| Author | Message | ||
     Jimidan |
I am wondering who the largest rider of a BLAST is on the Badweb. I think it will be fun to see what different sized riders this great little bike will accommodate. Hey, if 7'2" Shaquille O'Neal can be married to a woman 5'2", then ANYTHING is possible! How big are you in height and weight? Jimidan | ||
| Jmynes |
I'm 3'8", with a 23" inseam. I've lowered the suspension, installed a custom 12" rear wheel, and I wear platform shoes. With a re-worked low seat I can JUST touch the ground with both tiptoes. The suicide shift linkaged to the right side lets me run through the gears easily, and I only use the front brake. Oh, and I had to trim the top of my flyscreen so I could see over it.  | ||
| Naustin |
LOL - I like what you put in your profile for "top speed"... I'm 6' flat and 160. | ||
| Orclover |
6'2, 329lbs, I almost weigh more than the bike, and yes I CAN pick it up off the ground. Its my wifes bike, shes 5'10, 125 lbs and has no problem with it. For me its, uh a lil small, handles fine, but cramped. | ||
| Swampy |
The Big Kid is 6'2", 200?lbs The Little Kid is 5'11", 230?lbs. And if anyone asks, I'm 5"10", 170lbs with steel toes. (Message edited by swampy on May 19, 2006) | ||
| Zeropoint |
I'm 6'4" and about 215 pounds. My Blast looks pretty small when I'm sitting on it. | ||
| Super_single |
5'6 1/2 155 pounds but of course the gear adds weight. BTW does anyone feel like trading seats? I have a low seat and I want a normal one. | ||
| Buellistic |
6'3" and 255 lbs. ... Moved foot pegs to match my S3T ... Tuned suspension to match my weight ... Put on Moutain Bicycle Handlebars ... Now it feels and rides like a BIG BUELL ... In BLASTing LaFayette | ||
| Ezblast |
What did you do to the suspension - Buellistic? GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Buellistic |
Ezblast: 2 inch spacers in each side of front fort legs and Performance FORK OIL Heavy PN99881-87 ... 1 inch spacer in rear shock ... In BLASTing LaFayette | ||
| Ezblast |
Merci' | ||
| Naustin |
Do you have pics of the rear shock spacer?! Is it spring-round that wedges in the spring to effectively increase the spring rate, or did you actually artificially increase the length of the shock? How is the belt tension affected? | ||
| Buellistic |
Naustin: It does not effect belt tension ... The rear shock spacer is a peice of PVC pipe ... Basicly the same size and thickness of spring ... Do you find that hard to belive ??? It compresses the spring one inch which makes the spring in effect stronger ... In BLASTing LaFayete | ||
| Ezblast |
You do know that the Blast spring pressure is rather high? Do you think the PVC can take the wall edge pressure that the spring is applying to it - over 600lbs static, loaded, with a rider's weight - say 250 lbs - bouncing on it for a long period of time - I've done the rubber bushing trick on an MG and that worked, I've seen others use alum. bushings to the same effect - but pvc - I don't know that its wall end will take such pressure in the long run. Please educate me on how I would be wrong on my assumption about long term. GT - JBOTDS! EZ (Message edited by ezblast on July 06, 2006) | ||
| Buellistic |
Ezblast: Did this on a friends 00 P3 two years ago ... He weights about 250 lbs. and the PVC shim is still good ... You must make the shim out of PVC that you can run HOT WATER through ... In BLASTing LaFayette | ||
| Naustin |
I understand what you did, and how it would work, but I have the same reservations about the strenght and durability of the PVC that EZ does. Also, What has been the effect on your handling? The dampner is now effectivly too weak for the spring... Unless you had the shock rebuilt - I would expect a harsh ride... Plus, haven't you now axed a full inch of suspension travel out of rear end? The spring will fully compress after only 2 inches of travel now - won't it? A picture is worth a thousand words.  (Message edited by naustin on July 06, 2006) | ||
| Buellistic |
My camera is Broken ... Soon as "i" get it fixed pictures will be forth coming ... | ||
| Blake |
Schedule 80 PVC should work okay.  The spring is not likely the limiting factor in rear shock travel. Yes, the damper may be pushed to its limits, but since it was designed to handle two up riding, it should be fine in one-up service. Interesting stuff. Now for the really important stuff... Please repeat after me... "damper", "damper", "damper." | ||
| Ezblast |
Cool - I'd love to see how it was done! - Thank you Buellistic! GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Sarodude |
-Saro ![: ]](http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/clipart/proud.gif) (Message edited by Blake on July 07, 2006) | ||
| Blake |
Sorry about that Saro; I just couldn't resist.  | ||
| Blastofrage |
im 5'10" and about 180lbs mine rides and handles great would like to raise the back up a bit with taller shock and spring but havent had time to research yet. | ||
| Ezblast |
Good luck on that! EZ | ||
| Prichmon |
