| Author | Message | ||
     Bueller_bjorn |
Here is my dilemma, My bike has 6k on it, its 5 months out of warranty and blew the whole front cylinder and head assemblies, no idea how. It just happened out of no where after going WOT not even to red line and Bam like a light switch no power. I'm still waiting for HD to tell me what the cause since I think its a defect of some sort that i have to pay for! Bikes at HD of Danbury and is estimated at $3,200 with parts/labor. Since my Buell F'ed me right after warranty is up my dilemma is I feel its more worth it to just buy a new 09 for 6.5k then put 3.2k into a bike that's not worth anymore then 5k if it was running. So Either get it fixed for 3.2k or buy a new one, fix or part out my 08 on my own. I love Buell and this is my 2nd and never had an issue with them till now. But Buell really f'ed me on this one.  | ||
| Buell2001b |
buy a new one and keep it for parts I say. I do understand your love for the bike. Its pretty odd that that happened to you, but who knows what is caused the problem. i just did 8k on mine and its been good so far | ||
| Hogzilla |
Get a new 09 and part out the 08. You may get darn near enough to pay for the new bike. | ||
| Mikellyjo |
There is nothing worse than having an inanimate object decide to "F" you right after you run out of warranty. The gall of these machines! Hopefully you switched out the RACE ECM and put back the solenoid before you took it in. If not, I believe you gave cause for HD to claim user modification resulted in the untimely demise of your motor. Of course anything HD chooses to do to help you since you are not under warranty and didn't purchase the extended warranty is on their good grace. If they aren't willing to help, it's no fault of them and no Buell did not "F" you. Take a deep breath, realize words mean things and set a beer on your new 1125r coaster.    | ||
| Chevycummins |
So what does "blew the whole front cylinder and head assembly" mean? Did they come off the engine? I also have an 08 with 7,000 miles on it. | ||
| Bueller_bjorn |
@Chevycummins -I asked the service guy what happened exactly and he couldn't tell me anything off hand and said he will have to call me back after they talk to the buell tech there. That was my first question, All i know is it needs a whole front piston assembly and a new valve head. I would love to know the cause and will hopefully soon but so far all they can tell me is 3.2k labor/parts estimate. @Mikellyjo I took the Race ECM out but left it denoided w/ my D&D since the warranty is up anyways. I know Buell Co. didn't really "F" me directly just MY buell did. I paid 11.5k for this bike that lost all of its value after the firesale now it blows up so I've taken quite a $ loss on this bike but I did love every mile on this machine till that last one. I just had the worst luck on this bike. | ||
| Chevycummins |
Sounds like a valve stem keeper didn't keep anymore and the valve ended up in the cylinder? I just love it when the you can't get a good answer of what happened to your vehicle when its in the shop. Me being a mechanic, I always explain to the customer what I found and what I think caused it. Does the customer always understand what I told them, probably not. | ||
| Mikellyjo |
Good on you for pulling the ECM. The dealer probably won't notice the solenoid missing. But thinking about the whole ECM thing... Where does the engine store it historical trouble codes? If any events started throwing codes and those codes are stored in the ECM then when HD taps the stock ECM for data it will show up clean. Like the motor just fragged for no apparent reason. I would think at the least it would start trowing codes and recording engine anomalies...however I could be reading a lot more sophistication into the ECM then it has. Maybe you can send it ECM to Erik Buell Racing for a look see. If they are biased in any way I would think they are biased against HD and for you given their new relationship. Ps..all of us who paid full fire sale price are in the same boat. We have all taken a loss. I look at it as reaching the lowest depreciated value quickly...now owning a piece of history the price can only go up from here...right? right? Anyone? | ||
| Jules |
it needs a whole front piston assembly and a new valve head If you do get a chance to speak to him again ask him to explain it properly. If he means it dropped a valve then he should be able to just say so. Sounds like piston/valve interface (never a good thing) but it'd be nice to know for sure. I hope HD feel like they want to help you out | ||
| 09xblong |
Keep hearing all these horror stories about guys blowing engines, about to the point of unloading my CR out of fear!!!! | ||
| Freezerburn840 |
unloading? selling? | ||
| Ron_luning |
How many horror stories have you read? Out of over 8000 bikes built, I've only read about 3 or 4. | ||
| Bueller_bjorn |
Well when it happened I did check for codes in Diag mode on my Erik Buell Racing ECM and there was no codes. I am dieing to know the cause of this failure and I am sure it was something out of my control, which it would be great if HD realize this and help a me out but they know they don't have too so I'm screwed. I called them to ask what it will cost for me to take the bike back as is and just pay for the diagnosis and still waiting on a return call with what happened and what it will cost to take it home as is. | ||
