| Author | Message | ||
     Dankno |
You might be onto something, I wonder if watching Star Wars too many times as a child is the culprit for my white motorcycle fetish... Creepy. I do 22.8 miles one way 4 days of 5 and 37.4 on the way home on wednesday (Weekly family dinner, grandma's cooking, 'nuff said.) | ||
| Thump |
When I was reading through some posts I believe in the Vault I came across a post by EZ where he recommends getting the same years owner's manual as the bike itself. When I bought my '07 they gave me an '08 manual. The only difference I could find was the tire upgrade. I'm not sure it would be worth it to get the '07. What do you guys think? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Dont worry about it. As long as it doesnt tell you to check the oil with the engine running (or you dont pay attention to that) you'll be fine. There are some discrepancies between some owners and repair manuals but they are few and far between and since all Blasts are nearly (99.9%) identical, a year off (or even several years) or so isnt going to make a difference. Any manual is better than none. | ||
| Ezblast |
Rainman - your bike is stock, therefor not the easiest to do the tranny oil change on - a few tips are - loosen - do not take off peg arm - if ambitious - take off 1 of the bolts and go get a set of 3 to 6 locking washers and threaded rod couplers of the same size as that lock nut and replace with the couplers & washers instead, the next time will be much easier - you'll need a primary inspection cover gasket, a oil drain bolt o-ring, and an inch pound torque wrench, T27 bit -( if your bike shifts a bit clunky, now is the time to do the clutch adjustment - mucho easy -) then just fill to the bottom of the teeth on level ground with bike level. For the cable - try tightening it just the smallest bit - if that fails - you could always buy an o-ring and finnegal it down the cable from the handle end and put it on and re tighten to speck, then adjust your clutch at the primary then at the adjuster. Do this while primary is empty - lol. Thump any manual besides perhaps a 2000 is good, except for parts I'd get as late as I could for the most updated numbers. EZ (Message edited by ezblast on August 13, 2008) | ||
| Indybuell |
So.... what do I do for the next two weeks while my bike is in the shop? I'm gonna go crazy!  | ||
| Ezblast |
Read and learn my friend, read and learn. Its what I did waiting on a rebuild long ago. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Or drain the tranny and fill through the vent line. Couldnt get any easier! | ||
| Ezblast |
If you do it Erik's way - which is good - first make sure your bike is totally warmed up. EZ | ||
| Awf_hand |
With no time to look at it myself, I sent my '07 Blast to the dealer. The issue was; it wouldn't idle. They tell me the carb was dirty. This is not covered by warranty, they tell me. So then, is it my understanding that Buell (manufacturer) expect me to disassemble my 1 year old machine's carburetor as part of "normal maintenance"!? Or is this something I should just expect from having bought my first American made bike?? Smile is fading... ______________________ Firing order 1 -for now. | ||
| Indybuell |
I started reading "Proficient Motorcycling". Seems like a pretty good book. Through the first couple chapters now. I totally see what I did wrong. Way to much steering, and not enough leaning. Back to the parking lot. | ||
| Ezblast |
Carb is covered under warranty - who they trying to fool - call Buell customer service. EZ | ||
| Reuel |
A small bottle of gas treatment that says something about cleaning injectors or carburetor is a good thing to try. How did you get your carburetor dirty? It took me a few years to have problems with mine, and I was doing 4-6K a year. (Message edited by reuel on August 14, 2008) | ||
| Awf_hand |
SO I spoke to Buell customer service about the warranty and what I should do about the 90$ carb repair bill that I have on my 2007 model. Their stance is this: They have no control over how the bike was used and if it sat for a period of time the carb can get gummed up and that would be MY responsibility, not theirs to repair. I've run the thing about 2-3 times per week since I bought it. Sure glad I searched for one with a warranty. I could've saved a thousand or more and bought an older one and been covered just as well.  Strike one. | ||
| Ezblast |
How much they charging you to clean the carb? - you could do it yourself you know, its really not hard - just consumes a bit of time. EZ | ||
| Reuel |
Pop the air cleaner cover off, squirt in some Gumout carb cleaner all over, hold the slide wide open, spray a bunch more, then start the bugger up. That's normally all it takes. A bottle of HEET in the gas tank takes care of those rainy/freezing riding days. | ||
| Awf_hand |
