| Author | Message | ||
     Ezblast |
What I'm saying is I think he's smarter than that, and that I do hope he won't prove me wrong. EZ | ||
| Blake |
"Their are more Blasts than all the rest of the Buells together..." Dude. That would mean that more than 50,000 Blasts had been produced. Your personal Blasts are certainly not the same as what sat in the showroom. Expect interesting things in the future. | ||
| Mortarmanmike120 |
I really don't like the Ruthless Engineering tone - some how the rider gets lost in that interpretation. I didn't buy Buell on its ability to win, but on the ability of having reliable, easy to maintain fun riding the twisties and back roads, and do commuting chores. x1000 EZ, you summed up perfectly how Ive felt every since this new marking crap has come out. Fresnobuell: Some of you guys seem really butt hurt that Buell has walked in a different direction. I wouldn't say butthurt but not exactly happy either. If ricky-racer is the direction buell wants to go, thats fine - but not me. I guess I drank the buellaid back when 'built from the rider down' was the mantra. This ruthless engineering crap seems like false bravado. It's the kinda stuff I'd expect from HD. | ||
| Blake |
Bad interpretation. Book of Buell talks about Sport Bikes, not just racing. | ||
| Blake |
The "ruthless" is meant to convey "out of the box" thinking, not some kind of race only attitude. Funny how some interpret the words. Seemed pretty clear to me. | ||
| Chainsaw |
My take on the (lack of) a 2010 Blast. Buell was slated to move into a new larger production facility in 2010, but that plan was scrapped in May 2009 due to current economic conditions. Being constrained to the current smaller facility might limit the number of bikes BMC can produce in a given year. My guess is that BMC closed the Blast line as a cost cutting measure, and focus on building more of the higher end bikes, which I assume are more profitable According to HD's 2008 Annual report, Buell shipped 13,119 motorcycles in 2008, 11,942 with 651+cc motors, which means they shipped 1177 Blasts last year. That means the Blast made up 9 tenths of one percent of Buell motorcycle shipments in 2008. Again, just a guess, but I believe the drop of the Blast line was strictly done to keep the company afloat in the recession, and had very little to do with it's lack of "Ruthless Engineering." as portrayed in the current BMC marketing. I don't hold it against BMC for trying to put a 'spin' on the demise of the Blast line. They're just trying to redefine the brand, sell more bikes, and keep their people employed. Ain't nothing wrong with that. | ||
| Prof_stack |
"Expect interesting things in the future." - Blake Thanks for the bone. Any meat? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I always felt that the 9 was the better choice for a starter bike. One in which the newbie wouldn't get bored with as soon as they got comfortable riding in traffic. One could easily got a couple years or longer on the 9 without getting the feeling to upgrade. Take a look at the latest moto rags--starter bike shootouts all have 600cc or greater contestants. Too bad they couldn't throw a 9 in there--I would put it up against any of the bikes I read about (although very possibly the 9's price excluded it from being considered a starter bike.) | ||
| Ezblast |
That 50,000 statistic was from some far time ago - lol - a slight exaggeration, still the point is made - that is a rather large potential market share he created with and because of the Blast, so being the shrewd man that he is, he would/must have a replacement - surely not the 9? its only 11 hp off the 12. I always thought he was about taking a direct approach to things, this add campaign is as bad as the Tubers retirement campaign, funny how history repeats itself. EZ | ||
| Fast1075 |
Terry...tear them up at Bub's...so now in addition to all the old records you have set, and the new ones to come...you will have the undisputed absolute world fastest "furniture" record. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
According to HD's 2008 Annual report, Buell shipped 13,119 motorcycles in 2008, 11,942 with 651+cc motors, which means they shipped 1177 Blasts last year. That means the Blast made up 9 tenths of one percent of Buell motorcycle shipments in 2008. Blasts comprised of 9% of Buell shipments based on the numbers above. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Gregtonn....I'll bet it's the Honda Cub. Still in production after...what?...40+ years?? Last I checked...they have sold over 68 MILLION units. | ||
| Gregtonn |
>>>Blasts comprised of 9% of Buell shipments based on the numbers above. Correct. That means that Buell has freed up 9% more capacity for more exciting things. Yes the Blast was fun but not the most exciting bike in the lineup. Personally I'd like to see more "Ruthless Engineering". If that includes a new single that would be cool too. G | ||
| Reepicheep |
Still thinking on this... At LexisNexis, when we have a system that we built and are retiring, we have a funeral for it (really!) and bury the code (and sometimes some hardware) in the "cemetary" between building 1 and building 4. Interestingly, the people that invested the most time and energy into it, and the original designers, are often the happiest to see it go. You build it with the resources you have under the constraints you are given, and always know so much more at the end of the day then when you started. I have some code that was inspired genius and works well(don't get me wrong, I have code that was junk also), but that I can't wait to bury back there. It just doesn't fit with the new needs of the company and the direction it was going. One of my jobs in my new role in the company is "to say no to good ideas". Its an interesting problem... in order to say yes to the right good ideas, you need to say no to the wrong good ideas, and know how to tell one from the other. I think Buell made a great bike with the Blast, and under the current circumstances, I think they made the right call to stop it, and I'm glad they had fun with the retirement... | ||
