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Thread: New to forum and to buell ownership

  1. #1
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    New to forum and to buell ownership

    Hi everyone. Just registered and already need answers PLEASE. I recently bought a 2005 xb12r and the previous owner(s) obviously didn't have much respect for the machine they trusted their lives on. It had an aftermarket exhaust which was barely on. I road the bike a couple times and it ran decent and seemed to have plenty of power. Then one day I went to ride it and, without even pushing the bike it blew the exhaust in half and died. wouldn't stay idling after that. It was then I decided to dismantle the bike and get familiar with it. Now, I'm not a seasoned mechanic by no means but I'm pretty good with my hands, learn fast and enjoy knowing the machines I have in my life. Anyways, I tore the bike down. Replaced all the top end and rocker assembly gaskets. Lapped the valves and put it back together. Adjusted the timing as well and changed fluids. The bike starts no problem but barely will stay idling and has zero power in all gears as well as wants to die when i give it any throttle. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I would like to gain any knowledge possible. For some reason I love this bike and I really want it running how it should. Thanks for all that respond

  2. #2
    Senior Member Barrett's Avatar
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    1-Stock 12 series muffler with shuttered power valve
    2-Non-functioning IEV actuator and cable assembly
    3-Failed fuel pump

    My $ is on the pump.

  3. #3
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    First off, Barrett ty for the reply. You think Its my Fuel pump? What if i said its does not have the stock exhaust? Actually I think I did say that already. Is there a way to test my fuel pump to know if its working or not? Also, it worked before I pulled the engine apart. Is there any specific reasons it'd go bad or more to the point I suppose. Is there anything I could have done when taring down and putting back together that could have caused the fuel pump to go bad if in fact that is the issue? As before and always, I much appreciate your feedback ty
    Last edited by jdub84; 07-15-2021 at 02:54 AM. Reason: wanted to add another question

  4. #4
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    rev-mo.com sells a fuel pressure tester for $25. Pressure should be around 50 psi. Fuel pumps seem to be common culprit of loss of power and poor cruising (ask me how I know), and you will need to rebuild eventually, so why not just take care of it now and check it off the list. Barrett sells a kit with everything you need. Also worth checking, but have you properly reset the TPS?
    Last edited by RidetheLightning; 07-16-2021 at 04:51 AM.

  5. #5
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    I have not. I did a complete top end gasket and o-ring replacement lapped the valves and put it back together. Can the o2 sensor cause it to run horribly or lose power? The thing thats weird is now the bike seems to run with all the power it had before i did the too end but it suddenly not want to idol or go anywhere when throttled. pull it over let it sit for a while and all the sudden it runs great again. I'm very mechanically inclined but my knowledge on bikes is very minimal. What might cause this? Overheating issue? It doesnt seem to ever have a problem at night when it's a little cooler. Ridethelightning, thanks for the the advice. I have a pressure tester i think if not ill get one and check it out

  6. #6
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
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    Why did you mess with timing? What did you do? Retarded base timing would idle OK and cause a loss of power. Timing is controlled by the ECM, thats why it is (was) riveted in place, so put it back.

    How did you fix the muffler issue? Jardines have a habit of blowing up on Buells.

    Perform the TPS re-set, per the manual:
    https://www.buellmods.com/content/do...olt_manual.pdf

    You can TPS re-set with ECMDroid.
    Putting the free program ECMDroid (GooglePlay) on your Android device, not Apple, and is a great diagnostic tool and will stop you from throwing parts at it with every guess. It communicates with the ECM via a wireless connection. I like the bluetooth dongle I got from Rev-Mo.com. Instructions are on the site. They have stainless mufflers too.

    CAUTION: Do NOT attempt to swap in a "free fuel map" to solve a problem. FIX the bike first, then modify with fuel maps and such if you want. The map is NOT the problem. The map is not the problem. The map is not the problem.

    Is your CEL on? Diagnostics are in the manual, and you can check with ECMDroid.

  7. #7
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    every video i pulled up showed to do the time in that manor and recommended it after opening up rocker boxes and lapping valves. I'm learning as i go or try to go lol.. i will eventually know everything about this bike but as of right now i know next to nothing. i dont even know what a free fuel map is. as for the exhaust, I was trying to find an original but evey one I found was just to much for me to afford at this time so my buddy gave me one off of one of his other bikes thats kinda similar and i welded it to the original headers

  8. #8
    Senior Member Cooter's Avatar
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    I'm not even sure what to think. I'm so confused by your answers.

    Removing the rockerboxes to replace leaky gaskets... and removing the heads to lap valves are VERY different jobs. Why lap the valves?! Were they leaking? Is that all you did? No rings? I mean it's in you lap right? So was the engine out? (Yes or no, please)

    If you are unsure of what you are doing with the heads off you can bend the pushrods on installation or even swap the pushrods by mistake, Intake and exhaust are different lengths, you can get the cams out of time, lots of things to cause your issue.
    Last edited by Cooter; 07-25-2021 at 10:57 PM.

  9. #9
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    ok so when i bought the bike from a friend of mine, he had just purchased it off marketplace. one look at the bike and you could tell it wasnt cared for very well. I tend to like learning about, restoring and taking care of the things i have. so i decided to read up a bit and watch a bunch of videos and then pull the bike apart, check for any obvious major damage and at the same time replace all of the o-rings and gaskets on the top end. Well, when i got the bike apart and throttle body off, first i noticed how all the carbon build up. next I pulled the tops off the rocker boxes and noticed that quite a bit of heat damage. So I studied a little more, got back tire up, put bike in 5th found TDC for front head and proceeded to pull the rest of the rocker assembly and one look at valves told me they should be replaced but after watching a few videos and reading a bit i decided to lap them which ended up working ok. all except one. one still had some pitting in it. anyways, I got the front reassembled on the bike, repeated same steps with back. what I'm now worried about is what youre saying about the rods. I kept them in order but i must admit when I went to reinstall i did mix them up and so i put them net to each other but they seemed exactly the same. How do I figure that out? i only pulled one set at a time so hopefully that makes it easier? Thank you for your reply. I guess there may be some things I learn the hard way but such is life. Ive always done the work on my vehicles and anything else with a motor Ive had over the years, myself. but now u have the jest of it. thats everything i did. The other issue is that I'm not familiar enough yet with the bike to notice what belongs on it, what's been changed and what might have been removed

  10. #10
    The pushrods are slightly different sizes. Unless you use a large caliper or compare sizes closely you will not notice the difference.
    There is also paint markings on the pushrods to indicate size/positions. I recommend downloading a free manual from buellmods.com and READING IT. Putting the pushrods in the incorrect positions can lead to severe engine damage.



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