| Author | Message | ||
     Mistaandypants |
I've been thinking about trading the blast in on a cyclone myself. I did the insurance quote thing a couple of days ago to see the difference. I'm 24 years old, a few months with a motorcycle license, and have had several tickets and claims, live in downtown Winston-Salem NC (not a huge city but no small town either), close to a sketchy area of town with no garage and no locks. blast $221 every 6 months cyclone $390 every 6 months not as good as the blast but in my opinion doable Getting many quotes from many different agents really makes a difference on motorcycle insurance. Also don't be afraid to check out smaller insurance companies as they will often have cheaper rates. I was paying three times as much as I do now before I shopped around. bottom line I think you should be able to get cheaper insurance you're less of a liability than I am. | ||
| Mavinwy |
I have my insurance through GuideOne and have for several years. They give a discount for each year without a violation and so I pay $93.00 a year with their "wintersaver" option (basically storage insurance for dec-feb) and living in Wyoming, there is not much riding during that time anyway. That is for Full coverage with a $100.00 deductable. And my agent is at the local harley/buell dealership. Of course, I do live in Wyoming (somewhat rural if ya know what I mean) so the rates may be lower. Jim | ||
| Xgecko |
come on Jim just cause you have fewer people living in 100 sqare miles than I do in 10 square blocks shouldn't affect your insurance | ||
| Mavinwy |
I guess there just arent as many people here to hit ot be hit by.. or maybe they are better drivers (naah...been here for too many Frontier days with the rednecks in pickups) Anyway, they have just been a really cool insurance company for 5 years now. Jim "I don't need a hat...I live here!" | ||
| Pinkpank |
Just talked to the agent, and he said as long as the "Buell M2 Cyclone" isn't on the "excluded" list, it should not be ridiculously higher than the Blast. Will know tomorrow. I asked about the "excluded" list, and was told it's for those "bikes you lean way over on". ;-) How's that for discriminatory?!? If it handles well, it's too dangerous! ;-0 Since I used to have a Ninja ZX-11, I asked how that ever made it past the "exclusion" list. He said "we cheated for you, knowing your record". Yikes. | ||
| Phillyblast |
Pink, yep, I get the feeling the exclusion list might be part of the problem as well. Waiting on a quote from the homeowner's policy co. to see what they have to say. For the hell of it I asked about a quote on a 2002 XBR, and they said it wasn't on their list, but since it was under 1000cc it should be cheaper than the M2 to insure. Hmmmm. The plot thickens. | ||
| Sarodude |
Today was supposed to be the day that I was to take my Blast with the incorrectly ID'd engine and get it swapped with the properly stamped engine. Since I had the Friday incident with the motor mount bolt, the bike is already at the dealer. Well, given the introduction of the new improved rocker box gaskets, I asked the service folks if they could swap the gasket with the new one. The response? Even if I want to PAY for it, they don't feel like doing it. At least that's the impression the service writer gave me. They'd like to wait until it fails before they address it. If it ain't broke, wait 'till it breaks - or break it... Better yet, have a Harley dealer work on your bike. -Saro | ||
| Blastin |
Rocker Box Updgrade????? Details Please (How long have dealers known?) | ||
| Sarodude |
Blastin- I don't know if the rocker box gasket deal officially applies to the Blast, but check out this message from Aaron. It was something he was hinting at for some time. -Saro | ||
| Ramon |
Hey all, I have owned my Blast! for under two months now. After one week of ownership, the gear(shift) lever flew of in the middle of freeway traffic (101 north, bay area). That was not a fun experience since I was stuck in 5th gear in heavy traffic. Today, again on 101 north and on my way to work, my Kevlar belt snapped in two! I was cruising at about 78 mph and suddenly lost power. It really sucked. What sucks the most is I am one of the typical new riders Buell was trying to target with this bike. I am fresh out of CC-Rider school with almost zero experience (odometer now reads 2684 miles). My break-downs do not promote confidence about my piece of machinery. If I am not confidant about my bike, how can I be confidant about my riding abilities? I am considering trading-in now. However, I have now idea what to get, all the other bikes seem like overkill to a new rider. Should I wait-it-out until the firebolt? Should I trade up to an m2L? Should I ignore all my issues write them off as rare phenomena? Please give me feedback. I love my bike and the way it makes me feel  But I hate asking people from work to pick me up from the side of the road (and them telling me it wouldn't have happened if I had bought a Honda). Thanks everyone! -ramon | ||
