| Author | Message | ||
     Andymnelson |
Hey all- So I'm going to go look at a 2000 X1 this weekend. It appears to be in good shape with about 18,000 miles. Owner describes it as "a cherry". It's stock- intake, exhaust, everything. What are the common issues that I should look for, and what should I do to look for them? Thanks in advance! | ||
| Kalali |
I would check for leaks, condition of the belt, excessive vibration (hard to tell), looseness in steering head when hitting bumps.... | ||
| Lowroad |
18,000 miles is also kinda high. I wouldn't pay more than $2500 for a bike with that many miles. Seriously. But yes, leaky head gaskets, worn drive belt, vacuum leaks, check the condition of the engine oil. Black •••••• oil means poorly cared for bike, in my book. Tires may be shot. Brakes are probably worn. Don't jump the gun. There are plenty of Buells out there with less than 10,000 miles hovering around the $3500 price point. | ||
| Hootowl |
I have 50K on mine, and it's still going strong. I wouldn't let 18K throw you off. | ||
| Andymnelson |
I'm not worried about the miles, as long as it's in as good of shape as he says it's in. Heck, the trade in value is $3495! I have about that on my XB and it's barely broken in  I agree that I should not jump the gun. The great thing is I have a fantastic bike to ride right now, so I am in no hurry. If she looks good, I may decide to buy her. I want a tuber bad tho! Thanks for the tips so far. Did the X1s have and common issues that I should look for, beyond the normal leaks and belt wear etc? | ||
| Tdman77 |
I think the big ones to look for would be oil pump drive gear, primary chain adjuster shoe, crank/primary case seal, front isolator, loose header nuts and the biggest problem of all, sore face muscles from the big smile I get while riding my X1. | ||
| Andymnelson |
Are there simple ways to check these things in a test ride scenario?: oil pump drive gear primary chain adjuster shoe front isolator I already have a perma grin from my XB9, can't wait for the X1 grin!  | ||
| Babired |
X1 problems I have had in the past, heat and 02 sensors going up. Front brake rotor warping. Ignition switch on instrument cluster after 30,000 miles. Other than that the bike runs great I ride it to work almost everyday. Its a head turner. The sound of the cams turning while its getting warmed up is cool as hell. K | ||
| Lowroad |
front isolater, you can tell by looking at it. There will also be excessive vibration. The rest, no way to know really until you get in there. Chances are, you'll have to old primary shoe, that's easy enough to change. With 18k, most would recommend getting that oil pump drive gear swapped out too. That's a bit more involved. | ||
| Tdman77 |
One thing you can do is get the vin and have a dealer check to see if all the recalls were done to it. If the recalls weren't done it kind of shows the owner didn't really care about the bike. | ||
| Jstfrfun |
Low, that kind of talk kills YOUR bike's resale value. Each cycle should be judged on its own merits not a "blue book" rule. I would NEVER take a dime less than 5K for my 99 X1,(and the reasons are numerous, you would have to see it to understand)but when I offered it last year to generate cash flow for my project bike, I came under fire from people who hadn't even seen the bike, I was asking to high a price for a 99 X1,"Kelly says it's only worth 3K"! I will not sell my X....ever! | ||
| Lowroad |
I don't care about resale, I'm keeping it. What I'm saying is, in the current state of affairs, low mileage bikes area readily available for less than 4 grand, and often less than $3500. These are facts. Whether it should be the case or not, well that's debatable. So why pay the same for one with double or even triple the mileage? Obviously our bikes are a great deal in the current market, and I plan on buying another as soon as possible. For the record, I payed a bit over blue book for my X1. $3900 for a 2000 X1 with 6800 miles. I did this knowingly and willingly because I felt it was worth it, especially considering the near flawless condition and the almost $1,000 in aftermarket stuff the guy had put on it. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
In July '07 I paid $5400 for my 2000 X1. Had 10,000 miles and was stock other than V&H exhaust, and race ECM. I don't care that I could have purchased two bikes for that price - Sandra has been worth it  Plus the PO had detailed maintenance records and receipts so I never had to guess at what had been done before I got there. Recently paid $2000 for a '02 X1 with 6.6k miles and the condition of the bike reflected the low price. BTW the 2000 was damn near flawless, yet the 2002 with lower mileage has shown many signs of neglect. Hell, with 25k on my 2000 model now, it still looks and performs better than the low mileage 2002. Don't let mileage scare you - just inspect all of the common "weak links" which have been mentioned above. | ||
| 14d |
