| Author | Message | ||
     Steveford |
Many years ago I was the "Buell Guy" at Schoch's H-D/Buell in Stroudsburg, PA. I bought one of the first XB9S' in Battle Blue in 2003, happily modified it a fair amount and put about 15,000 miles on it (give or take a few). I got it into my head that I simply MUST HAVE an S3 and I ended up trading the XB for Henrik's 98 S3 in 2004 or 2005 which was in really, really nice shape. I really loved that big, black S3 and would always put on PJ Harvey's "Meet Ze Monsta" before I'd go out for a ride on the big black thing. That was a wild bike. Henrik was buddies with Court and I'm told that a fair amount of the bike was cherry picked by the guys at the factory. I suspect the entire bike - it came with a dyno chart showing something like 98.6 RWHP was isn't too shabby. I rode the piss out of that bike and eventually it started burning oil like crazy. Sure enough, a valve guide seal had come adrift and something got in there and left it's mark in one of the cylinders. I bored it out for 10 over pistons, broke it in and all was (and still is) good. The motor has XB rocker covers, updated détente plate and 2nd gear, a countershaft sprocket which is really too high (29 tooth?) but the 27 tooth is a bit too low, I threw in a Screaming Chicken diaphragm spring and plates, some other stuff I'm probably forgetting. My first wife, Sharon, ended up dying and while I was still totally shell shocked from it all a local woman, Lynda Fernandez, ended up getting her meat hooks in me. I had sold my house and was living in a rented duplex about 30 minutes away from work at Schoch's going due west and Lynda's house was another 30 minutes from Schoch's to the east. Neither place had a garage and Winter came on and, of course, I was riding the S3 for around 2 hours per day (to work, to the rental, to Lynda's place). It was pretty nippy and the Poconos does get it's fair share of snow and road salt. The firm who did Buell's powder coating really didn't do such a stellar job in the prep department which is the key to a good coating. Couple that with the poor finish on the hardware and well, the S3 ended up looking pretty sorry. Throw in the dreaded Buell bubbles on the tank and it was fast turning into a roach bike which was really a terrible thing as Henrik kept it in such beautiful shape. My guess is it lived inside his apartment and I had the poor thing under a cover outside. Summer finally rolled around and I got it into my head to own one of each of the major Buell models and as luck would have it, a fellow in the Detroit area had a 96 S2 for sale for two or three grand here on Badweb and I hopped in the truck, drove straight out, loaded it into the truck and drove straight back to the Poconos. That was a long day but when you're on a mission... Lynda and I moved to south central Pennsyltucky and after a bit we ended up buying a house down here with a big garage (finally)! The S2 was a very nice bike but the motor was not quite the powerhouse the S3 was, the S2 motor was leaking right at the front of the cases, I really didn't like the steel swing arm, the S3 was looking pitiful but still ran great and hmmm... Two days later the S2 had a few S3 parts in it. The motor, swing arm, exhaust, wheels, front brake caliper, little things like that. I rode it around for a bit to make sure that everything was okay and I knew that it was time for new tires when the rear tried to slide out from under me and pitch me on my head. Don't do that to the nice man who screwed you together... For whatever reason, the Purple Nurple ended up getting pushed into a corner and years crept by. Around 5 of them - where does the time go? Beardo recently ran an ad about having an S2 for sale needing some TLC which I was all ready to jump on when I looked at my own S2. It was sitting there covered under a coat of dust, grime, mung, you name it. It was horrible. Why am I going to buy another one when I have one that just needs finishing up? What the hell is wrong with me? Boldly springing into action,I gave it a bath, a battery was ordered (posts reversed - WTF?), I found some Tommaselli Gran Tourismo grips in the loft (with white to match the frame), popped on some new Michilins, found some grommets at Ace Hardware's plumbing section that let me fit a Napoleon bar end mirror (that was a great find for like 76 cents), changed the oil and then took off the air filter. PHEW!!! Disassembled the carb, soaked it in Gunk HydroSeal, slapped that back together, purchased a different air filter here on Badweb, adjusted the clutch, got it insured and registered, fought with the turn signals a bit (stupid bullet connectors) and it lives! The bike runs great, handles really well and here's the old girl, back from the dead. There's still some cosmetics to attend to but I'm in love once again. With the bike - the wife's okay but she doesn't handle quite as well as the S2 does... Oh yeah, Lynda and I got married. Here's some quick pics - I see why they did the screw up with the paint as this really is Parkway Blue (as in purple) but it doesn't photograph that way.   | ||
