| Author | Message | ||
     Rjn |
After many years of keeping my Buell as is, it is time for some necessary mods.  my rear shock blown out on me, so a new AST is ordered. my '97 M2 already exist with RRC S1 tail, X1 rear swing arm later style, X1 front UPSD shocks it was time to add another Buell component to the bike. Since i'm aging like a fine wine, i found it neccesary to have some additional wind cover. So it was time to search the Web for OEM Buell fairings. Looked at the XB-R fairing and the S2/S3 fairings. Liked the look of the older Buels more. Is more in style with the Tuber looks (IMHO) found an S3 NOS fairing bracket at a Dutch shop; with that in the house it was time to find the matching S3 fairing. I always liked the look of these. One was for sell in Germany, complete with windshield. Did a quick fit up this afternoon to see what the problem will be.     so far: - current installed mirror slightly to high, probably will be replaced by old mirror i need to fix first. - brake reservoir slightly to high; matter of adjustment. - electrical wiring rearrangement. - dash cluster to be lowered, placed in fairing. - LED headlight mounting, connectors fit and LED is functioning! And the last time i rode in shorts (i know, not wise, just a quick test drive after cleaning the carb) i burned my leg on the exhaust, so i've installed a carbon heat shield.  , lets see if this will work on keeping the heat away from my pants. Those pipes already burned a hole in my kevlar jeans. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Great looking bike! I thought it was an S1 at first until I read further and went back to take a second look. Looks fantastic with the cut down cam cover and the breaded lines. Did you replace the actual oil lines with braided lines, or did you just find a braided cover that you were able to slide over the existing lines? My 16" shock has seen better days. I was excited to finally grab an updated 14" version, but after sitting a shelf long enough, it seems like the 14" is leaking a little too. The fairing fits the bike really well, you got lucky on the paint job too. It definitely reminds me of a more classic version of the XBS/XBR conversions I've seen. If you measure the bolt spacing you may be able to find a set of cheap mirrors online that would bolt right onto the S3 fairing. Glad the headlight replacement went so easy! I just swapped my S1 headlight to a new LED light and it required a bit of cutting and soldering to make it fit. Where'd you find the heat shield? It'd be nice to hear an update on how it works! I still have the original heat shield on mine, but I've always considered it an eyesore, and it looks like it's actually touching the header at one point so I bet it's carrying unnecessary heat anyway. If yours works reasonably well I'd be interested in giving something like that a try. Keep us updated on the progress! | ||
| Falloutnl |
Man, I love it. Tasteful additions and alterations! And it looks like you are in the Netherlands, is that right? | ||
| Rjn |
if you look on Amazon.com and search for carbon heat shield motorexhaust it will pop up. Still need to test it out if it will last for long, but price wise and look wise it was to cheap not to give it a go. the oil lines are braided lines with rubber lines inside of them, i replaced the OEM rubber lines for these. for the LED light if have the aluminium strips in the house to see if i can fit them in the fairing. the OEM bracket is to wide for the light, so i need to fill in the gap. hopefully this weekend i have some time to look into it. Yes, live in the northern part of the Netherlands. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Always happy to see there's still tubers on the road in the Netherlands, though it's a rare sight indeed. I'm located near Arnhem, explains why I never saw your awesome M2  . | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Please follow up with an update on the heat shield. I'd definitely consider replacing mine with something similar if it does help. Next time I'm on my bike I'll have to pay attention to exactly where my leg crosses it. I did try riding without it once and it wasn't enjoyable. Shame the original ones weren't made from stainless so they could've just been polished up to match the headers a little better. The oil lines look great. Someone on here did a write up where they replaces all of their oil lines with new braided lines with AN(I think) fittings and it looked great. Honestly just replacing the lines with braided ones with hose clamps on the end would still be a really nice upgrade. Good luck with the headlight. I just replaced my round 7.5" light with a 7" led and the spot on the bucket where it mounts was 1.5"(3.8cm) skinnier, luckily I had two .75 plastic spacers from a TV wall mount bracket that fit perfectly. Hopefully yours goes in easily. I hate to admit it, as someone who's always considered the S1 to be one of the best looking bikes ever made.... I almost think your bike looks better with the S3 fairing on it than it does with the normal light and flyscreen. It looks great for sure, and I bet that fairing will be amazing on the highway and on chilly days. | ||
