| Author | Message | ||
     General_ulysses |
Just picked up an '06 Uly today, overall nice bike and I got it at a great price. The bike was laid down once at low speed and it has a few scuffs on the rubber pad on the left side of the frame. The PO said the shifter lever was snapped during the spill, but he replaced it and everything was fine afterwards. I took the bike out for its first real spin and it seems to have a bit of a heavy shifter though. It shifts ok and goes into all gears, it just seems heavier and maybe a bit stickier than what I'm used to. I've only owned Japanese bikes before, never had a Harley or a Buell, so I have no point of reference to compare it to. I'm a little suspicious the shifter rod going into the motor may be slightly bent from the laydown, but I dunno. Maybe it just needs a little grease and/or maybe that's how these Harley's are? Any tips or advice on the nature of Uly shifting? | ||
| General_ulysses |
Oh yeah, it also seems a little hard to find neutral on it as well. Is that normal? | ||
| Ks_jetta |
I also just got an '06 Uly. I also have an '11 Heritage Softail and my previous bike was a '08 650 V-Strom. The Buell in my opinion is much lighter shifting than the Heritage, but not quite as light as the Suzuki. Neutral, however, is easier to find in my Buell than either the Harley or the V-Strom. I wonder what fluid is in the primary and transmission of yours? | ||
| Ratman |
My 06 Uly is the stiffest shifting bike Ive ever owned. Never misses a shift, but very stiff. | ||
| Jetranger_2000 |
I can't remember for sure how the shifter Is attached but I'm wondering if the PO tightened the shifter way too much. This might be giving you a stiff feeling I don't have my bike here but I think it's a bolt onto the frame with a linkage at the front end. Might just be over tight. I have a crap time finding neutral if I try to hard. If I just think about it it will go in. I have problems when I'm being too ramey!!!! | ||
| Motorbike |
The first thing I would do with any used bike is a complete maintenance check. Change all fluids and carefully adjust the clutch and primary chain. You might be able to fix the stiff shifting with doing only the items I just listed. | ||
| Hughlysses |
The main things that affect shifting are the primary chain adjustment and the clutch adjustment. I'd recommend you do both the "major" and "minor" clutch adjustments by the book (about a 10 or 15 minute job) and then do the primary chain adjustment. That one's a little more tedious since you have to turn the crank over at least one complete revolution. The chain tends to have 2 tight spots; you want to do the adjustment so the tight spots are within spec. If you have a rear stand or muffler adapter and a motorcycle jack, you can do that by putting the bike in 5th gear and rotating the engine using the rear wheel. If the primary chain is too tight, it makes for hard shifting and difficulty finding neutral. If it's too loose, it will cause excessive vibration around 3000-3500 RPM. Take your time and do it right. Oh yea, the shifting definitely improves with mileage. It takes close to 10,000 miles before it's optimum. | ||
| General_ulysses |
Thanks everyone. Sounds like I need to get a service manual, start reading it and then go through the bike with a fine tooth comb. The bike only has 5500 miles, so it's probably not even fully broken in yet. I looked closer at the shifter assembly and it looks mint. The rods/linkages are all tight - almost too tight - with virtually no wear or play. The shifter lever itself seems to move up and down easily when I jiggle it with my hand. There are absolutely no scuffs or scratches anywhere on the engine or shifter assy, so I do not believe the engine shifter shaft was bent at all. Probably an adjustment/lubricate/change the oil kinda thing and then let the bike break in more fully. Looking forward to getting to know this bike. It sits so high compared to anything I've ever ridden besides my old CR250 and RM500...except this thing is a street bike! It's so plush it's like a rolling couch - except it's an extremely agile couch that can be laid down in corners to any degree you have the gonads for. And every time I goosed the throttle, a huge surge of torque and power pulled it forward with scary, wheelstanding force. I know some say they don't like the tractor engine sound, but I like it! I laughed inside my helmet every time I goosed the throttle because it did sound like a John Deere or a Briggs and Stratton twin - but it was 1000X faster and more exciting than any tractor I ever rode. I don't plan on going for the bladdy bladdy Harley sound, I just want to use the stock pipe and enjoy my stealth tractor. I like it just the way it is and am looking forward to learning the ins and outs of this super cool and unusual (to me anyway) motorcycle. So far it's just odd. It's light enough and with enough ground clearance and suspension travel to be off-roadable to a reasonable degree. That same suspension makes it plush on the road, but at the same time it can corner aggressively if need be. And it still has sticky road tires and powerful brakes that enable it to carve up road riding. Plus it's got a torque monster 100hp engine that's no slouch in any department. It's just a weird bike, it seems to do just about everything well or extremely well. A fantastic compromise/cross series bike. These kind of bikes didn't exist in the old days, you had to pick your poison and stick to your choice back then. Seems nowadays they've developed these motorcycles that really are an innovative step forward and redefines what's been considered "possible" in the past. Anyway, I'm excited about this bike and the amazing things it seems capable of. Is there an online dealer that I can use to buy factory parts from without having to travel to a dealer? I've bought factory dealer parts online for other Jap bikes, so I'm hoping some Harley/ex Buell dealer offers something similar. Thanks again everyone. | ||
