| Author | Message | ||
     Nutsosane |
Every manufacturer lets a few lemons out the door. It is quite unfortunate but inevitable. I hope you find greener pastures but you might want to do some extensive research. Suzuki sportbikes are renowned for being the lightest, fastest, bestest every year. That same bike in two years often feels loose, cheap, bargain etc...Read some of the British bike magazines, as they do commentaries on bikes just past their prime quite often. The problems I've had with my Buell have been completely owner induced. I would venture a guess that if owners were issued MP3 players and photochromatic shields for their helmets the Buell warranty issues would seriously decrease. We all obviously like to meddle with these machines and then blame the MOCO when they F-up. Happy trails. Fast&Loose. NUTS | ||
| Rd3501 |
ok I am sorry. But your problems are so small and most if not all are your fault. Thats right your fault. I don't know why you are bitchin. The clutch cable broke because you didn't lube it. Maintenance my friend.. Most all clutch cables go at around 7000 miles. don't you ahve 7000miles on your bike..hummm You are pulling wheels on this thing. Hello..guess what else goes when you pull wheels. The seals in the front forks. You also road the bike around without a strap. Because you changed out to the race muffler. Guess what is going to happen? Then header bolt will break. If you would take the time and read some old posting everyone has had this problem even with the older tubler models with the pro exhaust. You need to have all not some straps for the muffler on the bike. The kick stand broke. Well it sounds like you let the bike run and ideal for 5 mintues evertime you start the bike. Could this be the problem? Or did you have the kick stand down and sat on the bike. It wasn't meant for that... The plastic has cracks...ok I will give you that on I guess. THe old cooler is leaking. How is it leaking? If it is coming out of the welds thats a warranty. But if you kick it or had a rock hit it. Thats not a warranty. Stop bitchin. | ||
| Blackxb9 |
I understand your issues with your bike and like many things in life they can't be explained. Call it luck or call it Karma, sometimes things just don't work out the way you want. I agree with much of what you have stated about the Buell vs. H/D relationship and the structure in which they sale/service bikes. Buell needs to be in a place either by themselves or with other sport bikes where they are respected and represented. As for the breakdown issues...this can happen with any piece of machinery. I've seen this happen with everything from a brand new Volvo X70 sport utility, a new Suzuki GSXR to a Hummer H2. No rhyme or reason things just go wrong. This doesn't mean the whole line or company is bad. I say ride what makes you comfortable and if the Buell is not fitting in that comfort zone due to mechanical issues then move on. I for one am happy to this point with my Buell. But if I did have a similar situation I may act or post in the same manner. So good luck and rubber down with whatever bike you chose in the future. | ||
| Ryker77 |
When you pay 10g for a bike you expect to get a good bike. You also expect the warranty to cover items. You also expect the dealer to show some form of customer service. How many 5,000 dollars bikes have simple parts break,, kickstand, plastic, muffler straps? This is why I'd never buy a new XB. I'd buy a used XB bike and save the cash to repair the problems. I 've also learned not to buy the first few years of a bike. Heck it took Buell from 1996-2002 to fix alot of the tuber problems. Thus I own a 2002 x1 with carb and twintec ingnition. | ||
| Elff |
To me it sounds like the following Some Buell Problems Some Rider Abuse Coming down hard from wheelies can and does cause most of the bolt and plastic problems you are claiming are buell issues. So while you are ranting and raving, you really need to take some responsibility for your own actions. This is not just a buell problem. | ||
| Spike |
Court said it best. Your facts are questionable and your attitude about it is poor. Of the 6 problems you mentioned, 4 sound self-inflicted. 3 of them were possibly caused by whoever installed the race kit. Without knowing the facts behind each of the problems you have it's unfair to blame them on the bike. If your problems are legit, a competent dealer should be able to have them covered under warranty rather quickly. Instead of working with the dealer you're paying for warranty work out of your own pocket and complaining to us. Frankly, it just seems shady. | ||
| Exupmonkey |
I rest my case  | ||
| Midknyte |
Midknyte,doesn't Buell try to use the hooligan thing in their advertising,they sponsor a stunt team,kind of funny to try to make a issue out of a wheelie pic. Pup, Agreed. Hence my asking if he'd landed hard. Sheld', TT Pic? Looked like a phonecam pic... | ||
| Elff |
I run into this same crap in the 4wheeling community. People install larger tires and lifts go rock crawling and break axles because they didnt upgrade them to a stronger part and then want it covered under warranty. You have to take responsibility for your own actions when you push a vehicle past the normal limits. Also, Proper maintenance is key | ||
| Spike |
