| Author | Message | ||
     Blastaar |
Hi, I'm looking into Blast and found one locally. It looks good mechanically, 2001 with 4400 miles, sounds really good. The plastic is a little dinged up but nothing too serious (I'm also interested in a Ninja 250 so unless the plastic is in pieces, it looks ok to me). It needs a little work but nothing major, in my opinion. The main thing is this: I am 6'3 but only a 31 inch inseam. I feel ok on the Blast and my friend swears I don't look too goofy on it (and he will be riding with me a lot so I'd hope he isn't lying) but it has the low profile seat on it which means the saddle isn't flat. My question is if the regular seat will enable me to move backwards an inch or so and stay there comfortably? Is the inch or so rise in the seat that noticeable? I wish I could see a Blast with a regular seat in person, but there aren't that many here. I was really surprised how good sitting on the Blast felt. Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge of the Blast vs a Ninja 250? Thanks for any help. | ||
| Zane |
Blastaar, I just put an offer in on a used 2004 Blast that has the low profile seat. One of the first things I plan to do to it is replace the seat with a standard height one. I'm 5 foot 10 with a 30 inch inseam. I've found that with the low profile seat I tend to slide forward. The bikes with the standard seats don't do that. So the short answer is yes, that inch does make a difference. Just priced on at my local HD/Buell dealer. They area asking $117 from the parts counter. I can't speak to the Ninja but don't screw this up. Get the Blast.... (Message edited by zane on April 22, 2008) | ||
| Blastaar |
Well, I do feel slightly goofy on the Blast, it is a foot shorter than the Ninja, and the Ninja is not a big bike by any stretch of the imagination. It sure did feel nice, sitting on it with it thumping away... So I guess a 2001 with 4400 miles for $1500 or less is a good deal? | ||
| Zane |
I'd ask some of the old hands here to verify that but from the researcy I've done looking to buy, I'd say yeah, thats a good deal. If maintained properly, these puppies live for ever, 4400 miles is barely broke in good. Where else are you gonna get a bike that even runs, let alone runs strong for $1500. Are you looking a particular Ninja? As a comparision, what do they want for that? | ||
| Blastaar |
The Ninja I am looking at is a 2002 model, that has been very well taken care of. Reliability wise, a Ninja will last forever and the guy selling it is a member of the Ninja Riders forum and knows what he is talking about. He will take 1100 for the Ninja and that's an excellent price, too. I like both bikes but the Ninja is a bit bigger. | ||
| Reuel |
Get that Blast! Mine's a 2001, but it has 32,000 miles. I'd pay more than that for mine if I was buying it. You might decide the higher seat is too squishy. I sent mine to Sargent Cycle and had them perfect mine for $295. Make sure you read about the very few issues that happen to 2002 and older Blasts. | ||
| Totolandman |
I have to concur with Reuel! I got information about Sargent Cycle and I just shipped my std height seat to them to complete a total overhall with Supercell, dish and widen, level riding platform, solo style "wrap around" pattern and a mix of smooth an carbon FX all in black. It will be done in 10 days! Total was $335.00 and you can be guaranteed that the seat will fit unlike the problems many have had with the Corbin. Plus Corbin does not have anything remotely close to the Supercell foam! Cheers, totolandman | ||
| Blastaar |
I just want to be able to ride the Blast without having to scrunch up against the tank. My knees almost cover the Buell sticker..... Anyone else have a Blast that is 6'3?  | ||
| Totolandman |
I am 6' tall and pretty stocky around 205 lbs. The short seat had to go right away. That is why I purchased a new std height seat and now I am sending it off to Sargent's to get customized and to be made comfortable. Both stock seats suck and are very hard on your when traveling any distance. Cheers totolandman | ||
| Blastaar |
Well, heck. I think having to replace the seat will make the cost too high when compared to the Ninja. | ||
| Phwx2 |