| Ramon |
Update: The dealership just called. MY BELT IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. Now I have to pay for towing, labor, and the new belt. Not Happy. -ramon P.S. In fairness, he was going to call Harley tomorrow and verify with them about the coverage, but he doesn't think they will cover it. | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Ramon, I have to think that HD/Buell will cover the cost of the belt under warranty. Although 78 mph is probably more than HD intended the Blast to be cruising at, the belt should not break. Is your Blast a 2000 or 2001? When did you buy it? HD should have a rep to help you send your complaints to listening ears rather than the, sadly, typical shop guys. Should you upgrade to an M2L or a Firebolt? I think the problems with the v-twin Buells have been more substantial than the Blast's. But, from what I understand, the Firebolt will not be put to market until Erik Buell says so. I sure hope that's how it works out. If reliability is your main concern, look to the East for more durable bikes. | ||
| Jimalexander |
Ramon, save yourself a lot of headaches and Sarodude type frustration and trade it in on a Sportster 883, XLH or Hugger. At $5695 for the XLH you can get a bike you can now handle that has all the bugs out and that mechanics have been working on for decades. I believe the Blast needs a few more years of production with steady problem input and mechanic's getting familiar with them before they can be considered a reliable commuter bike. Jim. | ||
| Ramon |
Prof, I have a 2001 Blast!. I purchased it in late August. Basically, my dealer told me that it seems that a pebble some how was lodged in between the sprocket and the belt. Because of this, it is not covered. The analogy he gave me was that of a nail in a tire. He said dealers would not cover a flat if I ran over a nail. According to him, the pebble lodged between my sprocket and belt is the same scenario. BTW, a pebble lodged between the sprocket and belt is a guess. He really does not know how it snapped. Should I challenge him on his assumption? Thanks, -ramon | ||
| Fssnoc2501 |
Ramon, I have had no problems with my 'Blast' that I didn't create my self with R&D of my own upgrades. I would call Buell customer service as I think that unless there is reasonable question about abuse, the mileage does not warrant a broken belt. As my experience the Buell costomer service folks are great. Jim, Read the above, walk a couple miles in my moucasins dude. If we wanted a H-D we would have bought a H-D. We bought Buell. The 'Blast , although not without fault, is a great bike and is every bit as good as a stock 883. We need to support Buell not degrade it. Sorry about that alittle tantrum. I'm better now. Ray | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Buy an 883 XLH Sportster? Been there, done that. My Evo XLH883 was more for show than go. It was not nearly the fun to ride as the Blast. The Sportster was uncomfortable in little time and I didn't ride it that much. Let me tell you the straight truth: the Blast is smoother at 70-85 mph than my Sportster EVER was. That sucker vibrated my "very personal property" right off. I just didn't like going much over 65 on the thing. Handling was so-so. But it sure looked nice. The Blast I look forward to riding and regret returning so soon after any ride. Rocker box gasket aside, it has been reliable. | ||
| Josh |
I've ridden an 883 Sportster to Key West and back with my wife on the back, 800+miles a day. I've also ridden the Blast for more than 2 hours and damn that hurts. Mariabelen's knees were bruised after riding solo the 6 hours back from Deal's Gap. Blasts are fun for short distances but damn uncomfortable for long rides. Josh - St Louis, Mo 99 S3T 37,000mi his 00 Blast 6,000mi hers 96 Hugger 883/1200 26,000mi ours | ||
| Mavinwy |
Well, winter is finally striking here in Wyoming, and I am getting ready to winterize the Blast. After all the complaints I have heard here, I am really confused or wondering if I just got the one "built on Wednesday"? I have had No, repeat No problems at all. The idle needed adjustment at about 500 miles (just idled a little high) and other that scheduled maintenance, nothing else has been done. The service people have been great as well. I have been riding for 17 years now and have had some really crappy service guys over the time. As I said from the outset, I am keeping mine stock 'til it is out of warranty. then I may do an exhaust/re-jet but that is about it. My only minor compaint is that it has never gotten the 70 MPG advertized, but at 6300 feet above sea level, I can live with 55-60. With the "taller" seat it has been comfortable for the type of riding I do (under 100 miles per ride) After some of the comments I've seen lately, I guess it just needed to be said some of us bought them as commuter bikes and they do a wonderful job at it. They are not racers (although they have been modified as such) They are not long distance cruisers (get a gold wing) but, at least mine, has been nothing but reliable. And I could have bought an 883, or any other bike I wanted. But after the comments some of the local harley riders made about riding with my wife and her suzuki gs500e, you could not convince me to buy one here. Jim | ||
