| Author | Message | ||
     Badlionsfan |
A friend of mine is looking at a 99 Thunderbolt. It's got pretty low mileage and in good shape. These came out before my time as a Bueller, wondered what issues he should be aware of or what to look for. Any info will be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's the first year that the fuel injection came out. Probably nothing wrong with that but hey. The rear isolators were a failure-prone item sometimes. The new ones are reliable. A small percentage of buells of this vintage had oil pump drive gear failused that manifested themselves at about 15,000 or so. YMMV though. By the time I read about the oil pump gear issue, my X1 already had 45,000 on it. | ||
| Bikerjim99 |
I own a 99 Thunderbolt, 37,000 miles, runs great. You should upgrade, if needed, the following items: Exhaust hanger upgrade Recalls, which can be seen on the Harley site, I believe, under owner maintenance. You enter the VIN. Reset the TPS Change the brake fluid. Lube all cables. Be sure that the correct plugs are used, 10r? I believe. The stock shock could be improved by finding a recall shock on Ebay, or purchasing a new one by Penske or another manufacturer (expensive).You will need a kit from Buell if you want to use the latest Showa shock. Change to Formula + in the transmission, synthetic 20W50 in the engine. New tires should be installed even if the bike has low milage originals. The rubber will be deteriorated by now. Probably a good idea to remove the primary cover and replace the primary sprocket oil seal. Not a hard job, and with the improved seal you will have better reliability. While you are in there, replace the stock primary chain tensioner with the new style one. You will use the new style gasket when reassembling, which should stop potential oil leaks. Get a shop manual. There may be other items, hope others will chime in. Jim | ||
| Ebutch |
65,000 miles ,only front iso. went switched to custom chrome iso.$20.00,race kit solves poor running! Original rear iso,s no problem. | ||
| Ebutch |
Oh 53,000 throutil- body butter-fly post broke,new body much improved! | ||
| Jstfrfun |
You can get your shock re-built, it's cheapest and the O/E shock is good enough for street riders(not for the track). | ||
| Easy_rider |
I'm not sure I see the need for shock replacement or repair on a low mileage bike. Also don't see the need for a primary gasket replacement until you overfill the oil. Mine was near 20,000 before I,....uh... had a brain fart. I'm willing to defer to Bikerjim's superior miles if he's dead set on it. Definitely go with the primary chain tensioner and look to replace the butterfly post before 20k? Haven't done mine yet - this is a good reminder. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Thanks guys. Any thing else that we should look for?? | ||
| Dfbutler |
Race ECM, it's the single biggest improvement you can make. | ||
| Zac4mac |
If you need a shock, I still have 4 or 5 - S2/S3 recall kits on the shelf. Kit includes shock(14.8") and all mounting hardware, including graphite exhaust gaskets. 250.00 plus S&H - e-mail me at parts@highcountryharley.com or PM me. Zack | ||
| Bad_karma |
Primary chain adjuster upgrade, check the FI throttle plate retaining screws, TPS wiring, ignition switch, throttle cable recall, replace the paper gaskets, Speedometer sensor and voltage regulator to stator connector. Suspension upgrade specially the shock is the best upgrade you can do to a Buell. I had problems with the FI. Good luck. Joe | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
if the bike comes with a stock ECM, there's no need to spend money on the race ECM. You can easily upload the race EPROM onto the stock ECM. Will require free EcmSpy software, and a cable that you can build yourself or buy for < $60 PM me if you're interested in the race EPROM. I can send you a copy. |
