| Author | Message | ||
     Tedk |
Looking to sell/trade XB9S for Japaneese cycle. I need something to put in the back of my American made PU(w/70k that is being towed away) so I will have a ride when it breaks down again. Problems I have had w/XB; front rotor, front isolater, dead battery(charged & tested and is working for now). Bike is under warranty till March 04', drummer pipe, race ECM & a/f, XB12 airbox cover. Maybe it just needs a better owner  | ||
| Buckinfubba |
ted what is up now. Japan don't necessarily have the answer. | ||
| Hootowl |
Perhaps Tedk and Cyberbiker should swap motorcycles. | ||
| Tedk |
I bought a 00' Dodge PU brand new and only has 70k on it. Well it has had its share of problems, but it has finally left me stranded. What does this have to do w/Buell? It wouldn't start last month(Battery?). Now this is an 03' bike, and a 00' truck w/70k - I really need something dependable where I am going to live(in the mountains). Having two late model vehicles that I don't trust is not going to cut it. I know everything mechanical breaks down sooner or later but this is unacceptable. I know from experience that many times cars/bikes that develop a problem seem to continue the trend and thus more problems. I had an 00' Buell and the first problem was rear shock recall. My 03' Buell had bearing recall and I flipped, I knew there would be other problems. I know I rant about this stuff, and hopefully this will be my last post and my Buell will be gone. If you are having good luck with your Buell than great. I hate to be negative, but it helps me to feel better to vent and I hope Buell friggin hears it. I guess I should be more positive - "My Buell WILL start and make it to the Honda dealership". | ||
| Skully |
Check out Honda's latest Gold Wing: they are overheating and the frames have faulty welds. And that is Honda's flag ship! Keith | ||
| Tedk |
I've been down this "road" too many times. I've really lost my temper today, no disrespect to people like Bubba who work hard for Buell and those of you who are enjoying your bikes. I just need something that is reliable, at this point I can't afford a trade in. In 3 years I have bought 3 new vehicles which have let me down. I've worked/saved very hard to buy them. I had owned some real clunkers, but they gave me less problems than my new vehicles. My buddys that own Kawi's, Yamaha's, Honda's are having 0 problems. On the positive side the Buell fits me like a glove, and I have really enjoyed riding it. No other bike will compare. Now having complained about it, maybe it won't give me any more problems. | ||
| Kaese |
Do they have a "lemon law" in North Carolina? Hopefully, your complaining will solve your woes. You say you like the bike, why not try to get the dealer to replace your bike. Start whining at the dealer. While it is in for service, make them give you a loaner, only fair that your are depending on the bike for transportation. Seems they can't fix the problems you are having. Problems I had with my S2 encouraged me to buy a XB. I also needed to have dependable transportation. My XB has treated me more than fair and I don't baby it. It appears as if you have one of the minority bikes. If you lived on the left coast, I would probably take it off your hands. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Ted... If you are serious, slap a price and a picture up on it and put it on the for sale page. I bought my 2000 M2 Cyclone for $5000 in Feb of 2001 after driving for 3 hours to the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm. Put an '03 9s up for that same price in Feb of 2004, and I (or somebody like me) will do it again in a heartbeat. That $5k will get you a very nice SV-650 that will be as reliable as any bike on the planet. | ||
| Tedk |
Thanks guys | ||
| Buckinfubba |
ted I know your just venting and all but.... kaese It ain't a lemon it had a dead battery. the wheel bearings big deal...they were replaced for free. He thought he had a rotor warpage. I checked it and it was all in speck. so I couldn't warranty it. his front Isolateor same thing. but he did find a dealer to get one of their parts replacers to "fix it". I won't go into details about it all. Me and ted are friends and he's a lucky bastard if you ever saw the view from his front porch of the house he bought in the mountains. I am jealous of that stuff. But he also know as well as everyone else here that I pull no punches. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his bike. so if some one wants to purchase it. it is a great bike. | ||
| Cyberbiker |
