| Author | Message | ||
     Steveford |
We're lurching out way to the finish line of 100,000 miles, slow but sure. The old pile is burning oil like mad and the second ECM is about one good knuckle rap away from giving up the ghost. The Buell Low Seat finally got replaced with a new regular seat which causes a lot of road grit to be thrown up into my eyes but at least the seat pan hasn't collapsed (yet) and the race muffler has nearly rusted in two. Stay tuned for the bike 100K report when it finally gets some much needed TLC. | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Keep on keeping on. 90 is a pretty admirable goal. Hope ours make that! | ||
| Tootal |
Yep mines using a little oil too. The pistons are a little loose in the bores. Sounds like a cold two stroke dirt bike! Maybe next Winter I'll tear it down and make it right, until then I'll just add some oil! | ||
| Hughlysses |
You guys need to run straight 50W like Vern; that's bound to help the oil consumption some. | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
got pics? | ||
| Tootal |
Running straight 60 Amsoil right now. One thing I was thinking also is that sometimes you can run too thick of an oil. I had an Isuzu Trooper with a 3.5 Isuzu engine. I was running 15-40 semi synthetic in it and it always used a quart every 1000 miles. After I sold it I was reading that the pistons in that engine had too small of holes behind the oil rings and unless you used the thin oils it couldn't get rid of the oil fast enough and would force it by the upper rings on the down stroke. I never had a chance to prove this theory but did find it interesting. | ||
| Arcticktm |
At the risk of starting an oil thread (shoot me now), why did you decide to use those heavy straight weight oils? Were you trying to save a tired engine, or ? Feel free to refer me to another old thread to avoid yet another oil thread. I admit I would be hesitant to do this for fear of starving my bearings on startup and tougher cold starts (though I don't really ride much in weather below 45F). Perhaps it's better than the auto industry trend now toward 0W20 (and talk of 0W16 and 0W10) for fuel efficiency. Pretty thin stuff at temperature, and makes me more nervous than straight weight heavy oils. | ||
| Ramman4x4 |
For the bikes that are using oil, do you see any excessive crank case pressures? I guess whether you noticed or not would depend on what type of breather setup you are using... | ||
| Etennuly |
Steve congrats on crossing that milestone! I'd have been there with you had the economy not beat my ride program to death. You guys need to run straight 50W like Vern; that's bound to help the oil consumption some. At the risk of starting an oil thread (shoot me now), why did you decide to use those heavy straight Now don't go blaming this stuff on me! I have simply quoted what the BUELL SERVICE MANUAL and the BUELL OWNERS MANUAL says about using particular oils and reported back on my personal success in using such information.  Jim.....are you going to tell us that eight years later you still haven't read the owners manual for your Uly???  Oh.....and..... ........   | ||
| Etennuly |
Perhaps it's better than the auto industry trend now toward 0W20 (and talk of 0W16 and 0W10) for fuel efficiency. Pretty thin stuff at temperature, and makes me more nervous than straight weight heavy oils. I think you are seeing this happen due to different metals, closer tolerances, and mostly due to the efficiency of modern fuel injection systems. Old cars had to have oils that could tolerate fairly large amounts of fuel contamination. Over the years of driving vehicles from an earlier era, my 1974 International Scout with it's 345 cu. in. V8 that has a manual choke shows me just how much more efficient the new vehicles are everytime I start the old bastard. To start it I push the throttle part way(which squirts gas into a non running engine)while pulling the choke knob, then I pump the throttle(wetting the intake and runners even more)until it starts. Then when it fires I have to balance the amount of choke until it smooths out as it warms up. It becomes more efficient when it's parts swell to their normal operating size as they reach their nominal operating temperature. By then it has pumped a noxious cloud of exhaust fumes that make me glad that people no longer start vehicles like this inside a garage. Sure would keep the varmits at bay though. Oh yeah, somewhere in this story the oil is washed down the cylinders by excess gas that is needed to make the inefficient old engine run when cold, that is what contaminated the oil so much back in the day. Hell, five quarts of a 0-15W full synthetic oil in that engine would be gone in a couple hundred miles from cold start blow by. The old style Uly engine is more like that international engine than it is like a new style super efficient V6 that you would see in a new car. The fuel injection is what gives us a choice of oils to run. | ||
| Froggy |
I'd love to run 0w0 if it was possible, especially with friction modifiers. MPG++ | ||
| Steveford |
By overwhelming demand, here's two thrilling pics of the old pile. A new ECM is really in order as it keeps leaving me on the side of the road and then I have to smack the ECM with my knuckles to get the fuel pump to kick on again.   Whoever thought ECMs would be a consumable item like brake pads? Not me! | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
lookin GOOD! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
The ULY is like the Little Engine That Could. https://www.google.com/search?q=the+little+train+t hat+said+it+would&es_sm=122&tbm=isch&imgil=VwWU2vi aj2i1LM%253A%253BhQV1qrdPBBVC9M%253Bhttp%25253A%25 252F%25252Fmathandreadinghelp.org%25252Farticles%2 5252FClassic_Picture_Books_The_Little_Engine_That_ Could.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=VwWU2viaj2i1LM%253A% 252ChQV1qrdPBBVC9M%252C_&usg=__XFuiFvGMicFLeW4r1sX Sy21BmL4%3D&biw=2048&bih=986&dpr=0.94&ved=0CC4Qyjc &ei=xZ89VIbyNKee8gHWn4GQDw#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc= VwWU2viaj2i1LM%253A%3BhQV1qrdPBBVC9M%3Bhttp%253A%2 52F%252Fmathandreadinghelp.org%252Fcimages%252Fmul timages%252F26%252Flittleenginethatcould.jpg%3Bhtt p%253A%252F%252Fmathandreadinghelp.org%252Farticle s%252FClassic_Picture_Books_The_Little_Engine_That _Could.html%3B271%3B250 | ||
