Dead Buell....

I may have killed my baby Buell. She's in ICU at Harley/Corinth.

Got stuck on I-35 south bound before 635 this morning. I was the blond in the blue/black leathers kicking rocks talking on the cell phone with the seat and various covers laying in the grass trying to figure out wth????

What were the symtoms?

Sadness.

Did the motor quit in traffic? Any strange noises, sputtering or loss of power leading up to it?

Twice last week when I was doing around 80, she dropped speed just a bit for a second or two...I asked my bf about it and he said it was probably the humidity or heat and that I was redlining her, but I've done that and she's been fine, I knew in my gut something was off. But I take care of her, check everything, it was all good.
Today I was doing about 80 on the highway and she sputtered (like she does on a cold morning when I start her) and lost power, I had just gotten gas, so I reached down to make sure the valve wasn't on reserve or off, it was fine, so I got over a lane and tried to start her, she kept trying to turn over, but nothing, so I coasted to the shoulder. Took the seat and easily removable covers to see if I saw anything and nothing. She wasn't hot, but I gave her a few minutes, made a few calls to see if anyone knew what it might be, tried her again and she kept trying, but jus sputtered and spun a little.
So.....thank you Lord, within 15-30 minutes a bike towtruck saw me and pulled over, he towed her to cycle shop, they thought it was a fuel valve recall (after the mechanic made a comment that "you're too little to go that fast"...I (not a happy camper to begin with) asked him if he was talking to me or the bike? He said both....if he wasn't working on my bike......oh....anyway, they towed it to Harley/Corinth, but that was the 2004's, shes's 2003 for the recall, they called me later and said that a valve was stuck and I had a smushed sparkplug.....I wanted to kick something and cry all at the same time...arghhh.
Sunny's got no bike....I'm gonna' get grouchy.

Doing 80, and redlining? What Buell and engine are you running? Are you using all your gears?

A "smushed sparkplug", if the sparking end is what's "smushed" and it was the proper plug installed, is usually a pretty serious condition which is a sign that the piston moved a little out of its designed range of motion or that a valve got between the piston and the plug. A bent valve stem, because of a chance encounter with the piston, could explain the stuck valve.

If the "smushed" part of the plug was on the external part, not a big deal, as far as that is concerned.

She tops out around 92-95, it's a Buell Blast. I think he was exxagerating a little. How not serious? Like not too bad to repair? I might have my bf help me take the motor off and take it to a guy that works on them at a custom shop in Dallas. Don't know what else to do? If I leave it with Harley, I could spend more than she's worth. ka-ching, ka-ching. Oh and yes I'm using all my gears.

ENGINE
Engine Air-cooled, 4-stroke, single cylinder
Displacement 30.0 in³
Bore 3.500 in
Stroke 3.125 in
Peak Engine Torque (3) 30 ft-lb
Peak Engine Torque (3) 3200 RPM
Peak Horsepower (3) 34 hp
Peak Horsepower (3) 7500 RPM

A stuck valve and a smashed sparkplug usually means an engine rebuild. Sounds like bad timing.

I think it is time to step up to a little more torque and power.

Ya' think?! I wanted a SV650s but listened to all the guys in my life who were concerned for me and got something smaller. I knew from riding on the back, taking the MSF and everything I read that I'd want to go fast and do some twisty/turny stuff. I may be sweet and look all girlie, but I can be tenacious (nice word for stubborn) and a bit intense.
That's what I get for not listening to my gut.
On the way home I went by Suzuki/Honda/Kaw dealership and looked at a Honda 919 and a gxr 600. I just want a bike I can ride the highways with during the week and play a little harder with on the weekends. That will go vroom when I want it too but nimble in the corners. I'd love a new Daytona 675, but don't want to drop that $ right now and you can't get one used yet.

