| Author | Message | ||
     Aaron |
air impact wrench | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Anybody want a Firebolt for $8,500? If so call HD/Buell of Ft. Washington, MD at 1-888-HD-FEVER. They just sold two today at that price, they have three left. | ||
| Raymaines |
I think eight five is a perfectly fair price for the XB. If they had the "S" in August for that price I'd be on one now. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Firebolt drop frame damage. For tip over type stuff, buell now sells touch up paint. For the big crashes, the results are not pretty:  Everybody wants frame sliders, but there's no place to mount them. You just need to get a little creative, like Costa Mouzouris of CMG Online Racing has done:  Those are standard knee pucks on the side of the frame! Here's what he wrote about it:
They might not help for the BIG one, but probably will do the trick for most other crashes. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Speaking of crashing: Risk of the ride: Motorcycle accidents, fatalities on the rise | ||
| Ccryder |
Well I always knew that those afternoons spent hanging out at the local HOG shop would get me something. Tonight MRR and I were heading to a local establishment after the BRAG/ HOG meeting. I was in the lead and pushing the speedlimit by 10 or so MPH. Well after negotiating through some of the traffic red/ blue lights lit up my mirrors. I quickly headed over to the curb, 3 lanes over, and stopped with MRR right behind me. Off our helmets came and up walked the LEO. I just knew something was different, just by his posture. Up walked a LEO that I had seen many, many times at the old HOG shop on Franklin. Right away he noted that he knew both of us and wasn't going to screw with us (Yes Thelma there is a GOD). He then noted that we were exceeding the speedlimit by a few, and maybe I was following a little too close to the car in front of me. Him being right there behind us, in his new Impala patrol car, he just had to do something to show the cagers that he was doing his "job". He decided to pull us over and have a very plesant chat with us. After this chat we shook hands and he bid us a good evening! He didn't even ask for license, registration or insurance papers! Hey when someone understands motorcycles and they can still look like they are protecting Mr. Jon Q. Public, it can be a nice day for all concerned. Thank You Mr. LEO, I greatly appreciate your time and understanding. Neil S. | ||
| Xgecko |
I guess I beat Jose to something cool again. It seems that Vincent is back in business | ||
| Dynarider |
Old news dude, we posted that on Sac like 3 days ago. Jose already read it & deemed it not news worthy  | ||
| Blake |
José, What bike doesn't look like crap after a serious tumble? I've seen so many UJM permimeter frames bonked, kinked, and twisted up, they make the XB9R pic you posted look like a minor bruise. Heck, if all else were in okay condition, the thing looks ridable. Compare? My riding buddy's F3 frame almost fell apart a month ago. He noticed that on hard acceleration and/or letting off the throttle, the bike would wander off line. When checking the wheels for proper alignment, he discovered that the left side main frame rail at the cross brace was about to tear completely apart. The bike has been raced, but never had a serious crash. He's soooo fortunate to have found it before it let go entirely. I don't see that happening with the XB frame, ever. What do you want, a bike, or a tank? Ever price a Duc fuel tank? How about a Duc or BMW SSSArm? I like Costa's frame sliders too. Gotta get Tat to start selling them.  Now JQ, give credit where credit is due. The XB9R won a national race. No one is claiming that it is the beat all end all in motorcycle racing. Imonabus, Wow! The Duc was up by 25 HP! I gotta for a ride to FW some day to find out what Jeff Nash is doing to get so much power out of the 748. That is astounding. Court, Nice. Neil, Lucky! Paul, When I mentioned that we had beat the horse already I was referring to The "Demise of Buell" thread in the Quick Board Archives. Read the archived page first. | ||
| Xgecko |
Yeah and I wasn't the first to post it (the Vincent) here either I missed that by at least 15 hours (found it after I Pushed Submit...still I like the looks of it. I wonder how much they're gonna want for it??? Blake, Jose is the eternal pessimist, you will never swing him to you way of thinking and if you did I would honestly be scared. Just except that he doesn't like the direction Buell is headed it and until he does he's gonna point out what he see's as shortcomings...often he is right | ||
