| Author | Message | ||
     Oz666 |
To Rocket: I think you should check out this "We Don't Know" stuff - maybe it's lighter and stronger than CF or even Unobtainium!!! Don (the only Buell in Buffalo) | ||
| Oz666 |
To Rocket: Duh!!! Since they DON'T make it, it MUST be made of Unobtainium. | ||
| Geyservillebob |
I have an S3T with a race kit with race header. I was obviously interested in performance and now that I have one I'm very pleased with it (except for the broken exhaust studs). It is true that they don't make a kit for the S3T but, at least for my '99 S3T, the only problem is that you cannot use the fairing lowers with the race header. In fact I think it is only the right side lower that won't fit. I have seen S3Ts with race headers and both lowers installed. The owners modified the lowers to accommodate the header. In my case I simply deleted both lowers since they tend to crack after a few thousand miles anyway. Frank | ||
| Rocketman |
Oz Yeah, it's good stuff when you can get it !!!!! I've spent hours aligning my Race Kit, and I'm convinced it's right, but I'm on my second header and silencer, both items changed on different occasions. From what I've seen on other Race headers, and like my own, they always crack at the collector area. I've had the front header studs snap three times and countless nuts coming loose from both pots. I've tried several types of Harley fastner but by far the best fix I've found to the problem is blobing some Wynns Sensor Safe silicone sealant on the threads once you've tightened the nuts. Never had another nut come loose. I first used it at the start of last years riding season and all the nuts stayed tight, never needing a wrench near 'em. Must have done 6000 miles last year. Rocket in England | ||
| Blake |
Oz: To whom at BMC did you speak? Call me skeptical, but your account of what you were told sounds more like something a local dealer might say, not BMC. | ||
| Aaron |
But Rocket, WHY are the nuts trying to come loose? And WHY are the studs breaking? | ||
| Oz666 |
Hi all To Blake: I was standing right in front of the sales girl while she talked to Buell. They said, "no one who owns an S3T is interested in performance and they do not make and will not make the factory race header to fit an S3T". I thought that the X1 race header would let me keep the stock air box and right side lower, however, no one has confirmed this and Buell says no way no how. What am I supposed to think? BTW I was also informed that the upper DU bushings are not available - this concerns me as I intend to do the 10K service myself. I really like the way the factory race header looks and I THINK it is made from stainless steel which means that it will look very nice on my Amazon green S3T. I DON'T think that there is any performance gain to be had by changing the air box (other than what I have done which is K&N filter and soon to re-route breather lines). My thrust here is to extract the maximum performance while maintaining all that I can of the integrity of the original design. I really LOVE the bike just the way it is but the prospect of having it make more power EVERYWHERE through the RPM range is tantalizing - enough to put up with near obnoxious exhaust volumes. As you can see, I'm not getting too much help from the factory through my local squealer(s). I really want to figure out a way to put on the race header with the stock air box and right side lower, I know it can be done and I know someone has probably done it. This is the only forum that I can hope to get fitment details that would allow me to do what I want to do with my bike. WHY doesn't the factory help the dealers some more? It would seem, from what I heard on the phone, that they don't want them to sell parts at all. I hope your day went better than mine. Don (the only Buell in Buffalo) | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Aaron asked: But Rocket, WHY are the nuts trying to come loose? And WHY are the studs breaking? Man I'd like to know that as well. I've never had that problem yet (fingers crossed), nor any of the other numerous problems everyone seems to have now and then. On another note, I still have my V&H on after 35,000 miles. Something must be causing this luck on my end. Cheers, -JW:>) | ||
| Aaron |
I forget, what year is your S3? | ||
| Court |
Rocket: Look for the CAUSE...not the SYMPTOM. Court | ||
| Ccryder |
