| Author | Message | ||
     Sarodude |
Speaking of braking, does anyone else get rear wheel hop or some sort of drive chatter under heavy braking? Even using little or no rear brake and 3rd or 4th gear this happens to me occasionally. I imagine it's the lumpy compression braking of the single - but I've not heard anyone else make mention... -Saro | ||
| Blake |
Zilla: Take your bike to a clean, nicely asphalted parking lot and practice emergency stopping from 25 mph or so. The key is to not wack the brake full on all at once but to squeeze progressively tighter to let the front end bite before achieving full effort. With practice emergency stopping will become smooth and seemless, as 2nd natured to you as shifting from 2nd to third. Your front wheel should not slide on clean pavement. The rear wheel should lift before that happens. I practice every so often. It's probably one of the easiest things you can do to help avoid an accident. | ||
| Xgecko |
Something I was thinking about when a coworker commented on the silver shifting spot on the toe of my right boot. Since the exterior of the firebolt engine is the same as the blast I wonder of the Primary chain cover can be swapped? I ask this because the Bolt has built in the option for GP shifting (1 up 4 down). Since I already have rearsets it wouldn't be a big deal to switch the cover and use the Bolt's shifter to achieve the GP shifting ability. I have tried it before and I really like it. It was easier to get used to in that short ride than it was when I got back on my Blast. As to Saro's question I have felt that when I've been in gear and at the bottom of the RPM range for that gear. A simple downshift or clutch pull is what I do to get rid of it | ||
| Buellzilla |
Blake I think some practice could help, but in a surprise situation, one tends to go to the brakes quickly and I find the Blast brakes to be counter-intuitive. Even in a relaxed situation, coming to a normal stop, I find that application of the front brake at any speed under 30Mph or so, results in a lurch. The simple act of the pads meeting the rotor seems to induce more than appropriate braking force. Collision avoidance is not the best time to be in the business of delicate, feathertouch fine artistry. I'd prefer that there be an intuitive correlation between hard braking and hard lever squeezing. I, also, was surprised at the absence of a stoppie during my pro-squirrel maneuver. The pavement was perhaps a bit damp, although not appearing so. The sound of the skid was like a wet skid with no squeal. When I break my bike out of storage this spring, I will do some parking lot practice but I have doubts as to wether it'll prevent me from having the same kind of experience in the future with the Blast. | ||
| Steveb |
Zilla, I would add to Blakes post that one should squeeze, not quickly apply the front brake for the reason of weight transfer to the front wheel. Not scientifically exact example: you are riding at a steady speed and your bike and rider weight is divided 50% each, front and rear wheel. If you suddenly apply front braking, you only have 1/2 of your weight on the front wheel, and it is somewhat likely to slide. If you squeeze progressively, the front will drop a bit and the rear rise as weight is shifted more to the front wheel. The second method is a better way to stop as more weight is on the front wheel when your stopping becomes aggressive. Also, IMHO, cold tires, and slightly damp roads is one of the worst conditions for traction. For your own piece of mind you might pull the front brake pads and make sure there isn't some foreign substance on them. Grease or brake fluid contamination on pads can cause brake grab like I think you might be describing. I have only ridden one Blast, and I loved it 100%. I got no surprises 'cept what a capable and predictable mount. I think Blake will agree with what I said here, only I thought his answer might be expanded a bit. Steve B | ||
| Buellzilla |
I suspect that, in time, I'll read a post here of someone's accident on a Blast and they'll have something like this to say: "I was riding along about 50Mph and a deer jumped out in front of me. I reached for the brakes and next thing I knew, I was sliding down the highway on my two front teeth. I didn't hit the deer but I don't know what happened." | ||
| Buellzilla |
