| Author | Message | ||
     Mellow_yellow |
Everyone-Anyone?-I just finished reading the test on the new Uly.While I want to see Buell motorcycles prosper and multiply,I am still totally smitten with my 03'XB9SL.When I was done with the article though,I was happy that the bike and Buell got great reviews,but at the same time a little worried at the fact that the oil pump drive gear had been upgraded/improved.It was described as a reliability improvement.I understand that each year bikes get better,as they should,but is this gear a problem in the XB series? I searched the K.V. and it did seem to plague the tubers at various mileages.I replaced my drive belt with the new one as a "reliability improvement",but I'm afraid changing this gear out is beyond my skills.Am I frettin' over nothing? Opinions anyone? | ||
| Glitch |
I'm getting close to 40,000 miles on mine, so I'm thinkin' it's a non-issue. If I have the bike apart to do something else, I might change it, but I see no need to do it, just to do it. | ||
| Mellow_yellow |
Thank you,Glitch-I am nowhere near 40,000 miles.I'm feelin' better already | ||
| Glitch |
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| Reepicheep |
I suspect it had to do with 20 year old machine tools and jigs for the older tuber engines, and even on the tubers was not chronic. Unless it was your bike, then it did not get much more chronic. I doubt it is much of a problem for the XB's, I think the machining is controlled a lot better across the board. Its not a huge deal, just drop your oil pump at 15k miles and check it. It is a really easy check. | ||
| Hogs |
Well guys I seen an XB12r last weekend at the races that had a drive gear failed,But then again these babies are driven Hard right...Come to think about it I don`t remember hearing any fans on none of these 9 or so xb`s and most if not all had larger oil coolers mounted on them...I guess 15 mins. or so 12 laps all out racing no need for da fans... | ||
| Rick_a |
It's cheap insurance and an easy job. | ||
| Whodom |
Like Reepi says, it's easy to check, but it hasn't been a problem on street-ridden XB's as far as we know. There are several threads in the KV on the subject (dealing with Tubers) that show you what to look for. Glitch- have you ever looked at yours? | ||
| Glitch |
Glitch- have you ever looked at yours? Well there was that one time in summer camp. Yeah, I checked it when the stator went out. I got real paranoid when that happened. I'll check it again one of these days. | ||
| Kenb |
my S1 has about 30k on it and I looked it over at about 25k and it looked fine. | ||
| Slaughter |
The gear is sold by Buell if there's any worries: http://buell.com/en_us/bikes_gear/accessories/productslist.asp?Menu_ID=4&ID=3138 &MITEM=75 | ||
| Mellow_yellow |
I just went searching the K.V.again,and found a post where someone asked if this gear was a problem to XBs.The answer was that no problems had been reported,that the suspected cause of the gear grenading was a mis-alignment of the oil pump gear and the oil pump drive gear,and that this fault(machining)had been fixed/changed on the XB models.It just makes me nervous that the CycleWorld test pointed out only two or three things that were improved on the new Uly-I should say 2/3 things that matter to me-I do not plan on buying a Uly-the transmission is better/smoother (although my bike doesn't shift like my Honda,I'm used to it,and it's fine)#2-the big end bearing caps are now silver plated? for durability(I may be a little shakey on this particular point,please forgive me,the magazine is at work)#3-the oil pump drive gear has been upgraded for improved durability.While it is within my mechanical abilities to drop the oil pump to check the gear,I do not feel comfortable with changing the gear if I found it to be badly worn.I would be at the mercy of my dealer.I'm not going to worry about it,there doesn't seem to be reason to,at least at this point.I'm using synthetics(Mobil 1 V-Twin)and I baby this thing as it is.Thanks for listening to me,and for your replies!  | ||
| Reepicheep |
I bet the stator is the next thing they fix. DOH! scratch that. I bet the stator was the OTHER thing they fixed, doesn't the Ulysses have a new stator? Wonder if it works with the existing voltage regulator... based on how these things work, I doubt it, unless there was a big capacity margin on the regulator when they started. Buell had several years worth of data, both from racing and warranty, and improved the things they could. It does not make the current great bikes any worse, but does make the new ones better. Choose your cost / comfort and RIDE! And I would bet that most of those improvements were a result of trying to figure out how to get a Buell to live through the Daytona 200... but that is *pure* speculation on my part. | ||
| Odie |
Reep, that is something I would love to see..... | ||
| Dbird29 |
Would the Uly stator be designed to put out more amps to handle the power outlets? Interesting to see if it would fit on other XB motors. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I believe it is, and I bet it would go in fine. My only thought is that you probably have to replace the voltage regulator with it. These are shunt type regulators, so any power not consumed by your electrics is effectively just dumped to ground through the voltage regulator. As a result, it is turned to heat, mainly in the stator windings, but the regulator has to handle the current dump through the SCR's. The power they must handle is equal to .6 volts multiplied by X amps of current. It is possible the existing voltage regulator was overengineered to begin with, and can handle the extra shunt current with no problem. It is also possible there is a new VR part that matches the new stator. Any bored dealer types here? Does the Ulysses have a different VR part number then say an 05 XB? | ||
| Whodom |
Interesting: as far as I can tell, Buell didn't list the alternator specs in the 2004 printed brochure nor the 2005 CD brochure. Anyone know what their alternators were rated? Looks like all the 2006 XB's have the upgraded alternator: 38-amp permanent magnet 3-phase alternator with solid-state regulator (481 watts@3,000 rpm, 494 watts peak). | ||
| Rick_a |
There's a few Buells that've done quite well in endurance races...they're just not making 135HP. I don't think any of these changes would make any difference in Formula Extreme. |