| Ratbuell |
American Sport Bike is an excellent online source, not only for parts but also for knowledge. Al and Joanne are truly guru's for us Buellers. Welcome to the madness! I suspect you will have a hard time finding anything the Uly can't/won't do for you. Definitely get a manual, and definitely take the time adjusting the suspension as outlined in the owners manual. 1/8 of a turn can make all the difference in the world when it comes to that corner-carving ability. Primary adjustment can definitely help the shifting. It will never shift as lightly as a UJM, but it can definitely be adjusted into the "positive feedback" realm as opposed to "stiff and notchy". For finding neutral, I've found if my bike is being crotchety...a blip on the throttle to bring the revs up just a hair usually does the trick. | ||
| Reepicheep |
You get it.  The Uly is like a giant super-motard that you can ride all day long. The class is called "adventure bikes" these days, but it's really just the evolution of the great naked standard. Sportbike tires, brakes, and suspension, but with some extra travel and ground clearance. And tons of room for a passenger or luggage. They really are brilliant. The cool thing about the XB12X is that Buell won't compromise handling and weight to make their tourer. For shifting, find another you can try and see if it is really different. Its not the light "snick" of some Japanese bikes, but it shouldn't be heavy either, at least not on an XB. The fact that it was crashed on the left could be a factor. If you take off the primary cover, then the crank nut and clutch nut, you can (with some work) pull off the clutch assembly, stator bell, and primary chain as a unit. That will expose the "bottom half" of that shifter rod that you are rotating every time you shift. It is bolted on to the cases by a kind of metal bridge support, and it pulls two hooks (upshift of downshift) that engage pins on a shift drum. If the base of that "bridge" got bent in the crash, which seems very possible, it could be binding in odd ways. It probably won't hurt anything to leave it like that provided it still shifts OK, but it probably wouldn't cost a fortune to fix either. Thats assuming it is really wrong in the first place, it might not be. Find any pre 2007 XB12 that hasn't been dropped on the left and see how it compares. In 2007, they switched to helical cut dogs, so the character of the shifting changed quite a bit. Much more positive engagement, but a little more play in the drivetrain. | ||
| Ratbuell |
You're not that far from me, if you get the urge to try out another '06 for comparison... | ||
| Etennuly |
Both of my new Buells shifted tight until they reached about 8000 miles. Then they freed up and would snick into gear with ease at a broader rpm range. Because of the torque at hand you might want to mess around with your shift points. Sometimes a couple hundred rpm can make it free-er of load for gear matching. (Message edited by etennuly on March 24, 2013) | ||
| Paul56 |
Heavy clutch pull: definitely do the minor and major adjustments as advised by Hughlysses and also inspect the inner cable at the lever where it goes into the cable sleeve (outer part of the cable). It can fray there due to alignment issues. Also a good idea to lube it at the swaged end/lever connection and then cover it with a split piece of rubber hose or clutch cable boot like found on many dirt bikes. | ||
| Uly_man |
"but not quite as light as the Suzuki." Few, if any, bikes have a better box than a Suzi. You should, however, not have a problem. These bikes need care to run in and the engine should be good by 7k miles. Run the bike at 50mph, go to neutral and try (clutch in) a gear. It should go in smooth with no effort or stiffness. Adjusting the lever position for your foot size helps a lot as does picking the right point to change gear. Its a big torque motor and something called "torque backlash" through the gearbox can sometimes make it feel a little stiff. "Oh yeah, it also seems a little hard to find neutral on it as well. Is that normal?" It can with the bike standing but this, as with all bikes, can vary from one to another. I han no problem with my 06 (14k mikes) bike but do (7k miles) with the 10 bike. The wear, to some extent, of a box can come from how a bike has been ridden. Also the "cut" of the gears when made. | ||
| General_ulysses |
