| Author | Message | ||
     Dust_Storm |
Joey, it's okay if the rear wants to travel a bit, just make sure that front is locked on. It's different feeling to have the rear tire slip, but as long as you're not completely sideways, the bike will usually recover fine so long as the front holds. Get a bit more tread on that rear, it won't walk as much.. ..and while yer at it, practice some dirt-trackin', that'll get you used to sliding.  [Ds] | ||
| Mapes |
What's the best product to use on your helmet to keep it fog free on the inside and rain free on the outside? I had my first rain experience this past weekend. There has to be something to improve on these areas. I have an HJC CL12 full face helmet. Thanks in advance for your help. Also, does anyone use the Halo reflector on your helmet? If so, what is your opinion on it? I also saw a thing in Daytona that you can use to make your helmet easier to "unclip". It was a safe latch, just more like a bicycle helmet latch than the D-rings on a motorcycle helmet. Are these safe? Has anyone used them? | ||
| Xgecko |
Here is a Crossroads forkbrace for sale on Ebay | ||
| Mavinwy |
Mapes, My wife has a metal latch like the bike helmets and really likes it (don't know the brand name offhand) She did not trust the plastic ones. YMMV Personally, I use rain-x inside and out on mine, I guess because I have for years and no one has mentioned anything better. But I would be curious to hear opinions as well. Mav | ||
| Xgecko |
I use a plain old shackle lock for my helmet and I lock it to my rearsets. It works but then you have to have rearsets for that to work. | ||
| Rd350 |
Changed out the tranny oil today to Mobil 1 syn. 75w/90. The bike is shifting way better. And it helped to cut down on the clutch chatter when taking off. I got the oil change in about 25 minutes. The key I have found out is that you do not take the stock left bracket off all the way. Just take off two of the three nuts. You can move the bracket out far enough to remove the three bolts holding the side cover. I had to use three extentions and two swivel sockets to get to the nuts. Who the hell designed that system? Does any of the great engineers working for Buell every have to work on the bikes in the real world? I have heard that is takes some two hours to change the tranny oil. I can see why if you don't have the right tools. Also still no front springs from Works..something about shipping problems. They told me they will have them out tomorrow. We will see.. | ||
| Joey |
Dust Storm, I've been meaning to get to a dirt track and get the Blast! dirty.  You're not the first to suggest that to me. Pavement has a different feel than dirt, but the practice could be good. When I lived in Alaska, I got pretty good at recovering from a skid on the snow and ice in my car. So, when I was driving on dry pavement in the summertime, coming back from Fairbanks at 70 MPH, and found myself on the gravel shoulder, I pulled the car back on the road without slowing down. I made some really cool skid marks as I managed to swerve all over the road. Like I said, it has a different feel, but I suppose dirt isn't as slippery as snow and ice. Of course, because of the practice I had, I was able to keep the car on the road until I came to a stop perpendicular to the road, but in my lane! Mavinway, I have the HJC CL12. The guy who sold it to me said that RainX would mess up the visor. His opinion was that all I could do is keep it clean. This is the same guy who told me that $71.95 is the best price I'd get for the Pirelli tire, which turned out the be the highest price... | ||
| Lamblasted |
Hey Fellow Blastards, I'm nearing 10,000 miles on my '00 Blast and It's been fun but I've gone through three rockerbox gasgets and two drive belts. I finaly got the metal gasget installed on the rockerbox so hopefully that problem is gone but what really has me bugged is the broken drive belts that have left me stranded. The manual says there good for 15K. The last one lasted about 2K!(and the bike has the newer spocket) Has anyone else had trouble with belts breaking. I'm tired of paying for new belts, the installation and the tow charges. I'd rather spend that money on a new exhaust system or seat!  If this is a common problem I think Harley/Buell should start picking up the tab! When you add up the cost of a new belt, the installation, and the towing charges I'm out almost $400 dollars so far! Dave | ||
| Mikej |
Dave, How are the belts breaking? Do they show any obvious failure modes? What were you doing at the time they broke, anything similar between the three occurances? | ||
| Lamblasted |
Mike, The first belt let go while travelling up a fairly steep hill and the next one broke while the bike was at light throttle going down a slight incline. Both belts snapped straight across like they were cut with an exacto knife and no damage has been found on either sprocket. Dave | ||
| Mikej |
I've read reports of belts breaking from small bits of gravel getting between the belt and pulley (which has me a little concerned about riding the Buell up where I was last weekend), and I've also heard of belts breaking that were stored or bent backward. I'd think a clean snap would be a defect in the belt somehow. Hopefully someone more knowledgable about the belts can chime in. There were a bunch of them when the XB belt tensioner was being discussed recently. Not fun in any case. | ||
| Xgecko |