| Fotoguzzi |
in case you missed my Uly video complete with steam engine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFeuPWgDB9k&list=U UkFuiO8F0WPhvCEuBQWm0ZQ | ||
| Steveford |
Another 10,000 miles or tax refund, whichever comes first. Hang in there, old Useless, I'll give you that refurb yet! | ||
| Etennuly |
Heck sakes! That'll clean right up! I've seen XBs in worse looking condition at 20,000 miles. Have the maintenance bolt holes worn out? You know.....where bolts and such are removed regularly to maintain things. Just wondering if you can still bolt new crap on? | ||
| Tootal |
I believe Vern is using 50wt. dino juice as I'm running synthetic. 60wt. syn oil is thinner than 50wt dino. The numbers are apples and oranges between the two. | ||
| Steveford |
No stripped threads, just needs a few things to bring it back to where it should be. Muffler, ECM, cylinders and pistons, clean up the top end and then it's off for the next 100,000. I had it painted back when I first bought it so I need to have that redone as well. I'll probably end up like that guy with the 3 million mile Volvo except it'll be a Buell. I bought the old girl back in the winter of aught six broke it in when it was twenty degrees out but I didn't care, I was just so excited so to hell with the snow banks and ice patches and here she's still chuggin' along, still got the original blinker bulbs, by crickey... (Message edited by SteveFord on October 15, 2014) | ||
| 1313 |
I'll probably end up like that guy with the 3 million mile Volvo except it'll be a Buell. EXCELLENT!!! I'd really like to see that! Not because I doubt it's feasible (as I know it is!), but because at one time I had hoped to be the one to do it. But Buell and EBR has continued bringing new bikes to market that capture my insterest which always seem to garner my consumer dollars... 1313 | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Just for shits and grins, how many belts and sets of rear wheel bearings did you go through in 90K miles? | ||
| Arcticktm |
Vern, OK, it's been a while, but I really HAVE read the manual! I just forgot that part. Maybe I just have a had time excepting how old school that straight weight old recommendation chart is? Thanks for the reminder! | ||
| Etennuly |
 No offense Jim.....just pokin' fun at ya! The way I see it the bike is still as old as the manual. The engine didn't change, why should the oil? Like fixing something that is not broken. | ||
| Arcticktm |
I know what you mean, Vern. (boy that sounds like an old commercial) But maybe I needed a reminder. I used to develop engines for Detroit Diesel, including the old 2 cycle engines (Series 53, 71, 92). They like straight 30W, and if you used the newer (at the time) multi vis 15W40 the engine would show you over time how much it did NOT appreciate that. Oil consumption being just one of the ways! | ||
| Etennuly |
I especially like the part where the manual says if genuine $15 a quart HD oil is not available use any diesel oil! That told me a lot about HD brand oils. In an evolution of change that has moved and been scrutinized closely and slowly, I have pretty much switched to Rotella 15 40W non-syn to replace the HD 20-50W because it is much more available to me, and affordable, and it seems to function just as well in the engine as the HD stuff did. I have enhanced it with Lucas additives in hot weather rather than seek out the over priced hard to find HD 50W or 60W. So far the engine is happy with the mix. 62,000 miles no smoke, runs quiet and smooth(as these things get),and still only uses about a pint in 2,500 miles(my change interval), the same as it did with the HD stuff from new. Wow.....this did turn into an oil thread! Sorry! | ||
| Uly_man |
"Wow.....this did turn into an oil thread!". No but I think that some folk are worrying, over the grade of oil they use, unnecessarily.  Use the oil you wish as its YOUR bike. | ||
| Etennuly |
Well we hijacked his thread, we turned it into an oil debate, but we have all be skirting around asking Steveford what oil and what intervals have got his Uly this far!?!?  So.....let's ask him.....Hey Steveford.....what oil have you been running for the life of that old rust bucket? How often did you change it? | ||
| Uly_man |
It is not so much about the oil you use as the mechanical "sympathy" you have for your engine. This is the same for any engine but one that is air/ oil (with no thermostatic control) cooled, a dry sump and hydraulic lifters is just asking for pain. And it needs 5K miles to be run in as well no matter what HD say in the book. | ||
| Steveford |
Sorry, I just saw this. After 500 miles I switched to Mobil 1 15/50 (regular, not motorcycle oil) and at around 80,000 miles it was guzzling oil so badly that I switched to any old regular, non synthetic 20/50. Oil and filter changes at 5,000 mile intervals, Mobil 1 is still being used in the primary. 91,165 miles, replaced front brake side wheel bearing. Hunka crap lost the grease and broke the inner race. It's always something. At 100,000 I'll post a list of component failures/mileage but it's been 1 set of rear wheel bearings, 1 front wheel bearing, 1 belt. The belt broke after the TPS got so much slop in it that it was surging and bucking like mad. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure it'd be the original belt on there. (Message edited by SteveFord on November 11, 2014) | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I'd say a set of rings and a new ecm and your good for another 90,000 miles |