Sarodude; I've noticed driveline oddities when going over bumps. I think it has to do with the rear swingarm geometry. The rear wheel pulley moves closer to the drive pulley when the swingarm is at the downward limit such as just after a severe bump or under hard braking, perhaps even causing belt slippage since there is no slack take-up idler pulley as on the Firebolt. When the rear suspension is compressed the pulleys move further apart which may cause a momentary acceleration of the rear wheel, since the section of belt above the pulleys is already under tension due to the forward rotational pull of the drive pulley and the slack is on the bottom portion of the belt. As the pulleys move away from eachother, the rear pulley will need to turn clockwise and the drive pulley counterclockwise until the belt tension is equalized above and below the pulleys. Since the engine is not much inclined to allow the drive pulley to turn backwards, the rear wheel must turn forward, thus a momentary snap of acceleration, followed by a momentary decelleration as the suspension rebounds and slack is created in the upper section of the belt. The only way to avoid this is to have the centerlines of the swingarm pivot and the drive pulley exactly aligned. The closer the better, of course. Well, I hope, this is making sense to you, because I can't think of a good way to describe it without pictures. There is a good chance I'm full of bunk as well. | ||
| Rd350 |
Hey everyone I bought the cross roads front fork brace about 6 months ago. I have been ridding and have notice a differance in the way the front end feels. It is not worth the money though. There is not that much of a differance. If cross roads would lower the price since this is suppost to be a cheap entry bike not a race bike. Then I could recommend everyone to buy one but at the price right know save your money.... | ||
| Xgecko |
I guess the worth of upgrades one does to the Blast are entirely dependant on what you want out of it and whether it comes out of Pocket. All of the upgrades that I have done to my Blast (other than tires) haven't cost me personally one dime so I can say that they are all good. If anyone is wondering why this is so I'll tell you, I've spent all my extra Per Diem, from my travels around the world, on my Blast. Since it's not money I would normally have it isn't anything I have to budget. This is not true however when speaking of the Nallin Big Bore Kit, I'm still trying to figure out how I'm gonna pull that in the next 8 months. I treat my Blast as a work in progress in addition to being my primary transport. I have started to dream of what it would look like with clipons and a full fairing, with a GP style rearend but I need a welder (person) at my disposal to do that. Am I dumping more money into it than I'll ever get out of it??? Probably... Do I care??? NO. This isn't a Harley (thankfully) and if it was what I want would still likely drop the overal value. But a Single racer is something that sounds rather appealing to me and all that I've doe so far lead to that as a final outcome. As for the Fork Brace, I rode one of my favorite pieces of road today, a short 3/4 mile stretch called 13 turns. As you can figure this has 13 very tight 2-3 gear turns that require good timing and good brakes. I can say with certainty that the brace made it much easier for me to Blast (pun intended) through there today. handleing is much better and the front end doesn't dive like it used to. Is it worth the money??? Well thats a magic question...depends on what you want. | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Tony - read above that you're looking into geting the handy ind stands for your Blast.. If you you do, please post how they work out, I'd be interested in seeing! Thanks -=]D_Storm[=- | ||
| Xgecko |
The Handy stands are one of the need to get before I move to Japan items. They look pretty nice and since I have to bikes to maintain (my wifes EX250R) it should makes matters more simple. Over a round the island ride today my wife and I discussed the possiblity/probablity of a Nallin big bore. What scared me was her comment "well you should do it here before we move that way you can have Cycle City (our dealer) Dyno tune it." I didn't even know she knew what a Dyno was...she never ceases to amaze me. Now I just have to figure the turn around and down time of such an adventure...good thing I got my bicycle in perfect working order. It'll still likely be May before I can swing it though (that and I'll have my dad to help tear everything apart). | ||
| Blake |
