RoadVitals

2004 Buell XB12S Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
7
Latest May 29, 2007
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
0
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Mar 5, 2004

What this page shows

Our database holds 7 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2004 Buell XB12S. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–7 of 7

Exterior lighting
Filed May 29, 2007

2004 BUELL XB12R. POOR LIGHTING DUE TO DETERIORATION OF INSIDE REFLECTOR. *TR

NHTSA ID
10191922
Incident
May 26, 2007
Mileage
4,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Feb 22, 2007

HEADLIGHTS BECOME DIMMER AND DIMMER, BULBS OK, CHROME FINISH ON INSIDE OF HEADLIGHT HOUSINGS COMES OFF SO BULBS DO NOT REFLECT MAKING NIGHT DRIVING DANGEROUS. BUELL CHAT SITES CONFIRM OTHERS WITH XBR MODELS HAVING SAME FAILURES. *JB

NHTSA ID
10183299
Incident
Nov 23, 2006
Exterior lighting
Filed Feb 21, 2007

HEADLIGHT ON BUELL MOTORCYCLES "R" MODELS (2004 TO CURRENT YEAR) DEGRADES OVER TIME. THE REFLECTIVE COATING MATERIAL IN THE HEADLIGHT HOUSING DEGRADES AND TURNS TO POWDER AND CAUSES THE HEADLIGHT TO BE UN-USEFUL. THE DEGRADE IS CAUSE BY HEAT FROM THE HEADLIGHT. FAILURE ISN'T CORRECTED AS OF TODAY. *JB

NHTSA ID
10183164
Incident
Apr 10, 2005
Mileage
4,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Feb 17, 2007

THE COATING ON THE INSIDE OF MY HEADLIGHT HOUSING IS FALLING OFF, DRASTICALLY DECREASING LIGHT OUTPUT. I HAD THEM REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY ONCE FOR THIS ON 11/18/05, WITH 23870 MILES ON THE BIKE. I AM NOW HARDLY ABLE TO SEE AT NIGHT AGAIN AND I AM SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN'T SEE ME AS WELL EITHER. *JB

NHTSA ID
10182845
Incident
Nov 18, 2005
Mileage
23,870 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Jan 6, 2007

SILVER COATING ON HEADLIGHTS DETERIORATES RAPIDLY CAUSING POOR ILLUMINATION AND UNSAFE NIGHT TIME DRIVING AND REDUCING THE MOTORCYCLES VISIBILITY DURING THE DAY. I AM SURE THE LIGHT OUTPUT IS FAR BELOW DOT STANDARDS VEHICLE IS AN XB12R FIREBOLT, NOT AN XB12S. THE XB12R WAS NOT LISTED AS AN OPTION. *JB

NHTSA ID
10177963
Incident
Jan 5, 2007
Mileage
5,300 mi
Electrical
Filed Jul 21, 2006

WHILE RIDING MY 2004 BUELL XB12S MOTORCYCLE THOUGH THE ASM AMERICA, INC. PARKING LOT (3440 EAST UNIVERSITY DRIVE PHOENIX AZ 85034) AT APPROXIMATELY 11:00 AM THE ON 07-19-06 THE FOLLOWING OCCURRED. THE MOTORCYCLE LOST ALL POWER AND I COASTED TO A STOP INTO A PARKING SPOT: 1.RIDING THROUGH THE PARKING LOT AT ABOUT 5-10 MPH. 2.THE MOTORCYCLE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING. 3.THE MOTORCYCLE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM COMPLETELY FAILED AS IF THE MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN TURNED OFF INCLUDING LOSS OF HORN, TURN SIGNALS, BRAKE LIGHTS, LICENSE PLATE LIGHT, REAR TAIL LIGHT, HEAD LIGHT, INSTRUMENT LIGHTS, WARNING LIGHTS, SPEEDOMETER AND TACHOMETER. 4.IF I HAD BEEN MERGING ONTO THE FREEWAY AT NIGHT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED AS I WOULD HAVE HAD NO WAY TO SIGNAL I WAS LEAVING THE HIGHWAY! THE DEALER IS STILL INVESTIGATING WHY THE VEHICLE STOPPED RUNNING.

NHTSA ID
10163064
Incident
Jul 19, 2006
Mileage
22,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Mar 5, 2004

I AM REPORTING A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS PROBLEM WITH MY 2004 BUELL XB12S MOTORCYCLE. I HAVE OBSERVED THIS SAME SITUATION ON ALL SIMILAR BIKES THAT I HAVE LOOKED AT. UNDER THE SEAT, THE ECM CABLE HARNESS RESTS AGAINST THE NEGATIVE BATTERY TERMINAL AND THERE ARE SIGNS OF ABRASION FROM VIBRATION.*AK

NHTSA ID
10060544
Incident
Mar 1, 2004

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.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .