| Author | Message | ||
     Austinuu |
2005 xb12r with 30k miles. Last week while riding I had a quiet clacking noise develop on my ride into work. Figured I ride to the dealership over lunch and have them take a look at it. On my way there the noise turned itself up to about 11. Sounded like someone had dropped a handful of quarters in it. They finished the tear down today and it looks like the front connecting rod bearing failed leading to some major damage. Sounds like I'm looking at an entire engine rebuild. Are there any "usual suspects" for this kinda thing or is it just my brand of luck? (I had my 04 sporty blow the engine at 28k miles due to the front intake and exhaust cams freezing up and spinning the bushings out of case) As this bike is my daily commuter is there anything that might prevent this in the future? Luckily its still under factory warranty only had it 16 months and everything is being covered. Is there anything I should look at having upgraded while the engine is split? Thanks Austin | ||
| Reepicheep |
Put in the new style oil pump pinion gear (the bronze looking race part). | ||
| Bad_karma |
Austin It might be something that you do/use in both the motors, or could just be bad karma. Joe | ||
| Austinuu |
I've got them putting in the new pump pinion gear. I'm guessing bad juju with the 1200 engine. I've used syn-3 after break in with both so I'm confident its not the oil. 85% of my mileage is the daily commute which I would consider normal riding conditions. Hopefully they will have me back on the road by the end of next week. I hope so, I hate driving a car. Austin | ||
| Road_thing |
Damn! Two motors go out on you, each of them under 30,000 miles? Please don't take offense, but do you change oil and filters regularly? rt | ||
| Austinuu |
No offence taken if I was reading this that would be my first question. Oil, filter and tran/clutch fluid gets changed every 3500-4000 miles. These motors are not abused. They are my primary mode of transportation so I take as best care as I know how. I'm thinking it would be a good idea to start getting oil analysis done to see if the interval is to long under commuting use. Talked to the service manager this morning and he says the bearing face came off and let the bearing balls loose to work their magic. Sounds like just plain bad luck. Worst part is, it's going to take a whole lot of convincing to talk my wife into getting an 1125... sounds like there's going to be a bit of jewelry shopping in my future. Austin | ||
| Road_thing |
Just add the price of a nice diamond bracelet to the price of the new bike and you ought to be good to go! rt | ||
| Austinuu |
Well an update for those interested. Parts arrived today and while pressing out some bearing the techs discovered the case was cracked. I'm told lead time on the cases is 3 weeks. So it's going to be a bit before I get back on two wheels, which sucks because the weather is perfect in Austin right now. My boss is going to let me use a company truck in the interim, but the mileage difference between the xb and a 4x4 F250 is killer... I really wish there was a way to hurry the process but needless to say I want this done right. Too bad the dealership doesn't have a 1125 they need ridden for a month... Austin | ||
| Bad_karma |
Austin sorry to hear about the case. Keep us updated. Joe | ||
| Chauly |
Austinuu, Where was the case cracked? | ||
| Chauly |
A while ago (2005), my '97 S-3 engine failed for the second time in 35,000 miles. The first time was at 22,000 miles; the crankpin failed, the center (front cylinder)bearing being the victim/culprit. I had an independent shop rebuild the engine, and the crankpin was replaced along with most everything else: bearings, pistons, rings, seals, etc. The rebuild seemed OK, but there were multiple stupid things done during the re-assembly such as no loctite on critical nuts, over-torquing the main drive gear pulley nut (destroying the bearing, eventually), and causing another shop (Battlefield) to partially strip every primary case bolt when they put the cover back on, but that's a side show... The germane thing is that the connecting rods were not replaced in the first rebuild. 12K later, the main drive bearing failed on the way home from Homecoming 2005, and shortly after that, the crankpin pin failed again, and again it was the center (front) connecting rod. Closer inspection revealed that the groove worn in the crankpin was deeper along one edge, and there was a wear band about 1/4" wide along one side of the outer race of the connecting rod. It seemed as if the connecting rode along one edge of the rollers. It is out-of-spec in some fashion, either slightly bent or perhaps machined wrong. I have no way of checking this (if anyone wants the rod pair to do so, drop me a line), but a new set was installed with the new crank assembly, and the remainder of the rebuild was done by me and my friends. It sounds really good, and now it's back in service, waiting for warm weather. It will be around this season, and is going to the 25th Party! (Message edited by chauly on February 27, 2008) (Message edited by chauly on February 27, 2008) | ||
| Austinuu |
To the best of my memory they said that it was near the crankshaft bushings? I kinda stopped paying attention after they told me the cases would be 3 weeks out. I know it takes time but man I hate paying my note and insurance when I'm not riding. Austin | ||