| Rjn |
this weekend was a lot of measuring and marking, but the result is that it is done. first get the plates right on the lights;  then adjust accordingly to the mount;  find proper position the get it alligned with the fairing;  drill holes, position, connect wiring, mount fairing,  high beam;  relocated the dashboard;  to do; remove old headlight brackets re-route, clean up wiring black out the dash, and new brackets renew rear shock (not in yet) clean the bike | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Coming out really nice! The headlight fits it well, and I bet it'll be much brighter than the original. Just an FYI if you want to clean up your top triple. I'm pretty sure the XB handlebar clamps used the same bolt pattern. You might be able to grab one of those since you don't have the dash mounted on that piece anymore. If you're blacking out the dash and brackets, maybe you can hit the back of those fairing mesh vents too, I think they stick out more than the actual dash does. Still curious to hear how the fairing mount attached to the front of the S1, unless you mentioned it somewhere and I missed it. Keep up the good work! | ||
| Rjn |
the OEM bracket slots right over an couple of tabs that where already on the neck of the frame. These came already on the frame. my Buell M2 is from '97, not sure if all frames have these tabs installed. it's just a matter of sliding the fairing mount over the tabs and set tight by 2 bolts and nuts.   | ||
| Falloutnl |
"I hate to admit it, as someone who's always considered the S1 to be one of the best looking bikes ever made.... I almost think your bike looks better with the S3 fairing on it than it does with the normal light and flyscreen. It looks great for sure, and I bet that fairing will be amazing on the highway and on chilly days." Yeah, I really like how Buell's design language works in such a way that it's possible to exchange parts from different models and still have the new creation look like it came like that from the factory. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Right, I've seen a ton of XBS and XBR crossovers that all looked really good too. Not as common on tubers, although when I looked I did see a handful of X1s and M2s with the S3 fairing. None of those looked as good as this one does with it though. I do remember at one point seeing an 1125cr with an XBS headlight/flyscreen and tail that looked great too. That makes perfect sense about the fairing mounts. The M2 and S3 probably used the same frame. My S1 doesn't have any mounts there so I wasn't sure how you were fitting it on there. A little dissapointed about that since after I saw your bike I did take a quick look on ebay to see how much a fairing would be haha. Someday I'll just have to grab a bike with a fairing. | ||
| Rjn |
i know that there are some X1 and S3 Buells who where modified to an fairing or the S1 tail;   think here on the forum you can also find the M2's with the XB conversion. the XB serie you can swap out the front fairing and rear seats i believe, the 1125 i only like with the sleeker non OEM fiaring, more in style with the XB | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I agree, that 1125R fairing is a serious piece, and I just couldn't get into that bike. I saw someone who put an XBR front fairing on their 1125R and it looked wonderful. | ||
| Falloutnl |
Phew, that black one is a seriously good looking bike. Very nice. "I saw someone who put an XBR front fairing on their 1125R and it looked wonderful." It did. Though having owned a 1125r for about a year, that fairing works better than just about any fairing I have ever had the pleasure of hiding behind. Which didn't help sticking to the speed limit any, lol. | ||
| Rjn |
new rear shock installed, rearranged the wiring in the cockpit, blacked out the backside of the air scoops and on took her on her maiden voyage after the changes.   the windshield deflects the wind right from the chest area, only small turbulance around the helmet area. had a ride without earplugs for noise reduction and the windshield has a positive effect on the noise. So overall very happy with it. need to fine tune the rearshock, was now a bit harsh, but that should be easy to do. Maybe adjust the ride height a bit higher as it sit now 5mm. lower as before. without diving straight into the manuel, does anybody know the stationary rpm setting? i'm currently have it set around 1200rpm, which i believe is slightly higher as per manual. and last need to check my voltage regulator, my battery was indicating low before i put her away, but that can also be because i start/stopped the bike a couple of times after the ride to check some bits. (Message edited by rjn on September 11, 2023) | ||
