| Author | Message | ||
     Bhillberg |
I am a fairly seasoned rider and have worked my way up to being able to handle an X1. I have a female friend who has expressed interest in owning a motorcycle. The standard "get a sporster" doesn't work with her as she wants a "sportbike" She is only 5'2" tall though with the only experience riding coming from dirtbikes an ATVs on her farm growing up. I suggested a Blast as a good bike to start on, maybe stay with. Is this a good idea? | ||
| Ezblast |
oui  | ||
| Krjoseph |
Great idea. The Blast is a great bike and easy to handle for a newbie. But the more I ride mine, the more I love it. I want a bigger Buell and an Electra Glide, but I'll never get rid of my Blast. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Yes and with a few changes she can get that sportbike riding position, if she wants. | ||
| Thump |
I grew up on farm dirt bikes and the Blast was my first streetbike. A pretty seamless transition. I hadn't ridden in years but the familiar feeling of a thumper gave me more confidence when first starting out. | ||
| Swampy |
And at times I ride the Blast more than the Sportster. | ||
| Zane |
She can't go wrong with a Blast. I love mine. Enough power that you can go anywhere you need to, great for learning to carve the corners and reliable as an anvil. Since she is only 5 foot 2, the size of a Blast will be perfect for her. Just make her promise that she'll let you ride it once in a while. | ||
| Smyrna5 |
I'm a bit taller than her at 5'8", but I love my Blast.Been riding about 4 months, and have never ridden anything else. To tell you the truth at 59 yo, I really have no great desire to get there faster than the Blast will take me. It gets great gas mileage, is easy to work on and handle, parts are cheap at my Harley dealer, and it will go on the freeway with no problem. I did drop mine on my leg practicing emergency stops and was glad it only weighed 350 pounds - picked myself and it up, dusted myself off and rode away. I was really glad it wasn't a Sportster at that moment. Mine is probably a bit too loud for me with the V&H pipes and jet kit, but that is the way it came, so I doubt I will change it. (Message edited by smyrna5 on January 31, 2009) (Message edited by smyrna5 on January 31, 2009) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome Smyrna5! | ||
| Super_cj |
cant go wrong with the blast i grew up riding dirtbikes blast feels just as comftable as a dirtbike u can pick them up cheep i ride my friends r1 and cbr's i like my blast more then those bike but soon im going to to get a r1 but im never selling my bvlast i will ride it till it dosnt run anymore get the blast!! | ||
| Scottq60 |
Just bought an 05 Blast for my wife yesterday - it has 70 actual miles on it, HOWEVER the original owner never changed the oil in 4 years of ownership....said the dealership told him it wasn't necessary. My question is this: Even though the oil looks VERY clean with no signs of moisture, should I go ahead and change all the fluids or wait until it's got some real miles (500-1000) on it to actually break it in? | ||
| Swampy |
Welcome to the Thumper Forum Scottq60! Well, you just opened a can of worms! The worst thing you can do to a bike is start it up, let it run a little while then shut it off. That is because the oil never gets hot enough to boil off the condensation that builds up in the crank case. To be on the safe side, I would ride it and change the oil when it is convenient. You just never know. I would use a conventional oil 20W-50 depending... I wouldn't use synthetic until it is a little more broken in, it takes a long time to break the Blast in, sometimes up to 4,000 miles, I don't know why, but they just seem to start running better at that point. Also, to improve your overall riding pleasure, cold starts, and performance, I would recommend replacing the carburetor jets, 168-170 main jets and 48 primary jets(did I get those right, I am having a severe brain fart right at the moment) and adjust your idle mixture screw to 2 1/2 out from a soft bottom or to where it runs "right" at idle. | ||
| Ezblast |
45/170 jets - the rest is good. EZ | ||
| Crackhead |
scott your bike was like mine. i bought an 06 with 900miles on it. it was built in the end of 05. i would suggest running it for about an hour to get every last drop of oil hot and then change it. but that is coming from the car side of me. |
