| Author | Message | ||
     Nocompromise |
I finally got both bikes up and running, so I figured I'd better take some pictures! I'll be road testing the red S1 to see if the leak has been fixed. I changed out the torn pushrod cover seal, so hopefully that did the trick. I also just noticed that the nuts on the exhaust studs aren't seated very far down even though I torqued them to spec. I'm going to try tightening them up some more to see if that helps. I have noticed a little smoke coming from the exhaust port on the cylinders, so this could definitely be a problem. The Angel is the black S1 (formerly red) - never had a problem with her, which is why I'm so ignorant about Buell maintenance procedures.  The Demon is the red S1 (formerly black and Nazi liveried) that I recently purchased. I've only ridden her a handful of times, and I've already spent more hours on maintenance than I care to think about.  I got the Penske on her last night, so I'm anxious to see the difference. Now I just need to get the Race Tech springs and valves in the fork and I'll be about finished!! Whew....!         | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Two very nice bikes. I'm working on gettin my 6th bike (2nd Buell). Always liked the S1. Can you tell me what year was the best as far as problems or recalls. You have the experience with them so I thought I would ask. Thanks | ||
| Mm128 |
I NEED an S1.... I have (2) 99 X1's... I MISS my 98 S1 twin tail...  Those look GREAT!! Matt. | ||
| S2tbolt |
The red one looks awesome! Gotta be worth all the effort  | ||
| Duckbuell |
Sweet Bikes, man just looking at an S1 gets your blood boiling! Must be awesome to ride! Nice to see them so clean and original, none of that juvenile psuedo-chopper skull-in-the-paint-job stuff. Cheers | ||
| Nocompromise |
Thanks for the comments guys! Wile - The two that I have (soon to be one) are both 97's. I think the 96 had the most issues since it was the first year, and the 98's (being the last year) had the fewest. Obviously throughout Buell's history Erik has continued to work out the kinks. I don't remember if all the 98's had the bigger manta tank, or if that was just the White Lightning. I think all the 98's had the Thunderstorm heads (97's just had Lightning heads). I know that most people seem to regard the 98 S1 White Lightning as the pinnacle of S1 development. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the all-white color scheme or the huge manta tank (although something a little bigger than the narrow tank would be nice... especially considering I ran out of gas today!!)  I think there is more individual variance between bikes than there is between years, meaning just try to pick up a 'good one' (like my angel and budget some extra money to spend on the mods that you want). Since you already have a sweet multi-bike garage, I think a S1 would be perfect!! It's the perfect classic streetfighter imo, but it can be a difficult 'only bike'. Mm128 - Ummmm... this may sound crazy, but sell one of your X1's and buy a S1?  S2tbolt - Thanks! Now that I swapped the bodywork on my 'keeper' bike back to red it feels "right" again. Black bikes look so dang mean, but I just don't think they're for me. I can't wait until this one is done! Duck - S1's are an absolute blast. Having been out of the riding scene for a few years, I expected a lot of new bikes to tempt me. To tell you the truth, the Superduke was the only one that made me look twice. That's why I decided to just invest some money to bring my S1 up to snuff. I don't know what kind of custom paint I'll get down the road, but I'll steer clear of the skull-in-the-paint! RIDE REPORT: So I rode the two back to back. Good news about the red  leaking demon bike - changing the torn pushrod seal appears to have fixed the big leak on the cam side of the engine. She is still leaking a little oil on the primary side, but I can't tell where it is coming from. At least I'm making progress! The Penske is unbelievable!! I can't wait to get it dialed in. I haven't touched any of the settings and it already feels 10x better than the stocker (which hasn't been too bad to me once I learned to unweight my butt over sharp bumps)!! I don't mind the forks since the slight harshness doesn't really affect comfort as much as the harsh high speed compression damping of the stock shock. I think after the basic exhaust/air filter/jet kit or Power Commander, the Penske may be next best modification to make, even considering the cost. The difference is really night and day even without having it dialed in yet (although I assume they have the settings decent since they built the shock for my weight and riding style). The power difference between the Angel and the Demon is HUGE. The noise difference between the Force and the V&H slip-on is also HUGE. The Angel's engine is stock except for the V&H slip-on, Forcewinder, Buell Race Ignition, and Yost Jet Kit. She is soooooo smooth to ride - the power isn't crazy and you feel comfortable wringing her out. Incidentally the shifting is waaayyy smoother on the Angel as well. I'm not sure why that would be, but the Demon actually hurts the top of my foot when I upshift because it's so stiff (even though I wear Oxtar race type boots). The clutch engagement is also so much smoother and easier on the Angel - everything just works nicer and easier on her. The Pilot Powers also feel MUCH better than the D209s. The Demon almost feels like a racebike in comparison. She has a 1250 kit, Stage 2 XB heads, 536 cams, full Force exhaust, Buell Race filter, and a SE ignition module. Supposedly she puts out around 110 hp. The power is pretty crazy in the lower gears. You really have to exercise good throttle control. The shifting is harder (even with the Banke installed - which is a big improvement over the stock setup), and the clutch engagement is much grabbier. The grabby clutch combined with the big power can really bite you unless you keep on top of it. I know once the Penske is sorted and the forks have the Race Tech hardware installed she'll handle great. The Penske already feels like a magic carpet!!  If only I could fix this dang leak!! (Message edited by nocompromise on September 05, 2007) | ||
| Chadr81 |
