| Author | Message | ||
     Sicemm |
Mikej, Talked to the service manager today. The buell will need a new wheel, axial, rotor, and belt. The dealer will send that broken parts to buell so they can investigate them. We should be back on the road by Wed of next week. The service manager is very helpful and we think he is doing a good job. Actually he was nice enough to remind us that this would be a good time to replace the rear tire. He also mentioned to me that he called all his customers who purchased a buell from there store and reminded them they need to come in and get the bearing upgrade while he had the tool at his store. It will be up to buell to decide what caused this to happen to our bike. The Buell tech support seemed very helpful in assisting the service manager with all the parts and getting them as soon as possible. Mrs. Sicemm | ||
| Nevco1 |
Sounds like a nice ending to me! | ||
| Court |
COOL | ||
| Sportsman |
I'm not an engineer, so I thought I'd ask one. With the next generation XB, why not piviot the swingarm on the countershaft? It would loose weight, do away with belt tensioners or even adjustments and make everything simpler. The tularis swingarm is about a mile long and it doesn't seem to affect it's turning. Next question is why not a primary belt? Would have been much lighter and added perfomance right? Just daydreaming. Thanks (Message edited by Sportsman on May 29, 2003, %time) | ||
| Peter |
I posted this on a Dutch Buell forum. I'm posting it here as well so that the factory is aware that their people are doing good things. The guys/girls at Buell Benelux are the best. As some of you know, a bit too much compression and timing (I think) brought an early end to my track time at Croix this year. Buell Benelux not only put my bike in their van and brought it back for me, they also gave my a new Lightning to ride back, which I later changed for a Firebolt. Got to test ride both through three countries. How cool is that? Thank you guys for your help. It is really appreciated. Peter | ||
| Court |
Peter: I think your message was garbled in trans-Atlantic transmission....did you say: "they also gave my a new Lightning to ride" Please confirm. Regardless of how cozy international relations and how good Buell has become.....say it ain't so! | ||
| Jim_witt |
Peter, Dude, what'a you smoken? You didn't happen to stop in Amsterdam for a few days did you? What bike are we talking about that you fried? Plus there's no way you'd fit on a freaking 'bolt! -JW:>  | ||
| Firemanjim |
Somehow monkey and football come to mind.Hope that was not your turbo bike. | ||
| Peter |
my, me. D'oh! I know what I meant  I took the turbo off to go to Croix and built a new topend. It was running close to 11:1 compression and I had an adjustable ignition in it. I'd slowly been advancing it over the last few days, listening for detonation, but it didn't show any until the last two laps of our session on the track. I retarded it a bit, but when the plugs got pulled there was already aluminium on the one from the rear cylinder, so I brought it back in the van. Bummer, because it was running really well. I'll pull it down next week and have a look. I changed to the Firebolt because I really did feel like a monkey with a football on the Lightning. It'd make a great stunt bike though! Liked the Firebolt, but I think I'd lift the bars a bit somehow if it was a daily rider. | ||
| Jim_witt |
Again, There's no way you'd fit on that puppy. You'd be able to use the front axle for clip-on(s)! -JW:> | ||
| Blake |
Jim, I've sat on a Firebolt more than once. Fits me just fine. I'm 6'-3". Way to go Buell Benelux!!! So Peter, Please post your impressions of the XB9R on the track! Not here, somewhere else, but on the BadWeB. ![:]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) | ||
| Jprovo |
Please do something about the charcoal evaporative canister on California model Blasts. Every California Blast owner that I have talked to (10 or 11 people) has gas tank venting problems that are directly linked to the evap can. The tank venting problems are ALWAYS solved by disconnecting the “Tank” hose from the canister, effectively letting the gas tank breathe freely. Most owners just end up disconnecting the can, and going on with life. At least three of people that I have talked to have had tank venting problems while riding down the interstate within the first few months of getting on a motorcycle for either the first time, or for the first time in many years. It is quite disconcerting to follow a novice motorcyclist on to the shoulder of a major interstate because their motorcycle is not running. I consider this condition to be very dangerous, especially to a novice rider. If there is anything that I can do to help solve this problem (Including testing alternate canister setups), please contact me. I love my Blast! After owning it for almost a year and 12,000 miles I have little complaints and a few observations: 1. There are a few components that seem to suffer fatigue problems: Mirrors, Dashboards, and Horns. I think that these components may not show up as warranty items mostly because they either get replaced, or the owners don’t ride them much in the first year of ownership. I have had a mirror fail from fatigue right above the isolator, and have had the horn mount fail. I will probably upgrade the mirrors and I will beef up the horn mount, I just thought that these two data points might be useful. 2. The airbox has sharp edges that cut into the crankcase breather hose, and the wiring harness. I will repair and protect both of these items myself, mostly because I can. 3. Removing the footpeg bracket to adjust the clutch and change out primary fluid is a real pain. I hope that this gets designed out of the next generation Blast. Thank you again for the go-fast goodies. I really enjoy my motorcycle, it is a real pleasure to ride. See you at the 20th! James Provencher | ||
