Buell Blast? Opinions.

[gilmorec61]

So, i put my 250 on CL just to see what i could get for it, and some person said she had a Buell Blast she would trade. And at first i was like yeah that might be cool, just because its a little larger in cc's. Then i looked online and found out that its a real POS. Need ya'lls advice. Most likely not going for it but just wanted to see peoples opinions on it.

Its a 2008, and has 2000 miles on it.

Thanks

[massacremasses]

not a POS per say but its not gonna be much faster than your 250...

[choneofakind]

Why would you post on CL in the first place if you aren't looking to actually sell?

Anyhow, go read about the Blast, go test ride one if you can. See if you like it or not. From what I've read, I advise keeping the ninja.

[Alex]

Some related threads....

a buell blast?

2010 Buell Blast

[sombo]

Keep the ninjette. You wouldn't really be getting a better bike. It may have more cc's but it's not really any more powerful, faster, or more maneuverable than the ninjette. You'll also have to worry about more problems than the ninjette has, less aftermarket, almost no support (HD is where you would have to go for parts and that might be a bit of a hassle with the Blast).


The Blast was a decent starter bike, but it just couldn't really compete with the likes of the ninjette and was even disliked by the guy who created it.

[Malicious Logic]

So...you're selling your ninjette already?

[KawiKid860]

basically the same power as the ninjette with twice the displacement. maybe a bit torquier but the ninjettes probably still quicker. Probably a more upright seating position too. if you want 500cc performance, Ninja 500 is where its at! if we're talking four strokes lol

[Skippii]

A bit too cubic for me. About 3hp less than the ninja iirc.
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[Skippii]

Originally Posted by Skippii

A bit too cubic for me. About 3hp less than the ninja iirc.
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that's probably way too obscure a reference...can someone with a computer or smarter phone post the pic for me?
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[k-os]

I think they look like junk. There's a reason they have a nickname of Buell Be-Last.

If I were to get a single I'd rather get something like a DRZ400.

[Skippii]

Not that picture, silly. And as far as singles go...I want to put one of those suzuki single 800cc engines into a ninja250,
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[johnjohn]

Had a '06 Blast (black) and not a bit of trouble with it. Put 10000 miles on it with regular oil/filter changes. They eat rear tires because of the torque and there is not a lot of options on makers in the 16" size the Blast uses. I bought a "01 ZZR250 and love the bike. Faster, less vibration and better put together. Your choice on what you buy, but make sure you ride it first and feel the differences between the two.

[TeamGreen]

Guy I worked with had one, he said it was a total POS. Theres probably a reason she wants to trade for a ninja.

[johnjohn]

Go to the forum"Bad Weather Bikers" then scroll to the "Thumper " section. All you ever wanted to know about the Blast. Knowledgeable people who have ridden them for years. Not just a hear say know it nothing that calls them a POS. For all we know all he ever has done to any of his so called rides is deliver it to the stealer so he could be fleeced.

[gilmorec61]

Thanks for all the replies guys, im definently not going to get it.

So...you're selling your ninjette already?

Nope, not yet, just looking to see whats out there

I can already tell that im going to want a bigger bike soon so i put it on CL to see what people would offer me.

So far ive got offered the 08 Blast, 93 CBR 600, and a 03 Super Hawk.

The Superhawk sounds good though, but i wanna get some feedback first

btw, i LOVE my ninja!!

[massacremasses]

im telling you right now you generally are not going to want a straight trade...

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

I can already tell that im going to want a bigger bike soon so i put it on CL to see what people would offer me.

Didn't you just get your bike? I mean I know what you're feeling, because I want a bigger bike too, but I definitely haven't outgrown my bike. I've just come to the understanding with it of what it's capable of, and that a bigger bike isn't what I need, because my 250 is perfect for the type of riding that I do.

Besides, you're in HS; save money for college. Keep the 250, get a larger bike once you have a real job and can afford it on your own, and get the new version of the larger bike that you want instead of some aging version of a bigger bike just because it's bigger. That's my plan.

[gilmorec61]

im telling you right now you generally are not going to want a straight trade...

Why do you say that?

Didn't you just get your bike? I mean I know what you're feeling, because I want a bigger bike too, but I definitely haven't outgrown my bike. I've just come to the understanding with it of what it's capable of, and that a bigger bike isn't what I need, because my 250 is perfect for the type of riding that I do.

Besides, you're in HS; save money for college. Keep the 250, get a larger bike once you have a real job and can afford it on your own, and get the new version of the larger bike that you want instead of some aging version of a bigger bike just because it's bigger. That's my plan.

Yeah i did, and i dont think ive outgrown it, i can see the need for a bigger bike though. Like when im wanting to go on long trips, going 80mph for some time. And i would like to have some more power as well. But yeah, you have a point. And ive got my own lawncare business but im also about to apply for a REAL job at a few other places as well and im pretty confident ill get one. But yeah like i said, you do have a really good point. Nothing is set in stone, i love my Ninja, but even if i can make money off this bike i might do it, and buy a better Ninja

[gfloyd2002]

I love Erik Buell. But the Blast? Yecch. Here is what Erik Buell himself did to the Blast. (I think this is the picture Skippy was looking for).



And here is what Erik Buell said:

The Buell Blast was a cute little motorcycle. It just never made much of a sportbike. But, as luck would have it, it makes a killer ottoman. Or end table. Or art piece. Through an innovative process known as crushing, we’ve turned a limited number of Blasts into colorful metal cubes, each numbered and signed by Erik Buell himself.

