The 1995 Buell Thunderbolt is home safe and dry. It was good to meet up with Berk out in California. He really pulled out the stops: I had my own room, he bought me a bunch of food, took me on a tour of the San Gabriel mountains and helped pick up the Buell from Iconic Motorbikes. I really don’t deserve this much kindness. But I’m not turning it down.
The trip back to New Mexico was uneventful except for a steady rain that fell from Phoenix all the way to Las Cruces, New Mexico. It was nice to be snug and warm in the Toyota. I see why people drive cars.
The Buell in Bay 2 of the shed. CT recently cleaned this area so I’ll have room to work on the bike.
Driving in the rain gives you time to think and I thought about how much longer I’ll be strong enough to suffer the elements on a motorcycle. It was a grey, melancholy ride. The bright orange and black Buell cheered me up whenever I looked in the rear view mirror. I got back home at dark. It started to rain. I left the Buell in the truck.
The rain was drizzling the next day when we unloaded the Buell. It was a slick, wet plastic Toyota bed liner that the front tire slid out of and down the ramp. Luckily CT was there to back me up if the Buell started to tumble. We managed to park the bike in the shed, I dried off the Buell and started examining my prize.
Both Bridgestone Battleaxe tires are unused and still have printing on the tread surface. The date code is from 2015 so 10 years old and never been warmed up. Before you tell me they are dangerous let me cut you off and say I’m running them. There are no cracks or check marks, they have been out of the sunlight, the rubber feels soft. I’m going to risk it.I’ll need to do a little adjusting as the handlebars hit the frame-mount faring. The faring has cut outs for low bars but these higher bars don’t align with the openings.The kickstand leans the bike way over. The stand is worn in the aluminum holder. I’ll need to shim this a bit or possibly put a slight bend in the stand to make the bike sit more upright.Performance Machine spun aluminum wheels are two halves joined at the hub and (I’m guessing) welded inside. A lick of polish should have them looking new.The under-slung muffler is uncomfortably close to the rear tire. Maybe the new drive belt will move the wheel back a bit. If not, I’ll have to make a bit of clearance.The Buell came with a Corbin seat. I don’t understand why this seat is so heavy. It’s like it’s made of lead. My brief time in the saddle seemed ok. Longer road tests to come.The Corbin seat fits the Buell well but the rear, locking latch doesn’t line up. The lever hits the seat too soon. It looks like someone tried to grind a bit of clearance but didn’t do enough. I’ll see what I can do, I’m just glad the seat didn’t blow off on the way home.The rear suspension is pretty stiff. I’m going to take out a bit of preload assuming this is where you adjust preload. With a Buell you can’t be too sure.
Now to start buying stuff for the Buell starting with a battery, seals for the stuck rear brake, fork seals and a fresh drive belt followed by a carb cleaning and a gas tank flush. Hopefully I’ll have a video of the bike running for Buell Fever Part 3.