Buellzilla: On "driveline oddities"... That last thing you said?... There is WAY more than just "a good chance."  On "sliding down the highway on my two front teeth"... No amount of engineering will eliminate the benefits of competence in a motorcycle pilot. Take responsibility for learning to ride your motorcycle expertly and safely. You CAN learn to avoid panic; it simply requires practice and discipline. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Blake; I believe that the herky-jerkiness I experience when going over bumps has more to do with the effect that my bouncing arm has on the throttle control and the fact that my Blast doesn't have a great deal of linearity at the low end of the throttle response. I'm not altogether out of my mind, however, in suggesting that rear swingarm pivot location has an effect on handling. Please see this article: TDC This article explains how engine torque effects rear swingarm position depending on the pivot location. It stands to reason that the reverse is also true. That a change in swingarm position such as caused by a bump can have a momentary effect on engine torque which would be transmitted to the wheel and hence the seat of the rider's pants. Considering the short travel of the Blast's suspension, it's probably not that significant. I was just presenting an off-the-cuff theory to, hopefully, provoke thought and perhaps the input of a motorcycle engineer who may provide a more qualified explanation of the phenomenon. Here also is a snipit of an article on the design of the Honda CBR 929RR FROM;Dragbike.com "CHASSIS.... As technologically daring and inventive as the CBR929RR's engine is, an equal amount of thought and engineering went into the chassis, the result being a little more Baba "magic." "My job was to use the best ideas," Baba says. "A good engine doesn't sell a bike, nor does a good chassis. You have to bring these together. Our big objective in this project was balancing light weight and the rigidity of the entire vehicle." Just as with the engine, Baba and his team carefully eliminated weight wherever possible, but never at the expense of strength and durability. The all-new twin-spar aluminum frame is 2.3 pounds lighter than the CBR900RR's, but overall frame rigidity (with the engine bolted in place) is up 13 percent. Shorter crankcases (front to rear) allow the engine to be placed farther forward in the frame for optimal handling, and in turn permit a 21mm-longer swingarm. A longer swingarm not only shifts the weight bias forward, but it also reduces the angle through the arm rotates for a specific suspension movement. The overall result is more progressive suspension action. The 929's swingarm utilizes a multi-tapered cast center section with triple-box-section extruded arms and a massive aluminum brace welded over the top, leading to a huge, 28 percent increase in overall rigidity. PIVOTLESS DESIGN: The 929's frame also showcases the latest in Honda's pioneering work with pivotless rear suspension, introduced on the 1997 VTR1000F Super Hawk T. The pivotless design, which uses the engine as a mounting point for the swingarm pivot allows a simpler, lighter frame that's less affected by swingarm-imposed loads during hard cornering and acceleration. A pivotless frame also decreases the distance between the countershaft and swingarm pivot, reducing stress on the drive chain as the swingarm moves through its arc for smoother power transfer to the rear wheel. What's more, it allows engineers to tune in a certain amount of lateral flexibility for improved handling." Note: the mention if decreasing the distance between the pivot and the countershaft. Similar to my comment about having the centerlines of the swingarm pivot and the drive sprocket aligned. In regard to riding competance. I have taken the riding course and do plan to practice and be prepared, but I'd still prefer a more intuitive correlation between the amount of squeeze applied to the front brake lever and the amount of resultant brake force. Don't get me wrong, I love my Blast and I should probably shut up. From the looks of things though Buell has really embraced this new style brake and highly touted it, but is it really the cat's pajamas? Might there be safety issues? Can too much of a good thing be bad? P.S. Here's an interesting article: The First Buell | ||
| Blake |
The intutive part comes with practice. Hardly anything about riding a motorcycle is intuitive. Of course maybe you do have a grabby brake problem. If it's that problematic, maybe your pads need require replacement or at least a good sanding. You are using just two fingers (index and middle) on the lever right? | ||
| Buellzilla |
