| Author | Message | ||
     Random_2002 |
Hey Guys, New to the forum and i have a couple questions about my Blast. I Have a 2009 with about 4500 miles on it. I have 2 issues: 1st: After about 50 miles on a new tank the bike feels like its running out of gas. Even getting only 57 MPG (which im not happy about either) i should be getting at least twice that far before the bike hits the reserve. any thoughts on what could cause this? 2nd: i seem to be running through lots of oil. there is no sign of an oil leak in the garage. do these things just burn a lot of oil? ive really enjoyed this bike a lot and use it as daily transportation. having to fill up every 58 miles or so is a drag. any help you guys can offer would be much appreciated!! | ||
| Swampy |
Welcome to the Thumper Forum Random 2002! Let me ask this question, your Blast is bone stock? Fuel mileage is a function of many factors, if you are running a stock bike you should be getting about 60-70, but it probably will not be running up to its full stock potential. You would also have to be running it very gently. If I remember correctly you should see about 50-60mpg running it like it is stolen, and that includes richer primary and main jets, which will help your Blast start easier, run better when cold, and perform better throughout the RPM range. So 57 MPG is not too shabby at all. Question....how much oil are you using and when do you check your oil level? The correct way to check oil on a Blast and just about every Buell and HD engine is to check the oil after riding your bike when it is good and hot and use the same proceedure every time to check it(either leaning over on the stand or upright between your legs). If you over-fill a Blast your oil will probably be caught up with the normal engine blow-by and end up in your air cleaner or out your vent tube if your Blast is so modified. Also 4500 miles your Blast is just getting broken in and will only run noticably better from here on out. Good luck | ||
| Ezblast |
Concur - at around 10,000 miles oil usage should tapper off some and the transmission become smoother. Welcome! EZ | ||
| Random_2002 |
thanks for the reply. the bike is bone stock. on the first tank of gas i ever ran the bike on i got 90 miles before i had to switch over to the reserve. i have not gotten anywhere close to that since. is there a pick up at the bottom of the tank and one in the middle that could be causing the motor to feel fuel starved at 1/2 tank? | ||
| Monzaracer |
Ok first of all if you fill only to the bottom of rubber flap your not going to get as many miles from main portion. I usually fill with nozzle under rubber till its with in around 1/2in to 3/4in from aluminum cap mount with me on bike and it being level. This being said it will drip from over flow a tiny bit and your cap oring needs to be new or the cap WILL leak. I can get around 120 miles before hitting reserve this way. As for the oil consumption , it really depends on oil used. My bike is a 06 and it came with 2725 miles from riders edge, then bought by another person, it came to me with warranty from May 08 to Nov 09 and yes it had to be used for stuff from being Edge abused (some get it worse than others if program director doesnt keep good records and service. Mostly on mine was stupid repairs coming apart, like someone sold it to me without checking isolator, then bolts broke in it then bracket, then when I was ready for new tire(it came with new one) I figured out that someone removed the sprocket to install new tire bike came with ,and never replaced nor locktighted the bolts so my sprocket actually broke one bolt then lossened up others and trashed sprocket and wheel. BUT got my new tire installed and balanced as I hadnt been able to balance it. I also had issue with oil leak at around 14k so in it went this summer, they installed new gaskets from case up, much stronger now. The bike got HD regualr oil till it hit 10k then I switched to the HD synthetic, with no issues and I serviced trans with same stuff, much better shifting. I didnt get to ride much in 09 and hopefully I will get to use taxes for new tire and mileage due drive belt as I am near 17k. I think this time Ill switch to the 140/70 Michelin as I dont burn corners and have heard some great things locally about them. I you fill bike up like i do make sure you do a little riding before storing as it seems to stoop it from dripping and my mileage using common sense and not hot rodding it I cna get 58.5 to 60.+ and I only use name brand fuel and super unleaded. when I went to the HD gold plug it seems to idle tad smoother but then other one may have been original and had lot of idle time too so who knows. Oh and when checking your oil my way is to make sure its good and warm (my work commute is 42.5 so anything over 10 to 15 miles is good and warm, level parking spot, sitting on bikes, remove gloves, glasses, helmet, put on glasses, maybe a hat, grab wrag from pocket, unscrew dip stick, screw it back in, if its between low and high I consider it good. If any amount under low I'll take time to fill to full mark. I have had zero issues with this approach and so far no extra oil getting anywhere or any thing so Ill keep doing this ,and the head tech at my HD dealer agreed with my approach as it lets any foam/bubbles subside from ride. Some say use other oils as better but so far I know many HD riders who use HD oil with zero issues. If it wasnt good enough it wouldnt be sold by them for warranty bikes. If I cant get HD oil I'd probably use Mobil 1 20W50 Vtwin oil as local Autozones carry it. And if it feel fuel starved but goes away switching to reserve, simply fill up a little higher in tank.total volume of tank is 2.55 .55 as reserve so I try to get it as full as I can. I do have company I use for race car tanks looking at building a lined Carbon Fibre tank with similar outside dimensions and it would give little more capacity and little more engine clearance too. May have Carbon look and may only be able to paint them. I gotta ask after first of year. | ||
| Random_2002 |
so update on my bike. i rode it today and it sputtered like it was fuel starved. i tried putting it in reserve and it still ran the same. when i put gas in it it only took .97 gallons. once it was full it ran perfect again. am i going to have to talk to harley about this? i dont mind but it doesnt seem like they know much about the blast. | ||
| Ezblast |
Cali bike - probably overfilled and the gas filled the canister - shutting you down - 49 state the bike - see the BBTKV - Procedure section. EZ (Message edited by ezblast on December 29, 2009) | ||
| Random_2002 |
dont mean to be thick but i dont see a procedure section. would love to see the fix for this. | ||
| Ezblast |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/201 64/76349.html?1247694495 Its an epa thing - lol EZ | ||
| Monzaracer |
If you have warranty they may pull tank and check it our or charge you, almost sounds like your tank has water in it, mine has a bad cap oring and has some water contamination again and I really need to remove it again and dump it, replace the oring and refill it. Sucks but even using Sea Foam it has gotten enough to cause me issues. Well that and I havent rode enough this year, but 2010 will be different. | ||
| Random_2002 |
ok i see that now. thanks. what is that canister for? | ||
| Monzaracer |
Vapor canister, if you over fill it and it drips with cap on back by left peg it has no canister. Can try taking the rubber hose off at the cap and see if that has nay effect. oh and remember when the fuel cut off is horizontal its off, it needs to be either pointed up or down, it should have an arrow on it but you have to look close. | ||
| Random_2002 |
looks like removing the canister did the trick. 65 miles on the tank and no sputtering. woo hoo! thanks guys. |