I hope everything works out alright for you but I have a bad feeling about that Blast. They're notorious for blowing up engines (the bigger Buells are apparently better). If it isn't still under warranty, the repairs will probably cost more than the bike is worth. If it is under warranty, fix it, sell it and move up to a bigger bike. You sound like you're ready for it anyway. And stop letting other people tell you what you need to be riding. Statistically speaking, you're exactly as likely to be killed by a cager on a Ducati 999 as you are on a Honda Rebel. The safest bike is the one that you don't ride (so in that sense I guess they were right about the Blast being a safe bike). I just hate seeing someone talked into riding a bike that they don't like.

Yeah, I am currently pining for a Multistrada 1000S.

Have you looked at the Honda 599. I don't think they still make them new but you might be able to pick up a good used one.

You can come down to the Houston area to one of our bike nights and pick this one up and take it back with you -

http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/4/7/81972547.htm

It is basically the smaller version of the 919 which I also like but it is just not as versatile as the Multistrada. (Of course it is about 5-6 k cheaper).

And here is a 2002 919 thats cheaper - also in Houston -

http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/9/7/84053397.htm

Of course this one may be a little closer

http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/8/2/84013682.htm

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this may be more than you want but did you see this thread on TWT

http://twtex.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9477

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The Blast has basically half of a Sportster motor, right? Parts for that are plentiful and relatively cheap. Perhaps some cross-comparison and searching might yield a top end and whatever else you need.

"Notorious"? Where were you when I bought that baby? It's not that I didn't like her, I knew I wouldn't have her long but my thought was that some stages in learning are short but important and I'd rather ride confident and hard on a little bike than shaky and 5mph on a bigger bike. And that worked, until she blew. I was going to sell her soon only because I found a used SV650s which is what I was working up to. But after going to the dealership yesterday, I'm wondering if I might outgrow her too quickly and it might be best just to get something I'll stay with a while longer. I hate to say this, but I think alot of the advice I got from friends and other riders to go small was because I'm a woman. I'm only 5'4, but I'm solid, I have great balance/flexible-have danced and done yoga for years and I tend to learn pretty intuitively from watching and getting the feel. Anyway....you're right about listening to others, lesson learned.
No, I haven't looked at those bikes, but you can bet I will.
What do you guys think about the SV650s? I'm also signing up for a track day in September, might do on in June/July if I can work my schedule out. I know alot of people use the 650 for track and I figure she'd be good at first, but if I get hooked on track, I'll want something faster eventually.
But for the road, what do you think about the 650 or the Honda's in comparison, and what would the 599 vs. the 919 mean to me?

scratch said:

The Blast has basically half of a Sportster motor, right? Parts for that are plentiful and relatively cheap. Perhaps some cross-comparison and searching might yield a top end and whatever else you need.

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Well, I'm trying to think positive about this. So maybe this is my chance to learn about motors the hard way. So I'm probably going to help pull the motor off and we'll take it to the rebuild guy and watch him break it down and tell me what's up. We really can't tell until we open it up how much damage is done. But yes, it's 1/2 a sportster. Fortunately she is a low end bike so she was cheap enough I could get the used 650 while I"m working on her. I didn't know I'd miss having a bike so much after only a month. But I put over 2k miles on her and I ride her to work 3-4 days a week. I think I'll go sit in the garage where she use to be and make vrooom noises...sigh. Ah well, going out of town tonight and won't be back until Sunday evening. Will work on it Monday.

Does it have fuel filter that might be clogged? A vent line that might be pinched? Start cheap and work up from there.

sunnyblu said:

what would the 599 vs. the 919 mean to me?

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Personally I like the 919, but you gotta pick the bike that fits you.

Sit on them all, ride as many as you can, and buy the one that moves your soul.

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Sounds like you spun a con rod bearing. When the bearing goes, it allows the piston to contact stuff in the head. It's a deep pockets repair, probably new crank cause the crank pin will be scored. Not sure if they can turn it for an oversize bearing. Might need a new head depending on damage. New rod and piston of course.

Basically, you have a Buell Blast I'm assuming, you're running it too hard if you're running it that fast. Those things are pretty junky anyway from what I hear ( www.mybuell.com has all sorts of stories) and I don't think they can handle the stress of full throttle operation like that for too long. The rod bearing just gave up. Might be a little lack of oil pressure at those RPMs, too. The rod bearing is very dependent on oil pressure.

