Buell Ulysses Fuel Pump Palpitations

Buell XB 2004-2009 Fuel Pump setup

One of the things you need to own when buying a motorcycle that is nearly 20 years old, is the ongoing maintenance aspects that come with that enchilada.

To keep one running reliably comes with replacing a lot of stuff and you just have to do it if you want to keep it running and ride it when you get a spare minute.

The 2009 Ulysses XT I bought had a single prior owner which does have it's plusses.

He upgraded some parts but some have never been touched since he bought it in 2009.

The fuel pumps on these XB series are also quite interesting.

Most bikes have their fuel pumps mounted in the floor of their gas tanks which are metal or plastic things mounted up high and sit in front of the rider forward of their nether regions.

Typical Gas tank location

The later Buell stuff does not do this, they use the upper frame section as a gas tank.

This is to lower the center of gravity for reasons of exceptional handling characteristics, though I am of the opinion nothing handles better than a Buell S1, which has the old style gas tank setup.

The rear swing arm on an XB series is also the engines oil tank by the way, further aiding to the low slung weight equation and bigger handling smiles.

This newer frame based tank stuff is all well and good until the day comes when you have to replace said fuel pump.

Getting it out of the frame section that is also the gas tank is quite the pain in the ass in fact.

Per the Buell Service manual it involves removing the rear wheel, unbolting the single rear shock and dropping the rear swing arm down and out of the way.

The manual wants you to remove the swing arm entirely but this is not necessary at all.

All you have to do is jack up the rear of the bike, loosen the bolt and nut on the single rear shock and lift the rear up some more with ratchet straps to drop the wheel and swing-arm down - remove the left side foot-peg bracket and you have full access to the pump.

This all serves to expose the fuel pump which then needs to have all its bits, bobs, sensors and filters replaced.

But you gotta extract the bastard first!

My bike does not seem to have fuel pump issues at the minute, but when it does I have the kit to do the overhaul job with.

It is doing some peculiar stuff after a long run though that make me suspect it is in fact in the throes of dying, but then maybe not...

I really need to see what the ACV codes for it are but the Buelltooth thing I have seems to be IOS and Windows 11 shy.

I once had a BMW RT1150 that did this fuel pump failure malarkey a few years back and the fact the Buell just clocked 49, 000 miles also makes me conclude it may be time?

If one fails on me in the middle of nowhere, I will be trucking it home.

I will need to figure out how I raise the back end of the Ulysses up without a bulldog stand to do the job though.

I saw a video on the Buell-XB web site that has several videos to do a full fuel pump extraction in 7 minutes and the guy made use of a tallish aluminum ladder as an A-Frame to take the weight, as well as an angled flat screw driver and two thick washers to hoik the pump out of the hole it hides in, once unbolted, fuel line gingerly extracted from the brass banjo and the electrical clip disconnected from the other half it clips into.

I tested my Werner aluminum ladder and two weight bearing ratchet straps recently and had my rear wheel swinging inside 5 minutes this way - I just need to make sure the front wheel is against the wall when I do the job but this way is indeed viable!

I also need to unbolt the luggage carrier section from the foot peg it is anchored to on that side as well for this to work, as I need to remove that bracket on the left side to get access to the pump and it's 4 bolts.

If you have the Buell cases on your machine you will need to dismantle their frame on the left side foot-peg for the job to be done.

I just took mine off the Thanksgiving weekend in anticipation of doing the necessary deeds.

Once the original Walbro 521 series pump itself is extracted, you need all sorts of other small tools to replace the O-Rings, release the clamps and soften the fuel tubing with.

You should also make sure the new regulator is doing 51 PSI fuel pressure, for which you will need a pressure gauge.

DO NOT PRESSURE TEST A FUEL PUMP WITH WATER!!

Instant rust will ensue!! I read with some humor on the book of Faces recently that some folks did this and then had the bitches about pump failure less than 5000 miles later...

H20 and gas pumps are not BFF's!

I am going to use this blog entry to catalog and document this Ulysses fuel pump jolly jape of mine as I go.

I did speak to a guy called Chaz at Aagaard Moto in Wisconsin who has a newly made regulator for this series of pump so I may be buying that to complete the job as well.

I have also watched his 47 minute video on overhauling this later model XB series pump with his kit (sans the new regulator) which was very educational.

He also offered to install my kit with his stuff - on an as needed basis but I would have to UPS the thing and parts to him in Janesville, WI.

I am going to try doing it myself first though, but I am already one fuel tube short for this quest as the QFS kit only supplies one tube and you need 2.

The QFS kit is also short of the two brass fuel union banjo O rings as well and the fuel filter you will need for this job and thus renders it just a partial pump restoration kit.

I got my Fuel filter from Auto Zone for $9.99 as another blogger used it and it was all I could access fast.

This kit also assumes the fuel regulator white wheel clip will survive extraction and sadly 90% will not. You cannot buy the below OE regulator setup anymore by the way...

The OE Buell XB Regulator - The White wheel disintegrates over time..

I thus would like the Aagaard moto regulator in my pump setup as that white plastic wheel thing the regulator body clips into will get brittle and crumble and it has been in the tank for 16 years already....

The new Aagaard Moto XB Fuel pressure Regulator with housing ($135)

The plastic wheel and clips are likely to die on extraction per the gurus I consulted with on the matter.

Revision Moto in Florida also have a regulator option for the 2005-2009 XB series for $25 by the way and I think I will get me one of them cause I am a cheap bastard...