I'd check out the rear shock, mine turned into a pogo stick at 9k a month after I bought the bike. If you get it you may want to check your clutch pack to see if the stock spring plate is still in there, they can grenade and make a mess of your primary. | ||
| Hippyjoe |
Ignore the bad advice on a bad primary. The tensioner was upgraded from 7/00-on. The spring plate is good for at least 30k miles. The oil pump drive gear is hit-or-miss, some have 100k miles on the steel gear, some see it fracture around 15k. If the bike has a stock exhaust/intake then chances are the opd is also stock. If you buy the bike it is easy enough to check by dropping the oil pump when you change the oil. As someone mentioned it is worth it to pay more up front if you know for sure the bike's history and the integrity of the seller. Stock is good, as is lightly modded with Buell parts. Beware of newbies who "tinker" and otherwise botch up their bikes. X1s especially seem to fall prey to wannabes, although it's usually pretty easy to tell if a Harley's been facked. 18k miles isn't bad at all for an 01, especially if it was well-maintained and not abused. If it still has the factory ignition that is a good sign the motor wasn't over-reved. Any bike that has fallen over is questionable, especially on the primary side. It can cause future trans problems. That '01 has most of the recall issues already sorted, shifter, shock, rotor, exhaust hanger, etc. Check the rocker boxes, if they are leaking it's not a big deal and if you replace the gaskets you are halfway into the job of replacing the opd gear at the same time. As someone else said have a look at the front isolator, you can see it by looking next to the lower tree from underneath. Use a flashlight, you will be able to see if it is torn. It is easy enough to replace and only costs about 20 bucks for the part. Check the belt, if it is tight or shows frays it is supposed to be replaced at 15k, if it was run loose for most of its life and not abused it can go for 30k miles, at which point the rear isos are usually due as well. You already own an XB, just ride the X1 and see if you like it. That is the most important thing imo, do you like riding the bike. Any Harley is going to end up costing you time and money, so you might as well get the bike you like to ride. | ||
| Lowroad |
He said it's a 2000 x1. Like mine. Which was made in 1999 and had the bad tensioner. Which means, really, the only bad advice given is to ignore the tensioner.  (Message edited by lowroad on May 16, 2009) | ||
| Hippyjoe |
You're right, my dyslexia kicked in. As long as the bike was made after 6/00 the tensioner should be good. | ||
| Oldog |
+2 on Hippy joes advice. | ||
| Andymnelson |
thanks for the input all. long story short, I passed on the one I was referring to. haha, the guy hit a pothole which put a sizeable dent in the front pm wheel, pounded it kinda straight with a rubber mallet, but whacked the rotor it the process! it had a VERY slight wobble when letting off the throttle, but shook like crazy when on the brakes. who know what else has been damaged from that, since he rides it that way! so I passed. BUT, I found a clean 99 X1, 14k miles, force exhaust, power commander (is that thing worht anything or is it as worthless as on the XBs?), 2 seats...for $2700.  rode from minneapolis to madison with my gf on the XB friday night, met the owner saturday morning and rode 2 bikes back home! very fun bike, can't believe I fibally own a tuber! I'll post some pics soon (its already in pieces getting excess plastic removed and a good detailing), and I have a list of questions aleady for the community. thanks again to badwebbers for being such a great source of good info and sound advice. | ||
| Tdman77 |
Andy - Good job on a great deal! The Power Commander is just as you said "WORTHLESS". Pitch it and get ECM Spy and upload the race eeprom. | ||
| Andymnelson |
Good to know, thanks. Funny thing is- it also has a race ecm :-p Anyone want to buy a Power Commander? Do these bikes do TPS resets and fuel/timing maps the same as an XB? Where is the ecm connector?? | ||
| Mbsween |
Andy, Yes TPS reset is required if you mess with the throttle body or replace the ECM. Look under the seat. It's tucked into the right side of the Tail section IIRC. Congrats on the new bike. My 2001 is a little over 40K, other than the engine temp sensor, and rocker box gaskets it hasn't given me much trouble. (Message edited by mbsween on May 24, 2009) | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
The connector for the ECM might be up next to the steering head sort of under the front of the tank. That's where it is on my '00 X1. The wiring harness for my '02 is different and the ECM connector is under the seat next to the fuse box. I'm not sure when the wiring harness changed, but yours should be in one of those locations. | ||
| Lowroad |
Hm. yeah, my 00 X1 has the data port near the head tube. Nice job on the bike. The price was right! Now get at that primary tensioner. It's afternoon well spent. |