| Y2k01x1 |
Matt, Fine looking X1. Got one just like it, almost (Arctic White/Nuclear Blue + PM Wheels). Regarding those axle nuts; i understand that 24mm will cross with a 15/16" and 36mm crosses with a 1-7/16", but one (either metric or SAE) will fit better than the other and i want to buy the correct sizes. Are they actually metrics or SAE? Thanks! Bob | ||
| Ncbueller |
Court: "Words of reason in a storm" Don't know who the original author of that statement is but you sure fit the bill. Ride Safe | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Blake you missed my point with that crashed FB picture. Is the bike rideable, sure. But will the frame have to be replaced for that bike pictured above? Probably, I think the insurance company will insist on it or total the bike. I think we'll find that Buell XB frames will have to be replaced for crashes that wouldn't do much damage to our tube frame bikes or other frame designs. Once the insurance companies pick up on that expect XB insurance rates to rise accordingly. The frame sliders/knee pucks should be standard equipment. But I guess they are spending their money on building a proper kickstand right now. ________________________________________________________________________________ When Eric won at Loudon, I was the first one to congratulate them here, check the archives. In fact had I not posted the qualifying and race results here none of you would have found out until Xgecko would post them a week later!  Does Eric know Loudon? Yes he's with the Penguin Racing School there. He would have also been fighting for the lead on his other bike, a GSXR600. He finished third in the Superbike race on a GSXR750. Did the leader (Scott Greenwood on a GSXR600) crash with one lap to go while Eric was in second? YES Did he hold off Larry Pegram and Michael Barnes on their GSXR600's for the last lap and win? YES. Did he win? YES, that's what the record books say and all the Buell press releases you have seen about it say. | ||
| Court |
>>> But I guess they are spending their money on building a proper kickstand right now. Unless I miss my guess . . Buell has designed them and someone built them, shipped them to Buell and Pretap, or one of his associates, gave them the "thumbs down". One of Buells strategic exposures is shortcomings on the part of suppliers who work in the quantities Buell buys. Erik has, going back to the days when Buell bodies were built by the premiere kit car company of the day who was in and out of business depending on the day of the week, been a stickler and had no compunctions about rejecting >50% of the bodywork recieved on Jefferson Street. I do not know and this is a guess, but for my money, I'll bet they came in and were sent back. Any of you who I have given factory tours will recall that one of my favorite "features" was taking folks to the "reject" area and challenging a Buell owner to look at an apparently perfect part and try to determine why it was rejected. If BMC has learned nothing the last few years, they've learned how NOT to "chase" a problem. My suggestion: For the present, exercise elevated caution placing and removing your XB9R from the sidestand and enjoy the heck out of the bike. Court | ||
| Reepicheep |
It does bring up a good question about how to repair an XB9 frame. I was getting my new D220 mounted by a friend that runs a mom and pop motorcycle shop, and he had a dirt bike with a holed engine case upside down. Amazingly (to me anyway), he had what looked like JB-Weld curing to patch the hole. I asked him if it would hold, and he said it generally does just fine, and that trying to weld it would deform the cases and cause even more problems. It may have been something more fancy then just plain old JBWeld, but I would bet there are some paintable shapable epoxies that would do a decent job of patching chewed up XB9 frame and would not be hurt by gas. Still, the knee puck frame sliders are a great idea. That frame above looks pretty chewed up, but looks like it could be repaired. It looks like the bike took one heck of a shot, is that handlebar metal tube flattened? Yikes. | ||
| Chainsaw |
X1 Glider: The name is Duffey, Patrick Duffey JQ: I have seen a "traditional" frame slider on Hals Harley / Firebolt. If they were able to mount it, there is hope for me! | ||
| Mikej |
