| Author | Message | ||
     Ezblast |
Peggysus - concur and I just wanted to say your handles pretty cool! - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
I agree with the concept but it would have to be based on some kind of HP or power to weight ratio.You cant compare the 500cc Blast to a 4cyl rice rocket,or a 1200cc Sportster even to an XB12! Because of those kinds of laws, Europe has some insane small displacement bikes, and you know if a kid can afford (or his parents) a superbike, he can afford to have his 250cc streetbike tricked out to the max. My cousin got a GSXR? 750 for his FIRST bike and his grandma paid for him to have some superlight racing engine block installed!!! Call me a pessimist, but more harm than good can come from trying to get a law like this in place. Aren't we legislated to death anyway. "Please,(government),protect me from myself,I'm sure you know whats best for me" edited by gearheaderiko on November 05, 2003 | ||
| Peggysus |
I may be wrong on this. But I think in Europe they classify bikes by horsepower (no pun intended) as well. Or at least the insurance companies do. And it's funny, my dad had a stock KZ550 back 20 years ago. And that bike handled very well and was faster than most Buells today. But it was considered just a middleweight standard, not a sportbike. They also made a version called the GPz550 which was essentially the same. But they had a fairing and sportier bodywork, and were considered the baby sportbike of it's day. The 550's handled alot better than the 750's and 1100's, which were even super fast back then. By the way, I just drifted into this part of the forum. As I don't own a Blast, but an XB. | ||
| Newblaster |
That's true, in Europe it's HP. Wasn't there a discussion a while back on here about that being one reason the Blast isn't shipped there? Something about it being just over the HP limit for a learner bike... Seems like it was over by 1 or 2 HP. Anyone else remember that discussion? | ||
| Ezblast |
Yes - it is 1 hp over their limit in the British Isles for a beginner bike. OK - perhaps HP should lead the guide lines - still if it isn't done led by our side soon, it will be done by an ignorant public legislating something I'm sure none of us would like. Personally - I figure each Squid injury/death just helps thin the Gene pool of undesirables, however, we all know that the government doesn't think this way, and is much more likely to over react and put into place a ton of restrictions. So to preserve the rights we have I'm just suggesting that perhaps we should be a bit pro-active in suggesting something as spoken about above. Got Thump?! Just Blasting on the Dark side! EZ  | ||
| Newblaster |
I agree with you there. If I had started out on a superbike, I probably would be either a statistic or a sausage creature by now. Just one man's opinion, though... YMMV Scott | ||
| Jamaicadog |
I think limiting people to certain bikes with certain horsepower, based on your years of experience riding, is a terrible idea. I don't like reading about some 18 year old who's life is cut short because he couldn't handle a Ninja...and I don't like that my high insurance rates reflect how often these numbskulls are crashing...but whenever the govt tries to "protect me from myself" my liberties get tossed out the window. Take handguns for example: here in Boston the attorney general pushed through legislation that made certain handguns with certain characteristics illegal because they were deemed "unsafe". Duh! Well, the criminals still use whatever type of hand cannon they want to, despite the legislation. All it did was take away options from me, the law abiding gun owner. Restrictions on motorcycles would do much the same: that idiot 18 year old will still get onto a superbike, maybe not his own, and will hit a jersey barrier at 100 mph. All that will happen is that MY choices of motorcycle will be restricted. No thanks. | ||
| Ezblast |
True - if we allow them to do the legislation we'll be screwed! Thats why I'm saying that we as riders do need to think of something to start pushing - I'd say maybe a 50 hp limit for the first 3 years of riding. Your talking about if's (if jr. can cop dad's Busa - a funny thought!) -I'm talking about the realities of now, and the fact is that someone dies or is seriously injured due to their inexperience and too much bike under them every day here in the Bay area - often more than once a day (I listen to my radio daily while at work - lol) - sooner or later some well meaning do gooding political type is also going to notice this rising statistic and try to act on it! I just figure we need to beat them to the punch and think of something we could live with. Hell - 50 HP is plenty on a light bike, and if the bike came that way then bumping up the HP 10 to 20 wouldn't be that hard when they wanted more power in that 3yr limit - lol Got Thump?! Just Blasting on the Dark side! EZ  | ||
