| Author | Message | ||
     Iugradmark |
Several owners are now approaching the 30K mile-mark as we hit the high summer riding season and it seems that the Uly is showing some important weaknesses. While some problems have easy fixes, others like wheel bearings, electrical failures, charging system problems, and fan failures do not have resolution and we have not had any help from the engineers at Buell. The problems are made worse by very poor parts availability and insufficient dealer network and support. Stories of bikes waiting weeks and months at dealerships has become fairly common. Many of us purchased our Uly's thinking they would or could be long-term high mileage bikes but I'm beginning to think that these bikes do not pass the reliability test. Only those with skills and time to do a lot of their own work seem to be able to conquer the more difficult problems mostly by doing their own trouble shooting and swapping parts. Just my observations but I'd love to hear what others are thinking. Sometimes the following board activity can be slanted by a few bad problems but lately some of the most staunch supporters of the Uly are experiencing a lot of problems. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I never wash my ULY and though it only has 13000 miles on it, I've avoided bearing failure by catching it before hand and adding grease. My kickstand never broke. Always has idled and run fine. My only bitch at this time is that rusty muffler that was replaced on warranty and is rusty as helll again. I notice that the new KTM 690 Duke has a copy cat underslung stainless steel muffler the emphasis on STAINLESS STEEL. Their SS muffler even has a catalytic converter. How is it that KTM provides SS mufflers and Buell provides rusty mufflers??? A supposed adventure bike has no business having some cheap skate tin pot metal muffler. What gives with that anyways?? http://www.ktm.com/690-Duke.47.20.html?&detailview =2&cHash=da62385a81 Apparently KTM can do the simple arithmetic. No warranty claims on SS mufflers. How much does replacing ULY rider's rusty ass cheap over priced $500 muffler cost Buell, with all that labor involved? Certainly more than if they had made them out of SS and didn't have to replace them because SS doesn't rust. I know that Erik has heard this before, "Do it right the first time". Cheap rusty ass muffler is not something to hold bragging rights on and is certainly not doing it right the first, second or third time. As for those bearings, I'm sure that Buell factory gets those wheels shipped with those bearings installed. Pop the seals and add some grease so that you don't piss off every Buell rider and have to pay for wheel bearing warranty. We like your bikes but quit being a cheap ass because it costs more to be a cheap ass than to do it right the first time with the right materials. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
'The Sky is Falling'  | ||
| Jlnance |
Just my observations but I'd love to hear what others are thinking. Well, I've got 43k miles, so I guess I can address this. The bearing failures are troubling, mostly because we don't know what is causing them. Lots of theories. I'll be using Electragliders greasing suggestions and hope that helps. The VR/stator failures are also troubling, but we seem to have a better handle on those. I haven't heard of fan failures since the first batch of 06 bikes. I'm assuming that problem was fixed, whatever it was. The lack of any comment from Buell is disappointing. Stories of bikes waiting weeks and months at dealerships has become fairly common. This is troubling and disappointing, though it has apparently always been the case that many dealers are not motivated, experienced, or equipped sufficiently to service Buells. I am blessed to have a good dealer, so I don't have to deal with this frustration too often. That being said, there are things you can do to avoid a bike being in the shop for a month. It's a shame that that's a required skill, but it is what it is. If a bike is at the dealer for a month, I assume it's waiting on parts? Before I had a good dealer, I used to order my parts from Appleton and take them to the dealer when I needed service. Parts rarely take a month to come in, IF THE DEALER ORDERS THEM PROMPTLY (the longest I've ever had to wait was 2 weeks, and that was only once.)} | ||
| Pso |
06 Uly, 11,500 miles, VR went out, left me stranded in the center lane of a 4 lane highway during rush hour. Scary, think I will contact NHTSA (or whatever it is called) this is definatly a safety issue (being run over) if it is a common occurance. | ||
| Dr_greg |
Approaching 50,000 miles; no problems. OK, rear wheel bearing some time ago, clutch needle bearing also. But that's it. Oops, the belt finally broke after a low-speed laydown. I'm gonna keep riding this same bike forever. I love it. Also I can't afford any more bikes. | ||
| Red_chili |
