| Author | Message | ||
     Hughlysses |
I made an interesting discovery last week: if you install an X front beak and fender on a Uly with XT suspension, your seats will get very, very hot. My bike is a 2007 X. A few years ago I swapped suspensions with a Uly rider who has an XT. At the time, I installed a standard Buell XB (S, R, Ss, XT) front fender and all was well. A few weeks ago, I decided I would install some more ADV type tires and reinstall the X front beak and fender to complete the look. Shortly after the swap, I spent 10 days riding twisties in the mountains of NC. I soon realized the seat was getting noticeably hotter than it had been before. At first, I thought maybe it was just the hotter-than-normal weather, but it soon became obvious the seat was getting much hotter than normal. Even with a sheepskin on top, I was having to stand up every 5 minutes or so to keep from cooking my rear. Note that my Uly has the Comfort Kit installed. I remembered ~10 years ago meeting a guy who had had his X suspension lowered who was having problems with his bike overheating at highway speeds (skip spark mode kicking in). I looked at the air opening between the upper and lower fenders on his lowered X and realized that he had lost a lot of area for airflow compared to my then-stock X. The nose of the beak sits fairly low and looks like it would deflect air away from the engine. Another guy had an XB9S parked nearby, and I could see that with that fender, there was at least as much clear area for airflow to the engine as a stock X, or maybe a little more. I suggested the rider with the lowered X get a conventional XB front fender and try that to see if it would cure his overheating problem. I remember he did install a regular XB front fender later, but I honestly cannot remember if he ever let me know if that fixed his problem. Anyway, thinking I might have the same problem, this morning I swapped out the X front fender arrangement on mine for an XT front fender and took it for an ~8 mile test ride. With no other changes (and 90 degree F ambient temp) the seat heat was dramatically reduced. I would guess it was 15 or 20 degrees cooler. I rode it without a sheepskin for ~20 minutes and did not have to stand up once. I do not know if it is due to increased airflow or something about the change deflects the air differently, but the difference is huge. |
