| Author | Message | ||
     17blast |
Well let’s look as some specks. The 919 weighs 428 lbs. witch is close to my Blast with the larger wheels and forks. The 919 has a 17 inch wheel with a 180 55 R17 tire, dido for my Blast. The Progressive shock has adjustable rebound, compression and preload. The 919 only has preload. The only thing that doesn’t mach is the length. The Progressive is 11.14 inches long and the Blast is 10.30 inches. This could be a serious problem with a belt drive but not a huge concern with a chain. Also the R1 forks are longer so I could use the extra height in the rear to get the rake back in line. The progressive shock is $330 with my discount at the H.D dealership I work at part time. And if for some freak reason it doesn’t work I’ll turn around and sell it on E-Bay and get back most of my money. Hey, sometimes it cost a little to play. (Message edited by 17blast on February 18, 2006) | ||
| Naustin |
Follow-up to the 919 experiment as reported by Ralph: Yeah Baby ! Everything is working perfectly... the tranny, AND the Shock ! Actually- I'm totally blown away by the 919 shock, as it seems to be perfectly matched to the blast and *my body weight. The dampening and shock rate seem spot on ! And it's works so much nicer than the stock shock(for *MY body weight). The initial dampening is soft to absorb the small bumps and ripples, then progressively gets firmer the bigger the bump....this is exactly what I wanted in the shock. And it really only raised the rear about 1-1/2" (with me on board) from what a stock (unladen) Blasts' ride height is. BUT, thats because of my weight...and when I'm off the bike it rises another 1 inch! Soooo...I must re-iterate, this shock is ONLY for Big Dudes...light weight dudes and dudettes need not apply !!! Let me make this Clear... this shock can Only be used with riders who weigh AT Least 210lbs and over (or who ride two up exclusively?) Nick- this is directed at You.... You do NOT weigh enough to safely use the 919 shock with your belt drive. Your rear would be up too high, and the swingarm would be at too much an angle and the belt would be too loose. As a matter of fact...that is my primary area for worry still...the belt. And I will only make my final judgement after 2000miles have been accumulated with the honda shock in place. If the belt doesn't break or go wonky by 2000miles...then all is well in Ralphieville. About the change in rake/trail...yeah I can feel a slight dif, as in it quickened up steering just a tad. BUT- in reality it seems to have only brought it back to what a stock blast is like- as mine has a taller front tire- which I installed to raise the front and also slow down the steering a tad...so this sorta just evened it right back to stock feel ? Which is okay... BUT- if all else works with the shock - i.e.- Drive belt. Then at my NEXT front tire change- I plan on going to an even taller/wider size, to slow down the steering again. I'll go upto the size 110/90-16 front tire (the size that "SportsterDiana" used on her track Blast). And that should make the blast perfect for my tastes..and the side benefit will be a Much Taller Blast than anyone out there has !...Hey- I'm a Tall dude ! Soooooo.... as I'm able to ride it more as the weather gets better- I'll keep you all updated on my experiences with feedback. But so far, after about 60 miles testing- I'm pleased beyond my wildest Dreams ! But kiddies, don't try this at home...until all data has been gathered, and only then can someone else proceed with caution. ~Ralph | ||
| Ezblast |
If this works out a Progressive may be in my future as well - lol! GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Naustin |
If you're willing to spend $350 on a progressive shock - why wouldn't you pony up the $700 for the works? The works would be custom built for your bike, weight and would not have the problem of being too long. The other possibility is a VLX shock, which should bolt in and is 10.35 in long. It has pre-load, but also no dampening adjustment... | ||
| Naustin |
UPDATE: It appears the VLX shock will not work. It is the proper length, and the right mounts on each end, but it mounts in a different position and probably has wildly different spring and dampening characteristics... Here's a picture of the whole swingarm assembly from a VLX... Just looking at the spring, you can see it has fewer coils and they are progressively wound...  | ||
| 17blast |