Took the bike for a coupla rides today and got to know her a little bit better. The stiff shifter thing I was worried about is a non-issue. It shifts correctly every single time, no gaps or missed shifts or sticking. It's just heavier than what I'm used to, plus the bike has low miles (5500) and probably isn't fully broken in yet. Plus it's cold out here, I didn't ride it long enough to really warm it up, so I suspect the trans oil is a bit syrupy. I'm pretty sure once it warms up and I put a few miles on her, shifting will get a lot "butterier." Do you guys know what the best trans and motor oil to use? I need to change all the fluids and the manual simply says to use HD products. Also, what's the best way to work on the bike? I'd like to get an affordable hydraulic maintenance stand, but the muffler is looking a little confounding. What do you guys use? Hoping I can get one of those Harbor Freight jobs and adapt it to the Uly if possible. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The big harbor freight lift works beautifully for the Uly, it's what I use. Without it, just put a piece of rebar through the axle away from what you are working on, put jack stands on either side, and jack up the end of the exhaust away from what you are working on with a hydraulic floor jack. In a pinch, you can even just leave the side stand down and jack up either the front or back of the exhaust. A little tippy, but it will work to change a tire (DAMHIK). | ||
| Uly_man |
"Do you guys know what the best trans and motor oil to use?" I always use the same grade oils as per HD spec but not HDs. I see no need for anything else and just change it at 2-3000 miles. Easy and cheap. Normal bikes stands work well. You can use a stand under the OEM can but not with an aftermarket can. "Also, what's the best way to work on the bike?" It is normal(ish). Try not to loose any of the little plastic washers. Take care re-fitting a bolt with a fine thread as it is easy to cross thread them. Any bolt you take out clean the thread of locking paste and use copper slip on them. Do not use a torque wrench on small bolts. Just do them hand tight or you may strip the threads. The rear plug is easy enough if you take the air box and base plate off and take care doing it. The Torx T27 bolt is used a lot on this bike and can easy break so buy a few in. I have never worked on the engine so do not know. The only BIG pain I have found is changing the wheel bearings. Oh and flush through to front brake fluid as well. Many bikes are ok but this one needs it at 5k miles if you want the best braking. Again it is cheap and easy to do and worth the effort. (Message edited by Uly_man on March 24, 2013) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Rebar through an axle and jackstands to hold it upright, or pitbull front/rear stands to lift it. Both work for me. I run Syn3 in all my bikes. Works well, they don't overheat or puke through tons of leaks, it's not too syrupy for cold starts, and it's readily available when on the road (you still can't really throw a rock without hitting an HD dealer...). | ||
| Ks_jetta |
My local Harley service manager has rebuilt 2 low mileage bikes that ran only syn3 after break-in. Flat spotted bearings internally. He thinks that the syn3 is so slick that the rollers don't roll when the oil is warm. I have no personal experience, but after that warning I went to either amsoil (same $$ or cheaper than syn3) or Mobile 1 20w50 v-twin. Formula+ for primary and transmission. I will do oil analysis next change and post the results. Talking about oil preference is a lot like talking about religion or politics though. | ||
| Ratman |
Harley has withdrawn approval of Syn3 in trannies and gone back to recommending the HD Trans/Primary lube. The bearing skating thing is BS and goes back decades with HD saying synthetic wasent acceptable. Then years later they approve their own overpriced Syn3 with the worst scar protection rating out of the mountain of bike oils.To slippery he says? Keep in mind there is only a handful of real synthetic oils avalaible. Amzoil,Motul, Redline and probably the Purple stuff. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Also check the angles of the two joints in the shift linkage. At rest, both should be at 90 degrees. If the upper knuckle has been installed off a notch on the splines, leverage is reduced which increases effort. It made a surprising difference when I squared up the linkage. | ||
| General_ulysses |
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. Ok, so go with HD synthetic trans/primary lube for transmission and any good 20-50W synthetic engine oil? Which oil is the clutch bathed in? I assume trans, but just want to make sure. My understanding is that "motorcycle" oils have a special friction modifier that's designed to work with the wet clutch system. I want to make sure I don't need motorcycle oil and can just use a good synthetic auto oil and be OK. Mark I'll check the squareness of the linkage, that's an excellent idea and I could see why that might make it heavier than it should be. RE maintenance stands: Ok, so it sounds like the rebar/jackstand thing is one possibility. But, after looking at the jacks they have available on Harbor Freight, all of them seem to have two bars that span crosswise under the motorcycle and bear on the frame like a forklift. As far as I can tell, the lifting bars will hit the rounded muffler. I would think this would make it unstable on the jack and possibly damage the muffler and its connections. Am I missing something here? | ||
| Ratbuell |
