| Author | Message | ||
     Shawnm |
2002 P3-New-Very Satisfied | ||
| Clay |
2000 M2 - 5,000 miles - Very Satisfied | ||
| Snail |
Blake, I found your spreadsheet very interesting. Thanks for taking the time to prepare it. It appears that I bought the second most unsatisfactory bike ever built by Buell. Paul | ||
| Libnosis |
Now that the survey is over... Wouldn't it be great if BMC conducted a similar survey for all previous and current Buell owners? They could address (or show they've addressed) the top ten reasons why owners were/are dissatisfied. Just a thought. lib | ||
| Psychobueller |
Was I the only person to receive three separate surveys from Buell, or a company that is conducting research on their behalf, in the past month or so? One was on the purchasing/dealership experience. One was on the ownership/dealer service experience. One was on the bike itself and what I'd like to see in the future. It seems to me that Buell is on the case. I don't think H-D would dump so much money into market research and statistical analysis if there wasn't light at the end of the tunnel. My guess is that there is. | ||
| Pdxs3t |
July 2, 2002 2001 Buell S3T New. Had the bike 2 days before it went back to the shop for problems to this day are still unknown. Motorcycle spent 22 days in the shop. July 24, 2001 2001 Buell S3 New. Dealer replaced the S3T mentioned above with this bike. The first bike was a big disappointment, so was the dealer/service department and BMC when trying to get the problems corrected or the bike replaced. The second bike to date has had no problems but has only 2900 miles and the dealer has not followed through with things to bring the bike up to the S3T standard, which they promised they would do. Over all impression not too good! Jim | ||
| Java |
Justjoe; HUGE thanks, to the man with too much time on his hands! Blake; Thanks for the "speadsheet" view, it helps a lot. Bike ownership is a very emotional thing. That passion is why we sometimes have to work to control our tempers here. Obviously, the "unsatisfied" numbers are too high. (Maybe thats why they don't sell tube-frames anymore?),BUT what does it say about Erik's vision, and the passion his bikes invoke, that over a third of us are unsatisfied, but are still here? | ||
| Libnosis |
Maybe a survey should be done to see who got a survey?  I didn't. | ||
| Lornce |
'97 S1~used~7.5k kms - huge satisfied for 5 days. theft ensued.... '98 S3T~used~12K kms - big satisfaction. still in possession. '96 S1~used~25k miles - anticipate much satisfaction upon pick up.... | ||
| Lake_Bueller |
1998 S3T 18K miles - Very Satisfied 1998 S3T 36K miles - Just picked up on Tuesday. Winter project (not quite sure what to do with it yet) Blake...I'd like to see how the '97 S3 compares to the '98 S3 in satisfaction. It may give more credance to your saying that there is a trend with the 101hp engines. I personally beleive the problem stems for the FI (I've stated that in the past but people thought I was full of sh!t). Mennis | ||
| Blake |
The DDFI is also a likely contributor to the dissatisfaction, I agree. | ||
| Rudebike |
How does that alone manifest as a problem. PLease be specific as I have a 2001 X1 with FI. | ||
| Lake_Bueller |
Rudebike...Nobody is saying that the DDFI is the sole problem. It could just be a strange coincidence. I've noticed that everyone I personally know that have had major problems with their Buells are on DDFI bikes. In addition, most have been with X1's. Here's a theory that was kicked around between a Buell sales rep, Buell mechanic & myself.... With the excessive engine vibration created by the H-D V-twin engine, the fuel injector doesn't get an good flow into the carb. This, in turn, causes the bikes to run too lean. The major downfall of this theory is that this should be evident with a quick examination of the plugs. I'm not a mechanic or engineer. Hell...I even screwed up a simple trannie lube change (forgot to put the gasket back in place  ) One thing I can say for sure...BMC will NEVER tell us it was a design flaw (if that is really the case). They'd up themselves up for too many liable suits. Just my $.02 worth. Mennis | ||
| M2me |
I've also wondered if it is just a coincidence that Harley has never sold Sportsters with fuel injection. Maybe they are trying to keep costs down, but a 2003 1200 Custom is $9500, with two tone paint it's over $10,000. How does it deliver fuel? With a carb. That's a lot more than I paid for a brand new 2001 M2. Of course, my M2 is not a "real Harley" it just has a slightly stronger engine and a lot better handling!  I used to own a Sportster, I loved my Sportster so I am not Sportster bashing. I am also not bashing FI Buell tube frames. I am sure there are many people who are very satisfied with their X1, etc. Just wondering if Harley knows something in regards to fuel injecting the old Sportster engine that Buell does not. | ||
| Mbsween |
I've got one of the DDFI bikes, and yes I had an ET sensor go bad around 3700 miles. The DDFI never looked lean to me, but I didn't ride it too much before putting on the Race ECM and the Pipe. It gets real rich with a dead ET sensor. The problem isn't the DDFI, its the complete lack of troubleshooting tools. What Buell needs to give (sell?) us is a really expensive serial cable that can hook up to a palm or PC and a program that at least lets us view diagnostic info and zero/calibrate the TPS (or whatever terminology we like to use). Hell Triumph lets their owners schlep the FI data through a serial port to a PC and email it to the factory. I can't believe Mr Buell wouldn't find that interesting and fun. Plus the FI guys could post all sorts of crap for us to ponder. One of the things I like about the bike is that you can take the damn thing apart with a complete lack of special tools. My 83 KZ needs more strange tools to get in the valve train, than you need to split the cases on the Buell (well thats probably a complete falsification, but who's counting?  ). And yet I can't do a damn thing with the most powerful diagnostic tool to hit a motor. Except to watch the blinky blinky on the idiot light. Give us the tools and we'll love the FI. Or at least we'll be able to swear at it competently. And we'll need a computer in the garage ('cept those who work on them in the living room), which means more time on BadWeb. Ain't life grand? | ||
| Blake |
Jon, Compared to the OEM CV carburetors on earlier models and on the M2 and P3, Buell's DDFI has been more failure prone due to added complexity and the ineptness of some dealers. Some examples include... TPS miscalibration issues, faulty initial '99 DDFI ECM maps, O2 sensor failures, fuel pump problems, injector problems... Not any one thing in particular, just a LOT more possibilities for problems and some idiosyncracies that can make working with DDFI more troublesome. | ||
| Chibueller |
Well Lake Bueller the primary problem I see with your analysis is that FI bikes don't have carburators. Instead they have throttle bodies. If in fact they do have carbs then I think I just found out what was wrong with my bike and I don't need BMC to verify bad engineering. | ||
| Lake_Bueller |
Chi...Like I said, I'm no engineer | ||
| Crw |
2001 X-1 with dealer installed race kit. New in April of 2002. 5000 miles to date. Satisfied! | ||
| Mistaandypants |
01 Blast 1800mi-very satisfied. Not owned very long but rock solid reliability 02 M2L cyclone 6 months old. 5000 mi.-Now that rocker box leaks and other "character traits" are fixed.-satisfied | ||
| Josh |
91 RS1200 - very satisfied! | ||
| Rudebike |
I too have recieved three surveys from Buell. One after purchase, one about six months agao, and one last week. Got a neat Buell sticker in the last two survey envelopes. |
