Dear MOby, I’m thinking about buying a Buell XB12S Firebolt. My question is, do they still make parts for this bike? Agarwal in India

Dear Agarwal,

Is your google broke? They don’t really make parts for the XB12 anymore, which was manufactured from 2003 to `09. But that doesn’t mean that plenty of parts aren’t still readily available. Sashaying over to ebay, we find many, many parts listed under Buell XB12S, including this cool LED Headlight Module just like the one on my naked Yamaha R1 “streetlover,” except mine’s not LED like this one. Very nice.

Also tons of complete XB12 engines that ran when they were parked in a wide price range, and let’s not forget there are a million aftermarket people who’ve been making parts for 1200 Sportsters for a million years, which is of course what the XB engine is at heart. In fact, every H-D dealer in the world that’s more than ten years old probably has old XB parts stuck off in the corners and rafters.

In short, there are more than a few Buell nuts out there, scattered all over the globe. Our friend Chaz Aagaard, at Aagaard Motor Foundry in Janesville, Wisco, says, “Some things are becoming obsolete – frame pucks, front isolators, etc., but the majority of parts will be available as long as Buellers buy them… it’s a pretty healthy supply chain.”

Don’t forget the forums and Facebook groups, which are a great source of advice in addition to parts…

The www has done away with sifting through swap meets for hours to find obsolete artifacts. Now, you sit at your computer for hours hunting down obsolete artifacts, which can be shipped to any corner of the world in a matter of days. All the Buell XBs are great bikes. If you want one, being able to find parts going forward should be way down on your list of things to worry about. Our motorcycles, let’s face it, will outlast all of us.

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