Chainsaw, The slider on Hal's bike is mounted to a welded on threaded tube (aka: a long round nut). Doable if you know someone who welds aluminum and can also weld gas tanks once they've had gas in them at some point. Kind of a double-specialty. Adhesive seems to be a less intensive avenue for the homemechanic, slap on those knee-pucks. | ||
| Mikej |
On the above dented 'bolt, is that indent from the handlebar maybe? looks like the angle and position might line up. Must have been a hard thump when it hit to dent like that if it was caused by the handlebar. | ||
| X1glider |
From JQ's accident link: "They're looking for something at least 6 feet wide with two headlights." This is a reason why I can't understand bike manufacturers not having "both" headights operational on low. Increase our visibility to the cagers, please! "After all, older riders are more apt to wear helmets and take motorcycle-safety classes." Bullshit! There are a even more riders over 40 who go helmetless than younger riders, but there are plenty of them too. My opinion would be that the newbie 40+ crowd on their big cruisers do it more for their own self image than to be cool in someone elses eyes. I won't go on a helmet rant here. "Looking at 4,500 accidents in Los Angeles, researchers found that when motorcycles and other vehicles collided, it is usually the driver in the car who violated the motorcyclist's right of way. While that study was done in 1981, periodic looks at state police reports in Washington suggest its findings hold true today, said Dave Wendell, program manager for Evergreen Motorcycle Safety Training in Seattle." Yes, still true. Unfortunately, the numbers are seen by analysts behind a desk on a sheet of paper. What isn't represented is the number of times a biker avoids death from having their right of way violated. Violations only show up when someone dies or is seriously injured. The rider lives, yes, but the driver probably never learns from their near fatal mistake. Until the analysts get themselves a bike and experience first hand what we do, they'll never know how much of a problem it is. Obviously we can blame incomplete driver education courses, ourselves for not wanting to dress like a pink power ranger so people will notice us (I draw a very thick line on that one) but the bike manufacturers as well for not helping us be visible. The newer HD circuit board tail lights, for example, prevent me from splicing in one of those brake light flashers. I'd like to see Buell make both headlights work. I believe the Gixxer has 4 lights in the fairing this year, high and low on each side. | ||
| Buellish |
Bob, The 1 7/16 wrench is a sloppy fit on the rear axle nut.I havn't had the chance to try a 36mm yet. ...Mike | ||
| X1glider |
First off, I agree with Mike, the frame was obviously damaged by the bars banging into them. I doubt knee sliders will help much. On a race bike in a low side, sure the sliders would help the bike do just that, slide and keep the frame from getting scratched. On a highside or impact that could result, the puck would probably make a dent just the same, although the impact would probably be spred out over a greater surface area. No matter what, when aluminum is damaged, replace it. One thing I've learned with crashing a mountain bike, particularly on a handlebar stem, replace that puppy. Unseen stress fractures will bite you in the ass the next race. I agree with JQ on frame replacement and insurance rates. How much would it cost to tear down a bolt to put in a new frame? Probably enough to warrant totaling it out. Besides even if it is less than that, do we really want our local shop assembling our bikes from the frame up? They can't reflash a TPS properly 9 times out of 10, why would I trust them to assemble a whole bike properly? Repair it? How? Cut the section out and weld a new piece in it's place? Bondo? What about stress fractures? Will they x-ray it? Ultrasound? Only acceptable option to me is replace it. | ||
| Rick_A |
Hal's sliders...as well as those on the other XB "factory assisted" racebikes use welded on lugs. That knee puck frame slider news is old. It was discussed here a couple months ago. It still wouldn't protect a bent handlebar from putting a dent in the frame...but I guess it's nothing a good helpin' of body filler couldn't fix  | ||
| Rick_A |
Hal's still uses their XB with a nice big ding in the frame...I'm sure they're not the only ones. | ||
| Choptop |
