| Author | Message | ||
     Upthemaiden |
So I noticed something odd with this bike over the past two weeks and I planned on asking if anyone on here had experienced something similar but hadn't gotten around to it yet. My back brake worked fine, but when I'd come to a stop facing uphill, and was only using the rear brake, I'd put my left foot down, keep my right foot on the brake, but sometimes if it was a steep enough hill that the bike would roll back 2-3 inches, it felt like the lever was actually pushing back up against my foot. I've ridden for a while and never felt a bike do anything like that before. This weekend I was going over the bike doing a handful of things, and I noticed this.....  Apparently every time I'd roll backwards slightly with my foot on the brake, the caliper was able to rotate backwards with the rotor, and the lever got pushed back up against my foot because the brake line was being tugged tight enough that it was sending pressure back the opposite direction...  One more reason to give your and extremely thorough look-over after you buy it. I know the brake line looks horrible... it's on the list of things to be replaced. Stupid things aside... I still love this bike! I bled the rear brake, removed/shorted the sidestand switch, fixed my trip odometer, put on some new bar ends, and cleaned the bike up a little, and honestly I enjoy spending time in the garage almost as much as I like riding it. | ||
| Reepicheep |
So is that the wrong caliper? Or is there a place for it to bolt not obvious from the picture? If not, I guess you could fabricated a square bracket that wraps around the swingarm and bolts it pretty much right there where it is (if that is an aluminum swingarm). If it is steel (or if you have TIG) you could just weld a mounting tab right there. | ||
| Jolly |
There is a channel in the swingarm for that bolt to ride in. It allows for fire and aft sliding as you adjust your rear wheel for belt tension but prevents the brake from rotating. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Clever. Except when reassembled by not so clever.  | ||
| Falloutnl |
Haha, the 'Harley mechanic' that worked on my M2 before I got it did the exact same thing. Put that bolt in the wrong hole instead of the channel that allows the caliper to slide as belt tension is adjusted. Entire back wheel was fitted under enormous pressure and at an angle. Just horrible. Where do they dig up these guys? And. more importantly, what compels them to do work on motorcycles? (Message edited by falloutnl on September 19, 2016) | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Yeah I can understand making a mistake but they didn't so much as look at it after it was together? I bet the guy is good at installing demon bells and chrome codpieces to H-D stuff. Just don't let him touch actual functional parts of a bike that's ridden, right? | ||
| Upthemaiden |
The unfortunate thing is the guy I bought it from said he was a mechanic(I assumed car mechanic, not motorcycle, but still...). For someone who supposedly works on vehicles for a living, this thing was in pretty rough shape when I got it... and I don't mean the fact that it's 19 years old and shows it, I just mean stupid things like that real caliper, only 1 of 4 turn signals being hooked up right, the petcock was rebuilt upside down... It did come with newer tires though! Can't remember the last time I bought a bike that actually still had tread on the tires haha. | ||
| S1owner |
When I bought my S1 it looked fine I was new to Buells and bikes. I found so many ch it caused me to do a complete rebuild. I had metric nuts on standard threads. Wiring screwed up you name it. When people on here say get a manual and read it theres a reason!!!!!! | ||
| Upthemaiden |
A full rebuild is definitely in the cards. I just want to get some time in on the road before I get to that point. I bought new isolators so that'd be a good time to just pull everything apart. I'd love to get some time with the engine out of the frame to just scrub away at it too. | ||
| S1owner |
Well if you need info I have alot and lots of pictures. When I got it  First quick run through to ride it  First rebuild  Now  | ||
| Gmaple |
Nice. fill us in on the details for the new relocated rear shock. Was the XB fork conversion difficult? | ||
| S1owner |
Dont want to highjack his thread go here and follow from the beginning http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/476 23/733746.html?1474045228 | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Highjack away, I've spent plenty of time checking out your build, and this thread was mostly a joke to begin with  A lot of great work going into that bike. I still love the color of the frame. I really like the black bike too though. I feel like I'm gonna have to switch to one of those swingarms someday, and I'm hoping my old rear shock holds out for a while. Those replacements aren't cheap! Why were you gauges up so high behind the flyscreen? is it because of the bars you've got on I'm guessing? | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Those frame plugs look really good too. Are they Buell specific, or are they just normal chrome hole plugs from the hardware store? I assume they're a little bigger than what they usually have in the hardware section. | ||
| Hootowl |
Buell did make frame plugs, but they had a Pegasus on them and were black. | ||
| S1owner |
The gauges were up so high as I had crossroads bars on with 1" risers below.  Got the frame plugs from a fellow badwebber but they are nit Buell plugs just stainless hole plugs | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I thought that's what it looked like from the other picture. I'd actually like to pull the flyscreen off of my bike and move the gauges lower, but now that I've had some 55-60 degree mornings on the way to work, that flyscreen is actually really nice. I didn't expect it to divert that much air. I'll probably just leave it until it warms up next spring, then put it back on when fall comes around. I'll have to keep an eye out for some kinda plugs that will fit in there. I'll have to measure them later and see what I can find online. | ||
| Ebutch |
In 1970 I did that to my 1966 BSA Lightning except the front brake.Well I went over the bars and bent forks.   That was my First Stoppy !!!!!!  (Message edited by ebutch on September 20, 2016) | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Found another present today. I can't believe the guy I bought this bike from told me he was a mechanic. Luckily the threads really weren't that bad, and I was able to run a tap down through it and put a bolt back in it.  | ||
| Court |
On the bright side . . . . you could have hung sheet rock on the bottom side. Just thinking out loud . . . . | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
What the FFF? What kind of clown would go that deep into working on an engine-or anything for that matter and have no idea what is going on? | ||
| Jolly |
A lot of what I've had to do over the years to these bikes is repair what previous owners (self proclaimed mechanics) have done to them.., some people should have their tools taken away!! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Geesh. If he wanted to bodge it, at least use a smaller bolt and just put a nut on the other side. At least that doesn't permanently ruin anything. May be time to find a tiny helicoil kit. | ||
| Upthemaiden |
The nut and bolt would've been a better idea. I'm guessing he was in a rush to put it back together and just grabbed whatever he could find. It's not like 4mm bolts are hard to find. I thought I might have to grab a helicoil, but I chased the threads with the tap and tightened the bolt gently an it seemed to hold fine. |