| Xgecko |
hear hear Jim I whole heartedly agree. I have had only one problem in my almost ten thousand mile of Commuter miles and that waas the dreaded Rocker Box Gasket. Granted mine was rebuilt from the engine up but that wasn't the Blast's fault and since then it has performed great. I did get a bad tank of Gas (My third from the on-base gas station) recently that had me wondering about the Carb. But after a bit of STP gas treatment that went away. I'll stick to Chevron for the rest on my time here in Hawaii. I enjoy tinkering with the look and performance of my Blast. I just wish I could afford to do more. BTW the only HD I would buy would be one of Brian Nallin's street legal DirtTrackers. And then only because it would be so much fun to eat squids with. | ||
| Pinkpank |
Josh, Since you have ALL of them, you are certainly a good resource for fair information. ;-) What size are you?!? I rode my Blast from Milwaukee to Chicago (not that far), and my rump was hurtin'. Is your wife's Blast seat stock?!? I just sold my Suzuki GS650L for $900 to a friend and rode it to his house. It's a lot more comfy than the Blast, but man, is it a PIG in comparison. Feels like a truck! ;-) But it WAS nice to have a couple extra ground squirrels "under the hood" off the light - the Blast isn't exactly a rocket-ship, and this 40 mile trip reminded me of that. Jim, touche. Other than the rattles, clunky tranny and mediocre mileage (I am at WOT all the time, it seems), nothing has fallen off yet with 800 miles. But she's still young. What did you mean with the "after the comments some of the local harley riders made about riding with my wife and her suzuki gs500e" - were the HD guys nasty, or were they telling you not to buy an 883?!? Oliver '00 Blast ~800mi (still ridin' in the cold) | ||
| Mavinwy |
I talked about it on another forum on this list. They basically told my wife (who has probably put more miles on bikes than some of these posers) that if we wanted to ride with them to just leave hers at home. Yeah, Right...I'm gonna be the one to tell her that. I have since met some very nice HD riders here in town, but not enough to shake that image from my mind. Jim | ||
| Pinkpank |
I think you should BOTH show up on Blasts to their next "ride", just to tick them off. You can borrow mine anytime! Or better yet, bring a Suzuki and a BMW. ;-0 Oliver (I hate that kind of petty cliquishness) | ||
| Phillyblast |
Well, mine has been stone reliable, with the exception of the rocker-box gasket. Tranny is clunky, sure, seat is uncomfortable for long trips, and I don't think the bike has been invented that someone doesn't say "if it just had more power. . ." Even the repli-racers with triple-digit hp have a performance aftermarket. I bought the Blast as a commuter bike, and because I hadn't ridden in a couple of years, and I wanted a single, etc. etc. Now my wife is itching to do some touring on the East Coast in the spring, and the Blast just isn't built for two up long distance. On the other hand, I've spent a lot of time on Sportsters, and I gotta tell you, they're one of the most god-awful uncomfortable bikes for any type of distance riding. You sit in the nut-cracker-parachute position, and they vibrate like mad. The 4-speeds used to make my hands go numb, 5 speed isn't as bad, but still painful for me. The Blast is much better at highway speeds. So I have a decision to make over the winter - sell Blast and buy a used S2, trade Blast on new S3T, convince my wife an XBR is a touring bike (nah, she'll never buy it) or keep the Blast and try to locate a used Far-Eastern "sport-tourer" for not too much money, and fix it up as a 2nd bike. | ||
| Xgecko |
The S3 is nice if you you can get past that drop nose. From all accounts the S2 is better than the S3 in everything except flat out performance. I agree that convincing the wife that a XB is a sport touring bike is probably a pipe dream though my wife has the hots for a Ducati 750 Supersport as her second bike for touring (yea I know it's not a Buell but at least it's a twin). | ||
| Joey |