It is a two thousand and #@cking SEVEN model!!!!! I shouldn't have to do S#!t myself!! My mechanical involvment on something this new with a warranty should be gas and oil in the engine and air in the tires. If I wanted something that "consumes a bit of time" I'd have bought an older bike and saved myself the coin. My expectation is that something from the 2007 (newest vehicle I own) would be NO REPAIR REQUIRED. This is why I sold my KLR. It was 17yrs old and was requiring it's first non-wear-related repair. I don't have time to sit in my garage and fart around with my crap trying to make it run. _______________ Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why do they put a guarantee on a box? Hmm, very interesting. Ted: I'm listening. Tommy: Here's how I see it. A guy puts a guarantee on the box 'cause he wants you to fell all warm and toasty inside. Ted: Yeah, makes a man feel good. Tommy: 'Course it does. Ya think if you leave that box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter. Ted: What's your point? Tommy: The point is, how do you know the Guarantee Fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy, but we're not buying it. Next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times. Ted: But why do they put a guarantee on the box then? Tommy: Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of s#!t. That's all it is. Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time... ________________________ | ||
| Awf_hand |
I will follow my last (vent) post with this: I am taking 400-500 mile trip on the Blast this October. If it gives me NO grief, my smile will be restored. >gritting teeth< I do enjoy riding the thing. And I did go with the Avon Viperstryke rear skin. | ||
| Ezblast |
What about the front tire? They should go on as a set - otherwise the differing profiles could fubar you. Sounds to me like bad dealer experience coupled with cheap gas - if you are straight about the miles you ride - it should never need cleaning - period - both bikes of mine have never needed a carb cleaning though I did do it when they reached 20,000 miles for GP - if your riding regularly and using good gas - you should be golden. EZ | ||
| Swampy |
Awf Hand, where are you riding to? BTW, that is the funniest post I have read in a while. | ||
| Awf_hand |
I'm riding to see my lil bro in Ft. Atkinson, WI. EZ Noted on the mismatched tires. While I'm almost certain the bike will go into a bullet-ricochet sounding spin on the very first turn I attempt to take, I will make a concerted effort to counter steer against this. Funds are tight and the front tire will be replaced with the correct match when that time is right. | ||
| Ezblast |
Then I would do what Reuel sugested. EZ | ||
| Dankno |
A few years ago, ok like 5, I got tired of dumping time and $ into an 88 Mercury Sable. I traded it in on a like new 01 Grand Am and over the years of owning the Pontiac, as much as I loved that car, it helped me learn 2 things: Auto warranties are about as useless as the guys that the dealer pays to do the warranty work (present company excepted,) and that I will NEVER buy another car or truck newer than 1974. As much of a pain it is sometimes to be wrenching on them, I like the security of knowing exactly whats going on under the hood, and knowing how to fix it anywhere, anytime. Believe me Dean, I understand your frustration, but look on the bright side, you don't have to replace your rocker box gasket yourself.  And in other news, carb jets are in. I just have the early airbox mod with stock exhaust so far, so I don't really notice a big gain in power, but I'll be damned if it doesn't sound deeper. Weird huh? | ||
| Reuel |
Not weird. Lean mixtures burn more quickly than rich mixtures. You get a higher pitch on a lean mix, and a lower pitch on a rich mix. I noticed the same sort of changes when I'm playing with the jets. | ||
| Awf_hand |
"Believe me Dean, I understand your frustration, but look on the bright side, you don't have to replace your rocker box gasket " That's funny, 'cause that work WAS performed under warranty. As was the upper engine mount.  Previous owner did that. | ||
| Indybuell |
Ugh... My bike has been at the dealer for three whole days now, and still no estimate. This is killing me! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Awf_hand-Ted & Tommy LOL! Yes, bunch 'O' crap! I pull 'dirty' carbs out of boxes all the time, throw them on the bike and they're fine. An 07 shouldn't have any problems. Often your warranty is only as good as the dealer servicing it  Blast (and probably Buell, along with Sportster) owners dont get any respect. Truly the red headed stepchild. Great way to sell you an XB or Big Twin.  This I will say on warranties: While not technically just a warranty our '04 Mini Cooper S came with 4 year warranty and maintenance. We never paid a dime for anything, not even new windshield wipers every year! They even took care of stuff we didnt ask them too and wasnt specifically listed in the maintenance chart! They even did an extra oil change. They weren't even the dealer we bought the car from (that dealer sucked). | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Indy-sorry to hear that. Its likely your estimate will be very high, on work you could do yourself. Many parts listed in the estimate probably wont need to be replaced either (can also depend on if you or insurance are paying). My estimate was close to $4000. A $100 later I was back on the road (of course I did have some extra parts and I did do the work). A lot of stuff doesnt need replacing, its just scratched. The Blast can take quite a beating. Dont let the dealer scare you into a bunch of stuff you wont need. | ||
| Indybuell |
My plan is to have them check the tranny, and repair the shifter peg. I can do most of the other stuff myself like replacing the mounting bracket for the fairing, turn signal, etc. | ||
| Ezblast |
Awf hand - bet it was a loose intake boot! Eriks right - they took it off, looked it over, cleaned the jets then put it back on the boot tightened and voila - it was fixed - so it had to be a dirty carb - sigh - HD mechs at their best. EZ |
