| Author | Message | ||
     Jeffh |
 Friday March 23rd, 2001. And in case you want a little more incentive - ALL "IN STOCK" Vanson riding leathers are on sale, from 40-60% off! | ||
| Blake |
I will be there with camera and notepad in hand! | ||
| Jeffh |
In case I'm not the only one that looks here... Tech Night @ Brian's is tomorrow night! Make it if you can. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
ask them about the "oil twin" Just a W.A.S.G. | ||
| Jeffh |
Thanks to all who made it out to Brian's last night for Buell Tech Night. Hopefully you found some of the info useful. There will be more Buell events at Brian's soon - except we will be RIDING - not talking! | ||
| Jeffh |
p.s. - things are still VERY tight-lipped re: 'new' developments with Buell for '02. | ||
| Robs |
Jeffh I enjoyed it, you looked bored. Someone should have said "here is what is going on at Brians this summer...". The Buell reps need to come with some canned speech, even 10 minutes of " here is what is new with 2001" or "top 10 most common repair mistakes" or "three things you can do, to keep your Buell happy". I mentioned these things to another contact I have there. I did learn some things, enjoyed meeting some of the other Buellers and hearing some positive Buell experiences. Keep up the good work RobS | ||
| Blake |
Stuff I learned. 1. Some momma's boy there actually thought Buells had chain driven cams. I think even Cecil woulda caught that one. D'OH!!  hehehe (I'd say who, but I'm counting on him finding me a good job out Pheonix way later this year.) 2. Jeff and/or Brian would have done a much better job at leading the tech discussion than the Buell factory guy. Like Rob so diplomatically eluded to, the factory rep had zero presentation, just simply got up and asked "Anybody got any questions?" Court, how about you and JeffH get together and schedule a real Buell tech/talk night at Brian's sometime soon? 3. The recently implemented anti-overheating precautions are an answer primarily to some incidents of holed rear pistons from hot summer Autobahn blitzkrieging (a-typical prolonged very high speed riding on a hot day). 4. The 2001 model year (including those used to replace/retrofit old/recall units) and newer shocks have significantly stiffer springs for the M2 and S3 models, especially so for the S3. Proper sag/preload for two up riding should now be achievable. 5. Rear suspension sag for Buells equipped with recall shocks should (per the appropriate service bulletin) now be measured from shock rod-end to rod-end, not via the rear axle to tail-section method prescribed by the owners manuals for pre-2001 Buells) 6. Confirmed that the only difference between stock and race ECM's for the '99 and later Cyclones is that the stock module retards the ignition beginning at 6200 rpm. 7. Brake fluid was changed from DOT-5 to DOT-4 because the silicon based DOT-5, though offering superior moisture resistance, allows high performance brake systems to accumulate a build-up of air where DOT-4 enables dissipation of small accumulations of air bubbles. 8. The new cooling fan accessory aids the cooling of intake tracts; this was developed primarily for the Japanese market. (The more volatile fuel used in Japan vaporizes at lower temperatures.) The fan is mounted to blow directly onto the intake manifold thus preventing fuel from vaporizing prior to entering the cylinders (simply put, it's a Japanese Bueller's fuel cooler).  9. The M2 Low model uses different shocks/springs (front and rear) than the standard M2. 10. Our stock alternators should handle extra lights and heated vests as it is the same capacity alternator as those used on older HD touring bikes, which were often outfitted with the same type accessories running off stock alternator. 11. Isolator failures were primarily due to improper installation. New style (model year 2001+) isolators are much more robust and are retrofittable for prior model Buell twins. Impending failure of old style isolators is evident by distortion/waviness seen in the two or three parallel rings circling the visible surface of each isolator. 12. Improvements to the 2001 model year oil scavenging system are confined to the oil pump itself and so are fully retrofittable to prior model year Buell twins. 13. The 2001 model year shift linkage/lever provides an apparent improved leverage ratio(based on fish scale type tension measurements of shifting force required), but is being redesigned to improve geometry/leverage efficiency of foot and lever interaction (I'm guessing that the 2002 setup will be closer to Banke's geometry where the lever pivot is moved down via a bracket; it makes sense when you compare side by side picturess of each setup). 14. Model year 2001 DDFI works great with stock pipes/muffler (all glitches have definitely been fixed). However, the race ECM works better (beefier midrange) and is usually required for high flow intake/exhaust sytems (for off-road use only of course). 15. The factory road show crew will be attending Pocono this year. I was lucky enough to win a Buell pint beer glass (Rocket, Mark, isn't there a cool Brit or Irish name for such a glass?), and Brian's put out a very nice buffet. There must have been around thirty or so attendees, pretty impressive. Was hoping to see Cecil there so I could run my "Bad but Never Banished" BadWeB t-shirt idea by him. Or maybe it should read "Pubicly Shaved, Publicly Shunned"? Was really nice meeting JeffH in person and tagging along with RobS (thanks for the ride sir!). Ciao, Blake | ||
