil filter is not snugged down. Good luck. | ||
| Blake |
Snail is one tough hombré. Paul, here's a bright side for ya... with the new Black Busa, the local LEO might not see you coming quite so easily. | ||
| Jester |
Mikej & Budo, Thank you for your reply. The bike was sitting for about 6/8 months when I bought it, I thought I was doing something wrong when I checked the oil, there was no reading on the dipstick but I could see oil, so I took it to the dealership. The suggested 50W due to the extreme heat and performed an oil change, tested the oil return and test drove before sending me on my way. | ||
| Jester |
I don't know if the two have anything in common, but as I think of it: When I start off or when I let the rpm's drop below 3000 and then give it some throttle there is a tapping until I release then roll back on the gas, maybe oil starvation? | ||
| Mikej |
Jester, Two possibilities: 1) When a Buell has been sitting for several months, check to see that is has some oil, then start it up and let it run for awhile. Then shut it off and then check the oil level. If you're nervous about the oil level in the tank you can start it up with the seat removed and the oil cap open so you can watch the oil pump out of the engine cases where it has probably settled while it was sitting for several months. 2) When the shop changed your oil, they may or may not have taken the oil cooler capacity into account and may or may not have just poured the "regular" amount of oil back in. In both cases, it could have just been a mistake while checking the level. Once you have verified you don't have any leaks, and have verified you don't have a blown seal, just ride the bike and keep an eye on the oil level. With Buells, check the oil level at the end of a ride instead of at the beginning of one. That way you can be best assured that the oil is pumped into the tank instead of settled down elsewhere. Hope this helps. | ||
| Jester |
I'll check it out. Many thanks, Jester | ||
| Henrik |
Jester: in your roll-on scenario - it's likely pinging/detonation. Don't do that, bad for your motor. Henrik | ||
| Henrik |
Paul; glad to hear you're ok Software (i.e. you) is a lot harder to replace than hardware (i.e. bike, gear etc.) Did you have them do some nice custom work with the SS they put in?  Henrik | ||
| Snail |
Court, the sound of the Arai scrubbing along the highway was sweet music. I didn't even get a headache, best money I ever spent. It ripped the shield holder and shield off the helmet. Hans, old friend, I have been using saran wrap (plastic film) since they screwed me togeather I don't have a cast. I have a nice row of ss staples holding the incision togeather. It was over 100 degrees that day, and I had on my full coverage Buell kevlar reinforced suit. I was sweaty, and one nurse commented that I 'smelled' but I was whole. The damage to my body was impact damage, no rash. Paul | ||
| Court |
From this point on, until I am satisfied that you are mended, you shall be known as "Snail-brasion". The last two earth-sky-earth-sky-earth-sky excursions I took were both in spankin' new RX7RR3's and 4's. Helmet never touched the ground. Bikes, as good fortune had it, were the property of Buell and I was on "company business". If your Arai scraped the ground, dats it. . . that baby is now elevated to table lamp memorabilia status. Avoid the HOG rooted "look at my battle scars" urge to wear it. You want scraps have TrickLidz paint'em on. Upside to all of this is that you can get that too trick new gray/black Busa! Court | ||
| Roc |
Snail - sorry to hear that you were hit. If you need a new Arai try www.helmetshop.com - about $100 cheaper than I could find anywhere around Portland. Jester - Not to offend, but did you warm up the bike and check the oil level after you changed it? Was the oil lost/used, or was it not there to begin with? | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Snail, get well as fast as a snail can.... _________________________________________________
Two HOCKEY PUCKS under the kickstand work very well for this purpose. _________________________________________________ Mistaandypants, STOCK M2 in North Carolina, which if has been as hot as DC, probably means that the bike is knocking due to the combination of the STOCK lean jetting and the extreme heat in the last two weeks. Rolling instead of whacking the throttle helps to avoid this, and keeping the rpms above 3,500 also helps. The biggest help will be to RE-Jet the carburator. Hope this helps. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
