20 Most Recent 2003 Buell Lightning XB9S Questions & Answers

sounds like shift lever adjustment problem take it into a service center and have it properly diagnosed and a quote

Lets do the basics ... Kill switch in the RUN position? Fuel valve in the ON or RESERVE position? Battery charged? Key ON?

Secondly, fuel fresh? When was the last time it ran? Plugs fouled? Have lubricating oil?

Check em all ...

Check your tranny fluid level. it should be at the top of the window when the bike is standing up straight.

Referring to to Allen nut that locks down the rear axle? that is underside of the axle. Or just the rear axle? Is it reverse threaded ? If none of these work, pound a slot into the bolts edge and use a hammer and chisel.

Harley's all sound like that, sure your not just confusing a normal Harley/Buell bike sound with a inline Honda? hey arem't smooth. Does it have any check engine lights?

Make sure the TOOL KIT IS NOT IN THE WAY (if you still have it) and that the battery IS THE CORRECT SIZE. Again, put the front down FIRST, and push toward the front of the bike then put the rear down and pop it onto the legs.

The only kill switches on the xb9s is the kickstand switch, the right hand thumb switch and the key switch. As for your seat, make sure your tool kit is out of the way(if you still have it) and that the battery is the correct size and is sitting in it's cradle completely. The front of the seat is pushed down dirst and slid forward and the back is popped down onto the two legs.

Did you perform a TPS reset to calibrate the ECM for the new TPS sensor after it was replaced? If not, that may be your issue. The 03's don't have the ability to automatically calibrate the sensor, and the bike will not run correctly until this is done. You will need to either bring it to a dealer, or use a computer and the ECMspy program (free) to do this adjustment.

The stock muffler is designed to support the weight of the bike, you can use various jacks to lift the bike from the muffler, but I personally prefer to use swingarm and tree stands as they are more stable. Americansportbike.com sells some nice PitBull brand stands that work great.

It could be a weak spring inside the shorter fork, or possibly the longer fork is not fully seated in the head stock assembly. Did you try to compress each fork to test for equal tension? Does the bike tend to drift to one side when ridden? Both forks may need to be completely dis-assembled to note any differences inside. Hope some of this helps!

The transmission is not easy to remove from the bike, as it requires you to first remove the engine then split the engine cases to access it. If you want to tackle this task, picking up a copy of the official service manual is a must.

Jack up the bike (either swingarm or muffler jack), then on the under side of the swingarm is a large pinchbolt, remove that. Use the 7/8" nut that comes in the bikes toolkit and a 7/8" to remove the rear axle. Slide the belt out of the way, the wheel will come right out.