| Author | Message | ||
     Jra |
Any good tips to support the blast while changing the front tire? | ||
| Reuel |
Yeah. Don't drop it!  I use an engine hoist. | ||
| Swampy |
Jra, Use two rachet straps from the handle bars up to the rafters. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome Jra! If you still have the stock exhaust you can jack it up with a floor jack (under the front part of the exhaust-use a block of wood or rags). If you dont have a stock exhaust you can probably still get away with it under the front exhaust bracket (carefully). The bike can be steadied with jack stands under the Y-frames. Do all the unbolting before you jack the bike up and be sure its stable before you 'yank' the wheel off. | ||
| Jra |
thanks for the tips I've tried the strap method before and it can get dicey some times. I wasn't sure if the stock exhaust could handle the weight of the bike without causing it bend. Also I'm not a bug fan of the pressure to the flange and head. maybe it's ok though. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I used the kick stand down...jack under muffler tripod lift trick..but be careful it's tricky...Swampy's method is better...and the engine lift is better yet...I used That trick when i replaced the front isolator. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
The muffler bolts to the lower front of the engine, so there wont be any pressure to the flange mount. If you think your going to work on this and any other bikes (except Harleys), get a stand. Several cheap ones are available on e-bay and it makes things really easy (both for $100). | ||
| Buuueller |
Front break lockups I'll put this here because there isnt a "Start new thread" link for this thread. Admin feel free to move it if necessary. I wanted to pass on to new riders to be careful of front wheel lock ups on Blasts. This should always be considered on any bike but I have had this happen to me 4 times now on my Blast in particular, and never before on my other bikes. I ride my bike pretty...well, very hard. Harder than I should. Thats my own demon and fault. And I know it wasnt necessarily designed to be a "sport bike". But if your a new rider, I hope this embarrassing story of mine helps you become a safer rider. The most recent "lock up" episode was on Sept 6th which caused a broken left wrist, broken right thumb, dislocated right clavicle, and a little bit of rash.  I was leaving a parking lot of a bike show after have won first place in my division.  Peer pressure got the better of me and I gunned it as I went through the parking lot heading for the street, applied the brakes to hard (front and back), locked the front wheel and slammed the pavement. All my cool points then rolled out of my pocket. By gunning it I put myself in this situation I know, and Im not rationalizing, but three bikes before me did exactly the same thing, including a huge v-twin bagger. For a little background info Im 41 and have had a Hurricane 600, and a GS 650 many many years before I ended up with this Blast. And I have even ridden it for a year now. So even though Im nowhere close to being an expert, I at least have a fair amount of experience. On two occasions I can definitely blame the lockups on myself. In fact all four times were my fault. But it has also happened twice before under very normal conditions. And all four were under 20mph. There are conflicting arguments among experts as to which brakes are more important, front or back and when to apply them. (watch the replies to this pile up) And Im not here to argue which is. I only want to help others prevent this from happening to them. After assessing this problem over and over in my head I cant help but think that this particular bike has a weakness that is magnified by my riding style (which I admit is bad). The equation that makes this such a great bike has been my downfall (literally). It is very light weight, has a small diameter front wheel putting the axle lower (smaller contact patch, more jittery maneuvers), and a huge front brake. Added to this is the over sized Avon tire that has a more pronounced curve to the tread cap than most Ive seen. Meaning the sidewall is more perpendicular to the road surface. Im sure Im wrong but it almost seems as if the side wall offers a more narrow contact patch the more its leaned over. This obviously hasnt been an issue for some great guys on this forum that race Blasts because when the bike is at speed more down force is transferred to the tires. But at low speeds that much down force isnt there. So with all this said, Im willing to put this out there knowing it will be scrutinized and flamed by all the experts that make no mistakes, but someone out there will hopefully get something out of this and prevent an injury in the future. Ultimately the Blast is still a wonderful bike. But it does have some limitations and I hope that the limitations are not forgotten after all the upgrades are done and your confidence grows. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"flamed by all the experts" I'm not sure we do that at the Thumper side? Seriously, Yes the Blast has a really good front brake, usually much better than the front tire. I'm convinced that many Blast accidents (as evidenced by the front end damages I've seen) are the result of the front tire locking up. Thats why I consistently recommend the stickiest tire possible for the front and not to go too high on tire pressure (front or rear). Many new/modern bikes will lock up the front tire, easily. I've ridden Blasts with a wide range of effectiveness on brakes too. The Blast does tend to quickly load up the front end rendering the rear brake ineffective for any hard stops-but I'm sure thats true with most sportbikes (ever notice those tiny rear discs?). Your point is well worth mentioning, again and again. The second excellent point is that a motorcycle is not a toy and fooling around can lead to serious injury (in addition to just riding). Sorry for your injuries and that it had to happen in front of so many. I appreciate your honesty. Many people just hide until they heal and never tell the story. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
PS Dunlop tires suck and my guess a couple of those lockups occurred with Dunlops on. | ||
| Buuueller |
All good points Gear. Thanks for taking it easy on me...lol Actually I was running the over sized Avons at proper inflation in each event. So Im still leaning towards my jabbing of the front brake as the biggest culprit. So its def something for others to watch for. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"my jabbing of the front brake as the biggest culprit"Certainly. Its usually not gradual pressure, its the panic stop grab that does it. Bad on most bikes, that why the MSF course has you practice hard 'panic' stops (or at least the advanced course does, I'm sure the beginners course does too?). That doesnt leave me much faith in the Avons though. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Mine is completely capable of, and has easily done "stoppies"...I DEFINATELY don't do that as a regular thing...and I am on my soapbox along with Erik about running the absolutely best possible tires on my bike...I would run race slicks if I could. | ||
| Ezblast |
The brakes on the Blast are so good that Buell actually had to detune them by eliminating the ss braided brake line in favor of the rubber hose - with the Galfer pads and the fork brace - all my braking with the front alone is one finger, and the rear - lol - is still over 80% original in almost 8 years. EZ | ||
| Ezblast |
Note - The Avons are fine, they did their job, and the brakes did theirs - the combination of course did its job on the user who grabbed a handful - my bikes will stoppy at will, I'm sure Erik's will - therefore, if your going from the Blast to a sportbike know that those bikes will as well. Careful with the brakes - they work. EZ | ||
| Reuel |
It's the physics of it. Sudden stoppage of the front tire is more likely to break loose than a gradual increase in stoppage. A little braking puts more weight on the front tire, causing it to stick to the road more. Sudden braking doesn't give the rubber a chance to get pushed into the pavement. When I had the Dunlop, I never really pushed the front brake with excessive force. I got the Avon AM52 before I tried jabbing the brake. It stuck to the pavement, no matter what. Now it's a Pirelli MT-75, and it sticks even more. I don't think I've ever brought the rear wheel up. Maybe I'm a bit too scared to push it to that point.  I like being able to stop well with just my pinky! | ||
| Buuueller |
In every case I feel confident that there would not have been any lockup if the bike was perfectly straight up. In fact Ive stopped one HELL of alot harder without even the slightest hick up. But my bike was in an ever so slight lean just before a turn. And there was a stop to be made before the turn. Actually in all but one case I was coming to a stop before a turn. It happened once in a parking lot doing less than 5 mph! No panic stopping there. Just be careful. | ||
| Indybuell |
Reuel - Do you like your MT75s? I just ordered a set, and going to try to put them on myself. | ||
| Ezblast |
Are you kidding - they are a great tire! EZ | ||
| Reuel |
Ed is understating things. The only reason I went with something else is because I was doing a lot of commuting in a straight line. Avon's AM-51/52 tires were longer lasting, but took longer to warm up. The AM-26 feels a little weird when I'm hanging my ass off in a 25 MPH turn doing 70, but it didn't slip. The MT75 always felt good, no matter what I did. | ||
| Buuueller |
"Note - The Avons are fine, they did their job" No offense but, they didnt quite, do there job.  | ||
| Ezblast |