| Court |
James: Thanks for the comments and observations, this is the kind of data that testing alone can't produce. The factory has no "official" door for this to come in but I have a good friend in the BLAST program and I'll make certain to print a copy, I'm sure she'd love to know this. By the way, for the record, I am not with "the factory", just an interested owner. Now go ride that thing and enjoy! Court | ||
| Jprovo |
Court, Thanks, I could talk to customer service about all this, but getting the info to the right insiders is so much better. Now go ride that thing and enjoy! I couldn't agree more! James | ||
| Blastin |
Here is a copy of a letter I sent to Buell, customer service. I had a "Blast"(pun intended) at today's Battletrax in Milwaukee and I actually did quite well. Does anybody think I am out of line for asking the question? Buell Customer Service 3700 W. Juneau Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53208 Dear Buell, I wanted to thank you for sponsoring the national Buell Battletrax Championship series. I always have a great time at Battletrax, and what a great way to show off Buell motorcycles superior handling, including the Blast. I just finished participating in the 8th event in the series at the Milwaukee Rally at the Milwaukee Mile, and I had a great time. The event was very well put together, as always, and I believe everyone who participated would also agree. However, I do have one question. Why are single cylinder motorcycles not allowed to compete for the trip to the national finals? I arrived early for the event because I was excited to have some fun on my Buell Blast. One of the first things that I was told was that you can compete today, just not for the Las Vegas trip to the finals. It was then explained that the national competition was for motorcycles with two or more cylinders. I was confused by this because I had never heard nor read about this detail which immediately made me ineligible for the finals. Good thing I do not live that far from the competition site, or I would have definitely had a long ride home after finding out that detail. I was allowed to compete, and I was told that if I did make it far enough in the competition that something would be worked out for whatever place I finished. As it turned out, I did very well in the competition. I advanced to the second to the last round, and I actually won that round with the best average time difference for four laps of 0.005 seconds. At this point I was not allowed to advance to the finals because I was riding my Buell Blast single cylinder motorcycle. I was told this up front and I understood the rules as they were explained to me so I was “eliminated” by the rules, not by the competition. As mentioned earlier, I was awarded a Buell leather jacket for making it to my own pseudo finals, but I was not allowed to compete any further. I understood the rules as they were explained to me and I am very appreciative of the Buell jacket, but I am still disappointed that Buell would not allow single cylinder motorcycles to complete for the finals. This eliminates one third of the Buell motorcycle lineup from competing. The following is a quote from the Battletrax website. “BattleTrax is a fun skills course intended for riders of all experience levels,” says Paul James, communications manager. “Riders set their own bracket time, and ride within their own limits to match it, which makes for an even playing field and rewards smoothness and consistency.” Participants need to bring their motorcycle, full-face helmet, appropriate riding gear and a valid motorcycle driver’s license. Riders must be at least 21 years of age to participate. As you can see the way the competition is set up, it does not give any advantage to any particular type of motorcycle, because the riders set their own time to match. So I am at a loss to understand why there was a rule, as explained to me, which would not allow single cylinder motorcycles. If the event is open to any type of motorcycle, why were single cylinder motorcycles excluded? In closing, I am just disappointed that I did not even get the chance to make it to the finals, and I had a good chance at getting there on my Buell Blast. I am just looking for some clarification as to why single cylinder motorcycles are not allowed to compete in this competition. If the final position of Buell is to not allow single cylinder motorcycles to compete in the national event, then that should be clearly stated somewhere. I had a great time today and I actually learned a whole lot more about my Buell Blast and its capabilities today, but I came away a little disappointed. Thank you for your time, Jerry Leveille 2001 Buell Blast edited by blastin on June 07, 2003 | ||
