| Author | Message | ||
     Herobluebuell |
I've gotten to the point where my buell is gonna get traded in. Twice in the last month it has left me stranded on the side of the road. It fouls out plugs left and right. won't stay running. 7,xxx miles and this thing feels like it is 100 years old. Its still under warrenty but the dealer still doesn't know whats wrong with it. personally im starting to regret my purchase. | ||
| Irideabuell |
Greg, How are you warming up the bike? What kind of fuel are you running in it? What kind of work has been done to the bike in response to the problems you've been having and what are the problems? Paul | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
I'll give you a grand for it, sight unseen. | ||
| Glitch |
Take it to a different dealer | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
isn't that so kind of you. How bout a bit of support for the guy instead of trying too ass rape him while he is down. I had too find an individual who works on harley's too get quality work. All the dealerships Harley one's I have been threw don't want too work on Buell's. Find a local who will treat it right. I found my mechanic threw another bueller who was happy with the work done for him. (Message edited by vicfirebolt on May 29, 2008) | ||
| Jos51700 |
I agree with Glitch and Vicfirebolt. Get a new dealer, if possible. If not possible, call Buell customer support, be nice, and they will stand up for you. I'd bet VERY heavily that it's the dealer, and not the bike. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"I'd never ass rape a guy while he's down." You're right, lets hear the details of what the bike is doing...aftermarket can? Race Ecu? Filter? Mapping? What's the dealer done already besides swap plugs and TPS reset? | ||
| Herobluebuell |
Paul, I always warm it up. Always run High Octane. Only thing they said was wrong with it is it needed a tps reset. I would find another dealer but they are the closest one. its either haul it an hour their or a hour and half to the next or 2 to the next... The first time i took it to the dealer I think they just blew it off ran the diagnostics on it and did the tps reset and thats it. It's defently something eletrical. What ever happened to bikes were the only wires went to the starter? | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
Have you done anything to the bike? Can? ECM? | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
I would find another dealer but they are the closest one. its either haul it an hour their or a hour and half to the next or 2 to the next... Isnt it worth an hour or 2 of driving to get your bike fixed correctly? Hell, Id drive a half a day if I knew the person I was going to was competent. Sounds a lot easier than trading my baby off  and loosing a bunch of money. | ||
| Lightningrob |
Take your seat off the bike and look for unusual wear on the bottom of it, where the wiring harness contacts it. If you're unsure, start the bike up and wiggle those wires a bit. If it sputters, chances are that you found your problem. A friend of mine had he same issues with his. The underneath of the seat was pressing against the harness and ended up disconnecting some wires. | ||
| Busterx |
They are notorious for fouling plugs. When I got mine after the HD fouled I put in NGK heat range 7 and never fouled another plug. These bikes run rich and very rich during warm up. Don't give up yet. Mine has 24K and has never left me stranded. | ||
| Sub65chris |
pm sent | ||
| Vicfirebolt |
I say don't settle for a close dealer that treats you poorly. Obviously they are aware of the lack of competition and don't appreciate or feel the need too earn your business. find the time too take it too a good one. I hope you get your issues resolve I love my buell even though it's the slowest sport bike in history. What it lacks in certain areas it well makes up for in others. Like people said don't give up it looks like people are giving some good advice and there are many knowledgeable bueller's here. I am not one of them  . (Message edited by vicfirebolt on May 29, 2008) | ||
| Prof_stack |
Do you know for sure that the other dealer is any better than your current dealer? Check the fuses under the seat and make sure they are all pushed in completely. You might find something there. Good luck. | ||
| Irideabuell |
Greg, Is there anyone in your area that's better than average when it comes to working on their own Buell? I'm fortunate to have many guys in the Orlando area that are very knowledgeable about Buells and can talk me through just about anything. Paul | ||
| Herobluebuell |
I don't know of anybody in the area that works on buells. I got an appointment for tuesday to get my buell looked at again if they don't solve it this time i think im going to look into a different dealership. FYI. this bike is bone stock only modification i have done so far was a select seat and thank god i did that. Don't get me wrong I love my buell...when it runs right it just seams like it hasn't run right since i bought it. | ||
| Mikexup |
Greg, Most dealerships have one tech who has been specifically trained on Buells...I know my dealer does. I just got done taking my bike in for some work to be done,(this was the second time) the first time the problem couldn't be solved and they had to contact Harley for some parts. This time when I took the bike in I requested the "Buell Technician" do the work on the bike. Things didn't go perfect, but it was because of what the first technician had done (left a wire not completely on it's terminal) and the Buell tech did find it after some searching. But it's like everything else anymore, you have to search and do your homework to find people who are competent to do what you want done. It doesn't matter if it's a doctor, carpenter, lawyer, or barber. Don't give people the chance to really screw things up, if they don't do it right the first time, take that as a sign to get someone else. This day and age you have to be a active participant to get things done right. Ask questions, talk to the service counter people, find out who rides Buells at the dealership and who works on their bikes. You want to find out who's a good doctor, ask the nurses at a hospital. | ||