| Newblaster |
This being the SF area, it's almost surprising it hasn't already happened here. Like you said, EZ, it's only a matter of time. If we let the politicians, most of whom have never ridden and never will, beat us to the punch we'll really suffer for it. Just don't mention to them how easy it is to hop up a small bike. lol... Scott | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Anybody a member of the AMA? (no, I'm not.Just asking).ABATE? | ||
| Halfaharley |
Hello, my blast is currently un-ride-able because the two bolts that hold the front isolator in place have snapped off and the front of the motor is sitting about one inch lower that it should be. I was riding on a 50 mph backroad, not pushing hard at all, when all of a sudden, I started feeling this violent vibration with every powerstroke. I pulled off the road, gave her an inspection, and there, seen through the smoke coming out of her stressed engine head, were the ominous HEADLESS BOLTS of the front isolator. I know I have heard of similar cases to this, but I never paid much attention. Does anyone know what is involved with repairing (or better yet, improving) the mount and inspecting for other damage that is more-than-likely accompanying this? I've got almost 11K on the bike and I had to ride it four miles to the nearest phone in its sad condition (of course, the one day in a month I forget my cell phone). The Irony: The thirty-degree weather had been harsh for the last week or so, so I dropped $165 on a pair of heated gloves (HD's). I was on the way to work from the Harley shop when this happened. I still haven't had a chance to try out my "investment" and who knows when I'll be riding again?! Cruel! Just Cruel! Everything was going just GREAT too! Oh well, life goes on. (in a pickup, though!yuck.) --Nik | ||
| Spooky |
I'm a member of AMA! | ||
| Joey |
If you have the power tools that can get the angle, (I used a Dremmel clone and a tungsten bit. Had to pull the horn...) you can get the bolts out with those EZ Out thingies. If you can't get at them, you'll have to pull the head. I have had the left (port) side break off 3 times now. If you did 11K, you're doing better than I am (unless one broke at 7K). So far, two lasted a bit more than 7K, and one didn't even make 1K. I had the first two replaced unter warranty. Both times, they messed up the bike, but I managed to fix it. The third time, I made sure I got the Buell replacement bolt instead of whatever happened to be in the dealer's bolt bin, and did it myself. I would be willing to guess that your left bolt broke first, and you didn't notice. I noticed when the engine slowed to an idle--it would bounce more than usual. | ||
| Ezblast |
Very unusual - I've replaced isolator bushings when they started looking a little worn, but thats the only problem I've had in that area. Had either of you been doing alot of rough riding before hand - (rocky mtn. rds, 'smooth' dirt trails, curb hopping) - just curious - theres always a reason these thing happen -its the figuring it out that is tricky - joey is right - EZ outs will do it, replace the bushings also and inspect for damage. Knock on wood for no more problem - lol GT - JBOTDS! EZ edited by ezblast on November 06, 2003 | ||
| Joey |
Occasional railroad tracks are the worst I've ever taken, but I always slow WAY down! I'm going to chalk mine up to bad luck. The dealer tried a harder bolt, which lasted about 800 miles. They went softer, which lasted another 7K+. I noticed the bolt that is Blast! specific has a superceded part number. I know someone else on this board talked about going through the broken bolt blues twice on his Blast!, but I can't remember who. | ||
| Sarodude |
Regarding the Isolator bolts in the head... The ONLY times I had problems with mine were when it was serviced by an incompetent dealer. Bolts snapped off or backed out. That was a previous Blast that was molested beyond repair by the abysmal service department of the dealership that sold it to me - all while trying to fix a single warranty issue upon which they compounded a slew of problems. I've had to un-do / re-do those bolts a bunch of times now. I followed the manual. Used a torque wrench. NEVER HAD A PROBLEM ON THE WORK I'VE PROPERLY DONE MYSELF. Oh, the Blast the dealer never touched is somewhere around the 20K mile mark. I really doubt that there's a design fault at work. I mean, if you ran over a boulder and your wheel was bent, is that a design flaw in the wheel or was the wheel just used outside of its intended (and likely reasonable) parameters? -Saro | ||
| Ezblast |
I hit a ton of tracks everyday as part of my commute - gotta luv MUNI - lol - I think Saro has the right of it though. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Peggysus |
