| Author | Message | ||
     Sarodude |
Brandon- I'm going one further. If you're gonna own a Blast, get the service manual and do EVERYTHING yourself. I've had exceptionally bad dealer experiences - 100% failure rate on their part. -Saro | ||
| Buellzilla |
Bkbelew, There were a whole bunch of posts regarding this back in July or August. Needed tools: Something to hold your bike vertical. I used two jackstands and a piece of rod going through the rear axle to support my bike. More than one T27 torx wrench/socket bit, unless you have a really strong bit/wrench like SnapOn. 3/8 drive ratchet with long extensions and universal sockets or adapter. 7/16 O-ring, incase your drain plug O-ring needs replacing (mine was completely severed) The job isn't as easy as it oughta be. There's a clutch inspection cover plate just behind the left foot peg. It has 3 Torx #27 screws holding it on. These screws are notorious for being difficult to remove. Most people end up stripping them. You're gonna want to have 3 or more different T27 torx wrenches. Another poster recommended wrenches from ACE Hardware. Personally, I twisted and broke a couple of torx bits when I did my fluid replacement. I used a bit and a cheap ratchet and tapped on the head of the ratchet with a hammer at the same time as applying turning force to beak the screws free. You definately need to use the correct size wrench and push it firmly down into the screw head or you will strip out the screw for sure. Before you can remove this cover plate though, you need to: 1. disconnect the battery (neg. first) 2. remove the drain plug on the bottom of the crankcase. (difficult if you have the stock muffler.) 3. loosen the 3 footpeg support bracket nuts. In order to access these, remove the seat and the battery. They are located inside the frame where the foot peg support bracket connects to the backbone/frame. I can't remember what size the nuts were. You'll be in pure expletive spurting agony if you don't use a ratchet w/ long extension and universal/swivel sockets/adapter to get these nuts. You want to loosen these nuts as far as you can without them coming off from the studs, this will loosen the footpeg support bracket enough so that you can access the clutch cover plate screws. If you still want to tackle this job, let me know and I'll post more details about the adjustment and refilling the fluid etc. | ||
| Biggums |
I have a 2002 Blast with 600 miles on it. I hear its good to torque all the engine bolts down to specs about now. Anyone know about this and can you describe the critical ones? I have the service manuel but I can't find any area walking you through this process. Thanks Dave | ||
| Bkbelew |
Buellzilla, Yeah im still intrested in knowing some more details,,,, i have all the tools, and o-rings, etc,,, im lucky my family owns napa autoparts in pittsburg ks, so im priveleged to have access to whatever i need. Thanks for helping me out on this. Do you know of any add-ons i can do to get some more power out of my lil bike without spending much money,,,,, other then the vance and hines pipe, its on its way,, thanks, brandon | ||
| Buellzilla |
Bkbelew; I'm not the best one to talk to about power enhancement. The simplest things to do, aside from the exhaust, are to drop in a K&N air filter and install a jet kit. See the "Engine Carburetion" section. The instructions below are taken from my 2000 Factory Service Manual (not verbatim). You'll definately want to get one of these, if you gonna keep on doing your own maintenance. After you remove the clutch inspection cover plate, be careful not to loose the coil spring behind the cover. There are two adjustments to consider in regard to the clutch. One is inline with the cable in front of the engine under a rubber boot. This adjuster removes slack in the cable which will build up as the cable wears. The other adjustment is to compensate for wear of the clutch disks. It's quite probable that no adjustment is needed at only 2500 miles but why not check it while you have the cover off. 1. Remove the spring and the lockplate. 2. Turn the adjusting screw counterclockwise until it lightly bottoms. 3. Now turn the adjusting screw clockwise 1/4 turn and reinstall the lockplate. If the lockplate doesn't align with the hex flats of the screw, then turn the screw clockwise just enough to align to the lockplate. 4. Squeeze the clutch lever 3 times all the way. 5. Check the free play by measuring the gap between the clutch lever and the ferrule bracket that the lever pivots in (Pull the cable jacket before measuring, also lightly squeeze the lever until you meet resistance). It should be between 0.0625 and 0.125 in or (1.6 and 3.2-mm). If it isn't then pull down the rubber boot to expose the cable adjuster. Loosen the jam nut then turn the adjuster until the proper freeplay is achieved. 6. Replace the drain plug of course. 