My Blast! problems: Starter cutout switch in the clutch lever started acting up--couldn't start some times. The dealer wanted me to leave it there for a few days. Another dealer greased it right on the spot, but it acted up again. Later, it resolved itself. I was in a Speed Limit 70 zone, doing 55, passing people. I suspected the speedometer. I parked, and later it was fine. Flat tire!!! So far, the patch is holding on my second attempt. I don't have $70 or $80 laying aroung right now. Why don't dealers offer a road hazard warranty? ;-) I once had someone ask, "Is that a Kawasaki?" I guess he couldn't read the big Buell Blast! stickers all over it. I later removed them. Recently, I had someone ask, "Is that a BMW?" Almost 5000 miles, and I'm still happy. My first modification will probably be the seat, though. | ||
| Xgecko |
Joey, a new Pireli wil run you about $55-$60 installed depending on your dealer (mine is good and I got fron and rear for around $100). THe Pirelis are way better than the Lops that come stock. | ||
| Josh |
Oliver, I'm 5'9" 150. The Blast has the stock low seat, the Hugger has a Mustang Vintage seat. I can ride the Hugger all day at up to 75 mph w/ no discomfort. For the trip to Key West I did bolt a sport windshield on, but it came off after the trip. I don't ride the Blast much, the only real trip was over to Evansville, In for the BattleTrax. (2.5hr @80+ each way). Mariabelen (my wife) has put all the miles on it. Her longest ride was to Deal's Gap, the ride on the Blast was so bad, both of her knees were bruised. On the other hand we're both comfortable for hours on the Hugger at highway speeds. I've got highway pegs for a change of foot position and that comfortable Mustang seat. 'Course that means we're not comparing apples to apples. Give me a wide choice of tested aftermarket seats for the Blast, a variety of pegs and grips (the Hugger has Kuryakyn ISO's) and highway pegs and we can compare them more equally for long-range touring. Oh, and my 883-converted-to-1200 doesn't vibrate nearly as much as my Buell did before the '01 exhaust bracket upgrade. If you look quick you can spot her Blast near the beginning of my first Deal's Gap BRAG video here (note it's 6MB & takes 30+min by modem) Josh highwayride.com teamelves.com | ||
| Sarodude |
Whining some more... Went to the dealer to pick up my bike. New motor - with the right numbers stamped in there. First observation: Shift lever was installed in the wrong position. They took an awful long time to fix it. Second observation: This tranny doesn't like to shift down. On the 50-ish mile ride home, the tranny just flat refused to shift down. I had to pull aside and foot-wrestle the shifter on 4 occasions - and couldn't figure out what made it work or not work. The other 2 motors didn't shift like this. Maybe it will settle in after some miles... Third observation: About 10 minutes from the dealer, I started to wonder why my right mirror kept moving. It kept pivoting where the arm attaches to the brake lever. I decided to take a good look at my mirrors. Funny - they don't look like MY mirrors. My Blast was PERFECT. Not a blemish anywhere. Now the mirrors on this bike had WEATHERING marks and SCRATCHES. They look WORSE than the mirrors on Loli's 1+ year old Blast (which reminds me - I need to change her left mirror). Someone swapped 'em? It looks like someone swapped 'em! Fourth observation: As I pulled onto our driveway, I wondered - how does an air cooled bike steam? Oh, never mind, that's coming out from under my helmet... Anyway, I went to lock the handlebars and they wouldn't lock. They wouldn't lock because the handlebars wouldn't turn all the way left. Did some looking and noticed that the dealer left out one of the loops the clutch cable goes through and that was getting in the way of the steering. Wow. I MUST be hallucinating. This must be a psychotic delusion. The kind doctor will surely wake me in the morning and I will ask again for him to let me out of the straight jacket... -Saro | ||
| Phillyblast |
Josh, That was my crack on the sporty, just to clear oliver of any blame :-) The hugger is a 5 speed? Much more comfy for a trip than the older 4 speeds. Especially with a windshield attached. Agree on the aftermarket seat. Corbin is the only show in town right now for the blast, though. The knee bruising is partly a problem with the seating position, I think, and partly a problem with the tank design. It hangs on either side of the frame like a couple of saddlebags, and they couldn't put knee cutouts in it without taking the fuel capacity down to about 1.5 gallons :-). I wear the Joe Rocket pants with the knee pads in whenever I take a long ride. | ||
| Xgecko |
Winter is coming (for those of you unlucky enough not to live in the tropics) send you seats out to Sarges (or some other seat rebuilder) and come next spring your Bl-assts will be comfy |