Your 919 shock experience sounds great, and that’s good for me because my Progressive should be in next week. As far as your belt problem goes, I may have a solution. I was looking threw an XB parts book to check out the belt tensioner it uses. The engine cases are the same were the swingarm bolts up but the difference is the Blast lacks the mounting point for the tensioner. The XB runs a lot of angle on the swing arm but compensates for this with a stationary pulley near the pivot point. So in actuality the pulley you see on an XB is not a tensioner but a compensator. If you are running rear sets I think it’s possible to mount a similar pulley to the back side of the rear set bracket. At least this is my plan, once I finish my front sprocket spacers and remount my right rear set I’ll see if I can get something fabed up. Tell then, lets keep are fingers crossed it works out. | ||
| Naustin |
Not a bad idea. Consider my fingers knotted for ya.  Nick | ||
| Ezblast |
The 919 shock with a Works front end kit is sounding better and better! All you have to do is narrow the bottom mount - no hard challenge there - lol - GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Not to be a killjoy, but the Blast belt is ridged on the outside, the XB belt is smooth. I dont know how fast it will wear, but it'll be noisy! | ||
| Jprovo |
I wouldn't backbend or reverse bend the Blast Belt, it's not designed for it. I have it under good authority that they will not survive reverse bending. If you're going to do that, retro an XB belt, or use a chain. James | ||
| Ezblast |
A soft rubber wheel with a gentle spring tension to apply tension wouldn't be loud - eh? Esp. for a belt. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| 17blast |
I'm running a chain on mine, so I’m sure it will work. I've seen chain conversion kits for the XB's and they come with a new wheel and bracket to run with the chain. As far as the belt is concerned I think Gearheaderiko and Jprovo are correct. The Blast belt is a different design. You may be able to contact Gates and see if they have a suggestion for something that may work. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
A wheel soft enough would wear out. I do believe you could get a smooth sided belt cut down to Blast width...which brings us back to the old discussion of wider belt conversions! And I again would caution against increasing the rear ride height and not changing the front to match (or some other mod to achieve balance) I think it would be easier to change the ride height back to stock. An inch lower is not hard to come by. | ||
| Jprovo |
17 Blast I understood that you were talking about a chain, I just wanted to warn others to not reverse bend the Blast belt. Are you really going to need an tensioner/idler sprocket for your chain conversion? James | ||
| Ezblast |
Hagon makes a short version - fully 3 way adjustable - $475 - 30 and 50mm shorter - which would be closer to the Blast height shock? Has the same spring rate as a Blast - lol - Honda 919 lowering shocks could definately be our answer! http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/webc/HAGON_MONOSHOCKS.html?sid=3gS8mU1U6CTJBZn-01106311078.8c GT - JBOTDS! EZ (Message edited by ezblast on February 25, 2006) | ||
| Ezblast |
James could you give me an idea of what our ride around SLO will be in the Cali section - thanks! GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Ezblast |
Looking at a ruler tells me it would be real close at 30mm less to a stock height Blast shock - at half the price of works - this must be good news. GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
It looks from the Hagan website that you can just order a Blast equivalent shock. | ||
| Ezblast |
Yeah - I noticed that later and the price beats Works by a lot - lol - GT - JBOTDS! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
BTW EZ-Nice find! | ||
| Naustin |
Ralph has a couple hundred more miles on the 919 shock, and he has tested it up to 105mph with no front end instability at all. (remember he has a taller front tire, so the rake on his setup isn't changed as much as it would be with the stock size tire.) The belt has held up fine, and the handling has not been compromised. He does feel, however, that it is over-sprung. He would not recommend this route unless you are 250+ in weight. He is going to continue experimenting with this shock for a while as long as the belt doesn't break. ************************************** What kind of quality is Hagen stuff?? | ||
| Andywestbrook |
