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Buell XB Forums / Buell XB Forum / Buell Firebolt XB12, XB9 / how much oil do I put in my motor, not the swing arm
| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 08:03 | [?] |
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| This is my first oil change on my new xb12 and I don't know if I added enough oil, I put 3qt in the swing arm and .80qt in my motor. | |
| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 08:53 Last Edited By: FIDOSOL | [?] |
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| Check the service manual...Got one? Also, get your bike level and check the fluid levels, that's the best way to know for sure. | |
| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 12:46 | [?] |
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It should be 3qt for engine oil and .75qt for the tranny. Check it hot(10 min after a good ride) with it on level ground with the bike on the side stand.
Find some Royal Purple synthetic bike oil. 20w50 for engine, 10w30 for tranny. |
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 13:00 | [?] |
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2.5 qt for the engine oil, that is per the manual... also says not to overfill it.
BUT In my personal experience with all things mechanical, there's a dipstick for a reason, so us dipsticks can get it right! Just like dave said though, fill it up 2.5-3 qts and .75-.80qt for the tranny, then check it hot, have someone hold the bike level for you, best way is for them to either straddle the bike seat and hold it up, or if they can't reach the ground with both feet (like me) then just straddle the front tire and hold the bike straight by the handle bars, if you are worried about the person not being able to hold the bike up, then ask them if they know how to check a dipstick... hope we've been of some assistance. |
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 13:39 | [?] |
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wait wait..... I'm 100% sure the oil is to be checked with the bike not fully vertical, but on the side stand. That is a common mistake made even by dealers.
This is right out of the manual "Ride motorcycle for approximately 10 minutes to ensure the oil is hot and the engine is at normal operating temperature. 1. The motorcycle must be on level ground, on the side-stand, with the engine off. " Sorry about my mistake on engine oil capacity, I guess I was just thinking of how much I bought, not used. It is 2.5qts And the tranny is approximately 1qt |
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 13:42 | [?] |
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| hmm...now I have to check my service manual when I get home...oh well, my bad... | |
| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 15:30 | [?] |
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There is no doubt you check the oil level on the side stand not standing straight up. You put 2.5 quarts in the swing arm and that is it. Don't overfill it. Plus you can't just put oil in the motor there is no fill place to do that.
Then you put 1qt in the primary for the tranny. Pour the entire quart in there no more no less. You can use 20w50 in the primary as well. Don't use the less weight oil in the primary as previously stated. |
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2008 16:32 | [?] |
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| only the Jap bike have to be in the upright possition. are Buell's stay on there side. | |
| Posted: 29 Aug 2008 00:50 | [?] |
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| As previously stated was talking about the "Royal Purple" brand. They recommend 20W50 in the engine, and 10w30 in the tranny. Read it yourself link | |
| Posted: 29 Aug 2008 05:21 | [?] |
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Here is what the service manual say.
Table 1-5. Recommended Oil Grades HARLEY-DAVIDSON TYPE VISCOSITY HARLEY-DAVIDSON RATING LOWEST AMBIENT TEMP °F COLD WEATHER STARTS BELOW 50° F H.D. Multi-Grade SAE 10W40 HD 360 Below 40° (4°C) Excellent H.D. Multi-Grade SAE 20W50 HD 360 Above 40° (4°C) Good H.D. Regular Heavy SAE 50 HD 360 Above 60° (16°C) Poor H.D. Extra Heavy SAE 60 HD 360 Above 80° (27°C) Poor Has you can see if you ride BELOW 40 deg's then you 10W40 |
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| Posted: 29 Aug 2008 06:35 | [?] |
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Definitely on the sidestand. My dealer made the mistake of filling it vertically and it was extremely overfilled.
warm and on the sidestand. |
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| Posted: 29 Aug 2008 07:29 | [?] |
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| Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I really learned a lot of this forum | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 04:55 | [?] |
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Hey guys I have an 09 12R. It is about a month old. Just got the 1,000 mile service done not too long ago. Checked the oil. It showed a low condition. Called the dealer. He swears by the fact he put in 2.5 qts. as per the service manual. I own the same service manual and follow it to the T as to checking the oil. He added like 4 oz to put it in the middle margin. checked it a couple weeks later, and it is low again, a little bit lower than the low mark. Where is my oil going? It is not dripping anywhere, and there is nothing coming out of the exhaust. My bike is completely stock.
