| Author | Message | ||
     Forestgrump |
I read on this forum about changing gearing. What are the pluses and minuses? Going to turn a 06 Ulysses into dirt bike (LOL). Don't want to fry clutch and need lower gears. Also need to know what parts I need and length of belt? Thanx Forest | ||
| Panhead_dan |
After frying my clutch I changed the primary drive with one from an XB9 and have been very happy with the results. Due to the fact that I had fried discs to replace, the exceptional deal I got on the 9 parts made the swap free kinda. Now I can go slow without slipping the clutch and I can go 15 mph faster in 5th. Fuel consumption has not changed (around 50 mpg). | ||
| Pontlee77 |
Gearing can only be changed through the primary unless you change the belt drive for a chain. the XB9 gearing is an 11% shorter, you add 300 revs over the stock XB12 primary, i did the conversion, and so far it's on of the best mods i've done. | ||
| Tootal |
I understand you're joking a bit about "dirt bike" but really the main hold back for a Uly is tires. I did go up Engineer Pass in Colorado with stock gearing but I don't want to do it again! I also put the XB9 primary in and going on jeep trails and the like are so much easier. Don't know how low you want to go but the XB9 is a good start! Here's a link to a thread I did. Read the whole thing because some torque specs have been upgraded, which I found out later. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/425775.html?1230619985 | ||
| Yamafreak |
Panhead Dan What is your top speed with the 9 gear, up 15mph?  | ||
| Panhead_dan |
With stock gearing I could not hit the rev limiter in top gear and it would not go much over about 105 mph. Now I can hit the rev limiter and as I remember it's just under 130 mph. | ||
| Uly_man |
I dont know about anyone else but that sounds wrong? Stock it should have done 120 mph plus and got to the red rev line easy. Sounds like the clutch was slipping and sapping power (under load) from the engine. I thought the idea of the 9 gear change was to add a few revs to make low speed control better but takes off some top end speed. Which sounds about right as your changing the output ratio to the gearbox. Remember that the 06 bikes have the smaller crank so the higher revs will put more strain and wear on it with long term use. For every 1000 rpm (stock) an extra 300 rpm is 30% more wear and tear on the engine. And given that the 06 bikes run VERY, VERY hot anyway making them rev higher is only going to make it run even hotter. I did 9000 miles in London traffic on my 06 bike with little problem. You will find better control by setting up your throttle cables right and fitting an adjustable clutch lever. The OEM one is WAY to wide for good close control at low speeds. I have XXL hands and even I found it a problem. Your engine must be running right as well. | ||
| Tootal |
My clutch is set up for two fingers, dirt bike style. I know you're riding the streets of London but if you ever get the chance to ride up a mountain over 10,000 feet you will need to "fan" the clutch like a two stroke to keep the revs up high enough to make any power. The lower gearing really helps on mountains and also in parking garages! I ride in the city a lot and it's so much better geared down than stock. Sure, it's not BAD riding with the taller gearing but now I don't have to slip the clutch all the way through the intersection! Like you said Uly_Man, you should find somebody that's done it and try it yourself. That's the only way to know for sure whether it's something you would want to do. | ||
| Uly_man |
"if you ever get the chance to ride up a mountain over 10,000 feet you will need to "fan" the clutch like a two stroke to keep the revs up high enough to make any power". I recall you saying this before. This is a fueling issue. These bikes need a long time to "re-fuel" via the ECM and the 06 bike is even slower than the 10 bike? I find that even a "day to day" change in temps makes for an issue. If you change altitude a lot (less O2) its going to take a while to change as the bike adjusts on O2 rather than barometric (no sensor like the R series bikes) pressure. If you look into it you will find that Buell set the altitude "base line" for the export countries in the ECM. I know whats happening (I have had it in the past) at altitude? You are reving the engine, to keep the revs up, because it is "bogging" down due to the the engine running rich because of the thinner air and the ECM not adjusting fast enough. This is along the lines of what can happen with a carb bike. Saying that though the bike should have run fine after an hour or so. | ||
| Tootal |
I agree with part of what you're saying but I had been riding at 7 -8000 feet for a while with no problems. I believe a big part of the problem is the cam timing. I haven't seen the actual specs. but the seat of the pants says these cams don't close the intake until after 50 degrees. When you get into that thin of air and late cam timing there's just not a lot to chew on! Revving the bike closer to it's peak torque number will get you some compressionable air but below that forget it!! The bike never felt like it was loading up or having any type of over rich problem, just felt like it couldn't breath. The tall gearing combined with late cam timing and thin air doesn't put much power out the back end unless you're ringing it's neck!  | ||
| Arcticktm |
+1 Tootal. Fried my clutch in the "low mountains" only about 2000 feet higher than where I live and ride normally. Nothing to do with ECM learning in my case. Simple rough terrain that required slower speeds than the stock gearing and fuelling would allow smoothly. XB9 gearing installed about 3 years ago and all is well (along with new clutch plates). Certainly, lower gearing = lower theoretical top speed. A big tall bike, with a big tall rider, is more likely to be limited by air drag. Since that force goes up by the cube of speed, you might hit the power limit before you run out of revs. Can't say I tested it, since I am not a top speed guy, but others have reported similar results to Panhead (though not sure others say 130mph indicated). I've never had the Uly above 110mph, which it will still do just fine with the XB9. No one ever accused the Uly of being aerodynamically designed. |
