| Author | Message | ||
     Kev_m |
Hey all nice to meet everyone. Quick history here, I'm a total bike ••••• who has been flirting with Buell ownership most of the 20 years I've been riding. Demo'd bikes at the Harley factory many a year, borrowed some bikes from a local dealer when writing a motorcycle repair manual, demo'd more from another dealer while trying to convince the wife to add one to the fleet... ...but it wasn't until last night, when drinking a couple of beers, just sorta half-heartedly checking out local dealer pre-owned offerings that I suddenly found a bike that I figured it would just be stupid not to buy. Test rode it a couple of hours ago, offered em a ridiculously low price, they bit, I handed over a credit card. Pick it up on Monday (if the weather holds). http://www.gigabikes.com/gallery/albums/userpics/1 0081/IMG_20131123_153307_563a.jpg Life IS GOOD! Soooo now - WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A 2001 BUELL S3T? Any links to service or owner's manuals available? Any known problems/tricks/concerns/bliss? Please let me know! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Get to know your new friend Al Lighton at American Sport Bike It's the best thing you can do. Welcome aboard. | ||
| Fahren |
Get yourself over to the Old School section of this forum, where fellow tuber owners hang out. Use the search function of this forum. Read the X1 files here: http://web.archive.org/web/20100510083032/http://w ww.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/Marriott/x1/ a must-read collection of experience-based knowledge for tuber owners. Welcome. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Nice S3T!  This site is an excellent source of info for fixing and maintaining tube-framed Buells: http://thex1files.com/ Here's the Badweb tuber section ("Old School Buell"): http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/47623.html?1385256626 Probably the single most important thing to know about a tube framed Buell is to keep the drive belt "scary loose" (most people agree the factory recommendations are too tight). A too-tight belt will result in toasted transmission output shaft bearings and other maladies. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Cue Buellistic. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
As it's a late model it's injection not carb so the X1 manual will cover most of what you need to know, free download from this superb resource http://www.carlsalter.com/motorcycle-manuals.asp If it's not indiscreet, how many miles & how much did you steal it for? | ||
| Brumbear |
Great looking machine make sure you adjust your suspension when you get the manual!!! | ||
| Kev_m |
Thanks all, very exited. Yes, I have much reading to do. Still trying to find the layout of this place. I will certainly use the search function and check out all the links you guys are providing thank you. It's a 2001, so yes, injected. 20k miles. Dealer was asking $4k. I said "I'll take it for $2.5k" and they bit. Kinda surprised. It was a complete impulse buy. It'll be sharing the garage with the rest of the fleet: 13 Guzzi V7  11 Duc 696  07 XL1200Lr  | ||
| 86129squids |
An S3T, late model, for $2500?!?! HATE you, man!  Seriously, congrats! That's the main tuber I'd really like to acquire, top of the list with a Uly XT or XP following... If you suddenly need to liquidate some bikes, holler at me about that one...  | ||
| Two_seasons |
Former Philly man myself. Ardmore, Newtown Square, then Spring Mount! Welcome to BadWeb. These are great bikes with easy maintenance. Remember, scary loose on the drive belt. Read as much as you can on this site and others about specific maintenance you'll need to address. And yes, adjust your suspension!!!!!  | ||
| Slaughter |
You KILLED that deal! I have an 01 S3 and it's my trusty steed. Shop manual a must.. Common engine/trans parts with Sportster. The late fuel injection solved most of the troubles. Mine is trouble free. The stock shock sucks badly and you're about where I had to replace mine with a Works shock. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I will trade garages with you... RIGHT NOW. | ||
| Court |
You stole the bike in one of the best . . VOLCANO GRAY . . . colors. Find and purchase a factory shop manual, parts manual and owners manual. You'll be rewarded 1,000X over. You're going to love that bike. I got on an S3 once . . . in St. George, UT and just started riding. I stopped when I got a good sense of how the bike felt (in Philadelphia) and loved it. Welcome to Badweb. | ||
