| Author | Message | ||
     Urinat0r |
Hello, I'm new to motorcycles and am considering buying my first bike. There's an imported, used 2001 Blast being sold here in Norway, it has gone 3330 miles. Blast's aren't manufactured here, and no other Buells as far as i know, so do you think there will be a problem finding parts or getting service and what not? Perhaps it is similar enough to Harley Davidson bikes for HD shops to take care of things? I heard pre-'03s has problems with a gasket? What is that even? Does it apply to all of them? I'm wondering if it's worth buying this bike should i have any problems with it, I don't have any previous experience with motorcycles so I doubt I could do a whole lot on my own, and finding someone else to do something about it could possibly be difficult. I really like the look of it though, and it'd be fun riding something unique others would question  Bonus questions: How much work is it to add a tachometer? What about changing the speedometer? (kmph) I heard about different seat heights, are these set in stone or can they be adjusted? I'm 5'11", adequate? | ||
| Ezblast |
Height fine for the high seat, a little cramped for the low - a motorcycle seat/saddle shop could fix that easy for you and make it more comfortable, and you would probably never known it was done unless you want it to. No speedo unless you go expensive, tach the same, unless you use a digital, they work well for the every day and are inexpensive. A 2001 - will definitely have the rocker box gasket would be needing change - a Sporster will fit - hopefully someone has a stock number - any HD shop can do that, or any of the regular maintenance - its easy - peasy to work on yourself as well. Manuals abound and specific parts can be bought on line and shipped. Switch out from the Dunlops as soon as possible - wanna keep that bike nice looking - that will help the bikes looks by making it much less crash prone - lol. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome! Kmph speedo is $130, but the stock speedo does have kmph numbers. If the bike is in very good condition without any modifications, I'd buy it. If its not in good condition you'd have to really want a Blast to buy it. The engine is essentially half a Harley Sportster engine so engine repairs should be easy and the bike is generally very easy to work on. But it will be unique and perhaps not the best choice for your first motorcycle, unless you are familiar with automobile repair, then this bike is super easy to work on, (should the need arise). | ||
| Urinat0r |
Thanks for the prompt replies So yeah, that doesn't sound so bad, we don't have anything as specific as a seat/saddle shop though, I can barely find a Harley Davidson workshop. Stock number? Any tire recommendations? Oh, it does display kmph I can only ride up to 34hp until I'm 21, and I can't find much else I like under that requirement, so I think I am going to bid on it tomorrow. Edit: Yeah, I couldn't find anything wrong with it besides a small mark on the tank (Message edited by Urinat0r on March 23, 2011) | ||
| Ezblast |
Welcome! Pirelli! | ||
| Kauai1800 |
Aloha. I was in your exact same situation ( new rider; no experience with motorcycles at all) and I love my Blast! I've had it about 5 months and have already put 700 miles on it. Using the advice I got from this forum and getting parts on eBay, I've had no problem doing stuff like rejetting my carb or replacing spark plugs, changing fluids, etc. My bike runs much better than when I bought it and it's also an easy bike to learn on. It'll be pretty unique in Norway! Pirelli tires make it ride great. (Message edited by Kauai1800 on March 24, 2011) | ||
| Urinat0r |
Hey Kauai, that sounds great, I'm starting to get psyched now  I asked for a bit lower price for it, we'll see how it goes... It's still winter as •••• here though unfortunately | ||
| Robertl |
The Blast is one of the easiest bikes to ride, rather inexpensive to purchase, maintain, and upgrade, plus a healthy amount of support, especially here. Now, it is a Harley engine so it bucks, shakes, and vibrates but beyond that it is so much fun to ride. It has 40 lbs of torque which helps a new rider get used to taking off rather well (less torque, like a ninja 250 makes engine stalls common). The clutch does not have much of a friction zone but that can be fixed with instruction from the board. Parts are pretty easy to find online so maybe not locally but there are always parts out there, plus many of the Sportster parts cross over. Rejetting the carb is simple, inexpensive, and necessary to solve the backfiring issue. Ours actually runs a Sportster 883 carb which I prefer b/c it has a manual choke. Otherwise ours is stock at the moment. Tires will be next. Hope that helps, Robert |
