| Author | Message | ||
     Mitchy |
Hello everyone. (long vent follows) My wife and I just recently purchased our first motorcycle, a 2000 Buell Blast. We had just completed a MSF course and were anxious to get a bike, and totaly ignorant of how to buy a used bike. Needless to say, we got totally taken. We saw a ad in the local paper for a used Blast, and from reading up on beginner bikes, this was supposed to be a good one. And it probably is, it just seems to have left a bad taste in my mouth because of the whole deal. We bought our bike for $2,300. Yes, thats not a typo. Since that time, we have had to replace both front and rear tires and rear wheel bearings for a cost of about $400. Having bought the factory service manual and book ($80) I learn that the brake rotors are .2 mm thinner than they should be, and will need to be replaced ($410 at the HD dealer, or $200 for parts and I can try to do it myself). After looking at new Blasts in the showroom, I discovered that the thingy that the front foot pegs attach to are bent inward towards the bike. About a month ago, I went down on the right side coming home from work in the dark and rain. Fortunaly it was only at about 15 MPH and I didn't get hurt, but now the throttle sticks open instead of snapping shut, and the speedo and odo no longer function. And the windscreen and mirrors have nice colourful scratches in them. And what is with Harley Davidson having more crap that I can buy for my 2 month old than for my bike? Are they trying to kill this brand or something? Well, if you made it this far thanks for reading my rant. I just needed to vent, and other than the jerko that ripped me off, I don't know any bikers in my area. If you have any advice, please feel free to post or email me. | ||
| Swampy |
Yep! Tires on the rear wear out at around 3000 miles. Wheel bearings go bad. When the bike goes down on the side things get scratched, the foot peg brackets can be bent back out. The throttle can be repired easily. The speedo sensor can be replaced. Are you mechanically inclined? If so do the repairs yourself and enjoy the time spent with your bike. How many miles are on your bike? Has it had any upgrades? From what I understand, the rear pulley had a recall for the 2000 model year, was that done? How does the bike run otherwise? Has the carburetor been rejetted? And yes, when it comes to these bikes, some Harley dealers are worthless others are great, this is not Walmart. Where do you live? Anyplace close to Michigan? | ||
| Jlnance |
Hey Mitch, Sorry about the problems and the situation. I have a Blast myself. I think its a great bike, particularly for someone just learning. Hopefully we can brighten up your experience with yours. Lots of people complain about the lack of parts for Buells stocked at most HD dealerships. There is a guy on this site named Dave who can get you anything you need. There is a lot of knowlege floating around this site. If you need to know anything, post here and you will probably get an answer. - Jim | ||
| Reepicheep |
Is the rotor otherwise behaving badly? Is it warped or something? Tires are a given. If it was a 2000 they were getting dry rot anyway. Burn 'em up and get another pair. In the future, you will get a far better price taking the wheels off the bike and bringing them to a local independent shop. I like my local dealer, and support them when I can, but the price difference for tires is just too big. The bent parts... bend 'em back. If they break, replace 'em  Get the throttle fixed, that is not one to screw with. Check the grip (especially if it hit on your accident). New grips are cheap, and replace a good part of that barrell assembly (at least on my Cyclone and my 9sx, I assume they do on the blast as well). Lube the cables as well, and make sure they are all routed correctly. Speedo and Odo.. well, they do that. The updated parts solves the problem that many had with blowing the old style speedo sensor. You could have a broken wire or lots of metal goo stuck to the magnet on the sensor. Clean, inspect, and reinstall, but don't be suprised if it is toast. It is probably about a $70 part. You paid too much for the blast in that condition, but the previous owner probably lost even more then you got taken for. How many miles on the thing? They lost more on it for that many miles then you paid for the entire bike, and you have it's entire lifetime ahead of you. Walk towards the light and enjoy the great bike you bought. And in your 15mph lowside, MANY other of the bikes you could have bought could have *easily* picked up $1000 worth of damage. So you are now, officially, ahead of the game Where are you from? If you tell us that (your profile does not have it) you will be a lot more likely to pick up some riding buddies! Welcome to the Buell family! | ||
| Shotgun |
Mitchy, take it easy man. You paid a good price for a used Blast. Tires are just normal wear and tear. Unless that bike has a lot of miles, I wouldn't sweat the rotor. Adjust the throttle open/close cables per the manual. Check the section on the speedo. You may have crunched it on your little spill. It is still a great bike to learn on. You made a good purchase. Chill, buddy. Fix it. Enjoy it. Ride it. | ||
| Mitchy |
