The BUELL….it lives! (finally)

[Mick DMember]

As some of you would know, about a year ago my brother in-law dumped a very neglected Buell M2 Cyclone in my shed, with the expectation that I would fix it for him. It hadn’t been started in 5 years and some clown had welded a sprocket to the mainshaft in a vain attempt to convert it from belt drive to chain drive. This had failed miserably and the sprocket had sheared off, totally destroying the mainshaft.

First job was, to see if I could get the thing to actually run,

As it turned out, it needed some serious carby work as it was a bit “gummed up” to say the least.

Once I got the carby cleaned up, she fired straight up and sounded awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7WaIYe0XkA&list=UUGhGy_fYv8dpJhEHCP8Wd2w&index=30&feature=plpp_video

The next job was to get a new mainshaft put in. I had the workshop manual and started to study up on what was required and to tell the truth it scared me, that along with warnings from North Coast V twins not to try it at home, prompted me to take it to Jim at Camden Haven Motorcycles to get the job done. $1400 later and she is a goer. Back to belt drive. The belt was $300 on its own.

Jim offered me his trade plate to take it for a test ride, I couldn’t get my leg over it fast enough, I had been busting for a ride on it. Powered by a 1200cc Harley Davidson Sportster engine the book says they punch out 91 HP and it certainly felt that it did. Wind it on in 2nd gear and the front wheel wants to lift and the back wheel will break traction too.

Now it is a matter of a tidy up, that is gunna involve a tonne of elbow grease as it sat out in the weather for years, before it came here.

As you can see there is a bit of work to be done to bring her back to her former glory.

It has been a long time coming but to finally get to ride it, has been worth the wait.

[ianMember]

you sometimes wonder w hat comes into peoples heads dont you mick (RE:changing it to a chain drive) , I reckon these are pretty cool bikes i nearly bought a firebolt

love these things

[alanMember]

that bike looks like a lot of fun mick hope your brother lets you keep it for a while after you register it

[Mick DMember]

It will still be a while before it gets registered, gotta sort out a few electrical issues with it yet. It has an electronic speedo that doesn’t want to work and the blinkers aren’t getting any power.

[drewMember]

hey Mick, do you take trade in’s??? :woohoo:

[Mick DMember]

xy-transit wrote:

hey Mick, do you take trade in’s??? :woohoo:

Not likely, to many bikes here now. :huh: :S

[Roy StangerMember]

well done

i had a buell firebolt – great bike, still regret selling it but gravel roads were taking their toll on its bodywork !

[ianMember]

Roy wrote:

well done

i had a buell firebolt – great bike, still regret selling it but gravel roads were taking their toll on its bodywork !

did you have it long ? and did you have any problems ith it?
i would love one

[Mick DMember]

Roy wrote:

well done

i had a buell firebolt – great bike, still regret selling it but gravel roads were taking their toll on its bodywork !

How did the drive belt stand up to gravel roads?

[Chris NicholsonMember]

I have an 07 and love it. Nill problems. Licence is always at risk though. Yes we do dirt roads and so far no problems with yhe belt.

[alanMember]

thats a great looking bike storky looks great in yellow

[ianMember]

i didnt realise it at the time storky but i saw that bike when i was delivering to the concrete yard next door , i was drooling over it( it was at the time i wanted to buy one) even took the missus into norm frasers to let her look at it( them women just dont get bikes do they) i want the white and blue one

[Mick DMember]

Nice bike Storky, a whole heap tidier than the one in my shed. Now it is a goer though, we might get a bit keener to do some work on her and bring it back to its former glory.

[peteMember]

Nice one Mick, it’s going to look great after you clean it up, top effort considering the condition it was in.

storky wrote:

I have an 07 and love it. Nill problems. Licence is always at risk though. Yes we do dirt roads and so far no problems with yhe belt.

Bloody hell Storky, I hope you don’t ride that thing like I’ve seen you punt that nambotin around, your licence would definatly be in jeopardy, but good to watch though :woohoo:

PTW

[Roy StangerMember]

had it for 2 years
only problems were a failed speedo sensor ( easy fix thanks to google, buell forums & morgan & wacker ), a dead frog in the cooling fan which caused repeated blown fuses, and finding that you REALLY needed the genuine Harley battery – they take a bit of cranking over

beware that most Harley dealers are completely ignorant about Buells, only a few were also Buell dealers

there are some great Buell forums with heaps of info

i do miss the buell !

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