Ted, Do you like 1990 CBR 600's? Mine is in mint condition -- mechanically perfect and has no dents or scratches or signs of any mishaps...... Right now I am in the middle of replacing the tail section with that of an R6....the bike is gonna look freaking mean by spring! Always starts on first try 'cuz up here there is nothing to do all winter, but stare at the machine and see how many times you can start it in a week. On weekends I do nothing but mess with it. I drive my wife nuts! Don't know if that is what you are looking for, and not totally sure I plan to sell it, but if I'm gonna go Buell I'll have to. If you are interested I'll send pics. I'll have the new tail section done by March. | ||
| Dynarider |
Do they have a "lemon law" in North Carolina? Its not that ez to do anymore. The old days of HD/Buell settling them real fast is over. They are fighting every single one of them very hard now days. | ||
| Xb9er |
If the lemon law is anything like it is here, the problem/defect has to first occur to the same exact part(s) three times in a given time period before the Attorney General will take it on. Had it happen to a brand new Geo Storm GSI. Went through three alternators in one year and problem was a crappy electrical system. That car sucked. Looked into lemon law and filled out paperwork but turned out it was easier to just sell the car. | ||
| Tedk |
Ok,truck was repaired $225, grrrr don't ask!!! Battery on Buell dead again, I'll bring her in a couple of weeks Bubba. Real busy, finally moving!!! | ||
| Aydenxb9 |
Sorry to hear you're having problems, but with anything made by human hands, there will be problems at times. I have 2 Dodges, a Jeep, and a vintage Plymouth that are rock solid reliable. My Buell is a lot more dependable motorcycle than the my last 2 Hondas! Go figure. Here's a little advice from a former mechanic: Stop, take a step back from both, and look objectively at what "problems" you're having, and go about getting them resolved without getting worked up. My experience in helping customers through such problems have been that just getting rid of the "bad" vehicle, didn't solve anything, they just purchased another "bad" vehicle, mostly due to their not being clear headed about it. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
I just got done replacing the radiator in my 97 Dodge Ram - cost me 300 bucks and I did the work myself. My Buell is broken too, but it's actually not any problem with the bike or Buell MotorCo. (Turbo failed to digest a couple of errant washers). Here's my point - Many years of casual observation has made me realize that often it's the OWNER of the particular piece of equipment that seems to be the source of the malfunction, not the machine. It's pretty wierd, but you can go along with NO problems, then you see that new Ford F-150, start lusting after one, and the Dodge goes to crap, after 138,00 trouble free miles. Or you decide to sell that custom turbo'd RS 'cause you think another FLH Model would be nice so you and the wife can both have comfortable touring bikes - the Buell sucks a couple washers through the motor & turbo! A neighbor of mine HATED her Camero, It wouldn't even turn over for her - then her new boyfriend let her drive his Jeep and he drove the Camero daily for 2 years with No trouble and loved that car. TedK - maybe that "bad JUJU" you've got with that XB is not the Buells' doing, could be you just decided there was something wrong with it, and now there is! Was there a time when all was good with it? What changed? OR - Maybe it's really a piece of crap and you should buy an Import. Just my 2 cents. AL | ||
| Reepicheep |
Tedk... as much as I would like to see you get totally disgusted and dump a perfectly good XB9s in my lap for $5k, check your battery connections. I had a flat battery on my M2... it was just worn out. I replaced it, tightened everything down, it was fine for a couple weeks, then the exact symptoms came back. Pulled the positive cable for internal breakage (which happens). It was fine. Packed the bike back up for another time when I had more time to diagnose. Later, I checked the negative cable. Even though it had been carefully cleaned and tightly installed, it had gotten all sorts of corrosion in it somehow in a very short period of time. Cleaned with baking soda and water paste, and a tooth brush, got everything bright and shiney, and have been golden ever since. So check for broken cables internally (insulation good, conductor broken) and corroded / loose connections. Actually pull them and clean them completely, don't just give them a wiggle and a glance (like I incorrectly did). As for the initial battery death, batteries are notoriously unreliable, and the ones on a motorcycle have a REALLY hard life. A two year lifespan is not unheard of, and if the wrong internal plate cracks at the wrong place it can toast the battery. | ||
| Tbolt834 |
A good cleaning is always necessary, but using the spray coating after attaching the cable will keep it that way. Dave | ||
| Hippo888 |