Exup- Your belt(s) were covered under warranty. Your muffler straps should have been covered under warranty too, unless they were being broken by some outside source, in which case you can't blame the bike. If you paid out of pocket for things that should have been covered under warranty the fault is between you and your dealer, not with the bike. Rest your case on that. | ||
| Exupmonkey |
Spike...the belt was not covered under warranty, I had it out with my dealer and it was a no go from them, same deal with the muffler straps. Either way, the point is that these parts should have lasted their serviceable lifespan, mine did not...and thats with the bike being treated with TLC, no wheelies/stoppies and serviced etc. You seem to have this rose-tinted view of Buell...I loved the bike...but you have to accept that things do go wrong, and to an unfortunate few, go wrong regularly. I think its only right and proper that they be able to air their concerns on this open forum without an accusatory finger being launched at them whenever they do......resting case again.  | ||
| Cataract2 |
Exup, yes, they should be able to bring it to a forum. Just when they do they need to do it in a calm and respectful manner. Coming onto here and threating to go around and tell everyone that Buell's are crappy for some problems you had without ever (from my knowledge) asking in the first place for help is not how to go about it. I was willing to help until I read his posts and saw how he went about it. That just doesn't sit with me. I don't have time for this crap as I am leaving in 4 days for Basic. I'm sorry, if he posts up and goes about it the right way, maybe I'll change my mind. | ||
| Spike |
Exup- Your dealer may not know it, but drive belts are covered under the factory warranty as long as the belt guards are in place. I've quoted this many times out of the 2003 and 2004 HD global warranty manual. Muffler straps should be covered as well, unless they're being damaged by an outside source. The fault here lies with the dealer for not covering these items. My "rose-tinted" view is that things do break, but the repair should be handled appropriately and if the break is caused by an outside source it shouldn't be blamed on vehicle quality. | ||
| Exupmonkey |
Wasn't it his mother in law that was swayed from buying a Buell! He is hardly likely to tell her its been a bed of roses when it hasn't been,is he?(although I would quite happily encourage my mother in law to get one.) As for respectful, I would suggest that his tone, although somewhat abrupt, is indicative of a person who has had enough as apposed to disrespect. Sounds to me that he might not have the bike long enough to 'post up' again anyway. | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
well, I am not sure if the people against me understand where i am coming from... the reason i had to fix this stuff my self was for the fact that 2 times i went to the only buell/hog dealer in miles to get warranty issues fixed in my area Jackson, Mississippi. they told me they would need my bike for 3 weeks in their service shop to fix a kick stand even after i had to call them every 3 days for two weeks and ask them nicely to get them to finally order the warranty part which i ended up purchasing from them for 8 dollars and doing the fix myself... if they represent buell in my area its no wonder i have yet to see one off the showroom floor... that picture was taken on my cell phone from a screen shot while i was playing Tourist Trophy a new motorcycle game on the playstation two... i will admit the front wheel has come off the ground a few times due to a short wheelbase and monster torque... not from doing flamingos or tank wheelies!!! if i wanted to to that i would have purchased a cheap used jap bike for a fraction! maybe if i only drove the bike 55 mph like a old man on a harley it would not have its problems? BUT THIS IS A SPORTBIKE IS IT NOT? maybe they should include a free service manual and extra warning stickers on the bike? maybe Harley Dee paid off all the motorcycle mags to say good things about the XBs? god knows they have been buells crutches for years... corporate america either way i am not happy at all about all of these things so i feel it is my right and duty to let people know... i accept things go wrong with everything... i just feel like this will never end, it all happened in the last month 1/2... i am poor that is why i got a motorcycle and not a car in the 1st place! i am not asking for your sympathy at all... i just feel like i wasted a lot of my money, time and patience on this motorcycle company! how would you feel if i took 10,000 dollars from you and kept asking for more, more ,more? if i wanted that i would have moved to LA and found a woman with fake boobs to marry! so far i have paid $1.50 for every mile i put on the bike... i could do much better renting the biggest uhaul truck and driving that around for 3/4 of a year... at least they would be happy to fix it if it broke down every week! buell = bad crack habit! i sleep my case! if you can't accept the fact things are going wrong with my lemon buell... don't come on this website when you have problematic issues to share... i hope you have all the best of luck with your buells! I really don't like things like this happening to good people that spend good hard to get money on american products, no wonder our economy is falling to shambles!!! | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
