| Author | Message | ||
     Dr_greg |
My proclamation that my second '06 Uly finished the 4,000+ mile NM-Seattle trip with no problems should be amended. On the return leg I noticed a lack of low-speed power. Upon cleaning up the bike after returning I checked the interactive exhaust valve actuation (throttle wide open and cycle the ignition): oops, it's not behaving! Upon teardown I find this:  Stupid plastic gears!! From my "machine design" class in 1968: (1) Never transmit torque through setscrews, OR (2) stupid plastic gears! OK, so (2) was not covered in the course. Maybe stupid plastic gears didn't exist in 1968. Fortunately I had another actuator from '06 Uly S/N #044, so I swapped it in and things are fine. Anyone know if the newer Ulys have a redesigned actuator with METAL gears? Also, how expensive is this actuator unit? I'm sure glad I bought S/N 044 back from State Farm for $1,400. I'm beginning to wonder if I should tear the engine in #564 down NOW and Time-Sert the spark plug threads so it doesn't ruin my Fall riding like #044 did last year...or just swap engines now. --Doc | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
I have an 09X and the actuator went bad,it had plastic gears as well..Our local HD shop replaced under warranty,have not looked to see if the new one has plastic or metal,I'm thinking still plastic..I saw someone posted the actuator costing a $125? Don't know that for sure...BTW,loved your report on your travels to seattle and back,thanks for posting,loved reading it..Hope you have safe travels...Tim | ||
| Mad_doctor |
Hey Dr. Greg, I've heard the new design IS a metal gear drive. But that is only the rumor mill talking. I found my actuator not working, and the root cause was the throttle body was not acting properly. The butterfly shaft,(main shaft), was really sticky. Replaced under warranty, everything is good in the universe now. Good luck, Another Tim | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Sticky cable making it too hard to pull? weird. | ||
| Dr_greg |
No, the cable was fine. That was my first thought so I pulled it by hand...no problem. The "new" actuator pulled it fine as well. Those gears are a weak point. But it's not a showstopper. --Doc | ||
| Florida_lime |
I think the new metal geared actuator is # S1138.1AA. I guess we need Froggy to pipe in on this one.  | ||
| Johnboy777 |
You're supposed to wire your muffler open so it sounds better, runs cooler and the fan won't come on as much, either.  | ||
| Florida_lime |
Tried that. It did sound better, but I didn't find any difference in running cooler. Took just as long to go into skip-spark.  | ||
| Tootal |
The new one is definitely using steel gears. I had mine replaced and it failed three weeks later. It failed in the open position so it sounded good but the light was on so I called Buell and they replaced it with a steel geared one. No more problems. | ||
| Froggy |
Lime, to the best of my knowledge that is the latest. I don't have dealer parts access so I can't confirm. |
