Just Blasting around

Well as some of you know I have been looking for a small bike and I picked one up a 2004 Buell Blast with 3K miles this morning

http://baltimore.craigslist.org/mcy/3021007282.html

And no I did not pay anything close to the asking price . The bike is overall in nice condition, the owner even let me drive the bike before I bought it! At that point I could tell the guy really want to sell the bike TODAY. A deal was struck and the bike was loaded.

Going to get tags on Monday (Jackasses at the MVA do not issues tags on Saturday) and might come down with a 24 hour case of motorcycleisses

Paul B

Great looking bike. Keep us posted on how it is to ride it regularly. Reliability, performace in the real world and such. I'm where you were . . . well, not quite, but I've been thinking seriously about getting a 250-500cc bike.

Gaefin another bike that I was looking at was the Ninja 250. But decided to go with the Blast as the Ninja makes most of its torque at 14000 RPM, since I drive through a water reservoir (steep hills) I wanted more of my torque down low and not have to sound like I am flying around.

I did slip out for a quick ride and noticed I will have to make a few adjustments to really enjoy the bike, a family member (30+ years ridding) was surprised by the amount of torque the bike had and over all like the bike for a beginner .

I will get tags on Monday and be able to give a better report in a few days.

Paul B

Paul B

Nice. Big rotor up front!

Dan

Personally, I think the Blast isn't.

However, that thing looks clean and it sounds like you got a good deal!

^^^^ Trust me it is not a 1200cc sport bike But for just starting out I think it should get the job done. Maybe next year I will step up to something bigger, time will tell.

Paul B

I have the exact same bike and it's been very reliable. It's a great bike for my local rides ,very nimble, and I don't have to do the speed my sport bike likes to have fun. I've had lots of people ride it and they usually come impressed by it except the vibration from the single cyl. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do

Bad news this is a Blast post and you are in a canoe

The Blast has intrigued me as a neat beginner's road bike. I think if I "accidentally" bought one, it may be a way to get my wife to start riding. Please keep us updated.

I really like the Bast, there a good torquey 500 and makes good noises. There are a few things i don't like about them like the lack of a tach and the fact that its only got 5 gears.

Great first bike, great second bike, great bike. You will enjoy the heck out of it!

UPDATE

Well I have been busy with the bike over the last few weeks, I did get tags on the bike and now have a valid inspection ticket, the bike passed state inspection without any repair needed . I did replace the seat and gear shifter for a better fit .

I have manged to log in a little over 340 miles with out any major issues and have had only one HOLY E36 M3 event. A few things about the bike some people may want to know.

1) This is not a great Hi-way bike, it will get up to speed (+70 MPH) and stay there but it is trying. I am not sure how well this would be for day in and day out use.

2) Fuel economy seems low to me, around 58 MPG? Now I am a big guy and the area I live in is almost all hills, this may be main reason for the low MPG . (note: bike has V&H exhaust and has been jetted up)

3) Hills, yep hills, this bike seems to love hills the bike has never left me wondering about getting to the top of a large or long hill or a major (if any) lost of speed . The bike has preformed very well in this arena and I am quiet pleased with the outcome.

4) Since setting the engine oil level I have not seen any major loss of oil, I will keep checking as time wears on but so far so good.

I know this is my first bike but over all I am very pleased with it, no major issues to date and the bike starts up every time all the time (cold and hot), the bike is very easy to handle and seems to be predictable. Overall a good around town bike but I can see myself moving up to larger bike in the future.

If you have any questions just ask.

Paul B

BTW: I picked up a bunch of blast parts including seats, shifter arms, clutch levers, brake levers, lights, and some other odds and ends, ask if you need something.

Donebrokeit wrote: I know this is my first bike but over all I am very pleased with it, no major issues to date and the bike starts up every time all the time (cold and hot), the bike is very easy to handle and seems to be predictable. Overall a good around town bike but I can see myself moving up to larger bike in the future. If you have any questions just ask. Paul B BTW: I picked up a bunch of blast parts including seats, shifter arms, clutch levers, brake levers, lights, and some other odds and ends, ask if you need something.

I went to some Buell company get togethers back in the day and heard Erik Buell talk about the Blast before it came out. He said that he wanted to build bikes that people would learn to motorcycle on and then resell. It sounds like you're having that experience. Congrats on getting one of the best bikes to learn on and enjoy.

UPDATE:

I have managed to put a little over 1,200 miles on the bike without any major issues, one thing that I have notices is the amount of oil the bike uses. The bike has used almost 0.3 quarts of oil, I think this is a bit high as the bike only holds 1.5 quarts of oil.

Other than that all has done very well, bike still starts and runs well over all with no leaks. BTW: I did find a on-line service manual if anyone is looking for it (PDF format) , send me a PM for the location.

Paul B

The gas mileage doesn't seem too bad. My 200cc Honda gets about 67 mpg, but I've got it pinned most of the time and I'm light at 165 lbs.

I'm currently rebuilding my bike 2000 blast almost from the ground up as I killed the transmission. If you want to know anything about them just ask.

They use a bit of oil but don't worry about it. Before I had the top end done my bike used 1qt oil per 300miles and smoked like a torch.

The blast is a San Francisco type of bike, one of my favorite memories is running up california ave at buell throttle dodging the cable car/trolly lines, pedestrians, cab and trouble. One of my favorite rides is known as "Escape from the Mission" basically ride as fast as you can cutting lanes and dodging traffic and cops.