| Author |
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Reuel
| | Posted on Friday, May 22, 2009 - 07:54 pm: | 
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60 MPG cruising around between Hume and Front Royal, VA. Highway, doing 70 MPH gets me more like 55 MPG. |
Kesselrunner
| | Posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 12:24 pm: |
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Bump for ride journal - long story sorry... Well, I did it!
Last week I rode my Blast up 35W 500 miles north to Apple Valley MN : ) A few days ago I rode back to KS.
I made the mistake of leaving Lawrence at 3PM. I had a few great hours of sunshine, but then, as I was driving across the crosswindy plains of Iowa in the dark, I started shivering and basically freezing. I stopped at a Kmart and got some pajama pants that went under my jeans and some gardening gloves to go over my hands.
Then, further down in the pitch black Iowan wilderness I ran out of gas and oil (I was checking oil only every other time I stopped for gas). No flashlight, no funnel, luckily I had brought oil on this boards suggestion, thx). Poured the oil in using my cell phone as a flashlight, yes it got everywhere but it did the trick. Flipped to RES tank and made it to Terrible's Casino FTW.
Took me 11 hours to make it up to MN. In a car it's done in about 7.
While in the southern MN suburbs, I ventured up MN 77 Cedar N to visit my brother who lives in hipster uptown. I was right by the Mall of America when my SPARK-PLUG BLEW OUT OF THE ENGINE! This happened while I was traveling 70 mph in the fast lane. A quick spray of gas vapor in my face and total loss of power signalled what I thought was the end of my bike. Barely made it to the shoulder. I used BWB on my iPhone to lookup spark-plug blast changes : )
Went to Harley and picked up a new plug for $3. Laid on my back next to oncoming traffic and screwed in the new one, tightened it a bit with a regular wrench - I didn't have to take the tank off or anything.
She fired right up and made it home fine. The next day I picked up some blue loctite and anti-seize, and reseated the plug properly.
On the way home I left at 8AM, it was a beautiful day. I layered really well so I could shed clothes as the day got longer and hotter. I actually rode through a 5 minute Spring shower that was so peaceful and awesome! I made it home by 4PM, shaving 3 hours off my previous time!
The bike seems to like 75-85mph. I stopped every 75 miles to fill up (about 1.5 Gal each time). My butt started to hurt about 50 miles in so 75 miles was a welcome break! I wore earplugs too, and the bike was still super loud. So loud in fact, that I'm going to start looking for a standard exhaust. The V&H is just too wacky for a small college town or for comfort at 70mph.
All in all, I'm glad I did it - but I now realize they make touring cruisers for a reason! |
Aleutian1
| | Posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 05:26 pm: |
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Yeah but the cruisers aren't as much fun! However, forward controls and cruise control might be a little less painful. |
Ezblast
| | Posted on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 08:39 pm: |
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Naw - its the seat - replace with Corbin or Sargents, or customize your own.
EZ |
Melocotoff
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 10:32 pm: |
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Hi there, im a newbie blast owner and rider, just got my blast 2 days ago, brand spanking new.
Im loving it so far, but i have some questions of my own, and please, keep in mind that im a newbie to this forum, so im not sure where everything goes nor how everything works.
Anywho, newb question:
documentation says the tank is 2.8gallons, and it also states that the reserve is .55.
So, does the 2.8 INCLUDE the .55? just wondering as that will help me guesstimate when i should fuel the tank and avoid running out of gas. Also, i noticed that i got the bike with the fuel set to use reserve. Should I let it use the reserve till it breaks in (500 miles) or should i just flip it over to not use the reserve?
Any hints and tips as to how to avoid running out of gas yet still getting good distance without refueling would be nice.
actually any and all advice is appreciated. And yes, i did skim the newbie faqs, just didnt find the question answered there. |
Ezblast
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 - 11:37 pm: |
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yes; Refill at a max of 120 miles and you should be ok.
Welcome!
EZ |
Gearheaderiko
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - 01:11 am: |
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Dont leave it on reserve (until its needed) . The bike will start to sputter and die, then turn it on to reserve and head for a gas station. Practice finding the fuel valve and turning it as it will seem impossible to find the first time it happens to you!
The fuel valve is nothing more than a straw to the gas tank with 2 holes that draws fuel from different levels. High level for on, lower level for reserve. Very simple. After a while you'll learn how far you can go before hitting reserve and fuel up before that point. Reserve can go about 20+ miles, but its not a wise idea to push it (or you'll be pushing it
Also be sure you know which is which. The small end of the on/off/reserve tab points to what you're on. Like an arrow (if that helps).
And Welcome! |
Edstevens
| | Posted on Thursday, July 30, 2009 - 07:47 pm: |
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Reuel
I had a 2004 Blast and due to a high school wrestling accident the seat made my rear-end hurt. I bought a ROHO AIRHAWK (medium crusier) air suspension seat and my problem was solved perfectly. |
Themagster
| | Posted on Saturday, August 01, 2009 - 09:17 pm: |
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My Rick Mayer seat is getting better with each mile. It took some time to "warm up to me" and last year when riding to Texas I took along the AIRHAWK. As this past year went by I noticed the seat was getting more comfortable. This last trip I took, riding over 4,800 miles, I didn't use anything on the seat and never once had an issue.
If you got good gear, the miles just seem to disappear. Rain gear, great boots, gloves, full face helmet, bright yellow banana vest; yeah I know I'm a geek but I'm a happy geek! |
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