| Blake |
So Jerry, let me see if I understand you.. You are disappointed about not being allowed to compete in the Battle Trax finals? Seriously though, I share your curiosity. Sounds awfully strange to me. | ||
| Dynarider |
James....my wife had a Blast for 1 yr & outside of the pulley recall she had no problems. Was a little disappointed in the power but otherwise it was a decent enough bike. Only thing that broke was the horn mount as you stated. We noticed it on the day it was traded in  Jerry...I posted a question about the B-trax over on the Borg & mentioned it in Brew City. Myself & Mike were discussing it & thought it was odd that in a Buell sponsored event a Buell product would be ineligible to compete for the trip but a Honda can. I know some of this might have been a knee jerk reaction after last yrs events & a few of us who competed in Peoria were over run with dirt bikes. The street bikes were nowhere near as quick as any of the dirt bikes & those of us on street bikes had absolutely no shot at all for top time of the day...remember thats what those events were all about..top time. So this yr for the regional championships Reg decided to appease folks by simply stating no single cylinders would be eligible thereby eliminating the dirt bike contingent. Perhaps he overlooked the Blast? I dont know. I do know that right after he posted about the regional events quite a few months back over on the Borg he mentioned no singles & I questioned what about the Blast but never got a response. It will be interesting to see if & what you get for an answer. BTW, I obviously didnt hang around for the finals as all 3 Hals guys were out of it, but who won? | ||
| Dynarider |
BTW Jerry, if thats the Vanson Buell jacket that thing is around $450 or so. Much better than a $160 ticket to Vegas. | ||
| Court |
Jerry: Like Blake, I am curious fellow. I suspiciate that the single cylinder exclusion is a carry over from the days when BattleTrax as a "fastest time" event. In the "fastest time" arena, most bids will fall prey to a motard style thumper, thus making the Buell event a tad less fun. The current BattleTrax "class" system, again suspiciating, was likely a change made to facilitate any sort of "factory" involvement. It's been a great change and allows those of us in our sunset years to come play with the likes of Spidey and crew. I'd guess that your well written letter will prompt Buell to examine, now that gross time has yielded to "MY best time", readmitting the BUELL BLAST® to the BUELL BattleTrax. Thanks for bringing up a good point and for making that BLAST® look so darn fun. Congrats on the jacket. Like Dyna, I'd take the jacket over Vegas ANY DAY! Court | ||
| Dynarider |
In the "fastest time" arena, most bids will fall prey to a motard style thumper, thus making the Buell event a tad less fun. Oh how right you are. At the Peoria event last yr..which was huge by the way & had fantastic attendance..there were a number of us who were doing great & were right up there & Battling for top time. Had one of the big BMW GS's, myself & a 748 Duc were battling pretty good & a number of other Buell riders were doing super well also. Then we got hit with a massive invasion of dirt bikes, XR100's, 250's, motards, etc. Nothing all morning & then they came in like locusts. They took all 10 of the top times. Quite a few of us were bummed, even tho we had a great time competing it was like "why bother" once they showed up. The new dial in deal is much better & is an equalizer. Now it doesnt matter what you are on, as it is rider skill not the bike that will determine the winner. Jerry, thats 2 who vote as the jacket being a much better prize. Hell that beats the plastic trophy I got last yr. Woulda loved to have gotten a jacket. The new style for this yr is very bitchen. | ||
| Mikej |
Ah, but in 'Vegas there is also the chance to win a new Buell, and the opportunity to be one of the first public people to ride the 2004 model Buells which will be used in the competition. Jerry was the first one to sign up for the day's competition, which made him number one. He put in the most laps of anyone that day, I got in 29 practice laps and he had a lot more than me. The first round of eliminations I somehow managed to tick two cones which took my .22 average without the penalty out of the competition in the first cut. Jerry started the day with some slipping in the corners and as the day progressed he got smoother and smoother and slipped less and less and his times kept getting better. Throughout all the elimination rounds he/Jerry was in the top three. And as was noted he was a strong contender with very consistent lap times. The final cut Jerry was off .005 as mentioned above, and his laps were consistent. The two guys on "approved" bikes to advance to the final elimination round were a guy on a Buell M2, and a guy on a Honda 6-cylinder Valkarie. The Valkarie clipped one cone on the final lap (or second to final lap) which gave him a 1/2second penalty. This "penalty" won the Valkarie the competition. In a game of averages