Good post GeForce...I agree! This is the best way for the Blast to go. An outrageous spectacle that gets people talking about what the bike was(is) and what it means to them, rather than a lonely quiet unceremonious drop from the model year that everyone soon forgets.
So, the Blast will still be manufactured, but with no label? A generic thumper? What the heck is really going on? Or are these 2010 P3 models just the remaining inventory?
A black '09 Blast at the dealer last week looked pretty good to this previous '00 Blast owner. Stock Pirelli's too!
I think I understand EZ's laments, but I've been in Guzzi-land for a year and might continue for another if Buell truly has dropped the ballast.
The angst, the anger....there is a certain cockiness and pride and, yes, even arrogance one gets when one rides a small (500cc) odd-brand (Buell) bike that no one else likes, no one has heard of before and no one understands. Especially when you're not a beginner and you ride the @#$% out of it every day.
Or, in EZ's case, you modify it, run it hard and teach hundreds of others through your efforts how to improve better than factory fresh and how to repair it better than the service staff.
When it's designed by the industry's foremost outsider/rebel the sense of pride grows. You're part of Special Forces, Navy SEALs, even if you're on the B-team, you're part of it. You're a Bueller and we take no prisoners, no matter our cc's.
Then it's cute and crushed, ha-ha-ha. One more insult, this time from the man you admire for making the damn thing in the first place.
Yep,there were hurt feelings and a lot of anger and lot of what people seem to think is whining. All I can say is maybe you're right.
Or maybe it's a Blast thing that even Erik doesn't understand.
I have very mixed feeling on this entire Blast issue. While I'm not new to Buell, I have just started riding solo. Part of the reason we got a Blast is because I can flat foot it (thanks to a low seat from Fast1075). It's an easy bike to learn on and it has been fun without being intimidating at the same time.
While I watched the video of the cube I was shocked and my only thoughts were OMG. I was hoping that maybe Buell was going to roll out a Blast with an updated look, kinda what the Ninja got a few years back. Not necessarily to look like the Ninja, but to give it a little more edgy look. Guess I'll have to stayed tuned and see what happens next.
"Then it's cute and crushed, ha-ha-ha. One more insult, this time from the man you admire for making the damn thing in the first place.
Yep,there were hurt feelings and a lot of anger and lot of what people seem to think is whining. All I can say is maybe you're right.
Or maybe it's a Blast thing that even Erik doesn't understand."
Your probably more right, than everyone on that last point. If Erik had really understood what the Blast has done for thousands of folks - the introduction or re-introduction of riding, and the joy that entails, and the appreciation of the bike that brought that about - these are the intangibles that I think Erik lost sight of in his new Ruthless philosophy. An honest mistake, that is understandable, however, it was definitely a mistake. Retiring the bike to indefinite RE status would have been fine, it was what the bike was made for, but the destruction by cube was way over the top, and not a well thought out promotion. EZ
Dude - my opinion is mine, destructive - htfu - I've never read so much hot air, then wave a flag - please - and a cube is not a blaze of glory - step away from the pipe! EZ
Your the one all butt hurt over a girls motorcycle. I dont know how much money youve sunk into that bike of yours but its a far cry from the blandness it was from the factory.
Buell no longer has an ungly bike in its stable. Rejoice, sell your bike on craigslist as a "one of a kind Type R Blast" and get yourself a dudes bike.
Someone had to say it Rainman and maybe Im in the minority but come on...
At least I threw in a positive comment about his modified blast. A buell single should look something like that from the factory. Not like the humbly nerdy band kid who always gets picked on.
It's been 4 days now... still feeling disowned. I was looking at getting a new Uly or 12Ss as the next bike. Hadn't considered anything else. But now, I'm thinking... WTF, what if they decide to cube the XB next. Then what? So know an Aprillia Shiver 850 has been added to the list.
"Buell Announces 2010 Models" evidently including the 2010 Blast (NOT the cubed version). "The Blast is used primarily in the Rider's Edge New Rider course, which has trained more than 175,000 riders since 2000."
I was Just aghast then as I am now at the cu3ing of a Blast bezstelnostnaya bezbendyxa v ygley (as senseless as ordering an old hag to go shiate in the corner of a round room)
I hate to say this, but it's probably time we moved on. Emotions are what they are and one thing this proves for sure is that passionate people ride Buells and Buells bring out the passion in people.
I harbor no ill will toward those who disagree with me about the cube or the book or toward the company that builds my bike.
I enjoy the hell out of my Blast and have convinced others to buy them rather than more expensive beginner bikes. That won't change.