OK, before I admit to being unfit to ride a motorcycle at any speed, I'd like to point to exhibit A:    The above images are of the Blast front wheel, the Kawasaki Ninja 500 front wheel and the Suzuki GS500 front wheel. I'm not a physicist but it's quite easy to understand that bigger rotor = bigger brake torque. A longer lever gives you more torque. The lever is the radius of the brake rotor, however in order to make direct comparisons between different bikes you must take into account the wheel size. To be exact you'd want to know the distance from the axle center to the furthest point on the tire tread. For this rough comparison, I'll settle for comparison of rotor radius to wheel radius. Blast dry weight: 360 lbs Blast wheel radius equals 8.0 inches (16 inch wheel) Blast brake rotor radius equals 6.3 inches (320 mm rotor) brake rotor radius is 79% of wheel radius Suzuki GS500 dry weight: 381 lbs GS500 wheel radius equals 8.5 inches (17 inch wheel) GS500 brake rotor radius equals 5.8 inches (295 mm rotor) brake rotor radius is 68% of wheel radius Kawasaki Ninja 500 dry weight: 388 lbs Ninja 500 wheel radius equals 8.5 inches (17 inch wheel) Ninja 500 brake rotor radius equals 5.26 inches (267.3 mm rotor) brake rotor radius is 62% of wheel radius As you can see the Blast has the most brake torque of all these bikes with a rotor radius which is equal to nearly 80% of the wheel radius and it's a lighter bike by about 20 lbs. This means that for less pressure of pad against rotor, the Blast gets more braking power. I've referred to this as "grabby". Apparantly, I'm all alone in this impression. | ||
| Mikej |
"Grabby" implies uncontrollability, which I haven't found the Blast front brake to be the times I've rode one. It is a strong front brake, what I'd call a two-finger brake, but I wouldn't refer to it as being "grabby". "Sensitive" maybe, but not grabby, definitely controllable which grabby isn't. IMHO of course. Now, if you want "grabby", try riding my little honda with the drum front brake when it hasn't been run for awhile and the weather has been moist causing a little surface rust to appear on the braking surface, that is "grabby", it's also "squeaky", it's also for sale ($250 if you have cash this week, I need my M2 shipped home soon).  | ||
| Blake |
Zilla: Some things for you to ponder... How many pistons does the Blast front brake utilize? The GS500? The Ninja 500? All the bike reviews laud the superior braking of bikes like the CBR600RR, a 370 LB bike with TWO 320 mm disks being squeezed by a total of EIGHT pistons. | ||
| Xgecko |
Zilla in all the commuter miles that I have put on my blast, 12,000 and counting, I have never thought of the front brake as grabby. Admittedly I ride two fingered most of the time, but in a panic I have deathgripped the front brake and have yet to Fly. I also have a 2000 blast with the braided, rather that rubber, brakelines, Now with the fork brace my brakes became stiffer and my sensitivity increased but it still isn't grabby. Then again I've spent most of my life on two wheels, babying a front brake may just come instinctively. | ||
| Buellzilla |
I guess it's all in my head then. For some reason (perhaps my many years of bicycle braking experience), the Blast always, to my irritation, seemed to exceed my expectations when it came to the amount of braking induced by the amount of squeeze I applied. I'll just have to get used to it and get familiar with the two-finger method. When bike engineers make decisions about how big to make the front brake rotor, how many pistons, swept area, pad size and the like, I'd imagine that they consider the weight, top-speed and intended market. The GS500 and Ninja 500 also use dual piston calipers, but I don't know how pad sizes compare. It would appear to me that they chose a more conservative level of braking power which may be advisable for a bike intended mainly for the beginner market. | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Let me add my $0.02 concerning the brakes. Last week I rode the final 30 miles (of an 85 mile jaunt) in the rain. Not my favorite thing to do. But the brakes performed fine. Virtually no lag time for the disc to shed the water before braking was acheived. I was impressed. Definitely no death grip needed in the rain.... | ||
| Blake |
Buellzilla: I can see how you are uncomfortable with a good motorcycle front brake if you are used to bicycle brakes. Trust me, once you are acclimated to your P3's braking prowess, you will love it. One exercise that might help you is to ride for a while around town using the rear brake as little as possible. You will quickly gain confidence and familiarity with your front brake and it's characteristics. Now get out there and practice those stoppies! (Yes, with two fingers.) | ||