Back onto the subject of inexperienced riders riding superbikes and getting hurt. Did you know that the black actor/comedian- Daryl "Chill" Mitchell, was paralyzed from the waist down after such an incident. After taking out his brothers kawasaki sportbike and crashing it. Daryl was not an experienced rider, and thought he'd show off on a more powerful bike than he could handle. This all just goes to show, that squids make it bad for all of us. As much as I'm all for, freedom from legislation action to limit us. I do see this in our future. Those who ride irresponsibly and get hurt, bring down the wrath of lawsuits. Prompting higher insurance rates and politicians who push for mandatory step programs to keep us from hurting ourselves. I don't like that, but I see no other choices for our country. But to follow suit with others. edited by peggysus on November 06, 2003 | ||
| Ezblast |
Concur! The trick would be to start our own action to curb this problem by introducing restrictions we as riders would consider fare - 50hp for the 1st 3 years would be a good rallying place. The next part of this would to be to get it pushed into law without it mutating into something we would not like - lol - and that would have to be done state by state - not an easy task, however, if enough people where pushing - especially the motorcyclists - themselves - chances are the popular vote would fall into line behind such an action and our rights would stay secure by such action. GT - JBOTDS!  | ||
| Peggysus |
Thats a good idea. But I think 50h.p. is way too high for beginners. If I recall, other countries start out at 25h.p. or less. Even the Blast might be considered too powerful in some locales. My first streetbike was a GN125. And at the time, I thought it was a huge step from the XR80 dirtbike I learned on. If I had to guess. Looking back, I think that 125 probably only made about 12h.p. And the only reason I bought it, was I took my rider training on one. | ||
| Jamaicadog |
So to play Devil's Advocate: then how many years experience would I need before I could buy one of those Yamaha YZF-R1's at 180 h.p.? | ||
| Sarodude |
this should probably go into a unique thread The thing is that no matter how you slice & dice, people are different. They have different innate abilities & suitabilities. They have different learning curves. Different levels of aggression. To FORCE an otherwise unqualified ladder system on people is quite an arguable solution. I know of a Blast rider who doesn't belong on a bike AT ALL. I wish she'd just sell us her bike and put herself out of harm's way. Not competent and not interested in becoming competent. Time is not much of a qualification. -Saro | ||
| Ezblast |
True - what I was aiming at though is 2 alarming growing statistics: 1) most accidents are in the 1st 3 years of riding (the majority of those on super bikes), and 2) the majority of people experiencing injuries/fatalities are under 25 on super bikes. Yes by Euro standards and a fair amount of experienced riders would still say 50 hp is too much, however, this is the U.S. of A. where less than 50 would probably be sneered at by the squids of course, and the not knowing any better general public/outsiders/newbees - all of who we want to vote favorably - lol - 50 hp would include a lot of cool starting bikes that with care will take you through your growth as a rider (not to mention you can always soup it up!), yet at the same time keep the more powerful bikes out of the hands of the inexperienced. LOL - Jamacadog - you'd probably have to be 80 years old - lol - bad pun! (just funning;o)) But really - I see such a law as a benefit to those that started early - because by the time it really mattered socially - they would already qualify for the bigger bikes - having done their 3 yrs with a beginners license. And those that start late would still have a good selection of powerful bikes to start with - after all this is America - the land of more power! - lol Got Thump?! Just Blasting on the Dark side! EZ | ||
| Sarodude |
Alternate Solution: Riding / Racing schools should come together and formalize / standardize (standards to be determined) some sort of certification. Insurance industry would HEAVILY penalize (penalty premium to be determined) high perf / high HP (performance and horsepower to be determined) riders without a certificate. It's simplistic and preliminary and just one idea. -Saro | ||
| Peggysus |