i had to vent my feelings... to all the people that gave me the respect i deserve, i am sorry! i did not have these final feelings about my bike until the broken engine header bolt yesterday... you can point your fingers at me all you want, just don't get mad when it happens to you too! | ||
| Buell12hundo |
what bike are you looking at now, the new gsxr 750 looks nice or the triumph 675. hope you do better with what ever you get man | ||
| Cataract2 |
Funny Shel. I have 28,900 miles on my City X. Weird how the worst I had happen was the stator going out about 1000 miles ago. More than I can say for the jap bike I owned last. Anyways, you don't want to hear that do you? No, you want to hear horror stories from other people who will agree with you. There are people on this site who may and others who won't. Hey, I can understand wanting to vent. I have a question though. Did you seek out this site for vent or to get help? If it's the ladder of the two then people would be willing to help you. I can see though you have a low post count number which tells me your new here and judging by this post I feel you didn't come here to do anything more than to vent and stir up trouble. It might help, like I said, if you were to start over, take a step back, cool off, and work with people on here to make things right. Your starting to come off as a troll. Fastest way to not get help and get banned. Ok, just for kicks. I'm going to go over some of these things you listed. (1) crappy clear plastics have been cracked since 2 months after purchase! @6000 - 7000 miles This first one here. The plastics have a torque spec. If their cracking it means your over tightening them. Mine did the same thing because I over tightened them. Didn't use the torque specs listed in the Service Manual. My fault. The manual says it should be torques to 12-36 IN/LBS. Don't know if you messed with it or if your dealer did, but if you don't do it right then that happens. Anyways, that's what would cause this to happen for you. Next. (2) clutch cable snapped This is a maintence item. My clutch cable has 28,900 miles on it. I maintain mine religiously. Every 5000 miles I check the tension on it and lube it. If you do this it will last you. Do it to what the Manual says. A lot of times people don't and keep the cable to loose and it will break prematurely. Happens on all bikes that use cables. If you want the instructions on how to do this just ask. I'll give it to you if you ask me within 4 days. (3) kickstand broke I don't know how this happened. Mines been just fine. Maybe you put tons of weight on it by putting the stand down and sitting on the bike on it. I've seen people rotate their bikes (any brand) and seen the kickstand break. They're not designed to take that weight. If you did that than it could have happened that way. I dunno. (4) exhaust pipe strap broken If you replace the muffler and remove the front strap (which you would have to to do this.) your suppose to replace the strap. Dunno if you or the dealer did it, but the manual tells this to you in BOLD PRINT. Follow the manual, it is your friend. (5) oil leaking from the side of the oil cooler (not from the nut or hose!) This is a warranty item. Dealer should replace it. To be honest, I think your the first I've heard of that had it leak from the oil cooler. Now, if it's a line, you can just take off the line, clean the threads, apply some teflon tape, and reinstall it. Simple fix really. (6) today i herd a rattle from my bike so i pulled over for inspection... found out that one of the engine bolts that holds my header pipe on snapped off the engine and the other bolts nut was coming loose! This could have been caused by the front strap breaking. Stressed that area if you rode home on the bike. Anyways, if all happens you could have the dealer take care of it. Now, a lot of your stress seems to be coming from a crappy dealer. I would suggest finding a new one, getting your problems delt with and getting on with life. Just chill man. Getting stressed isn't going to solve anything. All it does it get other people pissed because your not being reasonable. I did a search. Seems a lot of your posts are negative and complaining style with no search for a solution. Even found one where you said you used your original strap on the muffler. If your going to do any work on ANY bike then you should have a service manual with you and follow it. Anyways, here my help to you. Any more help can be got if you just ask in a respectful way. Ranting gets you no where. You get more flies with honey than with vinigar. (Message edited by cataract2 on April 26, 2006) | ||
| Alanshouse |
Stir up trouble? cataract, you've got the blender on high. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Stir up trouble? cataract, you've got the blender on high. Possible, just saying my feelings, and besides, I like my drinks well mixed. Anyways, I hate these threads because they get out of control way to quickly. I've put out my offer to help. I've even gone over his problems best I can. It's up to him now. Dunno if he wants to even try and solve it or just give up. We'll see what happens. | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