Well said Court, But let me make a couple of points... On the, "What the consumer says they and what they really want.." (loosely quoted) issue.. Look at the buying habits of the SacBORG'ers over the past 6-9 months. Lots of poeple have bought LOTS of bikes, and I cant recall one of them being a Buell. The Firebolt is a GREAT bike, but like you I didnt reach for my checkbook, neither did anyone else. And we are talking about people who buy new bikes on a whim. Buell has indeed done some amazing things, coming from where the company did to where it is today, but its time to step up even further. The Cruiser/Lifestyle craze WILL crest and HD had better be ready with something to take advantage of the next wave (i know, i know, 100 years and they are still around, and it wasnt from rding trends...BUT). Buell is where HD can come forward. If there is a group of people at Buell looking to future it would serve them well to track the buying habits of their current owners. Alot can be learned there. Like Vik said, Erik has given us the all the bike we NEED in the Firebolt, just not the bike we WANT. BIG difference. Of all of Buells BIGGEST supporters, who has bought a Firebolt? Who will buy a Lightning? Aaron, Court, JVV, Vik, Me, Dave, anyone? Bueller? anyone? I'm not trying to forecast the future of the company based on the popularity of one model, far from it, but may hint to a trend. Buell has done good work, time to do more. When HD makes more off the sale of Buells than they do from t-shirts (general merch), I'll be impressed. | ||
| Josh |
>Of all of Buells BIGGEST supporters, who has bought a Firebolt? Who will buy a Lightning? Aaron, Court, JVV, Vik, Me, Dave, anyone? Bueller? anyone? What you're also looking at is a list of people who fell in love with the "old" style bike. Buell is currently reeling in new customers. Next year they'll release a bike aimed at the "traditional" Bueller and voila serpendidity is achieved. I'm waiting on the HD special ops group (the guys who did the FXR series using the left-over "R" frames) to release a series of S1s with custom frame colors, ostrich skin seats, ape hangers... Josh | ||
| Court |
>>>>What you're also looking at is a list of people who fell in love with the "old" style bike. The term is "Negative Transfer". It's tougher to get Court hooked on an XB than a neophyte Bueller. Chop: Excellent points....each and every one of them. I wonder if, just perhaps, publicly accesible websites are providing hints about the future of Buell. But then.....I'm always wandering....er, wondering! Court | ||
| Snail |
To lend credence to Chop's position, I have purchased four motorcycles since I boght my '99 S-3, two Hondas and two Suzukis. Paul | ||
| Josh |
I have bought 2: a 98 S1WL and a 00 Blast. I'm looking for a steal on a 95/95 S2 and a bigger ticket Buell - possibly a XB9S or R. I'd have bought a 9S already if the older ones weren't such a deal. I sold my 96 Sportster and 95 Pontiac Firebird to make room for the growing collection. Josh | ||
| Court |
I've purchased a Kawasaki, BMW and a Yamaha. My current lust list includes: KTM - I'm hot for a 640, but am thinking I need a 250EXC. I was a "Dukie" (perfect Gotham Streets bike) until I saw that gawd-awful bodywork. DUCATI MONSTER - admit it, everyone lusts after this little bike that always comes up short in head to head tests. I like the tube frame look and I admire Miguel Galuzzi. I have visions of taking a single rotor "lame 600" and making it a street sleeper. HONDA - Both an old NT650 Hawk and a current XR650L. Obvious reasons, both and I have yet to meet a Honda employee who's not as passionate as we are. I think I've been subjected to a "stack deck" of Honda folks, but what the hell. TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE - I am getting old and need to revisit my roots. BMW RT1150 - I am getting old and need comfort. 1996 BUELL S1 LIGHTNING - Still the ultimate Schwiiiiiiiiiiiiiing . . . bike Abates aging (see above) Who started this conversation? If I did, I hereby fine myself. Oh yeah....and a Pea Green Vespa for Vickie and this 9S thing keeps trying to draw me, in my advancing years, into it's tractor beam. Fact is...the plethora of GREAT choices will do more than any griping, complaining or bitching to insure Buell serves the meal our little tummies want...... | ||
| Y2k01x1 |
Mike: Thanks for the info. I suspect that the rear is really a 36mm, which appears to be rather common. I'm guessing that the front axle nut, because it is a Showa fork, is also a metric [24mm instead of 15/16"]. Don't have anything that large in the tuellbox yet to verify with. May take a caliper out to garage and have a look. Anyone know for sure? 2001 X1 axle nut sizes? METRIC or SAE (inches)? Bob |
