| Author | Message | ||
     Birdmove |
I have a chance to buy a 2003 XB9S with 5700 miles for a good price with my employee discount.I don't have the price yet, but I'm thinking about $3500-$4000, depending on what they gave for the trade in plus any repairs it needed. Bearing in mind that its a first year model, and there have been quite a few parts changes ans improvements over the years, should I proceed on this bike (after doing a test ride of course), or do you suggest passing and waiting for a newer model? It seems like from what I've read, that the 2003 first year bikes were pretty darn good.Also, I'm 55 years old and have ridden for over 47 years, and I don't flog the piss out of my motorcycles. I have test ridden an XB9R Firebolt, and that bike was a sweet heart, but the riding position on the Lightning might be a better choice for my 55 year old bod.A corworker has a 2003 Firebolt for sale too, but its pretty high mileage. Heres the two bikes: http://www.destinationharley.com/inventory.asp The yellow 2003 is the one I'm considering.There is also the 2008 with 5000 miles, but its a bunch more dinero. http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/mcy/1281693547.h tml The Firebolt has like 30,000 miles on the clock. I'll get a quote soon. Jon | ||
| Sfinton |
The only different between the 03 and 04 is the belt system upgrade(I believe). If you can get it for that price, I think its a smokin deal with or without the upgrade. I paid 5300 for my 04 12R and sometimes I wish I would have waited it out because I had to put some money in it. | ||
| Nextcorner |
Birdmove, I have a 2003 XB9R with 17,600 miles. I bought it brand new, did all maintenance myself, and it runs great! Only thing that went wrong was that I cracked my tripletree clamp, but that was when learning to do wheelies. Other than that, the original belt is still on and holding up well so far. Sounds like a good price if the bike is in good condition. | ||
| Bishopjb1124 |
I have an 03 xb9sl and would not think twice about buying another one if I got a good deal on it. This bike has made me smile more than you would believe (primarily cause it is the wifes first bike and nothing joys me more than to see here riding it). We shredded one belt but I knew that was a problem when I bought it. Jimmy | ||
| Tpoppa |
I put over 34,000 miles on my 2003 XB9S. Only issues were wheel bearings that were replaced via recall. | ||
| Captcaz |
I got my '03 XB9S for $3800 this past December with <2k miles on the clock ... everything runs great so far. I've spent $1k on new tires, gel seat, exhaust, air box, LEDs, etc ... so for around $5k, I have my perfect bike. I'd do it again in a heartbeat ... i'm over 40 and have been riding for over 30, and of all the bikes i've had, this one gives more smiles per mile than any other. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
john i have some back pains and my buell makes them go away.riding position is really good,kind of an upright squat like a dirtbike and very easy on the back and old bones LOL. and the xb9s u want is a smoking deal !! go for it and let us see some pics ! | ||
| Its_a_buell |
I absolutely love my 03 XB9S. naturally there are some issues due to it being an introductory model but nothing my moderate mechanical skills couldnt handle. after 22,000 miles and ONE belt, its still running as hard as it ever did and i romp the hell out of it. im talkin about wheel toating, rev limiter banging, brake stabbing, tire melting good times. these bikes require regular maintainence but they are absolutely bad ass. and here's a bit of good news for a potential bueller. a friend of mine is down sizing is collection of naked twin bikes and his 03 XB9S is on the market. i dont know the particulars, but it has less than 10000 miles, perfectly maintained by the mechanic/owner, and its gonna be a steal for someone. his name is Rob (478) 986-5314 | ||
| Glitch |
Still doing my long term high mileage test. Well over 60thousand miles and still running strong. Stay tuned for Gentleman Jon. He has a 2003XB9 list of considerations. | ||
| Fenderbender |
Go for it, you won't be disappointed. | ||
| Rah7777777 |
Upgrade the belt system and check your oil gear every now and again and call it a day. I LOVE my 03 XB9S!!!!!!!! I wouldn't trade it for any other year.... Not even a new 2010 model! Now, if I could only get her put back together and on the road again. | ||
| Bitbear |
I bought my '03 XB9s with 1400 miles last year for $5000. I love it and it has been virtually trouble free. I hate to admit it but I'm now 63! It feels fine on my back - I just have to strengthen my biceps to hang on! Seriously, I've done a lot of research and can't find much to suggest that as a first year bike it is inferior. The new belts are said to last forever, the '03 belts will only last 'till half way to forever.  Your deal, at worst, sounds like a fine deal. It should be great! | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