again thanks everyone for the feedback! i got through to customer service at the buell/hd factory... they helped me out in every way possible very well and they gave me the $10,000 respect i deserve! they are resolving all my unsolved issues... call me a troll but at least i am not out smashing the windows at HD! its funny how people get so offended by some one else’s problems with buell! BTW> Cataract i went to this site originally to find other buell owners in this area to go ride with (i found only one person an hour away)... at the same time my bike is falling apart... the engine/header bolt break on yesterdays drive home from work was the last straw... 6 problems in the last 40 days with low miles and TLC... i have to deal with extremely rude people at the local HD/Buell dealer that do not want to help me in anyway, shape or form... how can you people even try to tell me i can't vent and share my issues... I have enough horror stories for one man! go ahead ban me from this site! do you think its going to make us all feel a lot better? (NOPE) do you think its going to shut me up to the world about my feelings on my buells lemon problems? (NOPE) do you really think i can't just log on this site as another person on the many computers i own if i really wanted to? I will be trailering my bike to the next closest buell dealer a few hours away to get the respect i deserve... again i am sharing my buell problems with you... can you blame me!? i think if any thing i am helping you as a buell owner!!! case closed! | ||
| Elff |
Cant blame you for sharing The way in which you shared, however, as pointed out by various people, can be improved. This might offend you, but I saw this more as a temper tantrum. I have seen other people with more problems than you present their issues in a much better way | ||
| Elff |
That aside I hope you do get your issues resolved and I hope you end up with a motorcycle you love to ride. If that turns out to not be a buell, then so be it. Just stay on 2 wheels | ||
| Pipefittermike |
Although I am new to the Buell scene I have some experience in these matters. It's my belief that regardless of who makes a product there will be lemons, and no I'm not making excuses for Buell- they may very well have more problems than some other manufacturers out there. Take my Dodge Ram pickup, I bought it new and took care of it, never plowed, towed, or beat on it. Honestly I babied that vehicle and by the time 15000 miles were on it in the first year I had already gone through 3 transmissions, 3 rear axles, a front axle, etc. The list goes on and on until I finally got it bought back via the Lemon law. Yet I work with and have friends that swear by their Dodge trucks and can't believe my story. My brother-in-law has a similar story about his Nissan Titan. My point is that regardless of who makes it sometimes is just the luck of getting the lemon. I have no comments on the service yet, mine will be arriving in a couple days and then I will get to see it for myself. Just my 2 cents. | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
btw i just got off the phone with buell warranty they are going to warranty fix every single thing on my bike and buell factory customer service does not blame me for doing some of the fixes myself due to lack of help from the dealership in JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI (make a note of it) "JACKSON MISSISSIPPI BUELL" | ||
| Buellistic |
REMEMBER THIS !!! The two most dangerious things in the world are: A HARLEY-DAVIDSON TECHNICIAN working on a BUELL !!! A HARLEY-DAVIDSON "ORINTATED" PERSON giving advise on BUELLS !!! | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
my feeling are from a $10,000+ bad investment... some stock brokers and casino gamblers have committed murder and suicide for less! | ||
| Bads1 |
Sheldon venting is fine but venting the way you are won't make the problem go away. Your profile shows that you don't care for the brand and are going to go another direction so go do that. This is a Buell Enthusiast's sight that we enjoy the bike for what it is and the friends we make along the way. Some people here have shared even worse problems then you and have worked through them and got help here. You are not asking for help you are telling us what kind of crappy experience you have.As far as logging on as other people theres ways of dealing with internet users such as yourself. If you'd like help ask and you shall recieve and quality help at that. But if you want to whine and cry then please do it somewhere else. We care to help but not to listen to this. I think this thread should be deleted until Sheldon calms down and deals with what he is going to have to regardless. | ||
| Spike |
This part of your post rocks.
These parts suck. No one is offended at your problems with your Buell. We are offended at your method of dealing with those problems. Many have even offered to help, but you went on complaining and bashing the brand. Also, insinuating that you would log on under a different username after being banned is trollspeak, not to mention it violates badweb policy that you agreed to. Instead of going through all that trouble, why not take a few deep breaths before posting and try asking for help rather than bashing the bike? | ||
| Sheldonesbe |
don't worry about it think i am going to delete myself from this site completely.. its full of rude people that try to blame my lemon issues on me! i didn't find what i was looking for from this site since the get go anyway... thanks again... |