| Kev_m |
Thanks all. Life is good. It's funny, I like the color, though I would have REALLY liked one with the orange frame/wheels (that's what I always remember catching my eye). I didn't think about it until last night but it's really very similar in a lot of ways to a Guzzi Breva 1100 I sold a little more than a year ago:  It's funny I sold the Guzzi because it was both more fast and more comfortable than I currently needed and I wanted something smaller/slower (the V7). This Buell seems both faster and to handle better than the Breva 1100 while ALSO being just as (maybe even more?) comfortable. OOOOPPPPss...  | ||
| Blake |
Nice Thunderbolt! Pull the oil pump and check the oil pump drive gear. The one glaring weak spot in some of the pre-'08 engines. Some do fine, some wear excessively, becoming knife-edged, then breaking. The theory being excessive runout in the cam shaft causes excessive wear. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
First thing you MUST do is check that belt tension. I the pic it looks WAY too tight. The service manual is wrong and almost every HD shop sets them up like a Sportster which makes it too tight. Get a shot of the other side of the bike and we'll tell you if you have the updated exhaust hanger (you should). KILLER price! Well played! | ||
| Kev_m |
I was gonna give her a basic service (fluids, primary chain, belt tension, plugs, air filter) etc just to get a good baseline. I guess first thing I have to do is find out if one can still buy air filters for the stock housing. Maybe buy a couple. I started poking around the bike, just visually inspecting things, it looks VERY tidy. Belt appears to have maybe 2 inches of freeplay, I can push it up gently and it tightens just before it would contact the swingarm. I'll check it closer (using a gauge) and leave it looser than the 1.5-1.75" factory spec. Did I REALLY read the specs correctly that it only takes 2 quarts? Guess I'll run something synthetic (maybe M1). Or maybe I'll do a search for oil threads.  | ||
| Glitch |
The primary and the engine oil are separate, that's why it seems so little. DO NOT use synthetic Mobil1 gear oil in the primary, it'll eat your stator, I found out the hard way. I recommend Formula+ from H-D. Nice bike and welcome to the BadWeB! | ||
| Airbozo |
Nice to see you over here Kev! One thing I forgot to mention was the belt tension like others have piped in about. ...and the oil pump drive gear... (having that checked while my bike is getting repaired from a failed primary tensioner...) | ||
| Kev_m |
I typically run Harley fluids in the primary/trans and run M1 or Amsoil in the motors. Was thinking M1 for this one, but MOTOR ONLY as I've heard the stator stories too. I guess I should say that I've owned 5 Harleys in the past, 4 of which are Sportsters (3 of them rubbermounts, one I still have pictured above). I've got some familiarity with the breed.  | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I've never seen a S3T Volcano Gray with a black frame before, everyone I've ever seen had the orange frame. I like the black frame MUCH better! You got a great deal! Enjoy the bike! | ||
| Bikerrides |
Awesome deal and welcome to the dark side! | ||
| Kev_m |
Put about 50 freezing miles on it yesterday while the Turkeys were in the oven. Love it. Suspension is set up almost perfectly for me, maybe could use just a hair less preload and a hair more dampening, but gonna wait till it warms up to play with settings. Corners wonderfully, feels rock solid, motor is fun! | ||
| Babired |
I had a Breva 750 and I loved it! Lucky New Buell rider! I have the X1M and the XB12X I love both of my Buells!!!!! I love your other Guzzi! | ||
| Kev_m |
Guzzi smallblocks are a BLAST. Actually I just put another 50 or so miles on the Buell blasting through some windy roads I frequent on the Guzzi. I do have to dial in the suspension for the bumpy tight stuff, and in tighter turns like that I definitely feel the weight difference (about 100 lbs) between the Guzzi or Duc and the Buell, but I'm still loving the new Buell... Now I gotta search the archives to find out if anyone puts sliders on these things. | ||
| Slaughter |
Um... I disagree with Court. Black is faster. | ||
| Thumper1203 |
Gorgeous.. simply gorgeous! congrats  take care of 'er.. they're getting hard to find in that condition! | ||
| Kev_m |
Got the clutch (grenade plate) sorted in the XL and the garage back to order finally:  | ||
| Ulyranger |
That's a nice line up you've got there....... | ||
| Kev_m |
Thanks...life is good! |