one can win with ranging times, and while the Valrarie's times ranged from as much as two seconds or more over his target time to as much as two seconds faster than his target time, he averaged out to almost dead-on his target time. And so it goes. I have no real problem with that, apart from Jerry and his Buell Blast being eliminated by the rules. The Valkarie rider just came down to have some fun and see what he could do, and he had a blast, and was as surprised or more so than anyone that he kept advancing through the competition and ended up winning. In Las Vegas, as I understand it, the competitors will be riding 2004MY Buells of some configuration yet to be announced. Could be an annual update to the XB9R/S, or something else, but it won't be 2004 Blasts. The Valkarie rider is planning to ride his bike to LasVegas for the competition and it will be interesting to see if he's allowed to use it in the competition there. A single cylinder Buell Blast gets a nice consolation prize, and a six cylinder Valkarie goes to Las Vegas. I think someone shot themselves in the foot when this one was figured out. In a world of averages, fastest is a secondary consideration - let the singles run. Congratulations Jerry for the best time of the day at .005 off your target averaged over 4 laps. I'll post a pic of you and #1 when the film gets developed and scanned in. Everyone there had a great time, lots of laps were run, but there weren't a lot of competitors running. There was a Honda Hawk that placed well, and another Honda 9something that also did well, and the Valrarie of course. A couple of H-D cruisers were there, and Kat on her omnipresent Harley also did well. The rest were Buell twins and singles. I think Kat is remotely considering heading out to Colorado for the next event. She'd made it to Detroit and took a third missing the lead my a miniscule margin. But Jerry had an excellent shot at winning, maybe some local dealer will give him a generous discount on a 9S. I wonder if he'll stay with the Extreamely Fast and Nimble Yellow color scheme, or if instead he'll slip to the otherside and order it in flat black. Time will tell, the story is far from over, as always it was a good event, it's just a shame that a Buell got ruled out of a Buell event. But so it goes, and such is life at times, and life goes on. Now starts the S.E.Wisconsin B-Trax series, back to fastest time format (I assume), and bikes broken down into categories. Sure hope they run the Uke's event late in the afternoon to allow me time to get down there. And then there's two Trax events at the H-D 100th, not sure how those will be formatted or judged or what prizes will be offered. I do somehow wonder if many BigTwinH-D's will compete, while there are always a few they are always outnumbered by Buells and other brands of bikes. Something should be done about that, but I don't know what. Time will tell, but ruling out a Buell from a Buell event is not the answer, this I do know unless it speaks of things to come, and with this time will tell as well. Have fun, ride safe, and use as much tire as you can. The road is for riding, the track is for racing, and BattleTrax should be for all. Have a nice day. | ||
| Dynarider |
Mike, I saw they have 2 B-trax events planned during the 100th. I think they might be out in Waukesha at that Riders ranch deal that easy rider puts up. I think I even read somewhere they are going to have a go-go tent. If they do hold it there I think attendance from a Buell point will be dismal at best. Oh well. | ||
| Blake |
Bracket racing doesn't cut it for me. A combination of bracket racing and best time would be cool. That way the faster guys/gals get some bonus for being fast. In pure bracket events there is no incentive to be fast and that kinda sucks. | ||
| Dynarider |
Blake, when Reg first announced this regional deal there was to be 2 winners from each event. The bracket winner & a fast time of the day winner. Dont know what happened & why the fast time was cut out. I know last year at our 5 event Wisconsin series that myself, Randall from Buell & Steve on his Blast had a great time trying to outdo each other for top time. Each event was hard fought & we had a great time. | ||
| Blastin |
Thanks for the responses fellas. I went up to Oshkosh to go walleye fishing on Lake Winnebago last night. Had a good day out on the lake today, not many fish, got thunderstormed on, but was with my beatiful wife and a great brother-in-law-so had a good day anyway. Yeah Blake, just a little disappointed. Just wanted a chance to compete in the finals at the regional event to see if I was good enough to make it to Vegas and possibly win that's all. Court-I'm curious to see the response as well. I'm not begrudging the jacket at all. It was a "step-up" to the plate deal at the event. I was very impressed that the offer was made to me, since I wasn't really expecting anything to start off. As far as Vegas, I've never been there. One of my sayings is, "If I've never been there then lets go." Besides, to be one of the first public persons to ride the 2004 Buell would have been pretty cool. Oh well if them's the rules, them's the rules. We may not understand them, but them's the rules. My wife is calling me to dinner-and no one has ever called me "late for dinner" Jerry | ||