What is everyone talking about when they say the 919 shock/spring. What bike is it from and does it fit and raise the suspension up at all? yes I am a newb.. thanks | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Honda 919. If you have a particular goal in mind, such as raising the suspension 2+ inches or are really 'big',ride 2 up almost exclusively or making a supermoto bike, otherwise there is no real advantage to using this shock on a stock bike, IE: just to make trick mods. The Blast is already 'front loaded'(my term, my opinion) and jacking up the rear end is not a good idea unless you know what you are doing, getting, or have a goal in mind. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
So I called Buell Tech, HD really, to find out the spring rate and free length of the rear shock spring. After an hour and a call back, I was told they could tell me, but then they'd have to kill me! It's a secret. They dont want anybody finding out the secrets of the Mighty Buell Blast! Its not published information available to the general public so they wont give it out. He recommended I contact anybody who has measured the rate & free length of a Blast rear shock spring (such as fellow racers or aftermarket shock suppliers).  | ||
| Naustin |
If you search back, I don't remember who reported it, but that's exactly where the "900lbs" figure came from. The person who ended up buying a Works shock found out from Works that the stock blast spring is "900lbs". But, that's never been confirmed, refuted, proven, or collaborated. We don't know the spring rate of the 919 spring either - only that it ended up being somewhat heavier than the Blast's stock spring. None of the aftermarket spring manufactures (Progressive and Works) I called would tell me the spring rate for the V-Star 650 either when I was trying to find that out. It ended up being 780lbs or something like that, according to a v-star owner who found it referenced in his owners manual...(for whatever that's worth) Sure, anybody can go out and pay $1,000+ for a custom rear shock and spring. But, this is a Blast we're talking about after all, and the spirit of Blast owners tends to be "adapt and scavenge." There are 2 or 3 shock/spring assemblies out there that are close enough in overall length to (probably)work(O.K.) with the Blast's stock belt/ride height and not too much change to the front end except for maybe some preload spacers. The problem is we don't know the spring rates nobody wants to acquire and test each possibility without knowing the spring rates are at least somewhat close... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Yep, I was just trying to confirm the spring rate. So much for Buell helping out a 'racer'( which is why I told them I needed the specs). Progressive suspension seems pretty liberal about giving out spring rates, I dont know why they wouldnt give you the V Star rates. | ||
| Naustin |
They gave me the rate for thier sping for that application, but they either didn't know, or wouldn't tell me the stock rate. I told them I owned a vstar and wanted an idea of how much heavier it was going to be... PS - (corrections), we do know the Stock 919 spring rate is 1,000 lbs. The progressive version is variable rate from 850-1200. The Progressive version of the V-star is variable rate from 800-900lbs. Also, the stock V-Star rate is 760lbs not 780..., according to the v-star owners forum... nick (Message edited by naustin on July 28, 2006) | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Nice research Nick. Maybe you should call Buell tech! Whatever spring rates progressive gives they should be close to stock (as shown by your research). Unless you're changing mounting locations it should remain the same. However the 'free length' may be different as Progressive may use a completely different shock and the spring may take up more or less space on the shocks length. Eventually I'll be ordering a shock from Works, Progressive, Penske or Hagen, maybe even Ohlins (if my lottery investment comes through)and then they'll have to give me the spring rate! | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS It sounds like the V-Star 650(I cringe just typing it) is a good crossover though. If it comes with a rebound or compression dampening adjustment, I'd give it a go. Time to renew my e-bay search! | ||
| Ezblast |
Is the V-Star the same size - http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/detail.cfm?model_ID=47&Category_ID=14&manufact urer_ID=39&product_ID=9457&sblid_name=Progressive_Suspension_____Series_Shock___ V_Star_____for_Yamaha_V_Star_650_Silverado Has adjustments - even a 1" lower height option. Hyperpro just came out with a 3 way adj. - very for most models - 650 bucks - asks that one calls. GT - JBOTDS! EZ (Message edited by ezblast on July 29, 2006) |