| Skully |
They are notorious for fouling plugs. 40,000 miles and mine has never come close to fouling a plug. Keith | ||
| Spike |
Ditto. 32k on my '04 XB12R, 8k on my '07 XB12X, and a few thousand on other XBs I've broken in over the years and never a fouled plug on an XB. | ||
| Xbrfirebolt |
My '08 XB12R fouled a plug at 340 miles. I never blip the throttle while it warms up. I don't touch the throttle at all when starting, or warming up. Usually let it idle for 3 minutes before riding. I ride it easy for the first couple miles. It's been at the dealer now for over 3 weeks, and they changed the plugs again, among other things. | ||
| Swordsman |
LOL, the end-all, be-all, fix-all TPS reset. And they don't know where to go from there. Classic. And all to common. ~SM | ||
| Herobluebuell |
LOL, the end-all, be-all, fix-all TPS reset. And they don't know where to go from there. Classic. And all to common. ~SM tell me about it. We will see what they come up with this time. | ||
| Point_doc |
Just stopped by to encourage you to stay with it!! I have 13k and have never fouled a plug. I have done several mods and all she wants to do is RUN, and I run her. I spent 18 months comparing other bikes (Aprilia, Ducati, Triumph, MV Agusta, BMW, RC-51 and Buell). I was reading, surfing the web, asking questions, going to every local dealership before I made my purchase on a Buell. I can say that after each and every ride I find myself convinced that I made the right choice and more impressed with the bike every time. It is difficult to help from a distance, but I believe that every person that has responded to your post is sincere. I would suggest for you to try starting with the very basics, spark and fuel. Pull the plugs and ground them to the motor and inspect the color of the spark. Also it was mentioned about the wiring under the seat; tape a piece of white printer paper to your seat, reinstall the seat and go for a short ride around the block. After the ride inspect the paper to see if the seat is making contact with the wires that go to the ECM, if they are it should leave an impression mark on the paper. Start researching ECMSPY, this would permit you to do the TPS reset. Good Luck, | ||
| Caféelite |
06 cityx and I fouled a couple plugs in the early days.. Really pissed me off especially when I have really never had the problem on other bikes.. Did a little research here and realized that I gave the bike little revs when I would start it cause it always has that "im going to die" sound. Learned thats a bad idea and since then I have not had a fouled plug. Not saying that is your issue but that most of the times there is always a resolution and a lot of the time is a simple one. Stay on the path.. "SO SAY WE ALL" | ||
| Roadkingtrax |
Stick with it. I know from experience that it can be a very frustrating thing owning a buell. I think that it is the most common association we have next to just owning one. If it wasn't under warranty I would call as many independent shops as possible. Push the dealer, and BCS to get the right answer. While you're at it, tell the HD dealer to stop paying the techs $7.00 an hour. That way some qualified people will work there. | ||
| Retrittion |
Ummm, when you say "stranded", what do you mean? What happens before, during, and after the stranding...the behavior of the bike might give some clues to the more knowledgeable people here (not me!) about what might be the root cause, the more detail the better! As far as dealerships, I ride 1.5 hours to my dealership -- and there are others around (Silverdale comes to mind) that I would switch to if this one started being obnoxious or failing to deal with the issues. '07 12R, 6K miles and no fouled plugs -- I let it warm up, I run it hard and I don't make short hops. Basically, if my fan doesn't come on when I stop I know I need to take the longer route next time and maybe run the revs a bit higher. Also, people new to Buells often run low revs -- 2-3K RPMs -- when Buells like to be and stay cleaner at 4-5.5K RPMs. As a side note, are your pipes turning colors pretty fast, far down the headers, like to the point where the two pipes meet? Sometimes this can be from a lean/rich condition, something that can be a problem as well. Good luck and keep posting -- and remember you are not the only one who feel frustrated with H-D dealers and the lack of service but there are good techs out there and some people at the dealerships do actually ride Buells, so just seek them out. Cheers! PS: Cafeelite, "So Say We All"? That was awesome!!!  | ||
| Herobluebuell |
stranded means sitting on the side of the road or in a parking lot waiting for somebody to come pick me up. What it does? COughs spits sputters dies gotta restart it. Backfires. I've also had it where it won't start then when you get it started the Rpm's jump all over and don't rev properly and won't stay running if you let off the gas which make for an interesting ride. | ||
| His_and_her_buells |
Just a note on finding another dealership. You'd be surprised on how many dealerships offer free pickup and delivery. My closest Buell dealership is an hour away with no Buell competition in a 2 hour radius. They offer the free pickup to steal HD customers away from the other HD (but not Buell) dealerships in the area. It works because I meet a lot of HD riders who send their bike to them instead of the local one. They may not tell you about the PU/delivery unless you ask. Sorry I have nothing new to add on your specific problem, everybody's already suggested what I would. Stick with it, it will get worked out and you'll be grinnin' every ride from then on.  | ||
| Panhead_dan |
check the battery cable connections |