I am 300 6'1" on stock suspension. Is there a cost effective shock out there someplace? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Install a spring shim on the stock rear shock. PVC works well. 1/4" - 1/2". The Blast uses an uncommon, short, odd size shock. One or two will fit with modification. I have listed Yamaha VS 650 and Honda 919 shocks as possible replacements. I dont know which years. Be sure to measure. | ||
| Prichmon |
What is the recommended weight oil for the forks? What size pvc? As I recall on my last one I used 2" sch40... Not sure? What size in the front forks? 3/4"? Anyone moved the lower mounting forward on the shock to give higher rear and a slight change in angle and spring rate? Are fork braces worth the money? Thank you very much... Rich | ||
| Ezblast |
I run Racetech 7.5 fork oil, Works spring kit with the heaviest settings & springs, Racetech Ninja 250 (2000 to 2005 era)gold valve emulators using their heaviest valve spring, and a rear Works 3 way adjustable shock with the Black heavier spring and valving for a bigger person. The ride is very firm but not too bumpy. Tire pressure is 34 front and rear on the Blast, and 34/36 on the CR. Both bikes feel very similar, except that the Blast is lighter and nimbler. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The rear PVC is just under 2 3/4" O.D. (2.7"). 1/4" = 1" for the rear. 1" O.D. for the front. 1" = 1" for the front. Thats about an average "fits all" setting. You can actually measure the suspension to tune it in for better handling and adjust the preload as necessary. While moving the shock inward would increase the ride height, it would also increase the leverage on the shock. So you just might wind up with softer suspension. There is some room for change with the shock mounts in length (with reasonable modifications), but not much. While changing the ride height sounds good, you'll also wind up with looser belt tension. If the final laden height is within the stock range you'd be fine. But taller may cause some belt problems. *EZ can run 7.5 weight fork oil because he's changed the valving. Running lightweight fork oil with stock or preloaded stock fork springs can have adverse handling effects. If you're not an aggressive rider, you might wind up with the perfect ride. If you do ride aggressively, you might wind up in the bushes! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Fork oil is a matter of preference. I'd start with at least 20wt fork oil. 30wt is available and beyond that is engine oil. I just think stock is way too soft for any kind of 'spirited' riding. I use 20w50 engine oil as that is what it took to dampen it at the track. I'll probably use 30wt fork oil when I change it again for the street. Its still not that rough a ride, but it really adds to road feel. (though a stock Blast does have a Cadillac ride compared to mine. LOL! and yes, if I had $1200 to spend on aftermarket suspension components, that would yield a better ride and better handling!). | ||
| Paul_x |
"It compresses the spring one inch which makes the spring in effect stronger ... " I am a bit doubtful of this statement. When you are sitting on the bike without the spacer, the spring is compressed to a certain length. If you put the spacer in, and sit on the bike, the spring will still be compressed to the same length (in the first approximation). The only difference is that the back of the bike has been raised from where it was before, and you are less far into the total suspension travel than you were before. The term "preload" is misleading; it's better to call it "sag". Actually what I wrote last is not quite true. A secondary effect is that if the back of the bike is raised and the front is not, then a higher percentage of your weight will be carried by the front wheel than before, and a lower percentage in back. So the rear spring will be compressed a bit less than before. The front will be compressed a bit more. So you are less far into your total suspension travel in the back, farther into it up front. My guess is that it is best to have the bike use about the same percentage of travel in the front as in the rear. Since the bike is probably designed around a 150lb rider or so, and a heavier rider compresses the rear too much, it's probably a good idea to shift some of that weight back toward the front as you did. If you want a stronger spring, you have to put a stronger spring in there. However that is not a good idea: "You will sometimes hear a large rider claim he needs heavy duty springs, but typically he is mistaken. He needs more pre-load." http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Suspension.html At least I think that is the way it works. I could be wrong. My Blast seems to have a harsh ride compared to my previous bike (Yamaha YZF600R) and my other bike (Honda XR250L). I weight 155lb. I don't know what changes if any, the previous owner did. It could be that he put heavy oil up front. (Message edited by paul_x on September 02, 2011) |
