Well, let me see....uhhh, 2 weeks in the shop (the first 2 weeks I owned her). Then back to the shop two weeks ago for a clutch fluid leak....she's still in there. Maybe when I finally get to really ride the bike, I can enjoy it.:(
You're better off to buy some nice LEDs from an aftermarket company(got mine from Custom Chrome Catalog). They are metal housings and are actually made in USA not China. Found a fender eliminator on ebay, took off all three miles of plastic, replaced w/ slick steel one from Florida (about 65.00). looks way better now.
Have had my '08 1125R for 4 months and have put 4300 miles on it... There is not a day that I look back and regret my decision of purchasing it. It rides hard and has never let me down once performance wise. The only problem I have ever had was I had to replace the rear turn signals once in the first 3 weeks that I had it, but no problems since then.
Well, here's the scoop on '09 1125R clutch leaks....Buell decided it's a widespread problem with '09s only (so far). They have put together a "kit" to remedy the problem....so you with '09s keep an eye on the clutch cover.....
That is all....as you were.
I live in Savannah, GA and the nearest dealer is in either Agusta GA (3 hrs) or Jacksonville FL (2 1/2 hrs), which makes it a real pain to take it in for repairs. I bought a "Tidy Tail" off of ebay and a set of 15 LED mini directionals for a ZX10 while I was on there... installed them in place of the BS factory ones. No problems with function and no irratic function. That plus it looks a whole lot better with things tucked up and away.
Tank
Thread's kinda stale -- but after reading most of the other user comments, I figure I'd add in my $0.02
I bought my '08 in late October/early November of 08. In the last (less than) twelve months, I've wracked up over 12k on the bike.
Problem 1: At date of purchase, the weekend I had the bike, I had to take it back in due to a bum clutch.... Basically, you squeeze the hand lever and there's no meat there. This sounds like the reservoir leak that many talked about. After three trips back to the dealership, they did me right after contacting Buell directly. The dealership actually tested each piece isolated and it checked out... there was something about a clearance in the assembly that was 1/64th an inch off but still in spec. The replaced everything from the handlebars down to the pressure plate... so they say at my request. I haven't had any issues since then with the clutch since then.
Problem 2: 300 miles into riding, the back incandescent tail light bulb burned out. This led to riding over 30 miles black-backed in the rainy night. Quick replacement with an LED Cluster drop-in bulb, and I never had any problems there.
Problem 3: Very lumpy riding in any gear below about 5k. Typical ECM mapping problem. Recall treatment for it fixed the problem... After that recall, both the suspension and the throttle felt much better.
Problem 4: Recall for the 5th-gear lock-up... no major problems with the bike... just a recall item.
Problem 5: Front Brake Cable rub/re-route recall. My line had some rubbing on it, but didn't make it through the plastic jacket... let alone hit the steel weave.
Problem 6: Left Rear turn signal module went TU at about 7000 miles... Had it replaced under warranty.
Problem 7: When getting the first set of replacement tires, the back bearings were shot (11.5k miles).
Problem 8: Dealership where I bought the bike has decided that Buell is horribly slow in warranty reimbursement and has decided to drop the Buell line. They will no longer perform warranty work if I remember correctly.
Problem 9: at 12k miles, the rear brake pads are completely gone (but I'm a hard rider)... the front pads are at 15-20 percent (if that)... and the front rotor has signs of leaving particles from the pads (again, I'm a hard rider).
Other anecdotes:
I've one-shot ridden the bike over 700 mile twice in one weekend (trip two states away and back) with no problems.... It's even really comfortable when you put your shins on the back pegs and lay on the bike. Quite stable at 85 laying down.
I got over 11.5k miles out of my stock tires before the rear showed cords.
The external thermostat lies and reads about 5-10 degrees hotter from 30 degrees to 45 degrees (don't ask how I know this)
The bike pushes hard on flat terrain until 164 MPH and loses all top end push in 6th.... but seems to sustain this top speed even up slight inclines -- but not large grades (again, don't ask how I know this).
The bike is designed to wrap the rider in an airstream envelope. In a full tuck without rain gear, you can stay dry as long as you go faster than 45 MPH (excluding kick-up from other vehicles).
As people have noted, the bike doesn't like running below 4k. Basically, you idle at 12-15 MPH lumpy and it smooths out at "near-idle" at 20 MPH. Not perfect for parking garages and stop-and-go traffic. The thing's designed to go. That's all there is to it.
I also ride an '06 Daytona 675. Between the two bikes, the Daytona is my tight clean scalpel and the Buell is my big club with a huge nail in it. In foul weather, the Beull is better simply because of the aerodynamics of the plastics. If I had to give up one of 'em, I'd probably get rid of the Buell first.
If you're gonna buy one -- you'll like it, but remember that you're essentially buying a Harley product... and Harley has a wonderful track record for quality -slash sarcasm-... Though I've had much less service headaches than my Harley friends who ride their lazy-boy recliners.
(edit for brake-line reroute recall... forgot it on the first pass.)
Good clinical write up for an '08. Pretty much what the BIL experienced.
It seems to me that none of the problems are design (QC related) and that they cleaned up this stuff for '09+. But, '08s are discounted because of it and are a great deal if you get one that's sorted out. Stinks to have to go through it out of the box, though.
I'll soon ride-compare my 08 xb9sx with the his MoV(his mother of violence) again soon. (His bike made me wonder if Buell didn't have in mind a smaller rotax replacement for the XB in the future.)
- Charlie
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