| Steveford |
I think there were too many photos to load properly.   | ||
| Beardo |
I'm really glad you didn't buy my bike now! You said it best, how can you buy another when you haven't finish the one you have. Going through that with the S1. No more. Pouring myself into it. So I can understand where you are coming from. Thank you for raising your from the dead! | ||
| Steveford |
Beardo, I really wanted to run over and see yours but I knew that I would have ended up with TWO dead S2s which would be a waste. These things are meant to be ridden, not shoved in a corner. I buzzed the Nurple up to around 100 for a mile or so on the way into work and it didn't try and kill me so I'd say it's good to go. Now let's see some pictures of your finished S1! | ||
| Buellish |
Stock turn signals but no stock mirrors? Love that Parkway Blue!See my profile pic. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Nice looking, the late swingarm doesn't look to hateful on it (I confess...I'm a purist). T wheels on a regular S2? | ||
| Rick_a |
I'm hoping to purchase a another bike soon so I can give my S1 a thorough cosmetic going over. It's been a daily rider for twelve years and is looking a bit ratty. It spends the days outside so the mix of sun and rain have not been kind to it. It has not looked good in years and has a few leaks and minor mechanical issues that need attention. | ||
| Steveford |
The bike came with PM wheels but somebody chromed them and the chrome is all bubbled and flaked off which is why I went with the S3 rims. That required the S3 front caliper and brake line if I remember correctly. It does have a Brembo caliper on the rear which I believe is stock S2. I did have to buzz a portion of the rear caliper down to get the brake line to swing in closer to the swing arm. That part of the project was a whole lot of experimentation as nothing quite wanted to work. Maybe S3 turn signals would spiff it up a bit as the stock ones are kinda clunky looking and the bodywork is so sleek. Not today, though, it's time to go back to sleep and then put a few hundred miles on it tomorrow going nowhere in particular. How nice to go for a fun ride and accidentally set off a few car alarms in the process. It was, and continues to be, a learning experience as this model is quite a bit different than the later ones. The people on this site have been a tremendous help with some of my more vexing issues. I did send Henrik a PM but I guess he's gone missing in action. I thought he might like to see that his S3 lives on in a different platform. | ||
| Ratbuell |
S3, and XB, signals will bolt right up. If you change, do NOT toss your stock signals...many of us here love to have spares  | ||
| Steveford |
Maybe we can do a swap here once I figure out what I need. Time to go put some miles on the old girl. While I think of it, will the X1 shift linkage bolt up to this? That boomerang thing is a weird pain in the ass and I just KNOW I'm going to snap off that pot metal shifter arm removing it one of these days. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Yes, the Z shifter bolts up in place of the boomerang. I did notice, however, the throw is longer on the Z. Been riding my S2 and S1W for years (both boomerang shifters) and am used to their action. Rode the M2 for about 100 miles last Weds, first time I've had it out in about 3 years (and before that, it was 'her' bike so I never really rode it myself), and I noticed MUCH longer throws on the Z shifter (and, for that matter, longer than an XB shifter throw). YMMV, that's just my observation. My trick for removing the shift arm? Get a larger-size flat blade screwdriver and AFTER you remove the pinch bolt, tap the screwdriver blade into the slot on the arm. That will spread the clamp enough to get it off the splines. Don't spread it too much - give it a tap, and wiggle to see if it comes off. No? Another single tap, another wiggle, repeat until the shifter comes off. I just leave the screwdriver in the shifter for the duration, and use it to reinstall when I'm done. | ||
| Beardo |
If you have one, a small battery terminal puller works great for that job too. I just went through and accidental popping out of the shaft. Thankfully I had to go into the primary for other reasons too. | ||
| Hootowl |
Note about shifters: The X1 shifter is too long for the S2. You need an S3/M2 shifter. American Sport Bike has them. Jeff | ||
| Steveford |