7. Refill the trans fluid with HD Sport Trans fluid. I found that a funnel along with a short piece of hose worked well to get the fluid in through the clutch inspection cover opening. When you look through the opening you'll see the teeth of a large gear. The correct fluid level is to just barely submerge the bottom most tooth, such that the fluid reaches up to the bottom of the troughs on each side of the tooth. 8. Thouroughly clean the mating surfaces between the gasket and cover plate. The factory service manual says to replace the inspection cover gasket. I didn't and mine leaks slightly. 9. Replace (don't forget the spring) the cover and tighten the Torx screws in a cross patern to 7-9 Ft-lbs. Next time to do this is at 5000 miles. You may want to consider switching to Mobil 1 synthetic engine oil and Redline Shockproof Heavy weight tranny oil at this point after your bike is broken in, but not if it voids your warranty. | ||
| Xgecko |
See My post in the racing section | ||
| Prof_Stack |
American Thunder show on Speedvision Tuesday night had the Bonneville Flats story on the Blast that broke the 99 mph record for pushrod singles of 500cc or less up to 113 mph. Aaron, they said it was stock, but that can't be, can it? Doesn't the rev limiter cut in? Aaron, once again please, how did your efforts compare to these efforts? | ||
| Aaron |
That was Team PDC (Harley Davidson Product Develpment Center). I can guarantee you that bike was not stock. It ran in the production class, the rule is that it has to *appear* stock from the outside, as well as use the oem cylinder, head, and carb. They did an excellent job, no doubt about it. I don't know any particulars of their motor configuration so I'm not in a position to compare. I will say that I'm very disappointed that our effort got cut short by the motor failure just as we were getting it to run right. But that's my own fault, and we'll try again next year. AW | ||
| Court |
>>>But that's my own fault, and we'll try again next year. Duuuuuuuuuuuuude. . . First: "fault" is unimportant. Team Elves is TEAM Elves. Find the CAUSE, fix it and we head back.  Simple My thoughts are shaping up.....we need a secret meeting! | ||
| Buellzilla |
Say, does anyone know why the model year designation for the Firebolt has been changed at the Buell factory website, from '02 to '03??? I sure hope that they're still on schedule to deliver this baby next spring, cus the Yamaha knockoff is ready to go now and Honda won't be far behind. | ||
| Phillyblast |
Buellzilla, far as I've heard, still on track for a spring delivery for the bolt - not that I have any inside info, mind you - but I'm guessing the marketroids got ahold of the project and realized that you can buy an 02 model from most manufacturers already, so why not make the bolt the earliest 03 out there? Better than the last 02 introduced, I guess. | ||
| Spooky |
Good news Metzeler Tires (ME1) now has tires for the the Blast. Speaking of the Blast, I just got pick mine up these past tuesday. My brother bought it new in April 2000 and only put 250 miles on it. I will have to say I got one hell of a deal. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Thanks Phillyblast. Spooky, how much did you pay? What excuse does your brother offer for not riding it all this while? | ||
| Jeffw |
Spooky, Where did you get the info on the Metzlers? I'm shopping now for my bike. Was thinking about the Pirelli's. Thanks | ||
| Spooky |
I gave my brother $3000 for the bike. His excuse was that he had nobody to ride with. Poor excuse because every time we would go out for a ride he didn't want to go. I found the info on the tires at Metzlers web site. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Spooky, I agree you did get a great deal. I think there was a recall on the rear sprocket for 2000 model Blasts. Do you know if the recall service was done? Is this your first Motorcycle? My Blast is a 2000 also with about 4800 miles. I like it more all the time. Most owners here comment that the bike isn't really broken in until about 3000 miles. I'd agree. It gets smoother around that point. Good for you, you'll get to discover what your brother missed. | ||
| Bkbelew |
I bought my 2002 Blast about a month and a half ago,, and ive already put 3000 miles on it,, im thinking about trading it in here in the next month or so for a 2002 Buell x1 lightning, do you think thats a good trade? Brandon | ||
| Blake |
Brandon, try the M2, and the X1, then decide which you prefer. I'm betting you will like the M2 better. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Brandon, have you heard about the Firebolt coming next spring? I'd wait to test ride one of those if I were you. Go here to find out more: Buell Firebolt XB9R SportFighter | ||
| Jasonl |
Brandon - I agree with Blake on the M2. Check out both and then you'll buy the M2. No kidding. But the XB is looking pretty sweet. You might like it's smaller size better. | ||
| Xgecko |
since Metzler and Pireli are the same company I'm guessing they've put a new tread pattern on the MT75 casing. This is a pretty common activity for Metz/Pireli. Still it's nice to see another choice. Sitting here in japan salivating over the roads and getting my Blast here next summer. | ||
