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Buell Blast no bs or rumours pls

10K views 41 replies 26 participants last post by  matty67 
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#1 ·
Im lookin at gettin one of these bikes, but ive heard many horror stories of the reliability (or lack there of) for these bikes.
I dont wanna spend more time wrenchin than i do riding so i need some hard facts about actual experience. Im in kelowna so we dont have a Buell dealer here but im not sure if thats a nessessity.

thanks!
 
#6 ·
If you're wanting a beginner bike to use as a stepping-stone to another Harley or Buell, you'll probably get a good trade-in (I think there used to be a guaranteed trade-in value if you bought the Blast new and then traded it on another Harley within a certain amount of time). If you'll be riding something else, I think the Jap bikes are better options.
 
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#7 ·
I don't know much at all about them, I'll admit it. But I remember talking to one guy about his Blast when he was getting a new front tyre at Carter. And he said he couldn't ride it in the rain, because the couple times he tried his fuses went because water got into them too easily. I thought that was pretty hurting.
 
#10 ·
I knew someone who owned a Blast, and sole reason she bought it was because of the very low seat height. Otherwise, she said the bike was crap.
 
#11 ·
Early blast models had huge quality issues.

There are dozens of websites, forums, groups dedicated to the unreliability of said bike and the idiotic treatment of customers by buell/HD.

But if youre absolutely hell bent on a blast, find and read up as much as you can about it, (ie, seek the best/worst model years, mods needed to make it reliable, common problems, etc.), and then dive into it. At least you wont be in for too many suprises that way, and you might enjoy the bike for what it was intended for.
 
#15 ·
hahaha..all you ppl are going to make him cry and leave the board, lol! At leat this time its not me.ahahahah
 
#16 ·
noob said:
The natural question is do you have any particular reasons for wanting a buell and not others?
I was wondering the same thing. I would think that there are other options out there without the real and perceived problems associated with the Blast.

BTW, my recollection is that there is a H-D dealer in Kelowna. They don't carry Buells? (I wonder if one should read something into that?) I would be a little more hesitant to buyt a bike (particularly new) if there was not a dealer for it locally. (Again, I imagine that there are other options with dealers local to you.)
 
#18 ·
If everyone talks about how unreliable they are, why would you even consider them.

Has anyone responded yet that they love their Buell on a sportbike website. . .

Although if looking unique is worth that much more to you go for it, although it may be known for its unique level of quality :laughing
 
#19 ·
Well I own a Buell Blast and the thing is crap.
I can list the million things that go wrong in the first 5000K if you like, but that would end up being a very long post. But one thing I can tell you is the famous thing on the blast is the intake manifold coupler will rip off and there goes your carb.

If this is a hint, back east is thinking about not selling them anymore.
So I would suggest from personal experience that you would be happier with something else. I spent more time on the side of the road fixing it than riding it. The added bonus to that is you learn a lot about repairing bikes...lol
I know that my first blast was a lemon, but they finally replaced it with a 2004 model, but really I am just waiting for things to fall off.

If you want to read up on people that own a blast check out this yahoo group

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/The-Buell-Blast/
 
#20 ·
I rode two different Blasts over two days at the BC Safety Council road course. The one with 8000kms almost rattled itself apart. The one with lesser mileage almost got me killed as I was a newby and had the kickstand down and dropped it into gear and the engine didn't cut out. So I moved into traffic only to roll on the throttle and guess what, the bike just idled really rough. I had to push the bike back out of traffic as cars approached. Nice setup for kickstand safety.

We went onto the # 1 Hwy and I had the throttle pinned and could barely keep up with my classmates. I jumped on the GS500 on the way back and wow, what a difference.

Hope this helps.
 
#21 ·
I rode one at the safety council as well, didn't like the vibration or lack of wind protection. The mirrors wouldn't stay in place, not like I could see out of them anyway. On the last day, the exhaust manifold cracked as we were entering the highway, that ended the day. It may not be the Corvair of motorcycles, but there are much better choices out there.
 
#22 ·
I as well rode the ill fated Blast for Traffic Skills at BCSC, and as the previous posters have mentioned, it was a really bad ride, mirrors were 100% useless at a stop due to the vibration, which resulted in them constantly working loose. The transmission is pretty ragged as well, I had a hell of a time shifting gears, up or down. And I will also second the comment that it is a small bike. For those with vertical challenges, I can see the draw, but if you are over 5'8" I would think twice.

Good luck with your decision.
 
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