bitbear?? 63? wow honestly,part of my bike purchase was seeing my father in law.smoking on oxygen sitting on the couch day after day. he could easily have had a bike over the years--but he chose to work like a mad dog.i did not want to be an old guy wishing i had got one way back when.and as long as i can see good and fling my leg over the bike,i'll have one.best thing i have done for me in years! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Ok Glitch, Here they are: I had over 13,000 miles on my 2003 XB9S, ŇOle Yaller,Ó so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased a similar model, or are about to buy one, so that they may fully enjoy their recently acquired unit , and perhaps avoid a few pitfalls that I have already encountered. These motorcycles will be seen as true classics as time goes by, and they very likely provide the most fun for the dollar of any bike on the road today. 1. The dealer situation. The Buell dealership situation is in flux. At first most Harley Davidson dealers carried Buell. Many of them were not too enthusiastic about the brand, so Harley is reducing the number of dealers, to increase the importance of Buell at the dealers that actually carry them, and provide better support to Buell customers. The other dealers can no longer repair or sell Buells, and many of these have sold off their Ô03 Buell stock at low prices. The result: there are some excellent Buell dealers out there, but relatively few of them, very few. ThatŐs the bad news. The good news is that the new XB line of Buells are well made, reliable, need little service, and parts are very readily available. Virtually all required service can be done by a motivated owner with an ordinary set of tools, bike stands , the shop manual and the parts book. 2. Bad Web If you have gotten this far, you probably realize the one of the best resources for the Buell owner is the Bad Weather Biker web site itself. The knowledge Vault has excellent discussions of every aspect of the Buell motorcycle. The sponsor section has grown over the last few years, and almost every part and service required can b e found there. Many Buelligans, (including me), order all of their Buell parts from one sponsor or another, a tradition started by the redoubtable Dave Stueve, who now operates his own archery shop, Double Lung Archery in La Porte City, Iowa. Among my personal favorites are Tripp at Precision HD for parts, Al at american Sport Bike for aftermarket stuff and top notch advice on how to use them, Matt at Trojan Horse for European aftermarket stuff, Paul at Gainsville for parts and new bikes, Kevin at Drummer for mufflers, and Odie at Special Ops for the same, and Pammy at Cycle Rama for engine performance parts for Buell and HD. Pete at Grandstand Designs for power coating, and special accessories, and I am sure there are lots of good people that I just havenŐt met yet. Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. And one more thing................... There is a nutty old coot on this site named Court. One of the only Bad Webbers who is actually almost as old and nutty as I am:-). Thing is he is one of Erik BuellŐs oldest friends, wrote the book on the company, ( with Dave Geiss), and has some kind of unspecified connection with the company. Sort of an unofficial ombundsman. He has his own topic on this site. If you run into a problem with your bike that neither you, your dealer or anyone else can solve, and if you are polite and thinking positively, you might just drop olŐ Court an email. CouldnŐt hurt. The questions most asked by new owners are: A. The first thing to do. I always recommend buying the shop manual and parts list if you plan on working on the bike yourself. This is a bike that lends itself much more than Japanese or Italian sport bikes to home repairs, due to its inherent simplicity, and design. Parts are normally readily available, and not too expensive either. 1. The belt. If you bought the bike new, it probably has the original belt. These often had a relatively short life, and have been replaced by an upgraded model that seems to be much better. If the bike has more than 3000 miles on it, it may already have the new belt. The '03 belt was in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR when this was written in 2006. The belt parts number is permanently marked on the outside of the belt. If you don't have one of these, you might want to fit one the next time you change tires, cost about $136. Lots of hard riders, such as Glitch, one of our leaders, has tons of miles on his, no problems. With the latest '03 belt, the conversion to an '04 belt doesn't seem to be as necessary, but many brothers have done it for peace of mind.The conversion requires new sprockets, belt guards, belt, and a few other parts. Al at American Sport Bike, and others, can give you an estimate of what it would all cost. Another option is a chain conversion, which has been much discussed on this site: see the knowledge vault. One of our members, Saintly has produced a simple chain conversion that cost little more than a new belt. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-6's: many members report better steering and longer life with these than the original equipment Dunlop 207Ős. I am now replacing my first Michelin Pilot Power rear tire, and I was very happy. I got 4200 miles out of the rear, including one track day, and they still work great, just running out of tread in the middle. ( I subsequently converted to Dunlop Qualifiers for better handling). Several brothers have learned the hard way to always replace tires in pairs: the front may look ok, long after the rear is obviously worn out, but its profile will have changed, compromising handling. 3. Steering bearings: The steering bearings on the Buell tend to require tightening from time to time. The symptom is a clunk when you put on the brakes, that is often mistaken for a problem with the brakes. Takes about ten minutes to adjust as per the shop manual. The top triple tree is a bit delicate on these bikes, and have been broken more than once by over-tightening: the pinch bolt only needs about 18 ft/lb. Now a days a torque wrench is pretty much a standard item in the home garage. The front forks must be off the ground to do this properly. A rear wheel stand, and a scissors jack under the muffler jacking points is a simple way to do this. 4. Wheel bearings. Long story short: if the seals are orange, you are good to go, if they are black, they should be replaced by any Buell dealer at no charge to you. 5. The lubricants. The oils that seems to be preferred by many of the members are : Mobil 1 15w 50 in the motor, Harley Formula +l in the gear box. The Mobil 1 available at Walmart very inexpensively, especially in the 5 qt. jugs and the Walmart Super Tech ST4967 oil filter was exactly the same as the factory part, (manufactured by Champion), last time I bought some for two bucks apiece. I change every 4000 miles, probably a bit excessive, but it can't hurt, and doesn't take very long to do. Factory recommends 5000 miles between changes. Certainly every year if your mileage is less than 5K. You canŐt go wrong if you simply change the oil and filter every time you replace your tires. One more thing: some riders have used Mobil 1 gear oil in the primary but anecdotal evidence points to this oil as contributing to premature failure of the stator. 