| Author | Message | ||
     Stormfool |
Funny--when I take my X1 out I wear full protective gear: Fullface Helmet, Armored Jacket, Gloves, Boots, Heavy Jeans (Leather Chaps sometimes), but the other night I took out my girlfriend's Blast just to keep it alive (she isn't riding much) charge the battery, air the tires, fresh fuel, etc. It's a really neat little bike--extremely nimble--takes tight turns faster than my X1, even. I was starting to really get into that particular aspect on the way back from the filling station, dragging the pegs and so on... Coming up on the tightest 90 degree turn in the back way through our neighborhood I entered about 10mph faster than I usually do on my X1 and lost it at about 30mph... I was not wearing a helmet, gloves, had a t-shirt (it's Florida-Winter here) and jeans. Leaning to the right that enormous rear sprocket made contact with the asphalt and (since it provides scant traction) the rear end let loose laying me and the bike out. Like a dumbass I hung onto the handlebars with my right hand and got slid along on my elbow for a while--so I let go and tumbled for a couple of times as the Blast spun around on its side. Luckily no one was behind or in front to run me over. Got to my feet and gathered up the bike--severe road rash to the elbow--but the bike was virtually undamaged! Cool beans--I had bent the front brake lever a bit and ground down the plastic insert in the throttle-side grip--A couple of scratches on the sprocket cover and the right rear turn signal--that's it! I have to give Buell credit--that's some good design work on their part--the bike spun on its side about twenty feet making at least two 360 degree revolutions.Started right up and carried my aching but somewhat wiser carcass back home. Conclusion: ALWAYS weare protective gear on a motorcycle! If I had A) treated her bike with respect due a loaner B) putted around instead of raced C)had even just a long sleeve jersey on I would have gotten away with a bit of embarrassment instead of a loss of epidermis! Thought I'd share this with you all. I've been riding since 1983 and you just never know when it might happen.... | ||
| Daves |
Glad you're ok. Amen to the wear your gear! Ride to the edge! Dave Still waiting for the signature feature HD/Buell Cycle Center Waterloo Ia 1-800-342-7539 ext 14 | ||
| Cjmblast |
Ditto, glad your okay, your lucky although road rash is tough and takes a long time to heal. I'll always wear my gear !! CJM | ||
| Dynarider |
Seen way too many Blasts go down on Battletrax courses. They drag all kinds of hard parts on the tight turns & everytime its the rear end that gets jacked up & spun around. At least you are alive & semi-well. 30mph is more than enuff to split a bare noggin open. On long trips I usually wore my helmet, but around town almost never did. Then had my accident coming home from the crud run in oct. Thank god myself & the wife both had our helmets on, it was a cold & rainy morning, both of our helmets have roadrash & I hate to think what my corpse would have looked like. I swore to myself that from now on I will at least wear my helmet all the time. | ||
| Prof_Stack |
Stormfool - I'm glad you were able to get up and keep moving. You were fortunate. Helmets - when I was a brave (stupid) high schooler I dumped my Honda 90 on some ice on the way to school. My half-helmet got a huge gash on the left side. One glance at that was enough schoolin' for that day ... and ever since. | ||
| Stormfool |
I always tell everyone who is interested in getting into motorcycling to always were long sleeves, jeans, gloves, boots, helmet--too bad I didn't listen to my own advice! My knees are sore as a five dollar (word that rhymes with sore beginning with W)...  Thanks for your well-wishing--Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year to you all! | ||
| Rick_A |
That'll learn ya to wear that gear all the time! Glad you're alright...and hope the girl ain't too sore at ya. | ||
| Stormfool |
Naw, she's too busy being pregnant and moping about all her girlfriends in Milwaukee partying in Las Vegas without her | ||
| Court |
>>>>she's too busy being pregnant Hehehehehe...you DO understand that falling off a motorcycle is not the cause of pregnancy, right?  | ||
| Stormfool |
I still credit the X1 and that 7 hour ride down to Key West on her birthday for sealing that deal..."shaken, not stirred" | ||
| Jprovo |
Was it really the rear sprocket cover that caused your crash? How much were you dragging the right peg before you touched the sprocket down? I'm just curious. James | ||
| Sarodude |
James- I get the feeling that the sprocket dragging thing is one of a couple of things... MAYBE poor inflation pressures or someone wipes out and THEN the sprocket drags. I wonder how many riders that report dragging sprockets lean inside the bike or how many just push the bike down. Oddly I notice lots of Buellers whose bodies are relatively upright with the bike cranked over. Dunno. I've only dragged pegs and boots. My sprocket has not touched ground. I don't really get it. Anyway... -Saro | ||
| Stormfool |
I was just going by the facts of both the scratch marks on the sprocket cover (which I'd be glad to show you once I get a digital camera) and the fact that I've been dragging pegs on all kinds of bikes since 1983. As far as posture I can assure you that one of the reasons I was not more severely injured was because It wasn't very far to the asphalt (I was heeled over, boyo). I am willing to concede that since I was looking where I wanted to go rather than at my feet or sprocket cover, I really can't say I visually witnessed what jacked up the tire. I can tell you I had been down on the pegs in just about every turn up to the point I entered the short ninety degree turn where I dumped the Blast. As I approached I was having so much fun I decided to see just how fast I could get through (and therefore how far I could lean into) the corner--which I freely admit is foolhardy (see moniker)--but when the rear let loose I was nonetheless surprised by it as I didn't feel the peg jack it up--I had lifted my inside foot to allow the peg to fold. Nonetheless it may have been the peg, but I believe otherwise. As far as tire pressure I had just five minutes previous inflated the tires to their correct pressure. Anything else you don't get? | ||
| Tripp |
storm, glad ur allright, as for the road rash, i totalled my zrx1100 last year and a skin specialist told me about this french scar ointment called biafine it works great, you can barely see any of my road rash, alot of pharmacies carry it but u have to ask for it although u dont need a perscription | ||
| Stormfool |
Thanks for the tip--I got a pretty crusty patch just now. I have been wearing ALL my protective gear, and saving track day antics for the track! | ||
| Buelliedan |
The blasts most definately do drag the rear sprocket if leaned over too far. I was lucky. I was screwing around on my wife's blast and was leaning it pretty good when all of the sudden the rear tire jumped scaring me pretty good. I didn't go down however but I stopped the bike and sure enough I had a big set of scrathes on the rear sprocket. This bike has rearsets so it wasn't the pegs dragging. | ||
| Stormfool |
Nice to hear that what I thought was happening was happening--hope this info gets out to those greenies interested in the Blast as a battletrax weapon. I have seen/heard of Blast bikes fitted with a wider rear tire--I am curious if any out there have done so and what impressions you have of this mod--plus or minus... | ||
| Jprovo |
It really concerns me that people are touching the sprocket down on the Blast. I just don't want something like that to happen to me. The main reason I bought my P3 was that I thought that It would take me a long time be capable of riding beyond the capability of the vehicle (after the addition of rearsets). There was barely a day that I didn't drag hard parts on my Sportster. I guess that I'll have to rectify that before my riding style becomes too agressive. On running 130+ width tires I have not heard of any significant advantages. The biggest rear tire that I've heard fit to an otherwise stock bike is a 130/90-16, and even then not all brands will fit without hitting the swingarm. I also wouldn't run anything wider than a 130 with the stock rim size. James |