consumables news I got a message from AMSOIL it seem that they have replacement oil filter for the Blast/Firebolt engine AMSOIL SMF13299 (black) or AMF132C (chrome) oil filter for the Blast. | ||
| Ltlboybuell |
Here's a general question for everyone. Any ideas on how to go about getting more people( heck even Buell would be nice) to start devoting more time to new product and accessory development for our Blasts? It seems as though it's treated like Buell's forgotten step-child at times. Sure, compared to the more mainstream machines, it's down on power but that's easy enough to remedy and it handles great. I just can't see why the rags and parts folks haven't picked up on how much fun this bike really is. I like to let experienced riders take a spin, those I know really well anyway, and they always come back with huge smiles on their faces. Any thoughts? | ||
| Rockbiter1 |
As a victim of two snapped belts myself, I understand how Lamblasted feels. Being stranded 50 miles away from home at 3 in the morning is NOT my ideal was of spending an evening  Same symptoms, snapped clean across the belt, first time accelerating thru 2nd gear (on a military base, so no, I was NOT "dropping the hammer", and second time, in first gear, from a stand-still (2 miles from a phone). Fortunatly, both were covered by my dealership. The last one was about 2k miles ago, so i'm waiting for it to snap again soon | ||
| Pilk |
why couldnt you use the wider belt? I've never looked at the front sprocket on the blast but the rear looks to be the same width as my X-1. Just wondering. Pilk  | ||
| Xgecko |
the front sprocket is as wide as the belt and no wider. As for strength supposedly the Blasts's belt it stronger than you X1's How true that is I have no clue but that's what I've heard and read. | ||
| Dansherman |
For some reason the nice police officer didn't believe that my bike was going 107. I tried to tell him that my bike wouldn't do "much over 90", but it wasn't much good. After a couple minutes he knocked it down to 90mph in a 65. Still $105, but at least I probably get to keep my license. Grrr... -- dan | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Dan, you should have kept and posted the ticket, radar confirmation of the thumper at warp speed! True, not really salt calibration, but hey, we take what we can get... Seriously, why were you up so fast? I trust you had at least wide open road and your good wits around you. It's a painful ticket, but head to court and try and get it reduced more. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of speed and the rampant abuse of power, but try and keep within 15Mph of the posted, if you must go faster (which most of us just have too) head to the dragstrip (4$ entry fee here, runs Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun) and light them up, or head to the track, spend 40 or more on entry fees, and ride to your wits or pegs spark. Okay, I'm off my soapbox.. just be careful, just cause you can handle speed, doesn't mean everyone around you can.. ('n I don't wanna lose anyone here sooo... behave!)   [Ds] | ||
| Jkozlowski |
Has anyone had to trim the end of the handgrip when mounting Napoleon Bar end Mirrors. Because when I tighten them up, I cannot turn the throttle. | ||
| Aaron |
Move the throttle inboard. Just cut that little plastic pin off. | ||
| Dansherman |
[Ds] I don't speed (in large amounts) unless the road is wide open, i.e. nobody in sight. Last night it was right around midnight and the freeway was deserted. I had been cruising along at about 80 mph (speed limit 65) when a brand new Ford Mustang pulled up next to me, revved up his engine and took off. I thought I'd try to keep up, but he dusted me. (go figure, top speed on one of those is in the 160 range). Once I break 90 I don't really slow back down unless I consiously think about it, so I kept cruising. I went flying past a cloverleaf interchange and was about a quarter mile past it when the cop entered the freeway. He "saw that I was hauling ass" and stepped on it to catch up to me. According to him he hit 120 catching up to me, and then followed me at 110 for a short distance. It wasn't tell he had followed me for a minute that he turned his lights on. Until then I figured it was another Mustang type situation. Moral of the story: Unless you know it's not a cop, assume it is. Oh well... Life goes on. -- dan | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Dansherman: you be careful, man. Doing that kind of speed in the dark takes a lot of faith that the road is free of crap that could toss you.  We would hate to lose your commentary... ----------- 120 miles today (Sat) - 53 mpg - country and twisty roads, this time on my 89 HD Electra-Glide. Why post here? Well, the big hog has been neglected for much of the last two years since I bought the Blast. Today’s ride made me appreciate both bikes. The big guy is great for long rides on gentle turning roads while loaded with gear. Looks and sounds great. Timeless. But the Blast really has my heart and time in the saddle. Handling, weight, and its pure visceral nature make all the difference. We Blastards should be thankful HD brought out the P3. | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Speakin' of speeding - JUST GOT BACK FROM THE TRACK! (Don't really know if this belongs here or in Racing, but I don't care, I just gotta tell the story...) Trackday today and I decided I'd take both bikes, the ZX6er and the good ol' Blast. Loaded them up into a borrowed truck, and drove to the track early this morning. Payed the entry dues for both bikes, and