| Author | Message | ||
     M2nc |
I am looking for a commuter bike and am looking at the Blast first. I already have two Buells and really love them, but I have reservations about contuning to commute these two. The Uly is fantastic, but I am going to wear the bike out in short order if I do not find something else to ride. I am always on it. I got the Bike in October and I already have 7200 miles on it and am looking at a trip to Indiana in two weeks. I would love to dedicate this bike to touring, two-up riding and adventure rides and leave it home during the week. Also the D616, though I can get them at $103 for the rear, still wear out way too fast. 3500-4500 miles on a commuter just will not do. The M2 is a great bike too but I have plans for it. Where the Uly is very capable in hard riding, I feel more comfortable doing it on the M2. I want to start playing with M2 and turning it into a track day, street hooligan bike. It is also in need of attention with 42,000 miles. The motor is great, but the rest of the bike needs attention, minor things, but I do not know it I would ride it every day to work. The Nighthawk was my commuter bike and sold it after I got the Uly. The bike did the commuter job very well. I put 24,000 miles on the Nighthawk in the 28 months I owned it. Doing mostly commuting after getting the M2, I would get 5500 miles out of the K505 rear tire and 11,000 miles out of the front. The tires were cheap too, $76 front $82 for the rear. The Nighthawk was stone cold reliable with the only problems being the chain after 18,000 miles and two batteries. It would run on 87 octane gas but it would not get the gas mileage of the Buells. Where the two Buells would run between 42-45 mpg to and from work, the Nighthawk would get 37-42mpg. Four carb versus one makes a difference on throttle response too. Enough back ground, I want a commuter bike again and am thinking about a Blast. Cheap to buy, great gas mileage advertised, but rear tire wear is terrible from what I here. So my question is, what gas mileage is everyone really getting, and two, what tire wear are you getting with what tires? | ||
| Jlnance |
Oh why are you even asking. After the pictures of your son on that Blast, you know what you're gonna get.  I get in the low 60s and I usually run WOT until I get to the speed I want. Rears last about 3500. There are not a lot of tire options for the Blast. The Avon AM51 & AM52 will fit and last somewhat longer. None of the other tires useable on the Blast last as long as the OEM tires. The upside is that Blast tires are cheap. | ||
| Ezblast |
Concur! | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I am running a Kenda on the rear, and have put maybe 1000 miles on it with no appreciable wear. It is a cruiser tire and has a rounder profile, but so far it is doing everything I've asked of it. It just might be the ticket for a commuting duties. I wish I had more hard data for you regarding anticipated longevity. | ||
| Ezblast |
Avons are known to give 5000 a tire - GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| M2nc |
Jim, you mean this one?  He's ridden with me on the Uly, actually I had all three of them on the Uly riding on the driveway, but Carlee and Luke both took their first rides on friends' Blast. | ||
| Jprovo |
M2NC, To answer your questions: I get about 60 mpg if I'm not riding on the freeway at 75-80 all day long. If I ride the freeway milage drops to low 50's. Th Blast is much happier as an around town commuter IMHO. I weight about 180 lbs, weight has a BIG factor in fuel milage. With Avon Tyres I can get 5000 Miles, about 4000 on the Pirelli, and 3500 on the stock Dunlop. I've found that keeping tire pressures up around 33-34 in the rear and 30-31 in the front greatly increases tire longevity. James | ||
| Naustin |
If you're putting that many miles on, and you do buy the Blast - Don't forget to buy a Corbin seat. Consider it part of the cost of buying a blast and factor it into your decision right from the start.  It costs $230 from Corbin if I'm not mistaken. I have the Avon Rear on right now with about 3000 miles on it. I'm hoping to get 4K out of it. It is already worn down to the bottom of the tread in the middle. I only weigh 160, and most of those miles were solo, unladen miles. But most of them were also running around town, short trips and riding pretty hard. The best mileage I ever got across one tank was 75mpg. I was riding in a draft with a tail wind 50-55. ( I also had my exhaust and rejet at that time ). Normally I'm getting high 50's. I got 58mpg on my last tank with 20 miles @ 75mph freeway (solo), 40 miles of 2-up with my wife @ 60mph, and the rest mixed city/back roads thrashing. | ||