If you've been riding a while, I think you'd be fine on an SV650. You can run that thing WFO and never worry, built like a rock. Keep it stock and you won't have a problem. WFO on it is 135 mph or, so I can't see you wanting to run it WFO.

We know a valve is stuck and a spark plug is partially flattened.
I don't know about the other stuff until we break it all down.
I think the plan is to take the motor off next week, label it maybe take some pics along the way and get the parts or if I find it's more than we can do here, take it to the rebuild guy with the label and pics to cut down the $/time and have him finish it. I may post pics for you guys to look at/advice. I would look forward to this learning curve ahelluvalot more if I had another bike to ride. But I'm working on that too I'm just thankful that it didn't break down when I was taking my 8 y.o. son to the dentist that morning. So it's all good.

bushwhacker said:

Personally I like the 919, but you gotta pick the bike that fits you.
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I like the 919, but I like to make my bike dance and the 600's are a bit slimmer. I'd love to try a Daytona 675, but just don't want to drop 9-12k.

"Sit on them all, ride as many as you can, and buy the one that moves your soul."

That's possibly the BEST advice I've heard. The guy at the suz/kaw/honda shop told me to come out and we'd test ride some, I think I will, just a teeny bit concerned about the heigth thing. I'm on my tippy toes on all the bikes I like, guess I'll wear my big girl boots....thanks for the support.

Just pull the cylinder off of it when you get the head off. Easy job on a push rod motor. Grab the connecting rod and see if there's play in the rod bearing. There should be none. If it's the bearing, take the whole crank case/engine to the mechanic, don't try to take it apart. The top end ain't that big a deal, but I know I don't like customers bringing me basket cases and telling me to "put it together". It's a pain, bolts get lost, things get shuffled. Mechanics have their own way of organizing things, case bolts in one baggy, head bolts in one baggy. Just jumble it up and it's a pain.

I don't think that valve dropped itself. The only way it would have bent without the rod bearing spinning is from over-reving. It's possible, but more likely you got a bad rod bearing. Also, the plug being smashed tells me it's more than just a valve. You got piston contact with the head.

"buy the one that moves your soul."

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Buying completely on emotion is a good way to wind up with another Buell. Of course, at my age, bikes don't "move my soul". I ain't that sort of guy. I've owned dozens of bikes in my life. I know that once I get some miles under it, I am going to have to live with the thing. I want something I can live with at this point, not moving souls anymore.

One motorcycle is for me in the "soul moving" category, the TZ750 Yamaha. Other than that bike, they're all just bikes.

get a klr650....... it will go 95 miles an hour.... its light, tall, quick thru the twisties.....good visibility.... probably one of the best commuter bikes u can have....... and they will hardly ever leave you stranded on the side of the road....

very very reliable..... and u can take it down a gravel or mild dirt road.....

people ride them for 85000 miles without doing any major work on the engine....

KLR might be kinda tall for you depending on inseam length.

yea they are tall. but u can lean on one foot only at the stop lights...... or u can get a lowering kit for them... but even with a lowering kit they are still pretty tall....... a weestrom 650 is another possibility..... cost wise, performance, etc. etc...

Jack Giesecke said:

WFO on it is 135 mph or, so I can't see you wanting to run it WFO.

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I wasn't TRYING to ride the blast as hard as I did. I never try, it just sorta' happens that way. I think people confuse a humble/teachable spirit with timidness/fear. I ask alot of questions/listen/digest what I need/spit the rest out and make my decisions, so I could see how guys on the websites think I might be too timid for a bigger bike. But I'm all or nothing thing. My ex was scared to try the things and convinced me that it wasn't "proper". Now I'm full throttle again. Once I get this bike thing settled, skydiving/handgliding is next on my list with scuba diving a close second. Oh and I'm going to hit the track soon. Just not enough hours in the day.
God I love my life, I am soooo blessed!