I'm 6'2 and rode with the low seat for a while. The issue I had was that it somehow put me in a situation where I was sitting on my balls. I got the higher seat and it fixed the problem. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Blastaar: What kind of bike do you want? Standard (tall) seat lets you move as far back as you want. I'd also have trouble believing the Ninja 250 isnt a cramped little sportbike. The Blast is a foot shorter? than the Ninja? You mean the Ninja has a 65" wheel base with a 250cc engine? That dont sound right. My guess is that anyone trying to sell you a Ninja and is involved in a Ninja website would belittle the Blast to sell you a Ninja. The Ninja will not fair well in a crash/drop. Thats a fair deal on the Blast, but if you have doubts, wait and try out both. This is all coming from a guy very involved on a Blast website that wouldnt ride a Japbike even if it was given to him. I also have talked to a lot of misinformed people who if they bought a Buell/Harley wouldnt ever be happy with it because of all the bad info/propaganda they've been fed. I'd ask again what are you looking for in motorcycle? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS I believe JimRich, who until recently was a regular poster here, owns both a Ninja 250 and Blast! Contact him. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
JimRich: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/boar d-profile.cgi?action=view_profile&profile=jimrich | ||
| Blastaar |
Hey, thanks for the info and opinions. You are right, the Blast is only a bit more than 3 inches shorter with the same wheelbase. I'm looking for a bike that will cruise at 75 mph easily and is fun to ride, reliable and inexpensive. Both the Ninja and the Blast I'm looking at fit the bill. I will mostly ride it to work some and then on weekend rides. I'd love to take a week or so and ride anywhere but that's probably going to continue to stay a dream. I first saw a Blast at my first bike night last year. I thought it was the best looking bike there, until the group of beat up BMW dual sports arrived. Too bad they are out of my price range I did some research and saw all the negative press and only recently started to look around. I found a Ninja and then saw another Blast in person and decided to take a look at it. When I sat on it and then heard it run, I really decided to find out more. So, right now, the Ninja is $400 less but there may be some wiggle room on the Blast price. I wanted to see things from the Blast side as well, because as you say, people really do like their chosen ride. (Message edited by Blastaar on April 22, 2008) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The Blast vs Ninja250 topic used to come up all the time. I do think the Blast is infinitely simpler, very low maintenance and easier to work on. I cant argue the perceived longevity of the Ninja either. Of course if you only keep the bike a year or two, its a moot point. | ||
| Gbaz |
Both bikes are really good bikes to start out on, get good gas mileage, and have a standard seating position. They both make close to the same HP, the blast makes it low on the rpm scale. I was thinking of either a Ninja 250 or the Blast and decided on the Blast when i found a 04 for 2K (the ninja i was looking at was only 200 cheaper). The Ninja is not a cramped little sport bike, it should have more leg room than the Blast. The blast requires less maintaince. Take a look at http://www.beginnerbikers.org/ They have some good reviews compairing the 2 bikes. (EZ made 1 or 2 of them lol) | ||
| Gbaz |
Here is one of them http://www.beginnerbikers.org/forum/showthread.php ?t=17704 | ||
| Berkshire |
I have the regular "tall" seat, recovered with the back half yellow to match the tail plastic. When I first got the bike I removed the strap across the middle (very easily done). At 5'-5", I often sit a little back from the intended "rider" position, partly on where the strap used to be, but still a bit forward of the middle. It's more comfortable there because the seat is wider. With long arms & legs you could probably sit on the "passenger" position, and it would probably be comfortable but might look funny! The rider position at the front squishes down more than the rest of the seat, so it's always trying to scoot me forward when I sit towards the middle. The rider position has a more secure feel for spirited cornering & hard braking, so I only sit "back" when I've got a clear path ahead.  Some seats go cheap on ebay, and one of these days I may get another "tall" seat to experiment on. The base is plastic, and the cover basically just wraps over the edge and is stapled underneath. I think I could probably just pull the staples out, find some high-density foam, and carve out a chunk to replace the squishy foam in the front of the seat. | ||