| Rjn |
and the small heat shield is on a functioning position the heat of the engine and headers are still hot, but i didn't burn my leg on the header. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Looks fantastic! the cockpit/wiring looks super clean, and getting out of some of that wind will be great. Did the dash plate bolt right up to the fairing mount? Be curious to hear how your new shock feels compared to the old one after you get it all set up. I have the same one on mine, it leaks a little and I know it's days are numbered. Bought one of the newer 14" shocks off someone online, but after I let it sit on a shelf for a little bit I noticed that one was leaking as well. I can't find anything in my service manual that lists the idle speed, but I keep mine right at 1000rpm. It's probably in the owners manual, which I don't have. Good to know on the heat shield, I may have to take a look into grabbing one. I tried adjusting mine again the other day, and no matter that I do to it I can't get it to sit so the outside of the bend isn't resting right on the header so I'm sure all of that heat is transferring straight into it. | ||
| Rjn |
Did the dash plate bolt right up to the fairing mount?;no, i made an small bracket to attach to the OEM fairing bracket, created an angle on the bracket to have the instrument cluster in the proper position so that the instruments are readable and the tacho cable runs clear and then drilled holes in the bracket to attach the M2 dash to it. | ||
| Buellbum |
I know this is an old thread but better late than never. as far as that heat shield goes, I don't like drilling holes in my pipes and so would rather wrap some asbestos over that spot instead. I like the look of asbestos covered pipes too. I see in that pic of Rjn's bike that he installed dual front brake rotors. It looks great BUT, my 99 Cyclone stops almost too good with the stock single disk. I'm afraid that I'll lock up that front wheel. So i'm very happy with just the single disk plus it weighs less. It stops better than my 02 Lightning with an aftermarket disk. I'm always looking for ways to save weight on my bikes which is why I wouldn't add a fairing with a big bracket. It looks cool though and I like the LED headlight. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I assumed the heat shield was just bolted onto some hose clamp mounted straps, similar to the original piece. It's a fair assumption, but I can tell you from having owned a supermoto with an overpowered front brake, you won't lock up the front wheel, you'll just be doing stoppies for fun every time you come to a redlight or stop sign. I think modern tires are plenty sticky enough that they'd rather just throw you and the bike over the front wheel instead of locking it up. | ||
| Rjn |
the heat shield is indeed bolted down with steel hose clamps, they came with the heat shield. i've had the heat wrap on my headers before, but removed it after a couple of years. pipes needed buffing after the use of heat wrap to get the shine back. And i believe there is an discussion going on if the heat wrap reduces overall life time of the headers. i'm only running a single disc upfront, it's more then enough stopping power wise for me. | ||
| Buellbum |
"i'm only running a single disc upfront, it's more then enough stopping power wise for me." I was really surprised at how well that stock disk works.... i had a crazy Black woman attack me one day and I chased her. I saw her slowing down and though that she was going to brake-check me and sure enough. I slowed and then she hit the brakes. I almost went down because the brake unexpectedly grabbed a lot harder than I thought. You have to get used to good brakes. I recommend doing some hard stops as practice. | ||
| Rjn |
Some new upgrades in the house  | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Those are such nice looking levers! I have a set of Banke levers in the garage somewhere, but always thought the LSL levers were the best looking ones you could get for these bikes. For some reason I couldn't get the Banke shifter to feel anywhere near nice. I'm assuming I just didn't have the angle of the 2 pieces in the right orientation to get the proper leverage. I'll give them another try eventually. |