Thanks for the info. S3/M2 shifter it is. The boomerang thing actually works better than the later ones I like the looks of it but I can't get the shift lever itself as far down as I like it. I'd like another 1/2 inch but then the boomerang hits the primary. Maybe a little judicious bending is in order. I'm going to go with Firebolt turn signals SO Ratbuell has first dibs if he wants the S2 ones. I have 5 of them, send $40 plus shipping to this one fellow and I'll send you my S2 ones. Four of them have female spade connectors, just so you know. Those damned bullets were going PLINK on me so I wasted them. | ||
| Steveford |
Got up early today and threw on XB turn signals and an FXR front isolator from Drag Specialties and the Nurple is good to go. Hopefully the Drag piece will last long enough for HarLee to finally produce some more Buell isolators. | ||
| Jolly |
great looking ride and a very quick "resurrection"!! great to see it saved and returned to the streets! | ||
| Steveford |
Thank you, it's getting there. I still have too much vibration so I replaced the front isolator (no difference) and will be doing the two rears probably this weekend. I've been told that isolators are either good or they're shot but these are the originals from 1996 so we'll see. The isolator Allens are not centered in the hole if that means anything, they're closer to the top of the holes. I don't have enough experience with this model to know if that's a problem or not. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable could chime in? I remember really having to struggle with the left hand side plate as it just didn't want to line up properly. The right hand was a piece of cake. Does that suggest anything? (Message edited by SteveFord on August 25, 2013) (Message edited by SteveFord on August 25, 2013) | ||
| Sportyeric |
The isolator Allens should be at the bottom of the hole. So that when you sit on the bike, your weight pushes the holes into more-or-less alignment. Yours are shot. Which will bugger up the front in short order. | ||
| Steveford |
Thanks! | ||
| Steveford |
New-style shifter installed along with XB turn sigs, Lightning bolt ignition module en route, vibration problems cured, all non critical fasteners are now being replaced with stainless steel and now I just need to win the lottery so I can quit my stupid job and have more riding time. This is really turning out to be quite the motorcycle. | ||
| Beardo |
Steve, you refreshing your S2 has inspired me to put some time into my S2. It has a long way to go cosmetically, but the mechanically bits came along easily and smoothly. Thank you. | ||
| Steveford |
You're welcome. I've been putting quite a few miles on it after work and on the weekends, it's a big tank of a motorcycle which puts a big grin on my face. It's just a totally different motorcycle from the later Buells, it's a real time warp machine and does it ever corner with the Michelins. I stuck a Buell race ignition module on it which really makes the cars back up in a hurry but it also appears to have increased the vibration level a bit. Do I want speed or smoothness? It doesn't appear as if I can have both with this bike. I thought you were selling yours? | ||
| Steveford |
P.S. You wouldn't think an ignition module would have all that much to do with smoothness according to this thread: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/440624.html Just to make sure I'm not imagining things or changed something in my screwing around (which is possible), I plugged the original S2 module in and, of course, the storm which has been moving in all day decided to hit. Tomorrow is another day. | ||
| Edv |
Steve I put a stock S-1 module on my 95 S-2 and it was much smoother than the original module with less spark knock | ||
| Steveford |
Hmmm... I know just where I can find one of those, too, and the bodywork is already off. | ||
| Beardo |
I was going to sell it. But it sat for so long, I kept looking at it and just couldn't do it. Of the S1 and S2, I'm keeping the S2. It's going to take more of my time to get straightened out, but should be a better machine for my needs. | ||
| Steveford |
Good for you! Perhaps things will work out so you can keep both? | ||
| Beardo |
Steve, did you have to clearance for the swingarm to frame using the late model aluminum arm? | ||
| Steveford |
Plenty of room with the S2. Oddly enough, it was rubbing on the S3 it come out of but not with the S2. The inner fender will hit the right hand frame tube so I have to cut out a section with a dremel before the thing just gets totally crunched. It's always something with this one but it's nearly there. | ||
| Beardo |
Interesting. I have clearance issues with my aluminum swingarm contacting the subframe rails. I notched them, but haven't had a chance to ride it since. |