| Gregtonn |
....I'll bet it's the Honda Cub. You got it.  G | ||
| Gregtonn |
By the way if you watch the video you see why an engineer like Erik can appreciate the design if not the speed. G | ||
| Fast1075 |
That is the absolute toughest motorcycle engine ever built. When I worked at Honda..people would bring in Z-50s that had been ignored without valve adjustment for so long, they had no compression at all. After a valve adjustment...crank first kick. I have a '84 Z-50 that I use as a pit bike. It lived most of it's life teaching kids how to ride...lots of kids...it still to this day has not had the engine apart. | ||
| Chellem |
I know there's all this controversy and all, but the Blast secton of the buell site is freakin' hilarious. Did you notice it still has specs? And features like "low ground clearance" and "short wheelbase"? You can see the wreckage in yellow too if you want! I mean, they really took this "joke" all the way! Overall Height 28 in. Overall Width 28 in. Engine Smashed Peak Hp / Torque (Ft/Lbs.)* 0 / 0 Suspension, Front Compressed Suspension, Rear Bottomed Brake, Front Fixed Brake, Rear Fixed Seat Height*** Variable Wheelbase** Variable Dry Weight 360 lbs Colors Sunfire Yellow, Midnight Black, Battle Blue I'm sorry, that's funny stuff. ->ChelleM | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Checking with our dealership, we sold 24 new Blasts over the ENTIRE production run and probably sold another 48 that were retired from the RE program. So that's 72 blasts over a 10 year time horizon at one dealership. Were there no RE program, that would be 2.4 bikes per year sold for the sake of the bike itself. Probably the number would be less due to the fact that MANY of the Blasts sold were as a direct result of the RE program and former students buying the bikes. Given that, the credit for the success of the Blast isn't in the bike itself but rather in the RE program in driving folks to a bike that they would not otherwise have found. Had there not been a RE program, the Blast would likely have been retired years ago. It would appear that to Buell, the blast has been most like:  | ||
| Teddagreek |
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| Davefla |
Just read the "Book of Buell." All is forgiven. Especially because I've always wondered how a black XB12R would look with Hero Blue wheels. If my Black/Amber 2004 trades for $3800... hmm. Waiting, now, for the next shoe to drop. | ||
| Bhillberg |
I am kinda mad that I can't actually buy one of those tables!! I mean come on! Put the hurt pride aside and think about how cool it would be to have as a table! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I was thinking the same thing. | ||
| Toona |
I wasn't "around Buell" when BMC did away with the tuber's. Was there this kind of "heated discussion" (I was going to say uproar) when the tubers were "put to rest"? | ||
| Naustin |
No - they rolled them away and into the company's history with dignity. With the Blast, they decided to stab it in the back, roll it over, and shit on its face. OK. Ha Ha, `n shit. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Blasts comprised of 9% of Buell shipments based on the numbers above. I stand corrected. Foiled by that darn tricky decimal.  Was there this kind of "heated discussion" (I was going to say uproar) when the tubers were "put to rest"? Yes there was. IIRC, alot of tuber owners at the time were concerned about parts availability. | ||
| Rainman |
They gotta build what they gotta build. There's a lot of 650 bikes out there for those of us who want something light, flickable and good gas mileage. I wish them well. When my bills are paid and I'm in the market for a new bike, I'll look at Buell. If their $10,000 bikes compare well to other manufacturers' $10 G bikes, and if I have that much to plop down, I'd certainly consider one. I drank the Kool-Aid. I just spit it back up. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Kool Aid!  So THATS the bad taste I have in my mouth! geez and I thought it was my pride.... | ||
| Ustorque |
So THATS the bad taste I have in my mouth! geez and I thought it was my pride.... we all still have our pride, but apparently future Buellers need to be told how to have it. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"There's a lot of 650 bikes out there for those of us who want something light, flickable and good gas mileage." But there isnt a lot of American made ones! So how long do I have to wait before the Blast is eligible for a 'vintage' class, like the Aermacchi, and not be the butt of what I'm sure is the many furniture jokes to come? Sorry, I dont know about anybody else, but I waited for years for HD/Buell to build another single. When I finally saw it in the pages of "The Enthusiast", I had to have one. Then, it being a Buell, I waited and I waited and I waited for more. Pro Series parts came out..... then went away. The Europeans started building some neat street singles, Motards became popular and still I waited. Sad that the Blast went away, yes. Offended about the way it happened, definitely. Expecting a small displacement sportbike from Buell?...I think I'm better off believing in the tooth fairy. |