| Berkshire |
Also, the Blast seat & tail plastic form a large flat(ish) area that's great for strapping down cargo - notice bungee net in above pic. I don't think I've ever seen another type of bike with such a useful area back there! I usually ride with the "metro" tank bag - highly recommended! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Great minds think alike! The staples do remove easy and its very easy to add some stiffer foam to the seat. I actually cut out a bunch and added industrial carpet padding in layers. You could actually just add the stiff padding on top and bring the seat down to stock form with duct tape (which I did) and then staple the cover back on. I used an Arrow brand electric staple gun from Home depot with 1/4" staples. Most will go into the plastic, some bend. Made a big difference in stiffness for the raceblast as it was difficult to move around after sinking into the stock seat. Better on the street too. | ||
| Reuel |
I know somebody on this board mentioned cut out some foam and used gel packs. | ||
| Etennuly |
I'm 6' with a 31+ inseam. I ride the Blast with the stock seat and sit on the back part of it. It gives me plenty of leg room that way and lets me stretch my arms a bit too. The great thing is you have so much room to move around. Oh, and if it runs well and is in good physical condition I think that is a way good price. | ||
| Blastaar |
Well, it has a couple of problems, it leaks from the petcock and has an oil leak on the oil line on the left side hose. It has some scratches but still looks good, in my opinion. I'm really torn between the Blast and the Ninja. I also made the mistake and sat on one of the brand new redesigned Ninjas and it was really nice. Even got an OTD price that seems to be a couple hundred below average, according to about 30 or so OTD prices from around the country. | ||
| Totolandman |
Sargent's cycle seat mods: Just wanted to let everyone know that my stock height seat is in process at Sargent's where they are going to widen and dish the seating surface and add supercell foam and then wrap it in a solo style finish with a combo of smooth and carbon fx vinyl. The dish and widen portion will be set back further a bit for me since I am 6' tall and I prefer to ride a bit back on the seating surface due to having long arms as well. Thanks Ruell for providing the information on what you did to your seat a little over a year ago. Rudy at Sargent's is going to take photos during the process which I will post in this thread. I will also take images of the seat when it returns to me and also on the bike. Cannot wait to make the numbness go away! Cheers, totolandman | ||
| Reuel |
It's that tingling shortly after getting off that gets me! You'll be thanking them much more when you get it! Had I thought about it, I would have had them move me back about 1 inch. Seems I find myself just at the back of the seat, slightly on the seam. It's not uncomfortable for me to scoot forward so I certainly won't complain! If I read correctly, I could have sent it back, and they would have adjusted it at a much smaller cost than doing the whole seat. Do you ride 2-up much? If so, they can make the back of the seat better, too. (Message edited by Reuel on May 02, 2008) | ||
| Totolandman |
Reuel, Could you measure from the back of the seat center forward just to where the dish begins where for the riders seating surface. I want to make sure that I have that shifted back some on mine. If you have access to do so today it would be great because they are at the stage of where they are preparing to dish and widen. I never ride 2-up this is purely my commuter bike for work so putting supercell in the back part of the seat would be a waste. LOL Cheers, totolandman | ||
| Reuel |
When they widen the dish, the seat resembles the Blast low seat. Did you see pictures of my seat? From the back edge of the seat to the top edge of the dish, I measured slightly under 12.5 inches. From the front edge of the seat to the bottom edge of the dish portion, I measured just over 13 inches. | ||
| Rydog60236 |
The guy I ride with all the time has a ninja 250. Its a different animal than the blast. It all depends on what you want. They have similar acceleration, but the ninja derives its torque from high its high rev'ing engine. On a ninja, if you're going 40mph, you're in 5th gear - a blast is barely in third. Ninja has a very forward leaning seating position, blast is more upright. I like the blast for a longer trip (45 mins or more) |