Loose nuts are terrible, they lead to all sorts of problems. I'm with AW & CC there is a cause for that problem. One of my solutions has always been to make sure that everything in the exhaust system finds it's own home without forcing components into place. If you force the header or slip-on/ can into place, or over compress the exhaust donuts, the system will loosen and then move around and things will get lost and break. I also add some insurance with Nord-Lock washers.  You get your hands on these guys at McMaster-Carr. In 45,000+ miles on my 2 Buells I have yet to break an exhaust stud or loose a nut. It's not luck but assemblying the system properly and not over-torquing the header nuts. My other insurance is that all fasteners are loctited and correctly torqued. It might be a pain, but at least I don't usually loose fasteners and such down the road (DAve, JimL, BrentB remember Sparky was being a Baaad Girl that day)  No, not anymore since I follow my own suggestions and listen to the words of some of the experienced Buelligans around here. Time4Sleep. Buelltiful Ride'n today. Neil S. | ||
| Blake |
Oz: So... you are going through a "sales girl" to find little known technical information on adapting racing kit parts from one model to another model that is clearly not designed to accept those racing kit parts? Plus you want to retain the stock airbox rather than mount a race version? This may sound stupid, but, why don't you try calling Buell customer service yourself? Or try calling one of the BadWeB sponsors. You see fit to badmouth BMC in a public forum in big bold type, and you haven't even spoken to them yourself?! Kinda petty and vindictive in my opinion. Snow getting to you already? As to your problem... I don't see why a race header for a standard 98 S3/S1/S1W wouldn't fit on your '98 S3T even with a stock airbox. You'll just have to carve a spot in your RH lower for the header. The race headers are all stainless steel. Sport Twin is selling race headers for your '98 S3/T at http://www.sporttwin.com/Qstore/p000297.htm. They are currently 20% off list price. Call Brad and order one and quit yer griping. If you need any more hand holding just let me know.  Blake | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Sorry, I haven't had a chance to post the Boss rear bracket pics. I'll try to get to it tonight. I did however measure both of them last night. The new one is 1/8" (.125") thick. The old one was about .070-075" thick. Brad | ||
| Jima4media |
As most of you know, I've broken the exhaust systems more than a dozen times on my X-1, including 5 broken head studs. The cause of the problem is the paint shaker the exhaust system is connected to. I called BMC customer service about this problem again last week after breaking another head stud. John Selenski told me there was nothing they could do about my continuing problems with breaking parts. It is out of the standard warranty period, and the extended warranty doesn't cover the muffler. Regardless, BMC did replace the broken race muffler the second time for me in December. That makes a broken stock muffler, 3 broken SuperTrapps, two broken Buell race mufflers, and 5 broken head studs. http://caferacers.editthispage.com/stories/ Jim X-2.5 | ||
| Rocketman |
I agree, solve the problem, but hey, Buell couldn't get it right and I don't want my exhaust to look like the Golden Gate  I can't stop the headers from cracking. They're a piece of junk when it comes down to it. I've rolled joints with thicker paper. Anyway, I think I had the thing hanging in its most favourable place but I reckon in time the front studs will break again unless the updated "Y" bracket (which I've not used yet) does its job. I don't think the nuts will come loose though. Not long now before I get the top end back on, that's if I've got the correct Cometic gaskets. I ordered two sets of base and head gaskets (different thicknesses) and the rocker rebuild kits. Yes I fell on the floor when UPS delivered them on Christmas eve. Cometic took £125 from my credit card and UPS and customs took another £36 on delivery. Still, that's the price of quality I guess. Rocket in England | ||
| Jim_Witt |
Aaron asked: I forget, what year is your S3? It's a 98 Aaron. Dunno, sure is strange. There must be some sort of design and quality control issue with all the exhaust issues. I must of got one that was put together just right in the jig or something. I'd have a pretty rough time putting up with the issues that Jim Armstrong mentioned. On another note, my damn isolators weren't replaced until I hit 28,000 miles. Matter of fact (outside of poor dealership service and parts availability) the only problem I've ever had with my 98 was dealing with that 5 month damn wheel bearing issue and the warranty coverage. For as pissed as I was, at that point in time, I guess I've been pretty lucky overall. S'later, -JW:>) | ||
| Aaron |
So it's a '98? Imagine that. Susy's '96 doesn't have header nuts loosen or studs break, either. There's a very significant difference between how '98 and earlier headers are mounted and how '99 and laters and all race kit headers are mounted. This ain't rocket science. | ||
| Tripper |
ROCKET and SCIENCE don't go together... | ||