| Jules |
Keep hearing all these horror stories about guys blowing engines, about to the point of unloading my CR out of fear!!!! Bear in mind the majority of tales on a web forum will probably be "bad news" ones as the rest of the time everyone is out riding. The season has just started again and there have been a few reported failures - but fairly trivial in the grand scheme of things. If you do decide to sell "out of fear" I'm sure someone braver will snap it up! | ||
| Jules |
I suspect that in the UK you'd be on a stronger legal footing for a claim.. The sale of goods act says items be "as described", "fit for purpose" and "of reasonable quality" - that actually extends to a suggestion of what a reasonable life expectancy of a product is.. In some cases a television failing after 5 years (4 years out of warranty) has been covered and the manufacturer forced to repair it FOC. It's reasonable to expect a bike to last more than 2 years and 6K miles. Pity you're not in the UK... is there nothing similar in the US (you guys corner the market in litigation don't you?) *No offence* | ||
| Froggy |
Danbury doesn't care (usually). Last time I brought my Lightning in for warranty work, the only things left on the bike stock were the frame, motor, and swingarm. They have my CR right now with KEDA RT1 pipe, Race ECM, touring seats, GPS, and gravel customized right pod and clutch cover 
Bjorn is the 4th in the world that I know of. I know of more Uly's that have blown up. Bjorn, if you haven't yet, contact HD customer service, perhaps they can work out something. You wouldn't be the first Buell owner to get a new motor outside of warranty. | ||
| Mountainstorm |
Stranger things have happened. Sorry about your engine blowing up. I was test riding an XB lighting when they very first came out and the engine exploded as I pulled away from a red light. Literally fragged sending parts up into the airbox. Lucky for me I was within walking distance of the dealer. Sometimes I think all the wierd things happen to me and me alone, but I see now that is not the case  Good luck and sorry about your bike taking a dump on you. Buell is an outstanding company and even though HD has pissed us off give them a chance to do something to make it right. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
I see used motors on Ebay for around $1500 periodically. Why not just buy a used motor and swap it in for half what it would cost to fix your existing motor? | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
is the bottom end in good shape? You can get a set of heads and cylinders on ebay for about $500. | ||
| Froggy |
All else fails, I would contact Erik Buell Racing, might be a candidate for a 1190 kit | ||
| Bueller_bjorn |
@Froggy I just called customer care and got a Reference number for my dealer to put on a "good will forum" to send to them so I will see where this goes. If they take half of the bill or give me a new motor id be a happy camper. @Thefleshrocket Yeah i have looked at that as an option, seems cheaper and easier then rebuilding. @Dktechguy112 I have no idea, it seems impossible to get any details from my dealer they just throw the estimate price at me and haven't shed any light on anything. | ||
| Chevycummins |
I think I would go back to your dealer and have them show you what broke. I would guess they didn't do much investigation or they would tell you what was wrong. Did they take the engine apart or just find no compression, a smashed spark plug or could they see one of the intake valves missing when they looked down the throttle body? A junk engine to them may be repairable to me, matter of opinion. | ||
| Dktechguy112 |
yeah it sounds like the dealer just wants to replace the whole engine, but if all you need is one piston and a new head, then that can be had for a lot less then $3k. | ||
| Usanigel |
Sounds like a "this will put him off!" price. Bring it to NJ and we can rebuild it together, I"ll even read the instruction book on my own time! $3,200 some of these dealers are out of control! | ||
| Davegess |
In a situation like this your dealer is your best friend. How they fill out that form and what they say to H-D will go a long way to determining just how far H-D will go in helping with the cost of this. Be polite and persistent. | ||
| Norwegian_1125cr |
Try getting an engine from a crashed bike. It is often easier and cheaper to replace a blown engine with a used one than to fix it... Replacing an engine can be done by "anyone" but to rebuild one requires a lot of knowhow... | ||
| Xnoahx |
One nice thing if you did decide to get a new bike is you can get extended warranty on the new one | ||
| Bott |
Guess I was (un)lucky number 3 then. No news on mine yet. | ||
| Dirty_john |
Get the bike back, drop the engine and find out exactly the extent of the damage, rebuild as a track bike would be my plan. $3200 buys a lot of parts | ||
| Bueller_bjorn |
Well if this goodwill thing from HD customer care doesn't work out, I am taking my bike home as is there is no way in hell I'm paying 3.2k when I can buy a used motor for 1.5k and put it in for 0 dollars and some hours of my time. |