Every bike I have ever owned has had issues. The VR/stator issue is especially troubling. It would be better to use an exciter rotor VR combo than a shunt VR. But even my Beemer had issues with its charging system (if you could call it that). At least when the VR fails you keep running till your battery enters the next life. The Honda overheated - badly - from the factory. Fixed it. Took a lot of fixing. The Kawasaki needed its piston changed, lest it grenade in the woods far from home. The saddle sucked. The suspension was just OK. Fixed those. The Yamahas were mostly trouble free, if boring. My last Yamaha had a lovely and entertaining motor and a frame designed by Lucifer himself. Long after the old evil Mach IIIs. Go figger, they should have learned from their competition. Couldn't fix that. The Bultaco grenaded without warning while I worked at a Yamaha shop. Suffering produces character. I must be one. Parts were impossible. It handled superbly when it ran. The Suzuki's rear hub blew up. I mean blew up. Got a Bultaco, but you know how that ended. The Ducati went through a clutch in a most disagreeable way. It really needed more clutch. The suspension sucked. The motor was lovely but undertuned. A joy to work on, a real cop magnet. Sold it. I understand it would now be worth almost double what I paid for it, oh well. So I'm used to fixing stuff I guess. The bearings are nothing new to me, I always have greased wheel bearings with new tires. Most of my bikes have had wire rubbing problems. If I am smart about it I check. If not I find them other ways.  | ||
| Buelldualsport |
It's all about the ride, not the destination | ||
| Cyclonedon |
problems? what problems? I have a 2006 XB12X Ulysses with 18,500 miles and I've only had to replace the rear tire at 10,057 miles and the rear brake pads at 16,000 miles. The only problem I have is not enough time to ride it! The Ulysses is the most comfortable and most reliable motorcycle I've ever rode or owned! I did purchase a new set of Dunlops D616 and a set of front brake pads to have installed at my 20,000 service when I take the bike in for that. | ||
| Aeholton |
At 33K+ miles, I don't think I'm anywhere near end of life. As for wheel bearings, I replaced mine at around 30K as a preventative measure. I consider them consumables that need to be replaced every couple of years. Of the many Buells sold, the folks posting here on Badweb is a small minority. The web tends to magnify issues and make them appear like much larger and wider spread than they actually are. (my $.02) | ||
| Windrider |
No, we have not found the lifespan of the Uly. The lifespan of the Uly is similar to the lifespan of any mechanical contrivance: it will keep going as long as you are willing to keep repairing it. I have 18K on my early 06 now and it is reliable as a typical motorcycle of any brand that I have owned including Kawasaki, Yamaha, and HD. The nice thing about the Buell is that parts are really reasonably priced, the service manual is excellent, and service is pretty straightforward. Problems with wiring, VR, and stators are most likely due to the way the unbalanced 45 degree VTwin shakes like a wet dog. Just part of the design. Yes, most Buell dealers are disappointing. I would buy Buell again. It is still the most fun I have ever had on a motorcycle and the cost of ownership is still very low, along with reliability on par with my experiences from most motorcycles. | ||
| Etennuly |
My '06 will be at or over 30,000 upon returning from Homecoming. It has had a number of minor problems that my dealer had no problem getting warranty to cover. I think the list is at about eight items, two of them twice.(each worth an individual trip to the dealer) I had a 2003 GMC pick up that I bought new also. It had a list of ten items, and it literally tried to kill me when the ABS brain went nuts and started locking the wheels up individually. Long story, ten separate trips to the dealer. They had it more than I did the first four months. I bought a new Lumina APV in '91 with a list of 28 items(they told me to drive it and make a list so that they could get as many at once as possible). I had a new Suburban in '97 that went back as a voluntary buy back the day before the lemon law people made them take it back. After a new engine, and replacing the A/C system, and ABS brake failures It was just one problem after another. New Chrysler PT cruiser lost a trans at the expiration of the warranty, they had it for a month, new trans lasted 10,000 more miles. My wife's '05 Mustang has been back at least eight times, two items twice. Now that the warranty has expired it has an engine light on. Seems like most of them are junk one way or another. I have had several new vehicles over the years with less than three problems. Only two that I can recall had no problems at all post purchase. A '94 Corvette, and a '98 Dodge dually diesel. My point is they all suck at making something perfect. We the consumers drive them to make new and different products every year. I say Buell, you have the products you need for now. Don't second guess every thing, don't go down different paths. Take a couple of years and not change any systems, just perfect them. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
2006 CityX but I ride it like a ULY Belt 9k ECM pop and failure at 12K Bearings 17k Belt done pre-emptive at 20k Kickstand at 20380 Getting 23k before the 4th... Priceless We have a 2006 ULY with 46K on it for sale on the lot, if I had the room in the garage, and the space in the budget, I would have no hesitation picking that bike up. (Of course I know the BWB that owned it, so I feel pretty good about its history) | ||