Seriously, when the dude whose name is on the bike says it is junk, you've got to believe it. With all due respect to Erik Buell, who is a legend, the bike is one of the worst motorcycles produced in the last 10 years. A very inefficient thumper that did nothing very well, doesn't even have a tach. With a decent motor, suspension and transmission (and a tach!), the bike could have been something. But if my aunt had testes she'd be my uncle. No tach!!?

[choneofakind]

Originally Posted by gilmorec61

And ive got my own lawncare business but im also about to apply for a REAL job at a few other places as well and im pretty confident ill get one.

well... I meant something that requires college and pays salary, but sure. real job... I guess I've just always been expected to go to college, so that's kinda what I assume everyone else is doing too

[gilmorec61]

well... I meant something that requires college and pays salary, but sure. real job... I guess I've just always been expected to go to college, so that's kinda what I assume everyone else is doing too

Ahhh, yeah yeah i gotcha, i misunderstood you there, i have high intentions of going to a good college so you were expecting correctly

I love Erik Buell. But the Blast? Yecch. Here is what Erik Buell himself did to the Blast. (I think this is the picture Skippy was looking for).



And here is what Erik Buell said:


Quote:
The Buell Blast was a cute little motorcycle. It just never made much of a sportbike. But, as luck would have it, it makes a killer ottoman. Or end table. Or art piece. Through an innovative process known as crushing, we’ve turned a limited number of Blasts into colorful metal cubes, each numbered and signed by Erik Buell himself.

Seriously, when the dude whose name is on the bike says it is junk, you've got to believe it. With all due respect to Erik Buell, who is a legend, the bike is one of the worst motorcycles produced in the last 10 years. A very inefficient thumper that did nothing very well, doesn't even have a tach. With a decent motor, suspension and transmission (and a tach!), the bike could have been something. But if my aunt had testes she'd be my uncle. No tach!!?

Yeah thats pretty crazy. Ive seen alot of good looking Buells, i just never knew this one went down the toilet. And yeah thats one thing i really didnt like about, its not a bike WITHOUT A TACH!!!

[Alex]

Awww, it wasn't that bad. Erik didn't like it for a couple reasons, but the primary one was that Harley forced him to make it, and then charged much more for the motor than would ever be profitable in that segment. Made the bike seem like a financial loser, and there was nothing he could do about it.

I had forgotten that it didn't have a tach, but honestly we never missed it. That motor made about the same torque wherever you were in the rev band, and just shift when it hits the limiter like anything else.

[sombo]

Most cruisers don't have tachs. Mine doesn't and I will admit that I do miss it from the ninjette. Down the road I might get one put on, they have a setup for it. But yah, most of the cruisers out there don't have a tach on them, most just have a speedo and that's it.

[gilmorec61]

Most cruisers don't have tachs. Mine doesn't and I will admit that I do miss it from the ninjette. Down the road I might get one put on, they have a setup for it. But yah, most of the cruisers out there don't have a tach on them, most just have a speedo and that's it.

Really? Thats intersting...IMO i would hate to have a bike or any vehicle in that matter that has an engine, not to have a tach....just me though.

[massacremasses]

cause generally no one wants to downgrade... so you would be getting something ****** in return...

[thebozenator]

My riding buddy's DRZ400 doesn't have a tach either... I also drove a stick shift Toyota yaris which didn't have one. imo you don't really need one. I tend to go by how the bike sounds/feels anyway.

I did my MSF safety course on the Blast. If i could describe it in one word it would be "BORING". There is really nothing that stands out about the bike but there is nothing necessarily wrong either. It just feels stale, like it was designed to be neutral and unoffensive in every way. The one thing it does have going for it it that the thing is bullet proof. In my class several people manged to flip them over but the thing just started back up with barely a scratch every time.

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by trixter

In all fairness Eric Buell is also pissed at Harley for not letting him use his name in his own company (he sold Buell to Harley then started a new company making bikes). He may be biased against that as well.

With that said it was just announced that Harley-Buell is cutting production to try to become profitable again. If they cut too deeply they will just have to cut the entire division which makes the bike more rare in the future but also it may make parts harder to come by.

No. He made his statements while he was still heading the H-D company. Also, he wasn't saying that they were crap. He was saying that they didn't fit his idea of a Buell sportbike, which they didn't. He built race bikes; not beginner bikes. It did not incorporate Buell's "Trilogy of Tech" and was priced way higher than the Ninjette.

[camaroz1985]

I had always thought about putting a 450cc motocross engine in one. I think that would liven it up.

[johnjohn]

A 650cc V-Strom motor would be ideal in the Blast.

[sombo]

Originally Posted by johnjohn

A 650cc V-Strom motor would be ideal in the Blast.

I would actually think he would end up using more Rotax motors since that's who helped him build the motors for the last few years of Buell. After HD didn't design the new motor the way E.B. wanted it (and cutting him out of the design process along the way) he then turned to Rotax and got a new v-twin built the way he wanted it in the first place. I would think that a good Blast would use something like the Rotax 4-TEC ACE 600 or maybe if they wanted to keep it closer to a "starter" bike to use the Rotax 4-TEC 450.

[Reddoak]

I rode my 250 for a few months (legally, with a learner's permit) before taking the MSF course on a Blast. I looked forward to getting off the Blast and back on the 250. Power wise... meh. Handling wise... meh. Looks wise... meh.

All in all, a forgettable experience. An excellent bike to learn on, as is sat very low, had great low end torque (hello 500 thumper) so it wouldn't stall, and very predictable, easy handling. I didn't really mind riding it, but it wasn't a bike I would think about while it sat in the garage. It was a single slice toaster oven on motorcycles, kind of useful and not terribly exciting.

I would buy a Ninja 250 and ride it again. I would sell a Blast as quickly as I could if it were given to me for free.