Sorting through the parts...

I started pulling all the parts out of the box.

The previous owner had the bike taken to Cyclerama in St. Pete, FL and they had the motor torn down and extracted the bolts. The PO mentioned that the heads would need to be welded. I had never tackled anything like that so I figured I post up some pics of what I found. I can’t see any damage to the head, but it does look like it was cross thread. I have examined both mount slots and I don’t see any stress cracks. I see copious amounts of cross threading, but no stress cracks.Take a look...


So, I decided I would take the head down to a local cycle shop Swine Psycles to get the head work done. After talking to Mike he assured me that this would be a no brainer and nothing a helicoil couldn't fix, so I turned him loose on the head.

As of the week before Chirstmas, this was the state of the bike...

From Slowride's S3

I got a really good deal...

I typically keep these type of Buell related stories over at Badweatherbikers.com as that site is my home away from home on the web, but I decided to do something different with this story. As mentioned previously, I scored a new ride (Buell S3T) out of Florida over the Thanksgiving holiday. I spent some time looking over the bike after I got it home and this gave me a few questions to seek answers too, but more importantly it has sparked the creative synapses.

I decided I would tear this bike down to the bare elements and redesign this once venerable touring sport bike into a more aggressive street fighter. I look forward to all of the knowledge and wisdom that will be infused into to this build from all the Buellers that will be providing input into my new bike. I will start off with the basics of the bike and document the progress….

1998 Buell S3T, 1203cc w/stock heads polished and flowed with bigger valves and billet motor mount. The bike apparently snapped off the front motor mount bolts prompting the first rebuild by the Previous Owner. The PO then added a billet motor mount and the bolts were sheared again prompting the second tear down and resulting sale on Badweb. I purchased the bike in the condition you see it here minus the top end.