| Khelton |
Yep, but I still prefer that my motorcycles perform like my Toyota or Honda cars, always going 250,000 miles before getting rid of them and very little going wrong during that time frame. These other mechanical vehicles prove that a vehicle can be built that well and also why their companies are an overwhelming success. | ||
| Az_m2 |
45,000 miles on my '06 Uly. I've been all over the country and the bike has never let me down. I did replace the fan, belt, and rear bearings around 30 - 35k as preventative maintenance. If my memory is correct, the fuel pump, stator, and left fork leg were replaced under warranty (I think the fork was damaged during service tho). It has been a terrific bike, fun to ride, and about as versatile as anyone could expect out of a motorcycle. I hope to get a couple more years out of it. Chris | ||
| M2nc |
I'm at 32K miles on my '06 Uly. The bike has had some minor issues. The problem is I do not know how many are the bike's fault and how many are the riders fault. To be fair I need to throw a few japanese motorcycles off a mountain side into a tree then 50' of 150' drop and see if $1500 dollars puts them back on the road looking and riding good for 13K miles and counting. The Uly has been one tough bike. So I do not know what the life expectancy of a Uly is yet, but I will. Check out the profile for details. | ||
| Rotorhead |
+1 "The lifespan of the Uly is similar to the lifespan of any mechanical contrivance: it will keep going as long as you are willing to keep repairing it." ++1 "45,000 miles on my '06 Uly. I've been all over the country and the bike has never let me down. I did replace the fan, belt, and rear bearings around 30 - 35k as preventative maintenance." It is a machine!! Machines brake!! I'm at 41,000 miles and had all the "issues" but this means I'm good to go for another +40,000 right? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Look at it this way: Add up all the chains, sprockets, valve adjustments, coolant flushes, extra set of brakes for the second front rotor, as well as the price differential for the exchange rate. Assume there is nothing else that went wrong with your "other" bike (charging system, yosh box, etc.). Subtract the price of belts, fans, stators, voltage regulators, batteries and bank angle sensors, and I'd bet you are far ahead of the game. At 40,000 miles the belts and sprockets alone would be between $700 and $800 just for that alone (at one replacement per 10,000 miles). How much do valve adjustments cost at one per 10,000-15,000 miles? How much is a coolant flush once per year? Does stuff break on our bikes? Sure. I was nearly stranded by my stator/vr. Sucked, but I made it through. I have and will replace the bearings as preventative maintenance at a regular interval. I have and will replace the belt as preventative maintenance at a regular interval. I will monitor the stator and voltage regulator (now that I have a meter) and replace at failure. I will monitor the cooling fan and replace at failure (so far, I have gone 15,000 miles without so much as a whisper. I believe Buell got a bad batch of fans in the 06 Ulys. Have you heard of a second fan failure? Our bikes are stone axe simple. This is their greatest strength and greatest weakness. This means that simple failures have complex consequences. The simple design of the rear swing arm causes stress on the bearings causing them to fail prematurely. The simple shunt system fails easily, but the parts are simple to replace. I have had more problems than just about anyone, but I don't see any of them creating a problem that would prevent someone from riding these bikes for 100,000 miles. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
Gee whiz Jim you're piling on the miles  I've got 27,xxx (something) on a '06 and it hasn't broke anything important Had one fan that started sounding like a blender w/marbles and put in a new one I can't even remember how much that cost me -- it was like $50/75/100 or something. You'll see '06 Uly's go 100K miles with no serious issues IMHO. I'm beginning to think I've got a tuber that may make it too. | ||
| Jlnance |
Gee whiz Jim you're piling on the miles : ) $4/gallon gas is slowing me down. My kids are moving to TX in July. I foresee that adding a few miles to the odometer. | ||
| Paul56 |
49k and counting. I hope to delay any decisions about replacement until 100k. If the then-current production doesn't wow me at least as much as this one did in '05 I'll overhaul/replace whatever is needed as necessary and keep going. Still grinnin. | ||
| Fyrefli |
