2002 Buell X1 Problems
Owner-reported complaints filed with NHTSA, grouped by component
Data refreshed
What this page shows
Everything below is an owner-reported complaint submitted to NHTSA about the 2002 Buell X1, grouped by the component NHTSA recorded on the report. These are not confirmed defects, and they are not recalls. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a category with more reports in it is not evidence that a part is defective.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Reports by component
Ranked by how many owner reports name each component category
- Engine1100.0%
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
Each component in detail
What the reports in each category say, in the owners' own words
Engine
Reports naming the engine itself — including stalling, misfires, oil consumption, cooling and internal engine components.
From owner reports, verbatim
ON MAY 19, 2007 WHILE TRAVELING SOUTH ON US-283, 15 MILES NORTH OF BRADY TX AT ROUGHLY 70 MPH, IN 5TH GEAR ON THE 2002 BUELL X1 WHITE LIGHTNING, AND HOLDING THE THROTTLE STEADY THE MOTOR STOPPED RUNNING. *AK ALL LIGHTS WORKED INDICATING ELECTRICAL POWER WAS NOT LOST. THE ?CHECK ENGINE? LIGHT DID NOT COME ON INDICTING THAT FAILURE WAS NOT THE RESULT OF THE ON BOARD COMPUTER OR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. THE MOTORCYCLE ROLLED TO A STOP. THE MOTOR DID NOT SEIZE AND AFTER MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO RESTART, THE BATTERY RAN OUT OF ELECTRICAL POWER AND I WAS FORCED TO FIND OTHER MEANS TO RETURN TO HOUSTON ABOUT 260 MILES AWAY. UPON RETURNING TO HOUSTON, I TOOK MY BUELL 2002, X1 WHITE LIGHTNING TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT MAJOR ENGINE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED WHEN THE OIL PUMP DRIVE GEAR, WHICH IS THE WORM GEAR ON THE DRIVE SHAFT, PART NUMBER 26318-88A, DISINTEGRATED. CHIPS FROM THE GEAR WENT INTO THE OIL PUMP DESTROYING IT. CHIPS GOT CAUGHT BETWEEN THE CAM GEARS DESTROYING THEM, WHICH IN TURN, THROUGH-OFF THE CAM TIMING, CAUSING THE VALVES TO HIT THE PISTONS. A COMPLETE REBUILD WAS ADVISED BY THE DEALER AT A COST ESTIMATED AT $4,000 WHICH INCLUDED, NEW CASES, REBUILD HEADS, NEW PISTONS, NEW CAMS, NEW PINION GEAR, NEW LIFTERS AND THIS COST COULD RISE IF THERE WAS HIDDEN DAMAGE NOT DISCOVERED IN THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION IT APPEARS THAT THE SQUARE KEY, PART #11317, FAILED CAUSING THE PINION GEAR TO ROTATE ON THE DRIVE SHAFT WHICH THEN SET UP THE CHAIN REACTION FOR ALL THE OTHER FAILED PARTS AND DAMAGE. THIS MOTORCYCLE HAS ONLY BEEN SERVICE BY THE HARLEY DAVIDSON DEALER AND HAS 6,086 MILES ON THE MOTOR. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DESIGN FAILURE AND HARLEY DAVIDSON AND BUELL SHOULD TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE REPAIR. THIS IS NOT AN UNCOMMON PROBLEM AS EVIDENT BY DOING A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET.
Too few reports in this category for a page of its own — they appear in the full complaint list.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Elsewhere on this vehicle
Data sources
- NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation — owner-reported complaints and the components recorded on them
Data on this page last refreshed .