_________________
Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

_________________
If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

I can only agree with what Magz and DNZ so eloquently wrote. However, at midnight yesterday, I could barely see my keyboard

_________________
If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

He knows that he'd be nothing without UKBEG

_________________
'98 M2 Razorback, it's a keeper.

To the original poster,

That is a nice looking bike and, despite the circumstances in which you acquired it, good on you for trying to learn how to ride and look atfer it.

The first thing to say is that Buells are not like your run-of-the-mill Japanise motorcycle. If you park a Ford Focus up in a garage for a few years then, apart from a new battery and some air in the tyres, you'd expect it to be OK. Stick a Lotus Elise in a garge for the same time and all sorts of things will go wrong. Buells are the same - these are "high maintenance" bikes and really don' like to be left standing.

Maz is your man for a full overhaul, although the previous owner seems to have some idea as it is ruinning an aftermarket pipe. (The original pipe will turn into a pile of rust within 24 months.)

The XB design is brilliant but deeply flawed (I bought one when they first came out -sight unseen, just from the press blurb - so I have no axe to grind here).

The belt tensioner - the wheel that sits above the exhaust and runs on the belt - is supposed to keep the belt tension constant: it doesn't. Your's seems to havethe origina tensioner still in place, which will quite happily destroy your gearbox sooner rather than later.

You still have the reflectors on the front forks - these can destroy the forks for you (I know - it happened to me): that'll be a £2k repair if you don't remove them.

Are you North or South London?

I'd be happy to swing up somewhere South to have a look and poit out any obvious isuses (remembering that I am in no way an expert here, but have owned an XB for over 13 years).

Dave

Dave,

"You still have the reflectors on the front forks - these can destroy the forks for you (I know - it happened to me): that'll be a £2k repair if you don't remove them."

Can you explain please ? Didnt hear this before.

Thanks.
Eric.

_________________
'09 XB12XT
'02 Beta Alp 200
'82 + '83 CX500 euroSports's
'83 CX650 Custom
Green "4 Legged" SUV (now galloping the great plains in the sky !!)

I believe that water is held in the sponge of the d/s tape and corrodes away unnoticed until the leg is actually perforated! At that point, apparently, you DO notice!

_________________
'98 M2 Razorback, it's a keeper.

I'll bet

_________________
Last year I joined a group for anti-social people
We haven't met yet.

Ok then...looks like they will have to come of then !

Eric.

_________________
'09 XB12XT
'02 Beta Alp 200
'82 + '83 CX500 euroSports's
'83 CX650 Custom
Green "4 Legged" SUV (now galloping the great plains in the sky !!)

I have my fork tubes on the bench today trying to polish out the aggressive, under the anodising corrosion.
A grown up would tell me to bin them but I cannot find or probably afford new ones.
I'm grinding out the white powder from under the flaky skin and polishing back. Wearing gloves as well since I got flakes of anodise under my skin.