Nice looking pair you got there! Bikes that is!  Chad | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Thankyou very much for you'r input. Be safe, ride hard......Mattu | ||
| Mm128 |
NoCompromise: Are YOU selling ONE???? I MAY be interested....... ** I have tried selling it...Well...Not really... but I did try.... No real takers... I had it listed here and no one really bit at it. Maybe I will refresh it and see what happens. Matt. | ||
| Al_lighton |
Nice pair of S1s. Hard to tell from the photo's, but it looks like the belts might be too tight, esp. on the black one. Run them looser than factory spec. Al | ||
| Nocompromise |
Thanks for the tip Al! That's one of the things on my list. I adjusted it to factory spec, but I know that people around here recommend "scary loose". Could the hard shifting of the demon bike be due to a poorly adjusted primary chain? I thought I found the tight spot and adjusted it to factory spec, but I should probably recheck it. Are there any other possible reasons for hard shifting? The Angel really shifts like a Japanese bike it's so smooth. The Demon is very hard shifting and almost impossible to find neutral. Also, is it normal for the exhaust nuts to be backed out this far? I tightened them to spec (even a little tighter to see if they would go on further), and this is as far as they go. The nuts barely cover the top of the studs. Also, the headers look like they're smoking a little bit when I run her at idle for a while. I know I must be doing something wrong...   | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
Front does look out of sorts. Rear looks okay to me. My header has to be put on rear first(not bolted just in ex port) then front pulled out and then it fits port proper. Start motor and feel for blowby. Smoking? Was the header just coated or something? Mine did that for a little while and stopped. (after being coated) | ||
| Nocompromise |
Mm128 - yes, I'm going to be selling the Angel (black) S1. I haven't listed her yet because I wanted to be sure that a good buddy of mine didn't want it. I just talked to him today and he doesn't have the money or garage space right for it right now. I'll put her up on the Classifieds today, but believe me she is a GREAT bike. Wile - yes, the header was just coated so perhaps that is the issue. On the Angel bike the studs protrude through the top of the nuts by quite a bit, and the clamp (the movable piece that the studs go through on the headers) fits much closer to the cylinder head. | ||
| Buellfighter |
The only thing nicer than an S1 is two! Nice set! | ||
| Buellboiler |
Is it my eyes or is the front tire on the black bike on backwards???? | ||
| Tattoodnscrewd |
The tread on front tires usually does go a different direction than the rear .. looks like it is wrong but is not .. If you look closely at his red bike - same thing ... | ||
| Brinnutz |
Nocompromise.. I see the DoD sticker..Are you in the service? Sorry for Off Topic..=) | ||
| Brinnutz |
Oh yea, the leak on the primary side..If it's to the rear, check your starter seal..I replaced my Primary seal and Starter seal and it stopped my massive leaks. I had oil all over the muffler it was bad... | ||
| Nocompromise |
Brin - yes, I went to the USAF Academy, 8.5 years of Active Duty USAF, 1.5 years of USAF Reserve and counting (which is my only job until I start at Southwest). How about yourself? The leak on the primary side shows up on the top of the case, so I don't think it could be the starter. It appears to be very small as only about 10 little drops were evident after a few hours of hard riding today (lots of twisties and runs through the rpm range). The primary seal is new, and I don't Think that's where it's coming from. I am hoping that I'll be able to pinpoint it. I suspect it's coming from somewhere up higher - either the rocker box or the rocker box cover. I get a drop of oil under the front motor mount (billet NHRS mount), but I'm not sure if the two are related. Here's the area where the oil is evident:  Also, I'm not sure if it's anything bad, but I can hear a high pitched jingling sometimes. It seems to mainly occur in 4th or 5th gear at 1/3 throttle opening around 2500-3000 rpms. It sounds like it could valvetrain noise, but it sounds louder than it should and only happens for a second or so. The engine seems like it's operating normally. It doesn't miss or sputter or cough. I'm not sure what would cause a noise like this or what the possible ramifications are. If it's not one thing it's another! | ||
| Brinnutz |
Rock on...I went to the Naval Academy...but for some stupid reason, walked away my youngster year...I was enlisted prior to going there, so I went back into the Reserves and will probably end up back active duty...=) I get those drops on my also because my front rocker box gaskets are blown by the bolt up to on the left side as you sit on it...Oil comes out of there. If it's your rocker box your going to see oil around the top of the heads...ya gotta... | ||
| Smoke |
98 year models of S1 had lightning heads, 98 S1W's had thunderstorm. on the red bike it looks like your kickstand rubber bumper stop has failed at some point and scraped the swingarm. happened to me too. the force pipe on my track S1 has more threads showing on the exhaust studs. could your exhaust gasket have gotten misaligned? you might get the updated shift detent plate and clip, that would also let you take another look at your primary system. mine sounded funny after a couple of track days and when i opened the primary the engine sprocket nut was totally unthreaded. have fun, tim | ||
| Nevrenuf |
great looking set of bikes. sure is nice having more than one option there isn't it. henceforth the term nevrenuf pertains to this issue. btw, i hope your not thinking of selling either one. | ||
| Jskasper15 |
Does anyone know were I can find the streetfighter manta faring and hardware for a 1999 buell m2 cyclone? My uncle went down on his and is no longer with us. I have his bike, his prize possition, and I want to fix it back the way he had it. I have only been able to find the plastic that looks like it at one site. And I think that the manta is the right one but I'm still not sure. If it is something else I would like to know. Thanks for your help. |