6. Suspension settings. Because of its somewhat radical frame geometry, the suspension settings on a Buell DO count! You can assume that they are not set just right for you, so go to the owners manual, ( shop manual not required for this one:-), and follow the directions. Shawn Higbee has some settings for aggressive riders which work great too, and I use them. See Knowledge Vault. 7. Dipstick. The dipstick is located on the top of the left side of the swing arm: no kidding:-). Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to read. I put some yellow shrink wrap on mine to aid visibility. Using a little wooden coffee stirrer and comparing it to the dipstick markings works even better. 8. Frame Pucks: The Buell OEM frame pucks will keep you from denting your frame if you accidentally drop the model. They can be painted to match the plastic or the frame. These are really a must have item, because it is not to hard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and very expensive to replace. That should get you up and running for a while, while you plan how you want to personalize your mount: it IS legal to run a bone stock Buell, it's just that no one has ever tried it:-). First 1000 mile service. I take a preventive maintenance point of view to this service, which takes place shortly after the bike is broken in, and the new owner has pretty much got the hang of things. So in addition to the factory recommendations, which are basically change the oil and filter, check and normally adjust the primary chain, and reset the Throttle position sensor, I recommend the following be done at this time. a. Fit the factory Ňrace kitÓ. In spite of its name, this is more of a Ňmake it a bit more fun to ride on the street Ň kit. Improves mid range, makes it sound like a motorcycle instead of a lawn mower. Easy to fit, works fine. Requires a TPS reset, and removing the belt tensioner, so this is as good a time as any to do it. There are several other aftermarket mufflers, D+D, Drummer and Jardine to name just a few, that are louder and have found favor with many of the Bad Webbers. b. Replace the belt. Why worry about the belt breaking when a new better one only cost $140, and you already have the tensioner off. c. While you are replacing the belt, you have done most of the work to remove the rear wheel, you might as well replace the original Dunlop 207s, which only have about 1000 mi left on them, with some better tires like those mentioned above which will greatly improve the handling, and last twice as long. d. check the steering bearings. The have probably started to loosen a bit, even if you havenŐt noticed it. After doing this additional work you will have a bike that: 1. Sounds cooler 2. Runs faster 3. Steers much better 4. No belt worries 5. Mostly likely will not need anything but gas for 4000 miles:-). Just my .02˘ | ||
| Glitch |
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| Gentleman_jon |
PS.............. I actually read my entire post. I only do that every year or so, and surprisingly I would not make many changes. One exception is the tires. Tires are very important, and they are constantly being improved, so that almost none of the tires I mentioned are in current production. I am now running Michelin Pilot Road 2's on my bike. They are a dual compound "Road" or " Sport Touring " tire, but their performance seems to equal if not exceed soft sport tires of just a few years ago, and I expect them to last at least twice as long as sport tires. For those who do track days in the faster classes, I recommend Michelin Pilot Power 2CTs which I have only used on a Ducati, but the handling was incredible. | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
That would be a good price Birdmove. I have an 03 XB9S. It does everything well I've ever asked of it. The only reason I want another bike is for some extended touring. Belt, tires, and (possibly) wheel bearings are the only things that'll likely need looked into. Good luck. | ||
| Sportfit |
bought my '03xb9s three years ago for 4500. have put 15K miles on it, done nearly all my own service, and salivate over other bikes, but cannot bring myself to buy anything else. often look at getting an '03r as a stable mate. the original belt served me well until a month or so ago, and the reason i changed it was because i changed tires, put on the original style belt, not the later, beefier model. a buddy who races buells got 20 or 25K out of his '03r belt. if it holds up for him, it will for me. bike came with a race pipe and i put a drummer on it because it evened out the powerband. lots of other great aftermarket stuff, too, and al at american sportbike is a great resource for customizing your '03 -- call and order something and it's in your mailbox by the time you hang up the phone. he also throws a good party. i'd buy the same bike again, even over later models, without a second thought. i've always been a fan of an original design vision, especially when it's as well executed as the xb9s. whatever your choice, enjoy! |