Oh man, Good luck selling your Buell, because you're looking at taking the financial hit from hell. I bought mine knowing that I'd lose 50% the minute I rolled out of the showroom. I'm pretty much going to ride it into the ground. Your problems don't sound very serious though -- your dead battery is either due to owner neglect, a bad battery, or a bad charging system. The other problems are relatively minor - you'd be better off financially taking care of the small issues than trying to sell the bike at a huge loss. As far as small problems, I've got a 2002 Honda Goldwing with small problems that'd make your head spin. The only big problem that really, really bothers me is the fact that Honda decided to save a few dollars by skipping welds during the manufacturing process. Honda's fix is to only re-weld the parts of the frame they can access without taking the frame apart, meaning they don't repair all the welds -- only the ones they can easily reach. | ||
| Tedk |
Maybe I overreact with the "issues" I have had. But it still sucks when your 03' bike won't start, and sputters in rain, and gets a front end pulsation, and needs to come in for a recall, and needs TPS reset after running fine for a month. Maybe these are minor inconveniences to some, but they are unacceptable to me. I use my bike to get to work whenever possible and will now be in a somewhat isolated area. I appreciate everyones comments - pro/con. I have called Buell customer service and will bring XB to dealer. Let me try to lighten things up, check this out; www.totallytom.com/madcow.html | ||
| Budo |
I sympathise with you dude but having owned a very trouble prone 1998 S1W, you have nothing to complain about. Dynarider, myself and many others have had catastrophic failures numerous times on our Buells. After 31k miles I finally gave up and sold it and bought a Yamaha FZ1. Very nice, very reliable. But really, a dead battery is a minor thing that either can be replaced or if it is the charging system sorted out. Youre bike is still under warranty, yes? Have the shop, I mean require them to find out if you have a charging system problem or bad cable or whatever. All of that and perhaps replace the battery. A new battery is a cheap fix considering what some of us have gone thru. Good luck. | ||
| Budo |
The not running in the rain problem is documented elsewhere on the board, and there is a fix. But I understand your frustration. If the bike has you twisted up to the point where you simply can't get over it (which is where I was), then the only thing to do is sell it. Otherwise you will be miserble and unable to enjoy the bike no matter how it is running. Good luck. | ||
| Buckinfubba |
I brought this up somewhere else so I will do it here also. His problem will be fixed because it will be here at tilley's and I will make sure it gets taken care of.... BUT and this is a bug but....he got riled up because his truck left him straned not his buell. hey I know sell the truck...or lets go to the dodge forum and bitch up a storm. thats what got this all started. his buell has never left him stranded. so there ya go | ||
| Brucelee |
This guy is living in some dream world where all machines work every time no matter what. Where is THAT place?? | ||
| Buckinfubba |
no he's alright he's just stressed out right now and getting a new job moving and the truck breaks and he went off the handle and he knows it. so lets give him a break. but this has become so common in the new world that everybody expects machines to be perfect in everyway. when the rest of the world gets goofy we blame machines not humans. why? because we may offend and hurt some ones feelings. Yeah I know its crazy but that is it. | ||
| Budo |
I remember the first Japanese car I bought, a Toyota. After about 80k miles with zero problems. It dawned on me, "hey, this thing has never broken down or stranded me". So it is all the fault of the Japanes auto makers (and motorcycle makers) for lulling me into a great sense of reliability. If these things broke down like they should, then it would be expected and no big deal. | ||
| Brucelee |
Well then there were the first two Suzuki motorcycles that I bought brand new. What pieces of junk, reliability wise!! Based on that experience, it is OBVIOUS that ALL japanese motorcycles are fundamentally unreliable. Boo hoo! | ||
| Buckinfubba |
cars are not motorcycles and for those of you that keep comparing them get a grip. honda motorcyles have their problems just like every motorcyle. if you think they are perfect you are in a dream land.....get a grip please.... christ half of my friends that I ride with are on jap bikes and guess what this summer half of them had problems...some stranded some not. god this is simply amazing to me. | ||
| Brucelee |
I am with you on this one Buck. | ||
| Jim_m |
Bubba, too true...that is definitely what it sounds like...but once the both modes of transportation go at the same time, well, I can't blame him for bummin'...hopefully you get it all worked out ;^D |