My bike also cold starts and idles very rough. it will dip below 1,000 rpms and almost die a few times. most times it does and i have to restart it. i do not touch the throttle at all before or during start-up. until it reaches operating temperature, it will cough, sputter, and minutely backfire through the exhaust, and it will hiccup through the intake. the exhaust headers will also glow a dull orange if it idles for about 60 seconds. once it is at temp, it runs great. this started at about 400 miles. before it didn't do this. The bike has been in the dealer about 5 times now, and they put it on the computer. each time they say nothing is wrong blah blah blah. Baloney! a brand new $10,000 machine should not run like this! Thanks guys, i love my bike, but i am getting really frustrated with it. not even two months old now.... |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 06:10 | [?] |
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| just check the oil at every fuel up and add when needed. My bike went through a little bit of oil when I changed to synthetic. | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 06:25 | [?] |
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| does that mean yours stopped using it then? | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 06:38 | [?] |
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Well in your manual, it does say to check it at every fill up.
Do the breather reroute. It will help with the rough idle. Plus, if you get a actual oil catch, you can see how much oil is coming out. Have you checked inside your airbox? I bet there's lots of oil inside. Your bike is still pretty new. Let it mature a bit and get more miles on it, it will run better |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 07:03 | [?] |
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| Furball, take your bike out and run it at 3200-3500 rpms for a few miles. Your bike will re-learn for the conditions. This should smooth your bike out a bit as your break it in. Breather re-route will defintely help as well. | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 08:10 | [?] |
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I havnt been able to put many miles on lately but i havnt had to add more than a few ounces ever 100 miles or so.
The breather re-route.. lol... All you have to do is run a hose down and splice in a filter.. i drained mine today and there was quite a bit of clear liquid in the line. |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 19:51 | [?] |
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Ok, I will try those couple things... But c'mon guys, i have been riding motorcycles for 14 years.... never had issues like these, am I supposed to carry a quart of oil with me wherever i go? ridiculous.
I am very mechanically inclined. My profession is not a mechanic, but i do electrical engineering type things in the Air Force. What I am trying to say is that i dont know this bike by the back of my hand, but i am not an idiot. if i have the service manual (i do) i can strip the bike down to the frame and put it back together with no problems. Dave, I take off my airbox and clean the clear fluid that accumulates there once a week. My ghost oil does not appear there. I will definitely do the breather re-route. Also, remember how i said my headers glow orange? starting a few days ago, my plastic trim (airbox and the rear plactic tail starting after the seat) does not line up anymore with the frame! they both are pulled in a bit. maybe the heat warped the plastic? i will take pics later and post them up. this wasnt like this when i bought it. Which brings me to my next point. Why on earth doesnt buell sell the ceramic coated headers with the bike, as it has them in the pictures of the new bike, on their website? i would rather have paid $10,300 to get it with them already on it. my rear-end and the back of my right thigh are always burning. Why should i have to pay ANOTHER 500-700 dollars to make a brand new bike IDLE NORMALLY, and NOT BURN ME? i am split 50-50 now. i love this bike, but it is such a freaking headache. |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 20:00 | [?] |
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| Buells take a bit to get used to, specially if you got off a 4banger. The heat REALLY threw me for a loop for a while before I found this site. If your headers are glowing orange your letting it warm up too long. My headers glowed orange once when I let it warm up for like 5 mins before I hit 1k mile service. And keep in mind its going to run hotter for the first 1k miles + because of break in period of course. Keep it till 5k miles and everything will smooth out. | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 20:18 | [?] |
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I did the breather re-route at ~300 miles. My airbox was pretty spattered with oil droplets, we're not talking pools of oil, but a nice film. I did the re-route and everything runs so much better. Most of my riding is usually ~50mph - 110mph (town / freeway)
When I notice the heat is when I am splitting lanes going slower in a higher gear or stopped at a stupidly long stop light, As far as warm up, About ~45-60 seconds, then I have a nice ride through town, about ~5-7min, before I jam on the freeway. I have had one or two backfires at a stoplight, one stall... |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 22:49 | [?] |
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they glow orange after about 60-90 seconds. ambient temp outside is 60 degress...