| Court |
Blake: My 45 minute "Buell School" (on what makes a Buell a Buell) has been labeleb "overly impassioned", never "dull". Court | ||
| Jeffh |
Rob: I wasn't bored. Hungry, but not bored... I was trying to keep my mouth shut so that Jamie and Matt could say their piece. I was also bummed out becuse I was Buell-less - I really wanted to have my bike there. It is still undergoing winter surgery... Blake: I wanted to say more than hello - you and Rob must have skated out the door quickly afterwards... I missed the 'cam-chain' comment ... In defense of the presentation by the Buell guys (since they cannot post here, or anywhere else online - company policy); Jamie is a fuel injection specialist. He also spent some time working in customer service. Most of the questions were not what he was expecting, which he admitted. And unfortunately, being a factory rep, the usual line is 'take it to your dealer'. He knows there are aftermarket fixes, hop-up parts etc. - but he's a factory guy, speaking for the factory. And as far as the format, he was asked (by dealer management) to just open things up to questions and let the people attending decide the direction of the discussion. Hindsight: yes, a few minutes of prepared presentation would have been better to start, IMO. Matt is very well versed in things Buell as well, although from a different perspective than Jamie. He is the Buell "zone rep" for all of the northeast dealers and he will be at just about every function Buell is involved in in this neck o' the woods. I had a few questions, which I asked; I also had replies and answers for some of the questions those attending asked - but I wanted Jamie and/or Matt to answer them. I got cornered afterwards and did not get to talk to a few people that I really wanted to. (re: airbox mods and a few other things). Mike Simms, the guy with the REALLY tough, off-the-wall questions, knows tech specs on Buells that will make you dizzy. He is working on a linkage setup to install a conventional rear shock on his S1 (if he doesn't sell it first!). He has also tried many aftermarket parts, and even made some parts that were copied by aftermarket manufacturers and put on the market. As far as another Tech Night? I hope not, for now. Next time we get a group together, I'd rather it be for a RIDE. Brian's is expecting to be at Pocono in August, and hopefully there will be a group ride - possibly TO Pocono; possibly a ride AT Pocono - that has not been discussed to my knowledge. I plan on being there and being involved, regardless. | ||
| Robs |
Blake: All that WITHOUT notes jeez. One of my riding buddies asked me how it was and I said they had an X1 with a great paint job there. I am very happy with my Japanese Bueller fuel cooler thankyou. Based on your first comment I'll take that pen back now.:-) Court: "Overly impassioned" would have been good!!! There were some owners who were and they wanted to see it in the presenters. Jeffh: I dragged Blake out of there, I had only been authorized Buell time until 9PM. As it is only the beginning of the riding season, I did not want to push my luck early. Jamie seemed like the guy you wanting fixing your bike as opposed to talking about it. I also have no doubt that as I am moving to Phoenix this summer, Brians will have some great Buell rides and Buell will have a major Pocono Presence!!!!!! Enjoy it!! RobS | ||
| Blake |
Rob: I'll trade you the pen for the use of your S3 for the next two months. Otherwise, you'll have to figure out where I live and come steal that pen back. cam chain?... (snicker, snicker)  Jeff: Lucky for poor confused Rob, that comment was part of a private (bahahaha) discussion. Now if it were me, I woulda blurted it out, like when I asked a coworker in front of my entire engineering group "Is that a maternity dress?"  It wasn't. She did drop a few dress sizes pretty quick after that though. Thanks for explaining the reason for Jamie's lack of presentation. I think he did a fine job of answering most of the questions as evidenced by my summary list above. You and Court would be more entertaining though. Rob is just now healing up from the last time he came home late so we kinda dashed once the QA session had finished. I'll catch you again before I manage to escape this NJ pergatory in which I seem to be stuck. (Come July/August though, this will be the better place to be versus TX.) Do y'all rent Buells? How much for a BRAG member? Ciao, Blake |