| Mikej |
In Colorado last summer, in the little town of Idaho Springs, right across the street from the pizza place, is a little bicycle shop that was setting up some downhill bicycles, one of which had brakes that would rival anything the motorcycle industry has on the market. Pricey, but very nice and super light. The wrench/mechanic said the brakes were tested out on dirt bike motorcycles because it was easier on the testers to use a throttle than pedals when out brake testing. Not all bicycle brakes are bad, just most of them.  This relates to the discussion somehow, I'll leave it up to the reader to decide how or if. ps, using two fingers on the front brake lever allows you to maintain a fairly firm grip with the hand and remaining two fingers on the throttle, allowing you better fine control of the lever. | ||
| Xgecko |
Anyone here ever ride a trials bicycle? Especially one with tarred rims? That requires the most careful use of brakes. anything else is easy. On a seperate note I have finally seen the Blasts much vaunted (at least by the Prof) fuel efficiency. Mondays round the island jaunt gave me 69.94mpg...very impressive. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Blake; Actually most of my irritation came from the fact that most of the time I was riding in city traffic and using the front brake. At highway speeds, I had no complaints on the front brake response. I actually have a problem with not using the rear brake as much as I should. One thing I was working on was the simultaneous dual braking. This whole front disc brake design thing is interesting. There are alot more variables than meet the eye. I'm curious about performance or "feel" differences between a single large rotor as opposed to twin small rotors or even a single small rotor but with more swept area and a larger caliper. There's more than one way to get more braking power. I would think that a larger rotor would stay cooler since the heat would be distributed over a larger area, but a larger rotor means more torque and how does this effect the proportion of response to pad pressure and control input? I guess I should search for a book on the topic. Sadly there is more winter-caused deprivation for me to endure up here in Vermont before I can resume practicing or riding. Thanks to Buell, I now have severe SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder). | ||
| Ramon |
Hi everyone, I have two questions: 1. Does anyone know of an elimination kit for the back license plate holder and lights. I want to get rid of all that plastic. 2. Can anyone suggest an alternative set of tires for the Blast. I will have to purchase a new set of tires in the next month and I wanted to try something different. Thanks for the INFO. -ramon | ||
| Blake |
Buellzilla: I feel for ya, as a transplanted Pennsylvanian turned Texan (wised up to the winter thing LONG ago). I'm looking outside at sunny clear 70oF. Springtime in East Texas, glorious!! What the hell am I doing inside!? | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Blast fuel economy: Xgecko commented on his 70 mph tank. Good stuff. During the off-season here in Seattle with more stop and go stuff, my Blast gets between 60 and 66 mpg. But on 80+ mile rides with lots of curvey farm roads it always gets over 70 mpg. Keep in mind my Blast is (still) stock 'cept for the Pirelli MT75 tires which, after 3,000 miles, look good for about another 2k or more. Prof My Blast/thumper website | ||
| Buellzilla |
Blake; No fair! I'm telling Ma. Ramon; The only tires I'm aware of are the OEM Dunlops and the Pirelli MT75 that the Prof mentions above. | ||
| Xgecko |
Zilla there are others Cheng Shin makes a tire that is the same size as the rear 120/80 and the front is a 100/90. Many of Cheng Shin's tires are front/rear compatable. I have no experence with these tires though some guys on the Buell Blast Yahoo group seem to like them | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Everything I've ever heard about the Cheng Shin tires has been that they are of a "cheaper" make than most of the other tires availible. Not to say that's BAD, but the tires are what separating my keister from pavement at oh say... 80Mph? If it came down to spending a little extra money to make sure I was getting the best, I'd have no problems at all spending it. I've got Dunlops on the Blast now, but in hindsight, i should have gone with the MT75's... they _will_ be the next tires on the lil' thumper.. -=]D_Storm[=- |
