Why We Ride Buells

Many people have asked me why we chose a Buell XB12X Ulysses. It's not really an off road ADV bike, and it's not a sportbike. I mean what is it? Well, it's more of an all-purpose bike like an SUV. An SUV isn't a jeep but you can go places a car can't. It is effectively the SUV of motorcycles, able to carve some canyons and take the road less traveled. No, I don't take it on 4 wheel drive roads but it can handle any normal dirt road and many 2 track roads with it's 7" of suspension travel and ample ground clearance. It packs up like a mule and doesn't complain with its full suspension adjustability front and back to handle the load. The Buell is very light and easy to maneuver at only 450 lbs wet unloaded, compare that to a BMW 1200 GS at 564 lbs and the KTM 1290 Adventure at 530 lbs wet unloaded. I have seen a lot of people struggle on tight dirt roads trying to handle all that weight. My Buell fully loaded barely reaches their empty wet weight. I have had it on some trails that I shouldn't have and it got me out without trouble and was easier to handle. One other plus, I was drawn to the big old Harley 1200 motor, that sound is unmistakable, and it's an American bike!

I know the main bike for ADVenture travel is the BMW GS or KTM ADV machines but I wanted something different. Remember the old Apple ads, "think different"? Yes, it's not as smooth and doesn't have all the newest electronics like ABS and traction control but I call that character. Motorcycles didn't have those gadgets for a hundred years and people still went around the world. It's the driver, not the machine.

I like its simplicity and ease of repair. Reliability is on par with most bikes out there and once you fix it's known weaknesses it is very reliable and low maintenance. A lot of issues with Buells were from the earlier years and by the time the Ulysses most were solved. We have 2 Ulysses, a 2006 and 2007 both with over 50,000 miles on them with no major problems.

Now let's go over maintenance we've done to the bikes and service performed. Other than routine maintenance like oil changes, cleaning air filters, and tires there hasn't really been a lot of costly items. Here are the items replaced so far by bike, all labor by us unless specified:
Final drive belt both bikes once cost $125 per
K&N air filter both bikes $55 per
Front brake pads both bikes $34 per
Front fork seals and bushings with new 10w oil $30 per bike
Rear cooling fan $78 per bike
Race ECU on the 06 bike new $328
TPS sensor on the 06 bike $27
O2 sensor $25 per bike
Battery $59 per bike twice
77 connector repair $4 per bike
Wheel bearings front and rear $40 per bike changed every other tire change
As you can see there have been very few problems with our bikes and have always maintained them ourselves. They are very easy to work on and several items are found are interchangeable with regular car parts. You can buy a simple cable and some free software to diagnose and adjust the bike just like in Fast and the Furious, how cool is that?

Now let's list the upgrades/farkles:

LED Headlight, driving lights, and rock light upgrades $0 - we are sponsored by Auxbeam and Nilight would be around $175 per bike
Palmer windscreens and brackets $0 - we are sponsored by Palmer Products, normally $170 per bike
Sargent Seat on the 06 Uly $99 used on eBay
Factory Low Seat on the 07 Uly $125 new on eBay
Heated grips with foam grips $89 per bike
12v and 5v accessory port per bike $13
Voltmeter on the 07 Uly $11
MSR hand guards on 06 Uly $59
Happy Trail SU pannier brackets on 06 Uly $225
Factory top bag mount $59 used on eBay
Wolfman Timberwolf tank bag on 07 Uly $129
Wolfman Enduro tank bag on 06 Uly $89

I also wanted to do a master parts cross reference list to help others when they need parts. As you can see many parts are common on other vehicles, not just Buells.

First here is the final drive belt fitment for the Buell XB12X:

Go to your nearest Harley dealer and get a belt for one of the bikes listed. It fits perfectly! 

2006 Harley Davidson FLST Heritage Softail, 2000-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic, 2001-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTCI Heritage Softail Classic, 2000-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy, 2001-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTFI Fat Boy, 2006 Harley Davidson FLSTI Heritage Softail, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail Deluxe, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTNI Softail Deluxe, 2000-2003 Harley Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTSC Softail Springer Classic, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTSCI Softail Springer Classic, 2001-2003 Harley Davidson FLSTSI Heritage Springer, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXST Softail Standard, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTB Night Train, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTBI Night Train, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTD Softail Deuce, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTDI Softail Deuce, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTI Softail Standard, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTS Springer Softail, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTSI Springer Softail

Now everything else:

Fuel pump:

2003 Ford Mustang 3.8L
Autozone E2366

Fuel pump alternatives:
AC Delco EP274 521
Delphi 25337782 521 
Delphi FE0052 521 
Ford E5ZZ-9A407-A 521 
General Motors 25116975 521
Hella H75010041 521
Walbro 521

Fuel filter
2003 Ford Mustang 3.8L
Autozone FF3330DL

Oxygen sensor

87 Chevrolet ½ ton 4.3L
Bosch 12014

More O2 sensors:
-GM OEM= 25162693 
-NTK= 21002 
-Airtex= 553071  
-Denso= 234-1001 
-Walker= 250-21001 
-SNG= SN1-15

06 TPS sensor: 

Duralast #TPS213 ('93 Mustang) - Saves over $50 rather than HD sourcing-

07 TPS sensor:

AIRTEX Part # 5S5022 (07+ TPS)
Standard motor products TH317 (07+ TPS)
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1580864 (07+ TPS)
Duralast TPS4129 (07+ TPS)

Wheel bearings: 

SKF6006-2RS (Rear), SKF6005-2RS (Front)

Idler Pulley Bearings - 6203-2RS

Oil Filter Part Numbers - Oil Filter - 07+ Toyota Yaris 1.4L
ACDelco # UPF1233 
Amsoil SDF10, EA009, EA010
Bosch # 3311 
Car Quest 85394 

Champion # C138 
Fram # PH4967 
HD # 63806-004 or 00y? 
HiFloFiltro #HF177 
K&N # hp-1003, KN-177 
Mighty # m4477 
Napa # 1394 
Mobil 1 # M1-103 
Motorcraft # FL836 
Penzoil # pz39 
Purolator # L14476 
STP # S4967 
Valvoline # vo40 
Wal-Mart Super Tech # ST49, ST4967 


Exhaust clamps - torca clamp O'Reilly's part# role20st. 

Replacement bolts for the rear exhaust bracket
3/8-16 and get the 2 1/2 in bolts

Replacement starter #
HARLEY DAVIDSON 31390-91, 31390-91A, 31390-91B, 31390-86, 31533-81, 31391-91, 31391-91A
NIPPONDENSO: 128000-8450, 128000-8451

Buell Relays - (Autozone) Duralast Pt # 19283

IAT
97 Ford F-150 4.6L
Duralast SU2004

I might have missed some items but I will update this list regularly so come back and check. If you know any parts that will work please email me and I'll add them to this list.