Just got back from the dealer again. you should have seen his eyes when he saw the warped plastic! it idles and skips like it runs on one cylinder every so often. they put it on the computer.... still no codes.... they want me to drop it off next week so they can have it for a few days. i told them whatever it needs, i want it to get cleared up. |
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| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 22:51 | [?] |
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| how do i upload photos? | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 22:54 | [?] |
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Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jun 2008 |
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| Go to "My Photos" at the top, then it has an upload button. Ya man if its getting orange that quick, and consistantly including warping your plastics somethings up. | |
| Posted: 30 Oct 2008 23:06 | [?] |
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Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Oct 2008 |
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here is the warped plastic
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2008 05:22 | [?] |
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Furball, How's your fuel economy? it sounds to me like your bike might be running a bit too rich... and possibly igniting unburned fuel in the header.
depending on where you'r riding, you should be getting well north of 115 miles per fill up. If you're getting significantly less than that you could have a problem with your fuel system. |
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2008 05:40 | [?] |
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Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Oct 2008 |
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| naw man, i get the usual... 120 miles then the gas light comes on... thanks though | |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2008 14:22 | [?] |
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Quote:
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 9 Reputation: Unranked [?] User Rank: Second Lieutenant Second Lieutenant Ok, I will try those couple things... But c'mon guys, i have been riding motorcycles for 14 years.... never had issues like these, am I supposed to carry a quart of oil with me wherever i go? ridiculous. I am very mechanically inclined. My profession is not a mechanic, but i do electrical engineering type things in the Air Force. What I am trying to say is that i dont know this bike by the back of my hand, but i am not an idiot. if i have the service manual (i do) i can strip the bike down to the frame and put it back together with no problems. Dave, I take off my airbox and clean the clear fluid that accumulates there once a week. My ghost oil does not appear there. I will definitely do the breather re-route. Also, remember how i said my headers glow orange? starting a few days ago, my plastic trim (airbox and the rear plactic tail starting after the seat) does not line up anymore with the frame! they both are pulled in a bit. maybe the heat warped the plastic? i will take pics later and post them up. this wasnt like this when i bought it. Which brings me to my next point. Why on earth doesnt buell sell the ceramic coated headers with the bike, as it has them in the pictures of the new bike, on their website? i would rather have paid $10,300 to get it with them already on it. my rear-end and the back of my right thigh are always burning. Why should i have to pay ANOTHER 500-700 dollars to make a brand new bike IDLE NORMALLY, and NOT BURN ME? i am split 50-50 now. i love this bike, but it is such a freaking headache. Posted: 30 Oct 2008 20:00 furball im with you a new bike should give you no problems for many many years..id be pissed also...they been making the basic same design motor for over 100 years think it would be trouble free by now....your going to find for the most part it will be one thing or another with and buell or harley motorcycle..its part of the beast and harleys have always been that way...hope there good news on your bike soon and you can start enjoying it |
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2008 21:29 | [?] |
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Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jul 2008 |
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furball, I hope your dealership figures it out for you. What part of the country are you in? Texas has a lemon law that applies to all vehicles. If your state has the same I would consider putting it to use if you can. I'm not entirely sure if any of us has a good solution for what the problem is based on information you can provide here but it sounds to me like there is something drastically wrong. the only thing I can think of that would cause your header to heat up to the point of glowing that quickly after starting the bike (other than the fuel mixture issue I mentioned above) would be a serious problem with the valves (stuck/bent valve or cam off by a tooth). I would hate for you to have to have a brand new bikes heads pulled off to check this.. but it really sounds like you might have an exhaust valve that's not closing properly. in the headers.. does one side (front or rear) seem to be getting hotter or hot faster than the other?
Either way my first suggestion would be to check your state's lemon laws.. Most Buell owners (myself inclusive) love our bikes and most of us have been fortunate enough to get pretty reliable bikes. I have had no issues with mine and it has 14K miles on it and I have not done the breather reroute. I think if you are able to get you bike replaced, (or if not able to apply a lemon law, fixed once and for all) you'll be very happy with your choice of bike. |
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| Posted: 01 Nov 2008 21:46 | [?] |
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Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jun 2007 |
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I use Jaggermeister and Redbull.
Gives an engine.... Wings! Robtk! a.k.a. "Special K" Quote:
"All truth (about Buells) passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Secondly, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." --Arthur SchopenBuelly |
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