I just rode my 07 Uly from Florida to New Hampshire. I had just had just hit 12.5k miles when I left. My ECM died when I was in the middle of a 1.2 mile long drawbridge in Virginia. Luckily, Hampton Roads Harley and Buell was very helpful and had me back on the road after only 2 days. One day after getting my bike back, the bike broke again as I was cruising along I-81 about 15 miles south of the New York border. My brother-in-law happened to live a few hours away and was able pick me up. The next day I was in the Syracuse Harley and Buell dealership. One day later, they called and told me my rear wheel bearings had disintegrated and my rear wheel was damaged. My front bearings were also looking "suspect." Two days later, they had me back on the road. All of my issues were all replaced quickly and under warranty, but these quality issues have made me lose confidence in taking long trips with this motorcycle. In addition to those issues, like others, my muffler is starting to rust away. I taken very good care of my motorcycle and have it serviced at the dealership every 2500 miles. I have grown attached to my Uly, but after pushing a bike along a drawbridge with no shoulder with traffic zooming by at 70mph and one day later sitting in the hot sun for several hours alongside an interstate 3 hours from your starting point and your destination it makes you wonder if you made the right decision by purchasing this motorbike. The bike is too new to have so many problems. | ||
| Fyrefli |
By the way, I am only comparing the reliability of my uly to the other motorcycle I have. I purchased a used 2001 Aprilia SL1000. It had 2600 miles on it when I bought it. I've put about 15k miles on it so far. Besides a problem with the kickstand nut which was recognized as a widespread problem on this model and was fixed for free, the only thing I've had to replace on it have been tires. It has also been factory serviced at all required intervals. I may just be lucky, by not having so many problems with the Aprilia. | ||
| Khelton |
Unfortunately,the other bikes that I consider to be in the same category all have similar problems..the GS, KTM's,etc. The Vstrom has has few problems but it doesn't trip my trigger. | ||
| Iugradmark |
Fyrefli, Sorry to hear about your problems. Your issues with bearings and wheel damage are some of the more concerning ones when thinking about relying on the bike for longer trips. I think the early concerns about whether a Buell modified HD engine could survive longer miles is not going to be the issue. Instead it is wheel bearings, charging systems, and other electrical gremlins that just don't seem to have answers. I'm hopeful that those at Homecoming can get a chance to kick these concerns around with "The" engineers at Buell and see if they are working on relief for us. I still think a starting point is to acknowledge the problems and have the dealers add steps to routine maintenance checks. At least we would know that they believe a problem exists and that it might be caught during service intervals. It would also be helpful for Buell to create a hotline to deal with these failing areas so that parts could be rushed to dealers to get riders back on the road. Somehow we need to separate the warranty decision from the repair work. It seems like a lot of the delays are related to dealers and owners having to argue their case before repairs can begin. If Buell acknowledges that these parts are failing and would make them available quickly to dealers, I think everyone would feel better about ownership. - Mark | ||
| Buelltoys |
I have 42000mi on my 06 Uly. I have only had the two recalls (kick stand and BAS) fixed on my bike. No wheel bearing problems or anything else. I would say by the end of this year I will be close to 50K and the bike does not seem to be letting up. I do my own regular maintenance (oil, trans, spark plug changes) and have a motorcycle deal change my tires. My only problem with the bike is that I use tires like crazy. Dunlop got about 5-6K, Scorpions got 5-6K and the last tire I tried was the Pilot Roads, about 8-10K. The front tires have been good to me but the rears I have changed 7 times. In my opinion the Uly is a long term bike!! Always dirty and takes me everywhere. | ||
| Pso |
Iugradmark-Good points, particularly now that a good # of the 06's are going out of warrenty, thus if the Buell engineers come forward we can do our own workaround and get some of these problems fixed on our dime. | ||
| Crusty |
I'm hopeful that those at Homecoming can get a chance to kick these concerns around with "The" engineers at Buell and see if they are working on relief for us. I did. I asked Abe Askenazi about the wheel bearings. There is a new bearing that should be available by the end of this month; if it isn't available already. (Incidentally, Abe rides an '06 Uly). I had an '06 Uly that had well over 34K on it when I traded it in on my '08 XT. I had a clutch cable wireform break, and a fan die and that's it. Both were replaced under warranty, and neither caused me any downtime. My Uly was the most reliable motorcycle I've owned in 39 years of riding. It worked flawlessly in temperatures ranging from well below freezing to over 100 °F. I had no trouble with my charging system, wheel bearings or drive belt. The only reason I traded it in is that the XT is more of what I want in a motorcycle. (I can put one foot down flat at a stop). | ||
| Hootis29 |
Early production 2006 Approaching 40K One belt at 15K, severely abused. Rear bearings at 25k, premtive. (rear bearings every 25K are still better then a bmw final drive every 30K IMOH) as of today it needs a fan. Otherwise tires and fluids. | ||
| M_singer |
Crusty, Did Abe acknowledge the wheel bearing problem and did he elaborate on what is changed with the new bearings? |