| Jmartz |
Jim: I have had quite a few exhaust failures also but these have ocurred over nearly 43,000 miles. The principal problem I've encountered is the the poor fit of the header system to the heads. A large variation exists among individual pieces. Those outside a certain range when tightened to the motor will be stressed at the collector causing an eventual crack at the weld. I have had 4 headers, 2 stock and 2 race, all rewelded at the collector. The two race systems have gone through 5 brackets (the front clamp on) which are not really repairable since there is no good place to put welds. Since early in the bike's life I have used an aftermarket CNC polished aluminum front mount. This piece lasted over 35,000 miles before failing. I have had no stud failures but I attribute this to catching the oscillating exhaust system before it went through too many cycles. On a run to my beloved South Carolina (God bless states w/o helmet laws), for over 300 miles I ran the bike with the front and rear attachment points of the exhaust system broken and tied with bailing wire. The studs survived. I hope you can correct your incessant exhaust system failures. I have learned that to keep my bike running the best solution is to collect spares so you can install them w/o having to wait. It is my experience that failures of this nature always take place on long weekends and at times when you have planned a ride. | ||
| Road_Thing |
Jose: "It is my experience that failures of this nature always take place on long weekends and at times when you have planned a ride." es la ley de Sr. Murphy! r-t | ||
| Aaron |
Simple experiment: Take a '98 or earlier bike. Do a dyno pull, while you watch that front muffler mount. Now take off it's extra collector mounting tab and repeat. This was a real eye-opener for me. | ||
| Ara |
Aaron: Can you be more descriptive, please? I've got a '97 S3 and haven't had a lick of trouble in this area. Russ | ||
| Sarodude |
I have learned that to keep my bike running the best solution is to collect spares so you can install them w/o having to wait. Using that mentality, we'd all have 2 of each bike. The second one wouldn't be for a buddy or SO - it'd be simply to cannibalize for parts. -Saro | ||
| Aaron |
Russ: Buell used to put this tiny little steel tab on the bikes, that connected the collector to the front of the shock mount. Your bike should have it. They got rid of this tab in '99. I don't believe race kit headers use it, either. Why did they get rid of it? I don't know for sure. Perhaps because the tabs themselves can be a little troublesome (they break, the bolts break, etc), or perhaps for cost reduction. I really don't know. I just know that when that tab is in place, the system doesn't move around nearly as much. | ||
| Jmartz |
Saro: You don't need all the parts that make up a bike. just the one that break frequently. If I had a second bike you bet I would cannibilze it everytime I needed something on a day it could not be obtained anywhere else. | ||
| Geyservillebob |
I just talked to my dealer and he claims that the header mount upgrade retrofit is not required by Buell for my '99 S3T. I think what he means is that Buell is not going to do this for free. Maybe I misunderstood this to be a recall item when it really isn't. Was the header mount upgrade a recall item for any bikes? Is my dealer wrong about this? Is this something I have to buy myself if I want to upgrade. Frank | ||
| Aaron |
No, it's not a recall. They've been providing it under a goodwill warranty policy, but that may have expired. Read the service bulletin, there's a link to it at the top of the page. I'd bet money that the dealer didn't even try to get this covered under warranty for you, i.e. he never made the phone call. | ||
| Buelliedan |
Frank, Buell just approved my 99S3T for the new header mount. It's not a recall but a goodwill item just as Aaron said. Your dealer is wrong. If they continue to give you problems call Buell Customer Service at: 414-343-8400 Dan | ||
| Geyservillebob |
Thanks Dan and Aaron, I went ahead and paid for it ($93 + tax) and considering the pain and frustration involved with what it would probably take to convince the dealer of the validity of my claim it was likely well spent. Also this way I can install it myself without the hassle of getting a ride between my (remote) home and the dealer. I will try the Customer Service number and see if I can get Buell to reimburse me. I'll let you know if it works. Frank | ||
| Buelliedan |
Frank, I read your profile and saw that you have not put the Race ECM on your bike? Can I ask why? You said your bike pings a lot when hot. This is something the Race ECM will fix. In my opinion the Race ECM is the most important change you can make on the FI bikes. You also need to have the 10R12 plugs. |