| Crazymike |
Found a Dunlop K591 100-90/16 in the closeout bin at an atv place. $36.50 and tax. | ||
| Fssnoc2501 |
Beullzilla, Good to see you posting didn't see your handle for a while. I owe you a thank you for your rear wheel stand idea. Dad & I came up with a slight improvement which is using 7/16" all-thread rod with a couple of peices of pipe with 7/16" nuts welded in the ends. This makes for a very stable stand and easy to setup and tear down. Brandon, Congrates on the Blast it's a great bike. I have to echo Buellzilla on getting a manual it's worth th $50. His desciption of how to change the tranny fluid and adjusting the clutch is dead on. The only thing that I can add or emphasixe is don't take the three nuts all the way off of the wye peg mount they are a real PITA to get back on. By loosening them to the end of the bolts you get plenty of room to do the rest of the work. In terms of performance work there is many ways you can go all fairly simular, but look back in the archives. I have detailed posts on my mods done on my Blast. If you are interested I live about 3 hours west of you in Winfield, KS and would be more than glad to let you look over my bike. Ray | ||
| Buellzilla |
Sorry Ray about not posting for awhile. In part, it's a testimonial to how well my Blast has been running. You're welcome for the wheel stand tip. I usually discover such things after some frustration and misery and sparing someone else from the same experience is about the only thing that can make it worthwhile to me. What do you think of the new Nallin big bore kit? It looks like that whole package will run around $1300.00 for the jug, head and cam. Think it's worth it? | ||
| Fssnoc2501 |
Buellzilla, At this time I have no plans for internal modification of my motor. The main reason for this is I have acheived the power increases that I strove for without (I think) hurting reliability. My Blast currently will will do at the rev limiter 35mph (1st) 50mph (2nd) 65mph (3rd) 80mph (4th) haven't found the rev limiter in 5th. It has a wider power band than stock, thumps extremely well, and increased top end. All this without signs of potential engine failure. This is great since riding is my 1st priority, 2nd is tinkering and 3rd is repairing. As to the Nallin kit, if I find myself having to tear down the top end which is always a potential in the future. I think the headwork which would envolve porting and valve work would be important as this would allow stronger valve train allowing higher RPM's which I think is the secret to large gains in top end. This would allow us to more safely play with different ignition modules. The next mod that I think to be useful would be a slight increase in compression to maybe 10.5:1. This would most likely increase torque. A different cam could also be added into the equation, but care would have to be used to not narrow the power band as this can be done easily. The last thing that I would consider is the increased bore. With the current increase configuration as I read is only an increase of 15-20 cc which is only 4% or a small string trimmer. If I were to consider increasing bore I would like to see 50-100 cc at least a moped even better a Hodaka SuperRat. All of this has the potential to negatively effect reliability, but personal desire is the most important factor in all of this. Sorry about the long post, I've been thinking about this quite abit lately. In terms of cost I don't think the $1300 price tag is too much. Ray | ||
| Prudemonkey |
Hey guys, I just bought a 2002 Blast Grape Juice! The dealer put a Vance & Hines on it already, sounds pretty cool. This is my first bike, my wife thinks I'm crazy!! I looked at some of the archives, but was curious if i can squeeze a larger or wider tire onto the rear, even a 130 would be nice. i saw the crossroads kit 17", but I'm not willing to go that crazy on the bike. Thanks for the input. | ||
| Xgecko |
those that are looking at displacement increases might also take a look at Zipper's Perfomance. They've been working on an upgrade kit for the Blast as well. My Wife had her first motorcycle lesson yesterday. She loved it...today on the phone (I'm still in Japan) she's making comments about taking my bike out for for a spin around thee block. I'm not even their to defend it. | ||
| Spooky |
I checked Zipper's site out and there was nothing listed for the Blast per say. One thing I did find interesting was the pushrod cover kit for late model Sportsters and Buell twins. The kit lets you use telescoping pushrod covers. This will come in handy later on down the road this winter when I get off my ass to install the Nallin kit. | ||
| Jasonl |
You've created a monster XGecko. | ||
| Buellzilla |
Spooky, I don't understand why you'd need telescoping pushrod covers. Is the Nallin cylinder taller than stock? I thought it just increased the bore. |