waited for the practice times. The ZX6 is my race bike (but not for long.. keep readin!)and as such it's dressed for it, 4-1pipe, geared, ported/polished, advanced, bodywork, GP 208's, everything a squid needs to go around a corner fast. The mighty blast however, was darn near stock. Clipons, jetted, and some misc parts, but it's stock (the muffler is on it's way from RW..). Painfully Stock... With the advent of mono practice, the Blast took the track. I made 3 turns, and had already scraped the lower ride pegs well into the spark range. That just won't work.. So i took them off, and rode on the back pegs. Worked great until I had to shift. Practiced that a bit, got the hang of it, and figured as long as I was taking things off, I took off the airbox and filter (remembering Aaron's tale of increase HP) and drove the rest trying to get a feel for the tires and where the edge stopped and I began. Blast dyno'ed at 29HP, whoo-HOO! That put me exactly 28 HP behind the nearest competitor, a scorpian. Took the grid in LAST PLACE, doh.. and I chose to do the 5 lap teaser, mostly because I didn't want to kill my poor Blast. And off we went! I passed 3 people on the start, but as the course stretched out, I just didn't have the umph to keep up with them. As it was, I was smacking redline all over the place as i hung onto the throttle trying to squeeze every bit of power out in the corners (and shifting was just a pain.. let's all try and guess why). As it turned out, I came in 18 from 20 (2 DNF, they wandered wide in turn 8 and just kinda kept wandering... ) but had a BLAST of a time with a time of 1:51:34 fastest lap, 2:01:45 average, fastest speed through the trap at 93MPH.. Now for the bad news. My pipe is scraped in places I didn't think were possible. Not a big deal, just paint it up and it'll be fine. I checked all the gaskets, and I have a bit of oil dripping, but I haven't located where from yet. I suspect somewheres by the rocker, but I'm in the process of taking it apart now. Everything feels loose now, don't know if that's a good thing.. Because of that, and I don't know exactly what to look for, I'm passing on the races tomorrow. I'd rather make sure the horse is okay before I whip it like a madman again... Things I need to change if I want to do this again - REARSETS! Those would have been a godsend. Thing is though, once I got through the leg craps, the passenger pegs where almost the perfect height, maybe an inch too tall. The pipe, but the Force is in the mail, so no worrys there, good for upper RPM. DAMN THAT REAR SHOCK! I don't care if was designed to haul an average 220lb person with gear around town, having your rear pogo in the apex of a turn at 70Mph is more than a little unnerving. An additional 22HP would just rock (Hey Aaron, can I borrow your Blast??! I promise I'll wash n' wax it!) but if I'm going to start dropping that kind of money into the Blast, I might start to consider one of the bigger Buells. They are a bit more competitive than my Blast (which got a fair share of pointing and laughing today.. got asked a few times if it was a pitbike..Grrrr) and tend to be a bit better out of the box. Things to think about... I can't tell you all how much fun it was, if you get a chance to take your Blast to the track, have at it! If you're on stock pegs, be ready to spark a bit, be hey, it looks cool.. though really drop bars and rearsets are a MUST, they would help substantially. (Darnit Mr. Buell, you payin' attention??  ) I'm goin to bed, but wow, whata day! [Ds] ..........................and the ZX6 just sucked oil today.. | ||
| Dansherman |
From now on, anytime I do something foolish I'm keeping it a secret! Prof: It was midnight, but the freeway was well lit. When the road is dark I'm about as cautious (spelling?) as they come, deer jumping out in front of you tend to have that effect. I haven't hit any, but friends of mine have (in trucks). Ugly stuff. Forecast calls for two days of rain... time to finish putting the decals on. -- dan | ||
| Blake |
DS, One word... Nallinize.  | ||
| Court |
Therein, is the tie that binds us.....you don't have to tell us GREAT TALE | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Blake you're not helping. [Ds] | ||
| Dust_Storm |
Dan - Where abouts in StP/Min did this happen? I went to college at UW Stout in Menomonie WI, so the Citie's trips were an every weekend occurance(my friends had a passion for Deja Vu, see if you know where that is). My brother goes to school at UM up there also. Just kinda weird, I haven't been up in that region for almost 5 years, and wondering how it is. [Ds] | ||
| Dansherman |
[Ds] - Westbound 394 just past 494, just past Ridgedale... Stupid Minnetonka cops. I definately know where the Vu is. A good friend of mine is there a couple times a month.. Never really saw the appeal myself. Lots of new stores have sprung up in the suburbs, 'specially in Maple Grove (don't know if you know where that is). The sun just came out, and if it weren't about to rain again I might go for a ride. Gotta love the spring storms.. Oh wait, nope. -- dan | ||
| Ltlboybuell |
Grrr, ok, now that the speed sensor cut out on me I get back from a ride today to find a wet/damp spot on the left hand side cover under the clutch cover (?). It's almost like it's weeping a very small amount of fluid. Not enough to drip but just enough to make the side cover damp right where the left side foot peg is. Now is this one common or do I need to start raising hell with my dealer? Help, Rich |
