| Author | Message | ||
     Chicknstripn |
My bike has a little over 37k miles on it and it looks like I'll be splitting the cases to replace my flywheel. My bike is a 2007 XB12R firebolt. I haven't totally confirmed the need for a new flywheel but I have torn the whole top end off the engine. From what I can tell the connecting rod bearing to the front piston is shot. The front piston has a ton of up and down movement. The rear piston has none. This leads to believe that the bearing associated with that connecting rod is fried. Besides the very small metal shavings that I have found in the engine oil this is the only abnormality that I have discovered thus far in my tear down. Any of you gents with a little more Buell experiance have any suggestions as to where I can get my flywheel replaced or repaired. I really don't want to have this happen with in another 35k | ||
| Buelliedan |
Yes your lower connecting rod bearings have went bad and unfortunately it seems to be happening to quite a few XB12s. It's almost always the center rod. The only shop I would trust to fix it is Dark Horse Crank Works in WI but it will cost almost as much as buying a new one so be prepared. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Out of curiosity, what kind of costs would one be looking at? I realize different vendors and problems will have different numbers, but what would a reasonable "back of a napkin" costs be? So say you had a motor removed and crated and shipped, with a bad crank / crank bearing, and resulting damage to both cylinders and pistons (and the assumptions that if you are rebuilding you might as well get new pistons and new / refinished jugs anyway). The work done would be to replate the jugs, replace the crank and machine cases for the newest biggest crank and crank bearing, new pistons and other likely wear items, put the motor back together, and ship it to my door. Is that $2000? $4000? I have no idea, but always wondered. | ||
| Chicknstripn |
dark horse crankworks gave me a rough estimate of 1200 bucks to split the cases, install all new bearings and retro fit a beefier 2008 type crank/flywheel assembly. And that's if there aren't any other surprises in the cases. AND That's just the bottom end. Now for the top end. NRHS gave me a rough estimate of 2k for a 1250 kit and stage 2 head work. The kit includes everything necessary to bolt together a fresh engine that should make around 105 rwhp and 85lb ft of torque. With shipping and all that jazz you're probably talking an addition 5 hundred bucks. So all in all I think it would be about 4k and at least a month of down time. I don't think it's worth it. I'm considering parting my bike out...... | ||
| Froggy |
Man that sucks to hear about the costs. Unfortunatally as you found out the hard way, there was a bad batch of 07 XB12 motors with subpar crankshafts installed, yours is one of them. What I would do in your position is source another used motor, they typically go for around a grand on Ebay, after you install it and get it running again, part out the damaged motor to recoup some of your costs. | ||
| Chicknstripn |
I'm selling the whole bike for $2500. I don't want to chance another flywheel issue so I'm washing my hands of it. | ||
| Buelliedan |
I think you will have a very hard time getting $2500 for a bike with a wasted crank. I think you will be very lucky to even get half that amount. | ||
| Reepicheep |
If my Uly went tomorrow, it would be worth it for a $4k rebuild and upgrade... Though I would also be tempted to just find a $4k runner and then have a parts bike also. Except I would do that, then fix the parts bike anyway because its too nice to be a parts bike.  | ||
| Andersonhdj |
Ultimately it's your choice but i have to agree with both Reep and Froggy! You'de be better off finding a good running motor, at least then you could recover a decent price if you wanted to sell. There will always be takers for gearbox parts, heads etc from your trashed motor. The trick is to have the patience to wait it out till the right motor pops up, just make sure you get something outside the problem timeframe. | ||
| Chicknstripn |
I agree on the motor part. There's nothing outside of 04 to 07 out there at this moment. I figure I'd throw the for sale deal out there. I believe the bike is worth at least that much in parts, to the right buyer, but that all depends on what parts people need and how much someone really loves buells. I think my love affair is over. However, my mind never turns off and I can't leave well enough alone. | ||
| Texas_firebolt |
Unfortunately I have the same thing with a 2007 XB12 Super TT I bought with "undetermined issues"... Sucks to find that out considering I took a chance on buying it in hopes it was a relatively easy fix... Entire engine is trashed in mine and I'll be sourcing a used engine. Since they say 08 cranks are better can I just source an 08 engine for replacement? |