| Sarodude |
I'd like to once again state my Fuel System / EVAP problems as similarly experienced by James (jprovo). Long story short, somehow a partial vacuum develops in the fuel tank. Venting the tank directly to the atmosphere instead of to the charcoal can solves the problem. Not positive, but I THINK that the vacuum present in the purge hose gets put through to the tank vent. I don't have sensitive enough instrumentation to measure this stuff though. I spent some time on the phone with Customer Service. I've tested this beyond what I should be required to do on what was then a less than 1 year old bike still under factory warranty. However, I feel like nobody wanted to take my word for a problem which I stated as clearly and methodically as I possibly could. This is BAD STUFF, BMC. If your EVAP system is failing I imagine a stiff fine may be levied by Ca. Additionally, with the potential for a product liability suit it would seem like someone should dedicate some attention to this. I've come up with a laundry list of why more reports of this aren't reported. If you are truly interested in what I've found, you may contact me. I'll gladly discuss what I've learned. I've slugged it through problems with bikes and dealers. I've passed up warranty repairs just so I know that something was at least ATTEMPTED to be done right. Please at least give me, James, and the rest of us experiencing CA EVAP problems the time of day. I love your bikes. I think Buell is a great company. I was CHARGED by being in the presence of Erik Buell when he visited Ventura for the Ca BRAG tour. This is all good stuff. Let's keep it that way. -Saro edited by sarodude on June 10, 2003 | ||
| Blake |
Saro, If the evap system is pulling a significant vacuum on the fuel tank, it certainly isn't failing, rather it is working too well. Not saying it isn't a problem; it obviously is as far as engine/carburetor operation is concerned, but it is not a problem as far as CARB would be concerned. | ||
| Mikej |
If the charcoal cannister is inhibiting airflow at the low rate the gas tank would need then it is plugged up. Should be simple enough to do a test and see how much restriction the cannister is giving. Just like a catalytic cannister that either plugs up or breaks up and plugs the exhaust which then causes the engine to stall. I know the charcoal cannister is not a catalytic converter, but both are SMOG/Emmissions related and have the same similar end effect when they fail. Could it be possible that maybe a rework is in order and a screen of some sort is needed inside the cannister to contain the charcoal, or perhaps a larger chunk-size of charcoal is required or some other format of charcoal/fume-absorbtion material is needed. Has anyone with a charcoal cannister opened it up to see what's inside? | ||
| Sarodude |
Blake- You're not incorrect. However, the EVAP system stops working when everybody feels like they HAVE TO DISCONNECT IT. Loli got SO freaked out SO many times until we figured out exactly what was going on that she wouldn't get on the freeway without an escort (me) for MONTHS. Remember, she was learning to ride all over again. Getting her to reach to the fuel cap and vent it while LA (CHRISTMAS!) traffic was barking up her ass was a VERY tough sell. These bikes are allegedly targeted at beginners. It's likely that the beginning rider has little / no mechanical aptitude (and may never acquire that anyway) and has enough of a workload without trying to understand why the bike starts running poorly or stalling after only 70 miles while definitely NOT being low on fuel. MikeJ- You make some interesting suggestions. I just hope the factory looks at this problem and addresses it in whatever appropriate fasion. I don't feel I should have to. I've done more than I should without being on Buell's Guinnea Pig list and / or payroll. I'm not upset about having the problem. I'm a bit upset about not being taken seriously (ignored?) about it. Not sure I would've done differently if I was the factory when some nobody called up and told me about this. I did, however, explain all the methodology and kept getting referred to some silly answer I can't currently recall. The answer completely ignored the main solution noted: Disconnect vent hose from can - which was repeated several times. I understand that the factory can't take the word of a nobody seriously. It's gotta come from a dealer tech. Sorry, but no dealer tech is EVER touching my Blast again - and Buell CS is well aware of why that is the case. Dealer techs were the cause of me getting freebied a new Blast. Besides, how much ya wanna bet the dealer tech, IF he figures out that's the problem, will simply "yank all that shit off the bike"? Buell - PLEASE listen to this problem. I'm not asking for horsepower. I'm not asking for an inline four. I'm not criticizing your product offerings. I'm asking for a required system (which costs us $100 on top of 49 staters) to work properly and I'm trying to do it reasonably. -Saro | ||
| Court |
......and I'm trying to do it reasonably. And, therefor stand a far superior chance of being heard whether you ever know it or not. Most of all...Thank you. Court |