Sure they did, think about it - a sticky tire will throw you quicker than a regular if you grab enough brakes because it is going to adhere more to the ground, I'll bet since you where a bit turned you thought the front was sliding and the rear matching, however, I know the reason Buell went to the rubber brake line, and experienced that one sided pull on wet roads with gentle braking - as proof - what I'm trying to say is that your rear came around with the hard braking - even front and rear due to that one sided pull up front - you locked the front and it stayed proving a good tire - the rear brakes are not worth dodo and so down you went when the unequal forces of the rear still rolling met the front not rolling - and down you went. EZ | ||
| Reuel |
I'm inclined to believe that Ed may be right. I have really thrown my Blast around, and have never been able to get the front tire to slide, except that one time ...  Really! I was parking! I had my hand on the brake, and the front tire came right up on a big piece of gravel and I fell right over! That's when I discovered that you can't shift a Blast when it's not running.  | ||
| Buuueller |
"Sure they did, think about it - a sticky tire will throw you quicker than a regular if you grab enough brakes because it is going to adhere more to the ground" Youve got me wrong, I wasnt thrown, the front washed out. I knew EZ would find something wrong with what I said. The rear did not slide out, didn even lock up. As soon as I touched the front brake I was on my face. Four times now. The Hurricane never did it, and the Suzuki never did it. Go back and read my first post. Your jumping to the defense of your precious bike so fast that your ignoring the details. Why would you not just let me post this to protect others from making the same mistake. This was not meant for the highly experienced rider. Argue all you want, if it happened to me it can happen to others with even less experience. The front WILL lock if your not careful, period. | ||
| Buuueller |
Let me interject something else. Three times the wash outs happened in parking lots, or as I was trying to exit them. The lack of texturing in them keeps them pretty smooth compared to the streets that are "swept" when the concrete is still wet leaving better traction. The wash out that happened on the street could be contributed to something slick dropped by cars. | ||
| Ezblast |
Relax -I did read your post fully - of course the front locked, my question is - did you slide or twist - I'm not defending the bike - its not its fault - you said so yourself - I'm just curious as to whether it was the unequal forces of the front vs rear brake, or the front brake tendency to pull to one side on a hard slick surface braking - found on all bikes with the brake on only one side(sportbikes that is) - made non existent by dual calipers or ZTL, or whether you just lost contact due to cold tires - relax - I could name every wart the Blast has and add to anyone else's list - the bike is not perfect - lol, however, it is a good basic bike - just curious - sorry - I always end up shooting out questions and thoughts without thought to how others may see them - lol EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"The front WILL lock if your not careful, period." Concur, again!  | ||
| Johnnymac |
I've had my front wheel lock on me at least twice. Neither time did I go down but there was a wicked twisting from the front end as soon as the tire stopped rotating and the rear wanted to keep moving. I can see how one could debate if it was a washout or a twisting from the forces applied. I consider myself very fortunate that I was both vertical and able to react quickly enough to keep the bike upright and stable. I'm still running the original Dunlop on the front and have my Avon Viper Stryke waiting on the sidelines. I'm almost wishing I hadn't purchased the front tire until I really needed it because with the way the fronts last I could have gotten away with an MT75 there. Next season I am seriously considering running a 120/80 on the front and trying out one of the new Pirelli 140/70 series in the back to go with it. I think that would be an awesome combination for comfort and handling to go with hopefully better tire mileage. | ||
| Reuel |
My front tires last as long as my belts. | ||
| Rainman |
I usually recommend to students in the R-E and MSF courses that they apply the front brake by making a fist. That way they apply progressive pressure rather than a quick grab. I had the bad habit of rolling up to gas pumps on my Sporty and spiking the front brake quick and hard at the pump I wanted. The first time I did that on my Gold Wing with my wife on the back we did a slow "timber" over to the right side as the bike rebounded. Be nice to your front brake. It will be nice to you. Oh, and practice those quick stops at stop signs. It'll come in handy when you need it. |
