Buell XB12R custom build
Discussion
Roll back to last September when I bought my first Buell, which I rebuilt over the last winter... I have ridden it all summer, at the expense of some of my other bikes
, it's an incredible bike to ride! Probably now one of my favorite bikes of all time! the combination of useable power and torque, handling and braking, there is just something about it!So when a few months ago the chance of a Buell XB12R came up at the right price, I jumped at it! Its been at the back of the garage, waiting for the riding season to come to an end before I start the rebuild on it...
Here it is, along with the one I built over last winter.
Over the next few months I will document the build here...
one thing for sure is that the clip ons have to go, so the first job has been to make a new top yoke. I drew it up in CAD and sent it to the water jet cutter along with a 25mm billet of aircraft grade alloy, it came back perfect!
I had to machine a recess in the top, and this needed a bigger lathe than mine so I popped in to see my mate… Nice and easy job but I did come away with Lathe envy!
more water jet cutting…. this time some risers and headlight brackets to fit a Yamaha MT03 headlight
I had to machine a recess in the top, and this needed a bigger lathe than mine so I popped in to see my mate… Nice and easy job but I did come away with Lathe envy!
more water jet cutting…. this time some risers and headlight brackets to fit a Yamaha MT03 headlight
the build will be slow at first as there are a few holidays!
I now have the overall vision of how it will look in mind... the tank cover and seat unit will stay, this is for two reasons... Firstly I like it and dont think I can improve on it... and secondly (and some may say more importantly
) It will give me the opportunity to have another bike with a pillion seat as I have come in for some stick this year about constantly riding the other Buell which is a single seat
the strip down has started and one of the first jobs was to make an engine cradle so I can remove the frame easily… this sort of thing is time well invested as it makes things so much safer, and also provides an engine stand for later.
One of the first problems I encountered was the K nuts on the front exhaust were badly corroded the bottom on was easy to get to with the angle grinder… the rear took some thinking about. In the end I used the tip of my power file to grind away one side, which was surprisingly quick to do… That power file is a tool I bought thinking it would be of limited use, but I find I use it all the time…
I now have the overall vision of how it will look in mind... the tank cover and seat unit will stay, this is for two reasons... Firstly I like it and dont think I can improve on it... and secondly (and some may say more importantly
) It will give me the opportunity to have another bike with a pillion seat as I have come in for some stick this year about constantly riding the other Buell which is a single seatthe strip down has started and one of the first jobs was to make an engine cradle so I can remove the frame easily… this sort of thing is time well invested as it makes things so much safer, and also provides an engine stand for later.
One of the first problems I encountered was the K nuts on the front exhaust were badly corroded the bottom on was easy to get to with the angle grinder… the rear took some thinking about. In the end I used the tip of my power file to grind away one side, which was surprisingly quick to do… That power file is a tool I bought thinking it would be of limited use, but I find I use it all the time…
Bob_Defly said:
That frame is huge! Is there any fluid in it?
yep!well it didn’t take long to get apart! I can see why its such a light bike, even given the heavy engine… I love the design of the fuel in the frame, and oil in the swinging arm, and the way Buell seem to have taken every opportunity to save weight!
myvision said:
What colour you going to paint this one?
Bookmarked! Wish I had your skills!
you knew didn't you Bookmarked! Wish I had your skills!
I normally leave the paintwork until close to the end of the build, but that is often Jan/Feb and as I paint outside its very weather dependant.
As I am keeping the bodywork standard I decided to do it early and put it to one side. I am SO impressed with this new lacquer! It has a great gloss straight from the gun.
I also have a new supplier of decals who has a machine that can cut quite small... he is quick to send them and very reasonable! The single most important thing when lacquering over decals is to wipe them with panel wipe before you paint! they always have some sort of silicone residue on them!
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