| Author | Message | ||
     Perry |
I finished my water-cooled XB mods and took a ride this morning on the water-cooled XB. Haven't had it on the dyno yet, but my butt-dyno says it gave me an extra three or four horsepower. The fan never came on at all during my 40 minute commute, where it usually came on pretty much every day. I'd have to say the water cooled engine is a big step forward! The premise of the project was that I figured you could successfully water-cool and XB engine without having to create the internal water channels in the engine block and heads, minimizing time and money for the mod, and keeping the reliability of the engine intact. Further, rather than adding a power-draining water pump and clunky radiator I would use the existing sub-chassis and forward mount a rotational water dispersion unit to generate coolant flow, thereby avoiding internal water channels. For those of you brave enough to take on this mod, here's an outline of the steps involved. 1) Be sure to mount a vertically-oriented high-velocity rotary water dispersion unit directly onto the junction of the front forks and axle. You can pick up the dispersion unit for around $100 online, depending on which brand you use. There are several good ones that will mount on the XB with no modification. Under no circumstances should you ride without this part installed correctly! 2) In order to tolerate the additional stress without shearing, you need to upgrade the gear on the nut which connects the handlebars to the seat. Be sure to carefully inspect the gear mount points and retention fasteners, as any fluid leakage through the seals or fasteners will cause problems on the road. Personally, I chose the Pirelli dispersion unit and ordered the gear upgrade from Newenough.com, but I'm sure the correct gear or a suitable replacement can be purchased elsewhere. Oh, I forgot the most important thing - in order to get the system to work properly, you have to ride in the rain. Badweather Bikers...  | ||
| New12r |
LOL, How do you think I wash my bike!! | ||
| Jramsey |
I think you need to upgrade the nut on the seat that holds onto the handle bars.  | ||
| Dogbone |
The only time my Buell is watercooled is when I ride in the rain  Edit: Geez I need to read the whole post before I respond (Message edited by dogbone on May 07, 2008) | ||
| Retrittion |
pictures! | ||
| Randomchaos |
LMAO! That was great to read  | ||
| Retrittion |
come on, draw us a picture -- yes, stick figures are fine!  | ||
| Azxb9r |
The only time my Buell is watercooled is when I ride in the rain That was what I first thought when I read the title of the thread. Here I was, all ready to be a smart ass, and I had it handed right back at me. | ||
| Bombardier |
Oh shit. And here's me with the brass sheets and silastic ready to give it a go!! |