Thanks guys I'm glad my wife told me about this website I live in San Antonio, Texas. The bike has 5,600 miles on it. I've no idea if it has had it regular scheduled service or not. It appears to be bone stock, save for the bigger windscreen. The front rotor does not seem to be warped or anything, its just 2mm thick, but stamped right on it it says it should be no thinner than 4mm. I've not taken the caliper off and inspected the brake pads, so I do not know their condition. With regards to mechanical skills, I'm pretty good with nuts and bolts type stuff if I have a book or pictures to follow. I guess you would call it a parts-swapper mechanic. I've done spark plugs, batteries, air and oil filters, brakes and stuff like that on my car. I'm not afraid to mess with stuff, worst comes to worst it can sit in my in-laws garage till it get it fixed  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome! 2mm is 'paper' thin.Could you double check in inches? You can get better mileage out of the rear tires.3000 is on the low side, fronts last twice as long. You will find that the Blast is super simple to work on. I doubt you will have owned anything easier to work on! It does take a crash very well. I've found that the left side footpeg mount being bent in is actually more comfortable! Bodywork is cheap on ebay as well as many other parts. Just get a price on new parts first. ($5 turn signals routinely sell on ebay for 2-3x that much!). Some replacement Blast parts are very cheap. | ||
| Ezblast |
Your going to go through tires, and replacing a wheel bearing is not unheard of as well. Replacing rotors should only be nescesary if they got scars and ridges, warpage, or severe wear, and replacing them is only hard on the torx bits - get several for the job, use the factory replacement screws torqued to spec, there is a sprocket/belt that may need replacing - its free - see if its been done, replacing the speedo sensor is easy - talk to Davies - Waterloo Iowa for parts - they sponsor here so look for their add. Also Rockercover gaskets where upgraded for all HD/Buell products mid 2002 - so if it hasn't been replaced - plan to replace it! What you don't wish to replace one way you can always customize and replace with other parts - either way replacements are inexpensive - and upgraded parts are'nt always that much more anyway than the stock parts cost - so that is something to consider as well - otherwise just bend it back into place - the old fashion way of fixing stuff! Those two old sites have been around forever - all authored by 1 person - though he has cleaned up his spelling and syntax in his letters - lol - you'll actually enjoy wrenching on this bike because it easy to wrench on! Feel blessed to have a 2000 - better brakes and high speed handling - better track days ahead! - lol - Welcome to the BADWEB! GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Ezblast |
Oh - yeah! The throttle - sounds like your lines got twisted together - happened to me on one of the many times I droped my black - take the tank off and straighten them out - put the tank back on - your done. Enjoy the ride! GT - JBOTDS! EZ (Message edited by ezblast on June 01, 2005) | ||
| Newblaster |
On the throttle, also check the barrel inside the grip. When I went down a little over a year ago, I cracked it and a piece got stuck between the remaining barrel and the bar, making it a "suicide throttle", some people like it but I never did. Traction grips at your local dealer, $17, good price on great grips. If the barrel isn't busted, it's probably what EZ said, the cables. The bodywork scratching is easy (sort of, lol), a bottle of Novus #2 and lots of elbow grease. If the rotor is only 2mm thick, get the entire system checked out, it shouldn't be that thin in 5600 miles (has James had to replace rotors yet??) Oh, and get used to the tire replacement... lol... Honestly, it's a great bike, and once it's sorted out, you'll have a lot of fun with it. | ||
| Light_keeper |
I put the Avon replacements on when I had to replace the tires and are getting much better milage out of them. They seem to handle better as well. Mine was a riders edge bike so the foot pegs were slightly bent in already too. I would think that if you are not leaking oil the metal gaskets have already been done. I could be wrong. A close inspection of the rocker cover area will tell. I have had a ball messing around with this bike. I have learned many things on this site that have saved me lots of trouble. There are things to check periodicly like the boot between the carb and the intake. make sure it is in good repair and the clamps are tight. Mine came loose in the field but the trusty leatherman made a quick fix. ( With out reading about it here I may not have been able to go right to it and be on my way. ) Good luck have fun and ask lots of questions. Between EZ and some of the other guys they do have all the answers or have the connections to get them. Sandy | ||
| Mitchy |
OK, litte update here I checked with the dealer, and the bike did have its recall service performed. I haven't messed with the throttle because I think I'm going the replace the handlebars, so I'll take care of it then. As the the caliper thickness, I loaned my gauge to my father, I'm going to go get it today and recheck the rotor. | ||
| Road_thing |
Mitch, welcome aboard! Once you get your bike sorted out, you'll enjoy it, it doesn't sound to me like you've got any really major problems. The advice offered above is sound--fix the throttle, change the tires, if the brakes work OK don't worry about the thickness of the rotor. I'm in Houston, don't get to San Antonio very often, but I have a ranchito just west of Brenham and we occasionally host Buellers from the Houston-Austin-SA triangle. Maybe you can make the next one. Search up Buelliedan on this website. He's in San Antonio and is a veritable fountainhead of Buell knowledge and parts, plus being a good guy. His wife rides a Blast, in addition to being a lovely person. rt |