| Austinuu |
7 weeks later and I've got the bike back. Total bill would have been $4192 before tax... I'm glad that was a warranty fix. Austin | ||
| Babyhuey |
i work for a local dealer in phoenix and see that type of failure on a semi regular basis, as a matter of fact i saw my own motor tore down today and the front rod bearing,wristpin, and all the cam bushings failed. the rear cam bushing literally melted the engine case bore! i know my bike had regular service and attention since new,had oil in it at time of failure and was shut down at the first sign of noticeable noise from the motor. that rod bearing is a weak spot in the motor which is why were upgraded in 08. the last one i rebuilt billed out at $6900. buell doesn't make the cases so there's a several week lead time on the parts to come from the manufacturer and for them to be stamped with your engine #. don't feel bad your not alone, it may have to do with the excessive heat here,it gets pretty hot in austin doesn't it?-andrew (Message edited by babyhuey on April 01, 2008) | ||
| Blake |
Why not just install a new 2008 engine, easier, cheaper and more reliable, maybe? | ||
| Babyhuey |
the 08 models use a different ddfi setup with a cps instead of the old style cam cover timing. they're not interchangeable. | ||
| Blake |
I know, install the entire engine, including the new DDFI. | ||
| Babyhuey |
blake the easy set up is to install an 08 retro flywheel setup. my understanding is that buell is going to be making special cranks for the early motors with the 08 rods and 1.5 rod journal. That should eliminate bearing failures on early motors being repiared.-andrew | ||
| Blake |
Oil pump upgrade is worth more. And other stuff too. | ||
| Al_lighton |
The harness would need to be installed to. The ECM has completely different connectors. The oil lines and cooler would get changed with an 08 engine swap as well. | ||
| Babyhuey |
its not worth it to switch everything over,sell the damn thing and get a new one. its like trying to polish a turd, just accept it for what it is, the motor works just fine if used within its boundaries. build a race motor if thats what the bike is used for.-andrew | ||
| Benderbuell |
I to have had some major engine problems with my 2005 XB12R over the last few months. At 25K the front rod started making noise. Turned out the engine needed new flywheel setup, jugs, and cams. So I thought might just be my bad luck, but now at 40K the whole damn engine fell apart. The only thing that is any good now is the transition and the clutch, or so said the dealer. Now I am looking into an 2006 engine replacement or rebuilding the 2005. Not sure if the 2006 is any better. And as a side note all the work has been under warranty so fare. But still not happy, my Buell has left me walking twice and both time out of state. | ||
| Austinuu |
I've got 1k on the new engine now and so far things seem to be good. I was having a lot of decel pop and stumbling during the first 500 miles but i thought it might just be the engine sorting itself out. I took it back in and they realized they never reset the tps. That done now everything seems to be back to working condition. I wouldn't think you should need to build a race engine for commuting ;) It would be interesting to see how many of the motors actually had a problem with the front rod bearing, but I don't expect that number could be accurately determined. Hopefully thats the end of my troubles. Austin | ||
| Chauly |
<hopefully> You and me both! I've got a couple hundred miles on it now, and it sounds and looks good. I'll put another 350 on it tomorrow riding back to VA. Wish me luck! | ||
| M1combat |
"Parts arrived today and while pressing out some bearing the techs discovered the case was cracked." Just a note... It's reasonably easy to crack the cases while pressing the bearing out if you aren't doing it correctly. And yeah... an '08 crank swap is quite simple. They should do it that way. | ||
| Medic352 |
Wow, I have heard of several Buells and late XL's kicking the crank pin. One guy from the Bad Web DTX, I was with him at Hallet Raceway when his let go. And it seems to have no correlation to oil changes or service. Sounds like it was a poor batch or design flaw. In older ones, that spalling of the crank pin cam from too much RPM and some fuel predetination/fuel knock. | ||
| Austinuu |
Well 2300 miles into the engine now and the popping/stumbling issues seem to have sorted themselves out. But now I'm getting about 10 miles per gallon less than before the rebuild. Any ideas why this might be? Thanks Austin | ||
| Chauly |
It's still tight. It'll loosen with miles; hopefully not too much...  | ||
| Austinuu |
I spoke too soon. This last week I've been getting my "normal" 52 mpg. Now if I can get back to where every "weird" sound doesn't freak me out and make me imagine impending doom.  | ||
| Bad_karma |
Austin Glad to hear that you are back on the road. How much time do you spend below 3000 rpm in fifth? Joe | ||
| Blake |
Earplugs work wonders.  | ||
| Austinuu |
Joe: I try to avoid it if at all possible, whenever the revs drop to 3k'ish I drop down a gear. Blake: Funny thing is that now that I'm wearing earplugs (after years of not), I'm hearing all kinds of new noises that I imagine were masked by exhaust and wind before. |
