| Author | Message | ||
     Nputnam |
I have just purchased a stock 03 xb9s. I was wondering what are the first modifications I could do that would make this thing better/more powerful etc? | ||
| M1combat |
Upgrade to the '04/later belt setup. Metzeler M1 or M3 tires. The Micron seems to do exceedingly well for a pipe on a nine. An American Sport Bike airbox kit. | ||
| Dongalonga |
I also have an 03 XB9S. I have Jardine, American Sport Bike Intake, Race ECM, Iridiums, Chopped Tail....check out my profile. | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Buell streetfighter or select seat.  | ||
| Sgthigg |
Not more powerful...My first $$ would bespent on FRAME PUCKS, and some sliders. If you havent already. You dent the frame the = totaled. (usually) Protect your bike and your money. | ||
| Vonsliek |
ditto to sgthigg .. also, learn abt suspension & set it for yr weight & preferred riding style - remember, weight is u dressed on bike, not neck'ed in the bathroom.  after that, clip-on bars & wish u had a new r6! ;P hahaha ......... | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
I have posted this once or twice before, people have found it to be useful. I hope you do as well. I have over 13,000 miles on my XB9S, “Ole Yaller,” so I thought I would share my thoughts with those who have just purchased one, or are about to buy one, so that they can enjoy their unit to the max, 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 probably 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 ‘03 Buell stock at low prices. The result: there are some excellent Buell dealers out there, but relatively few of them, very few. That’s 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 and the shop manual. The ideal situation: buy your ‘03 leftover from a Buell Dealer who actively supports the brand if you can find one. 2. Bad Web If you have got 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 Brag Organization is a great owners group that sponsors fun events around the country for Buell owners, and there is the Buell Customer Support line which is improving all the time. The number is 414-343-4056. Expect the best. 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. One of our member sponsors, Daves, ( Dave Stueve at Appleton HD), regularly monitors this board. He is very Buell knowledgeable, very helpful, and a great source for original and after market parts. Trojan Horse, ( Matt) and American Sport Bikes, (Al Leighton), both also sponsors, are great with after market parts too, many imported from Europe where Buells sell better than in the USA. 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 is now in it's third version, part number # G0500.02ABR. 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 from Daves. 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 the '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. Daves or Al 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. B. When you do change tires. Take a look at Dunlop Qualifiers, Michelin Pilot Powers, Pirelli Diablo, or Metzler M-3's: many members report better steering and longer life with these than the original equipment Dunlop 207’s. 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, Mobil 1 75w90 gear oil in the gear box. These are 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 can’t go wrong if you simply change the oil and filter every time you replace your tires. 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 heard to dent the frame if you drop the bike, and it is very difficult to repair, and 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 “race kit”. In spite of its name, this is more of a “make it a bit more fun to ride on the street “ 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 haven’t 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˘ | ||
| Fenderbender |
Well done, sir!  | ||
| Kowpow225 |
Very nice write up, Jon. Maybe we (badweb) could put a nice little 'start here' point together when people register that would include some of this info. | ||
| Kootenay |
I have just purchased a stock 03 xb9s. I was wondering what are the first modifications I could do that would make this thing better/more powerful etc? Set up the suspension and ride it. The XBs are fine bikes right out of the box! You might want to remove the rubber snorkel from the air intake, and possibly purchase an airbox meant for an XB12 (it'll have a small nipple directly above the intake bell, which apparently helps intake...this design is now standard on all Buells, but it was initially only OEM on the 12s. Only around $35. When the tires wear out, replace 'em with better ones (I've used both Pirelli Diablos and Conti Road Attacks--my current rubber--and have been pleased with both). Frame pucks aren't a bad idea. And as far as the belt is concerned, I've got the same, original 03 belt that came stock on mine, with absolutely no signs of degredation (over 15,000 km too). I'll eventually replace it with the upgraded Gates belt (I don't see any reason at this point to retrofit to the 04+ drive). The most important thing is to find some twisty roads. An XB is wasted on the 'slab... | ||
| Diablobrian |
Buy the pucks,and make sure you have a full set of good riding gear first. Adjust the suspension to match your weight fully dressed for the ride. Next I'd look at upgrading your mental software. Money spent on a quality riding school (KSSS, Star, CSS, CLASS, learning curves, etc) will make you faster. After that, check out American Sport Bike. there is an exhaustive exhaust shootout on there to help you choose exhaust/ecm upgrades to suit the style of riding you do. If you build the bike first you run the risk of putting on an exhaust and tuning the bike in such a way that you will not be happy with it's performance. Know what I mean? | ||
| Vaneo1 |
after that, clip-on bars & wish u had a new r6! ;P hahaha ......... hee hee thats too funny, welcome to Club Le Buell- were everyone spends $$ on getting there motorcycle up to speed! haha} |