(Still off topic) You folks do realize that in competition motorcycle racing, one just does not hop on a Superbike and go for it. You have to begin in the amateur ranks, and compete for one year(or something) to earn your Pro license. It's sounds similar to what a street license would be like. You first have to qualify for a certain C.C. class and then prove yourself. In turn, for the street. You'd start out at a certain C.C. level for say 1-3years like Ezblast suggested. Then to step up, you would need to take a higher horsepower proficiency test on a faster bike to qualify for such a bike. You know they don't just let auto drivers obtain a semi or bus license because they want to. In a way, the Japanese motorcycle industry would suffer. Because they sell their highest H.P. bikes to the U.S.A. I'm smiling now  because I think this would give Buell a better standing among riders. Our bikes are meant for real roads, not race tracks. Besides, how much do riders really travel at triple digit speeds (legally). OK-don't answer that  (I'm adding this postscript after reading Sarodude's reply) I also concur with his idea. Its a changing world and we need to keep up with those changes. When the current licensing system was put in place. They had no idea how fast and dangerous production motorcycles would become. So I like Sarodude's idea.  edited by peggysus on November 06, 2003 edited by peggysus on November 06, 2003 | ||
| Ezblast |
CONCUR, however, upon further thought I still don't see how it would work - there would have to be standardized tests and criteria, the Insurance companies would first have to have proof that the classes work to cooperate, which means the schools would have to put it up front - not working - sounds good but business and human nature come in too quickly to foil it - a law on the other hand is as good as its enforcer - I still have faith in America's police/justice system to do their job along with the DMV doing theirs - all things in place only an extra chapter to add sort of thing - using the system - not trying to create one is a path of least resistance with with exponential gain - lol - sorry but that would be a lot of cooperation among alot of diverse groups and on a National level? Well you see where that goes. Sorry - thats what happens when I start thinking about stuff - pitbull - lol Got Thump?! Just Blasting on the Dark side! EZ edited by ezblast on November 06, 2003 | ||
| Evaddave |
It looks like there's no way to adequately manage the capability/horsepower problem. (it's like that with cars, too.) Even if you legislate it, it's still up to law enforcement to, well, enforce it. So what we need is some sort of certification system whereby riders can take and pass various courses in order to earn insurance discounts. The MSF course is the current example. The only issue is getting insurance companies to recognize the certification. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"Education not legislation". Yeah, I like Saro's idea too. So far the first one that seems plausable.(I have a hard time pushing for new laws, when I would like the helmet law repealed). Unfortunately, I know of too many people out there riding illegally. Last I heard the cops cant pull you over for wearing a 'beanie' because they have no way of knowing (ha,ha) by looking if its DOT approved. By the same token, could they start pulling us over because they thought we were under age,under licensed,etc? Can you say harrassment?Been there, done that! Also, those same people who are killing themselves would be even less inclined to pull over for a cop if they are under licensed,etc. Gee My bike will do 175mph should I pull over or outrun the cop in the Crown Vic? Why do I ask who here are members of the AMA or ABATE? These are two big political players with the clout to get this stuff done and if you don't get their backing it can be a long uphill battle. Lastly (for fellow Californians),You can vote in/pass all the laws you want,the lawyers will just get it nullified anyway. How often do we see this happen?! | ||
| Halfaharley |
About my engine mount problem, is beefing up the mount something I should look into doing when I go for my 600/720 big bore kit?(which I will start this month  ) Has anyone used bigger(larger shaft diameter) bolts with any success? Thanks a lot for the advice! I feel almost spoiled with all the info available here! --Nik | ||
| Englishman |
When I was 15 in England, the bike to have was the Yamaha FS1E (or 'fizzy' as they were known) as it would do 60mph. We were limited at that age to a 50cc bike, and would also need a big red and white "L" plate (for "learner"  front and back. Well, the government found out this moped was fast, so they mandated a hp limit on it and castrated the thing. At 17, you could ride up to 250cc without passing the dreaded 'test', so this opened up avenues to ride BSA 250's etc. Then came Yamaha again with their RD250LC, so the government resticted it to 125cc and 12 BHP. So now, new riders are stuck with godawful gutless bikes to learn on, until they can work their way through the government paperwork. My point is; there doesn't need to be new laws, things can only go downhill from there, someone will decide that ANYTHING over 40HP is totally uneccesary and dangerous, and for our own good we will all be on overweight and underpowered machinery. I suggest just having a waiver available whereever you buy a new bike saying you understand that any stupidity on your part on the road is your own fault. |