| Mike_the_bike |
\/--\/--\/-- > [Yes, I heard that about Avons. How about these New Pirellis - any idea of their longevity?> | ||
| Ezblast |
Which Pirelli - several fit the Blast. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Mike_the_bike |
> [Hi All, I just put a set of MT 75 Pirellis on my Blast after putting 11,000 miles front - 8,000 back on Dunlops. I am so impressed with the way the Pirellis perform and feel. it is like heaven on wheels. My only concern is the longevity. They seem to have much more rubber on them than the stock tires - any comments? Thanks, | ||
| Ezblast |
Great handling - short life - cheap price - all in all a very good tire for the price. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Oz666 |
A related question: What effect does an aftermarket exhaust and jet change have on fuel mileage? I know this seems to be at cross purposes, but the girl who owns it is getting 70-75 MPG now and I was hoping at least it wouldn't drop too much. Mounted Avon AM51/52 and it is a HUGE improvement.   Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| Ezblast |
Not much at all since your only really going up one size in both jets. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Xgecko |
I got better mileage after I changed my exhaust, intake and jetting...60-65MPG before 70-72MPG after (Message edited by Xgecko on January 12, 2007) | ||
| Rainman |
I'm probably the wrong person to chime in here because I drive like an old lady, but I've had the Blast since November and do almost strict commuting to and for work. I'm getting 65 mpg on short-hop, all city tankfulls and 70 on combined city and highway. I get 70 to 75 mpg on freeway fill ups if I keep it at 65 mph and 65 mpg if I venture into the 75 to 80 mph range. I've only got a 1,000 on mine so I don't know how the tires will wear. I've had a great time commuting on the Blast. It's quick enough to get out of trouble, stops on a dime with three-cents change and can park anywhere. | ||
| Krid80 |
My experience has been flawed I'm sure. My first few tanks of gas I was getting between 70-75mpg almost all highway. But I was a brand new (read granny or scared slow) rider. Now that I'm more comfortable at speed, I'm often accelerating alot quicker than those first weeks. Also, I was on V&H exhaust with stock jetting (a no-no as I was running lean). Now I'm jetted 45/175 and running a Pro Series intake along with the aforementioned exhaust and my mileage is good to hit 60mpg. I'm sure I could baby it a whole tank and get at least 60, but what fun would that be? Who's with me? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Yes as posted you may get better gas mileage, but at 70-75 mpg its not likely to get much better than that and if jetted right you may keep that range (although looking at your other ride, I doubt you'll be able to keep off the throttle enough to get that kind of mileage). Even a mildly modified Blast (exhaust,cams,head,ignition,piston) can still be getting 60-65mpg! The best mileage I got was with a bone stock Blast after I installed the White Brothers exhaust (minus torque cone) and per the WB instructions adjusted the timing and left the jetting alone. 70+ mpg at 70-80 mph! | ||
| Oz666 |
Yes, I'm sure if I really worked at it, I could get the MPGs into the low 60s or even high 50s range. I have had a few tanks on my S3T below 40 MPG due to in-town hooliganism but normally I get 50+. The Blasts owner rides fairly gently & weighs less than 110 lbs. Her comments after the first 1000 miles: "I think I need to return it, I can't use more than $5 worth of gas at a time..." Hopefully this summer, the pipe and a little coaching will help her with the 3" chicken strips. From what everyone has said so far, she should not see any large change - I just wanted to know so I could give her a "heads-up", I don't think she could push it very far (out of fuel). Anybody else? Chime in! Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| Oz666 |
Eric, We should meet up at The Dinosaur in Syracuse for ribs sometime... You and Tony (and anyone else) are welcome to crash here if you want to make a slight detour on the way to Homecoming. If they have one... If you are going... Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." |
