Hey where'd my piston go....???
Thread Starter
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,708
Hey where'd my piston go....???
.
.
.
.
.
Ohh, there it is... typical Buell.
...and the rest of it...
Damage to the head when the crank let loose...
Out of the 8 or so Buells I've purchased, only 2 have been runners... the rest were bombs. The Sportster motor is a terrible platform for a sportbike engine. I wish Buell the best of luck with his new venture that does not include Harley.
Last edited by inderocker; Nov 23, 2010 at 09:03 PM.
Thread Starter
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,708
Just another Buell from the insurance auctions. Rev limitier or not... these things are bombs. Out of all of the different makes/models we've purchased the Buells take the cake for having the most blown engines.
Last edited by inderocker; Nov 22, 2010 at 09:21 PM.
I loves me twins
Superstock
Superstock
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 380
From: Houston, TX
I know for sure the 03-07's had inadequate oiling. Buell developed a new oiling system for the XBRR race bike which eventually found it's way to the 08-on street bikes. Anyway, that kind of damage is likely from over-rev. A 1910 design, with 1200 aircooled cc's of modern technology just isn't going to be reliable. On the other hand, I put 12,000 hard miles on mine in the blazing Houston heat and it never gave me any problems.
Thread Starter
Moderator
MotoGP
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,708
I'm not sure what the differences are between the Sportster's 1200 engine and the Buells 1200, but we've had 3 or 4 Sportster's and all have been runners. IMHO I think the 1200 just can't handle a sport bike application. All but one of our blown XB's were due to a blown crank, the other was a top end seizure .
Senior Member
Superstock
Superstock
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 293
yeah, the real shame is that Harley never let Buell play with the Vrod engine (though it was pretty long) while they were designing the Helicon engine. Instead he was basically forced to use the A/C tractor engine. 
The Sportster based engine in a sportbike application was forcing a square peg into a round hole. Ugly failure though!
The Sportster based engine in a sportbike application was forcing a square peg into a round hole. Ugly failure though!
Senior Member
MotoGP
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,452
From: San Clemente, CA
Nice photos of the barrel and cyl head. It reminds me of my '69 VW after sucking a valve on the freeway in 1973. Except on mine the wrist pin was broken, the rod was twisted, and the remains of the piston was seized in the barrel. Inside of the head looked about the same though.
I still have the parts.
I still have the parts.
Senior Member
SuperBike
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,806
From: Atlanta, GA
yeah, the real shame is that Harley never let Buell play with the Vrod engine (though it was pretty long) while they were designing the Helicon engine. Instead he was basically forced to use the A/C tractor engine. The Sportster based engine in a sportbike application was forcing a square peg into a round hole. Ugly failure though!
The Sportster based engine in a sportbike application was forcing a square peg into a round hole. Ugly failure though!
Senior Member
Superstock
Superstock
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 293
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