The muffler is a lift point, there are two triangles engraved in it that show you where the "ribs" are. PitBull stands and the like, lift the bike from the swingarm, and from the lower triple tree...NOT the underside. You can use a frame stand...but you'll need to fabricate a rounded topper for it and strap the bike because it's sitting on a round surface. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I wouldn't run non synthetic engine oil if I could avoid it. This is an air cooled motor, it asks a lot of the oil. When everything is right, there isn't much margin between normal engine temp and oil breakdown temp. I prefer a little more margin for something to be a little less than perfect. Blackstone does nice affordable used oil analysis... so you can find an oil you like and have it tested. | ||
| General_ulysses |
Thanks again everyone. Rat I didn't realize the muffler was a jacking point, that helps a lot. I might try and build a wooden adapter for my existing hydraulic car jack that custom fits the rounded muffler. Then use the rebar/jack stand method you guys mention to hold the bike up. I'm working with limited space in my garage and if I can get the tools I already have to work, that'll save me some clutter. Reepi I definitely plan on taking your advice on synthetic oil due to the hot running air cooled engine. I was just wondering if it was best to get "motorcycle" oil or if it was ok to use high quality synthetic automotive oil. Another thing that's confusing is that the manual calls for diesel oil with appropriate designations (cf-4, cg-4, ch-4 & ci-4), but it advises this should only be used in a pinch and that you should replace with HD motor oil at the first opportunity. I'm confused, how come you guys don't seem to care about the diesel oil or the "HD oil" requirement? Just want to make sure I don't mess up, never owned a big twin or a Harley before. | ||
| Etennuly |
I played with synthetic oils for a while. They made my engine noisy at idle. I went back to the recommended HD non syn oil per the book until HD decided the stuff was made from gold. I'm not paying them $11 a quart for oil. Changing it at 2500 miles is the key to running most oils. If something stupid happens like an over heat situation.....change it earlier. About thirty thousand miles ago I switched to Shell Rotella non syn diesel oil. Now at 60,000 it still starts and runs great with no smoking or leaking. I run the HD Formula + trans fluid. One quart at each 5000 mile change is not too expensive to stay with the recommended stuff and it works well. I also like okra.....fried. | ||
| Motorbike |
General U, here is how I jack my XT. Works great! I have pics of 2 ways to lift the bike in this thread. The first is using the Craftsman Jack ( sometimes on sale for as low as $79.99) and the other way only raises the rear wheel using two jack stands. I leave the bike on the Craftsman lift all winter in my workshop. Makes it very easy to move around. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/521995.html?1260840648 http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/disc us.cgi?pg=next&topic=142838&page=521995 Oh by the way, when you go to change your motor oil, DO NOT over-torque your oil drain plug on the swingarm! 15 ft/lbs max, no matter what the manual says! | ||
| Reepicheep |
It used to be that the "motorcycle" oils, in general, were just over priced. I would get Castrol full syn 20w50 or Valvoline full syn 20w50 car oil for $2 less per quart. These days though, it seems like the only full syn 20w50 oils are the expensive ones. If you can find a 20w50 full syn, it is probably fine. I will say though that not all full syn 20w50 oils are created equal. Castrol 20w50 in my old 9sx would cause significant oil consumption (maybe a quart every 3000 miles). But other full syn 20w50 (Valvoline, Mobile 1) would not do it. So I think Castrol at least was cheating. The Amsoil 20w50 is for sale "under the counter" at my local Harley shop. It is a bit over priced, but it's insanely good oil, they sponsor EBR racers, and it's always there when I want it. I could probably recoup some of the cost by running 5000 mile change intervals... I have a sample I ran 3500 miles that I am sending to blackstone to see how much it was "used up". | ||
| Mnrider |
 I just strap the bike to a m/c lift and use canoe pads. It's very sturdy and make all the susp. easy to work on. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Asking for oil advice is scary, but since you did: Diesel oils are good stuff, and Buell was smart to mention them, IMHO. I used to develop heavy duty diesels for a living, and the Rotella and Delvac oils are good quality. robust additive packages, and no "Energy Conserving" additives that can occasionally cause issues in bikes (though mostly in transmission/clutch). Plus, the diesel oils are made to deal with gear trains, since most are all gear driven in the US truck market. Again, only a big deal if you use in trans. I use Formula+ in trans for same reasons Etennuly says above. It is also a known problem if you use any GL5 gear oil in the trans. Don't do that! I personally used Mobil 1 15W50 in all my bikes until I couldn't find it anymore last year. Now using Castrol V twin syn 20W50, but thinking about moving to diesel (dino or syn). Only thing that makes me nervous about diesel syn is the 5W low end designation. I have topped off and used diesel a couple times due to easy availability (every gas station/truck stop has it). Its also very economical. Make sure you check out the Uly New Owner thread. It has answers to most of the questions you are asking, plus a lot more things to be aware of to keep your new bike on the road where it belongs. |
