Down the rabbit hole...basket case 09 Firebolt

I have a co worker who for the past 8 years or so has talked about selling this bike. Apparently the loan was in her name and when her and her ex spit she still owed quite a bit on it so she ended up with the bike. Now she is re-married, her new husband doesn't ride but last year decided he would get the bike running and learn to ride. So he took it apart and it has sat in their garage ever since. Now he has decided it needs to be stored out in the barn to make way for his new riding mower. The thing has 8K miles, still has a dealer tag so they never paid the excise tax on it, has back tags due back to 2010, needs tires and won't run. They don't have the money to drop it off at a shop to get it running and just want it gone, so she offered to sign the title over to me, see if I can get it running and tagged, sell it and split the sale price minus what it takes for me to get it running. So here it is:

Attachment 11573

Yes, those are chickens in the background. I would have chose to start this project after my newly hatched chickens could move outdoors but they wanted it gone ASAP.

Battery is dead but will crank on a 50amp charge, fires when I prime it but its not getting fuel. I pull the fuel drain plug and find a nice collection of something that looks like roofing tar.
Attachment 11574 and it just gets worse from there.

Some purist is shaking their head at the screwdriver marks, someone should make a puller for these things! Attachment 11575

Had to pull the upper shock eye bolt and lift the bike to get enough swingarm clearance to yank the pump. Just going to assume the engineering on that bit was contracted to the same retarded Mongolian kids who engineer Suzuki brakes. Isn't it lovely? Attachment 11577 It wasn't a big deal to lift the bike since I already had the can off, most of the rivets were blown out.

Hey, I wonder why it was so loud? Yes, that is the entirety of packing material left in the can. Attachment 11576

I'm not sure if I want to buy a new slip on for this thing, at this point I'm not sure if I'll even keep the bike. Where the hanger wraps around the back of the can has cut into the stainless pretty bad, its salvage-able but it will be ugly. I do have an old set of carbon Ferracci cans that came off a 900ss that are about the same length, if I could get a collector from Cone Engineering it may be a viable solution.

So I need to get a pump on the way and get the gunk out of the tank. From what I could feel by reaching into the tank only about the bottom 3 inches next to the pump seem to have the black goop around it, the rest of the tank seems okay. I also need to find a manual for this thing, before I start putting it back together I may run the valves. Does anyone know off the top of their head what the valve adjustment interval is on these and what the clearance is set to?

Welcome to Buell-land, home of neglected motorcycles:(

The service manual is a really handy referral and can be downloaded for free at Buellmods.com or Buelltooth.com

You should also get ECMDroid free from the google play store, or Buelltooth.com as a wonderful diagnostic tool and the ability to test fan, spark, injector, etc.

PM lunatic on here for a fuel pump assembly (or re-build kit) he has generously collected the correct factory parts for such an endeavor.

Since it was attempted to start with that tar in the tank, it is now in the fuel injectors:( pull them and have them sonically cleaned while you wait for your fuel pump to arrive.

Whats your location?

You could re-pack whatever pipe you have on it for cheap, or other aftermarket pipes can be found inexpensively as well. A straight cone on that will be LOUD. The Jardine cans have a reputation of exploding.

It's too late but our esteemed Chickenstripin has made a puller tool to loan out, if you don't want to whip one up yourself.

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Originally Posted by Noel

Does anyone know off the top of their head what the valve adjustment interval is on these and what the clearance is set to?

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Its the same for pretty much all "modern" Harley engines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEeFI8urSJY

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Originally Posted by Cooter

You could re-pack whatever pipe you have on it for cheap, or other aftermarket pipes can be found inexpensively as well. A straight cone on that will be LOUD. The Jardine cans have a reputation of exploding.

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I think Phelan was telling me how the Jardine cans were better suited towards the 9's and the 12's tended to be rough on them. In the OP's case, I'd recommend putting a stock pipe back on it until you get it all sorted. They can be had cheap, work well performance wise, if a tad on the quiet side. And if you are having a tuning issue, you won't have to worry about the variable of a wonky exhaust causing problems. Basket case bikes are ALWAYS a challenge (and always missing something- even when the PO guarantees "everything is there")

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by 34nineteen

Its the same for pretty much all "modern" Harley engines.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEeFI8urSJY

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Weird, my 96 Guzzi had hydraulic lifters and still needed adjusted, I just assumed Harleys adjust too.

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Originally Posted by Noel

Weird, my 96 Guzzi had hydraulic lifters and still needed adjusted, I just assumed Harleys adjust too.

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Maybe Harleys do but Buells don’t.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cooter

Since it was attempted to start with that tar in the tank, it is now in the fuel injectors:( pull them and have them sonically cleaned while you wait for your fuel pump to arrive.

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Possibly, I hope the goop was so thick there was no way the impeller was going to turn. It was really bad, and my shop still smells of old gas, and not just the fallout from Taco Tuesday and sour beer. From what I can tell by peeking down in there it looks like I have to yank the manifold to get to the injectors?