VROD sales, None available at the Dealers I have been to recently (Metro DC area), they don't spend much time waiting for a home when they do get to the showroom. Sportsters and Buells, on the other hand..... | ||
| Arashi |
hi all... long time lurker, first time poster... wasn't sure where to put this, so it goes here... first off; i'm the proud new owner of a (used) black 1997 m2. it had under 10k and was loaded with bells and whistles... in fact, it's the one Westy01 considered buying... i've owned the bike, lovingly called fluffy, since april and have already put nearly 2500 miles on it... including a 1000 mile, trouble free  ride to oregon. so, here are two questions for those more knowledgeable than i: 1. fluffy was knocked over by some idiot trying to park his car  ... it fell on the right side, so the brake lever curled, and the headers are a bit mushed, but it otherwise escaped obvious harm. though i did notice a bit of fluid leakage at the base of the cylinders on the right... it was red, so i assumed it was gasoline (should've smelled it... but didn't). i don't know how long it was down, but was wondering if there is anything i should be wary of... frame, steering, leakage... that sort of thing. 2. this is more of a trivia question, as it already happened and was fixed... under extended warranty, thank god! so here it is: my tranny tanked at 10,000 miles. drive sprocket splines completely sheared off... (5th gear splines didn't fare too well either) the mechanic said everything was torqued down, so he has no idea how it happened... anyone care to venture a guess? anyway, enough for now... time to go put my new brake lever on. thanks for the forum! ...cory | ||
| Fogcity |
Jester - Is it possible that when the shop drained your oil they "forgot" to fill it back up? (I always start with the simplest senario and work my way down into complete confusion)  Arashi - Welcome! I'm your neighboor with the dogs and the '77 R100s and M2. Have you heard of the SundayMorningRide coming up in August to Dog Town (Stinson Beach) as a fundraiser for a youth organization? Let me know if your interested. As far as your two questions I can't help you but have you tested out the parking on sidewalk/ticket potential on your block? | ||
| Elvis |
José, That's interesting (and the reason I asked). There must be big differences dealer to dealer. I saw 7-8 V-Rods at Brian's HD (just north of Philadelphia) and only 2 Firebolts. The V-Rods are selling at MSRP, (but the salesman said MSRP will go up $1000 for the 2003's) | ||
| Jeffh |
Brian's is selling USED V-Rods at MSRP or better - no thanks.. I'd rather buy a Roadstar Warrior and still have 8g's left over for mods. (hello - Patrick Racing? ) For cleaning up stainless headers - I'm with Blake. RED Scotchbrite is the stuff you want - not green. I have also used a air driven die grinder with red Scotchbrite discs - makes VERY easy work of the job. Court: Snail got the "Special Edition" Bus - black on black on black - VERY sharp looking bike! | ||
| Jeffh |
 2003 SE Bus | ||
| Mikej |
That muffler is beggin' to be painted. | ||
| Mistaandypants |
Thanks José! That makes a lot of sense. Just one thought though. It just started doing that in the last two weeks. (it's been really hot since May) I rode in the cool rain yesterday and it still did it. Hopefully it will be fixed after I put on the Buell slip fit muffler and forcewinder and re jet. Now I have an excuse for my wife  | ||
| Snail |
Arashi, that red stuff was probably trans. fluid. Check and see if the prev. owner switched trans fluid. If so, it probably leaked out of the trans. through the vent while lying on its side. MikeJ, I'm thinking of powder coating the muffs. and the other alum parts. Incidently, I still have my '99 S-3 and its still running srong. Paul | ||
| Freyke |
Last time I went into Southside HD/BUELL in VA BCH they had two VRODS... 1 Firebolt and about 3-4 Blasts... they've sold all thier tube frame bikes... | ||
| Shooter |
Could somebody ping me offline with Henry Duga's phone #, or an East Troy # other than customer service? | ||
| Mikej |
Shooter, Try here. Don't know how often he is there though. Not even sure who signs his pay check, just know he's somewhat well known. | ||
| Aaron |
(262) 642-2020 ... ask for Henry ... btw, great pic in your profile |