They tell me this just replaces the white wheel - but this is confusing as what does that screw into is the question I cannot get out of my head? They declined to answer that question via email...

Revision Moto $25 Option

I am sure the filter sock will also be hosed by the way, with an ungodly mess to clean up in the tank......

Hopefully the prior owner used just Chevron gas that was clean over the years - I know Shell gas is filthy in California...from my limited experience with bikes that have run Shell gas and the work they need on the filtration side of the equation.

I am torn between sending my OE pump to Wisconsin for Chaz to work on or doing it all myself, truth be told...

He does check the pressure before sending it back. Thus in theory, all I would need to do when I get it back is re-install it.

Mmmm, I must consult with she who must be obeyed on this one....

So I actually happened to consult with quite a few folks on the subject of pulling this fuel pump out of my Ulysses.

Some facts were mentioned and checked with the manufacturers of the various components and this saga is not as straight cut as I thought it was.

The net, net is I am pulling the brakes on actually pulling the pump while I check other facts and ponder a few things.

The average life span of a XB series Walbro fuel pump is statistically 100,000 miles and apparently the fuel sock filter is good for this as well - tho the actual filter sock manufacturers tell me replace them every 20,000 to 40,000 miles.

I have never seen a good condition one over 20,000 miles in.....

Seems to me the best thing to do then is pull the drain plug and see how dirty the gas is that comes out the tank.......

If it is full of shit, pull it and look at replacing the sock.

If you are pondering a low mileage Buell, then this will be a big worry.

I have found that high mileage Buells in constant use have the least Fuel pump issues, its all the low mileage stuff that have fuel pump problems.

The issue here is the pump removal task is such a pain in the ass that you may as well make it all as new as you can while you are in there?

It is not as clear cut as that sadly...

If you are just replacing the fuel sock filter, you will need two new big O-Rings and two new fuel Banjo O-Rings that go with the new sock install.

QFS sells all these O rings as separate kits by the way so it may make more sense - though I have seen some pumps come out of their hole on bikes with less than 10,000 miles on them any by God, they are in a shocking state!

I guess a 2009 Ulysses XT with just 7800 genuine miles on it, which has been in a shed somewhere doing nuthin for a long time has other issues you need to ponder.

What you have to remember is that such a specimen's gas filter's innards will disintegrate if it is not used for any long period of time. They actually need regular fuel flow to stay healthy.

I also find such low mileage specimen gas pumps have water vapor spots that let rust set in and when you haul them out you see a red mess from the rusting process in water vapor collector spot areas.

These can get pretty nasty.

For this reason do not start a Buell XB that has been in a shed or garage a long time without first draining the gas from the fuel pump drain plug and examining what comes out.

If there is a lot of shit in the gas it is almost certain the filter has disintegrated and water vapor spots are present inside.

Taking out the pump is not a 1-2-3 easy job unless you have a Werner ladder, suitable straps and the required kit for the job.

I also got a lot of different opinions on total fuel pump replacement from a lot of good people - all with valid points of view.

I recently went for a lengthy blast to Sacramento to visit some customers and tested the high end pickup on mine. Before I left, this is how it was running after 5 minutes warming up time.

It has no problem getting to 115 Mph at all and while there is some spitting its rare and random and not in the same place - I put it down to V-Twin characteristics as most of my Guzzi's did the same thing, as did my Ducati 900 fare of years gone bye.

I think I will just drain it and look at the gas that comes out to make a decision here.

In the meantime I have most everything I need for the fuel pump replacement job.

I could pack it all in a baggie that lives in the tail and just wait for it to happen....I guess I am living up to my Boy Scout training - Be Prepared....Dib, dib, dob and all that monkey business!

I am tempted to pull it out, clean it up and put the spare puck style filter the QFS kit came with, with the two new fuel sender unit O Rings with new banjo O Rings and slap it back together.

The new Walbro 521-1 pump by the way is rated for 90 PSI! You only need 49 PSI on a Buell XB though..

Thanksgiving weekend I took the rear luggage rack frame off as the pump fuel draining will require the moving space.

I have been told that even if I go in to change the filter sock that I may as well do the pump given the 49,000 miles that pump has on it at the minute!

It can serve as an emergency backup when I haul it out then!

I will need to round up all the O rings, seals and what not for the job at hand then!

Cooter also does not think much of QFS fuel pumps in a Buell by the way but I have had several free pumps from them over the years for my various BMW R75/6 fare that just failed because they sat too long.

It is the 10-15% Ethanol that does the damage as well as the water vapor they collect by the way.

If I had used them daily they woulda been fine. QFS just sent me the new replacements and all I had to pay was postage.

Also ponder this factoid, if the Walbro pumps are so good, why do so many of them in Buell XB's fail?

Any pump that sits for years is going to have issues in any bike, trust me! I have seen a lot of them and they are all due to sitting for long stretches.

I have yet to see any QFS pump of mine fail with regular use.

I use them in my Ultralights and motorgliders as well and they all have issues when they sit in the hangar for two or more year stretches at a time.

I have learnt with motor cycles and these types of aircraft that just replacing the gas pump, filters and cleaning the tanks before I fire them up is way cheaper than chancing it, especially if you are going to fly with one that has a dodgy fuel pump in it!

I lost a lot of acquaintances who jumped into planes that had been in a hangar for 10 years or more without proper checks - sounded great that they started up and ran on the ground fine for 30 minutes - not so good when the demand pressure could not deliver the gas they needed on a takeoff run...

To date I have not fallen out of the sky from any gas pump issues....