| Author | Message | ||
     Cobalt |
I just bought a 2003 Blast, with 5700 miles. I hadn't had a bike in a long time, but the situation is such that it made sense to me again, and so far, I'm lovin' it! I've been reading all the various threads, and it seems like all the "issues" are right in line with my bike...I "clank" into first sometimes, and I have a very slight oil leak to find (so slight that I'm not sure it even exists!). I'm looking forward to being an ongoing contributor to this board. Thanks! | ||
| Reuel |
Wimp! You shoulda gotten a 2001 so you could have all kinds of fun with the more interesting problems!  | ||
| Indybuell |
Welcome to the board Cobalt! | ||
| Cobalt |
Thanks for the welcome. Does anyone know what roughly the rpms are at the different shift points, optimally? I've only had a couple of bikes in the past, but they had tachs, and I'm having a bit of trouble getting comfortable with NOT having one. At first, I was lugging the bike too much. Now I'm pretty comfortable with it, shifting smoothly and at the right points, I think, but I have no idea what those points are. Anyone ever put a tach on it, to know what the best shift points are? Purely curiosity, but I'd like to know how close I'm coming to a redline, if I'm close at all. | ||
| Ezblast |
When you hit the rpm limiter, you'll know its time to shift! Welcome! Lots of folks have put a tach on - see our TKV section for that. LOL EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
http://www.njdot.us/buell/blast/p3data.php or click the link on the front page Blast Data (see Blast speed chart at bottom of the page). That will give you the approximate redline and speed in each gear. If it hits the rev limiter its not going to hurt anything, but it may sound like heck (you'll think something is seriously wrong).You'll find your own comfortable place to shift, without shifting to low. Remember those are approximate redline speeds. Yours may differ (appx 5mph window) and sometimes the rev limiter is harsher on some bikes. (My current rev limiter just holds steady at 7500 rpm, no miss or bounce at all. Not stock of course, but some stock limiters are almost as gentle.) (Message edited by GearheadErikO on September 05, 2008) | ||
| Swampy |
Welcome to the Thumper Forum Cobalt! The more miles you put on, the less issues you will have. | ||
| Dankno |
Just ride it!!! I find myself shifting when I "feel" that it needs shifted. I learned to ride on dirt bikes with out tach or speedo and learned that it usually is appropriate to shift when one of two things happen, it quits pulling, or two, it bugs you not to shift. The ignition (to a certain extent, reference point taken from another previous post here, "Rev limiters only work going up.") wont let you hurt the bike, so feel free to explore the RPM band. Your gas mileage may vary.  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"to a certain extent, reference point taken from another previous post here, "Rev limiters only work going up." While true, and trust me on this, downshift too soon and this torquey little thumper aint gonna let it rev any higher. The rear tire will 'lock up'. A Ninja 250 will over rev, not the Blast. | ||
| Dankno |
The rear tire will 'lock up'. I stand (actually sit comfortably) corrected. That is VERY true... Don't ask how I know... LOL! | ||
| Zane |
Welcome Aboard Cobalt. You've made a great choice in the Blast. I've had mine about 6 months now and I love this little bike more each day. Badweatherbikers is a great place to hang out. Taken on the whole, this group is rowdy, irreverent, and full of expert level people who know motorcycles in general and the Blast in particular. We’re lucky to have fallen in with this group of hooligans. Enjoy the ride. | ||
| Cobalt |
Thanks for the feedback everyone. Gearheaderiko, that is exactly the info I needed. It's good to know I am nowhere near redline, even if I'm getting down on the throttle pretty good. | ||
| Anton0069 |
I may be the newest member to the Buell Blast owners club. I bought a 2002 Blast P3 from Aleutian1 and her husband Shane last night (08.06.09). I was not familiar with Buells until a couple of weeks ago. This bike is GREAT! The previous owners took very good care of this bike and I am a lucky guy to have been able to find this bike and meet these great folks. They are the ones that turned me on to the forum and I have learned so much today reading all the different posts. I hope Aleutian1 will forgive me for borrowing her photo of the Blast they sold me to put on my profile page until I can take one of my own. I look forward to learning so much more by reading here. However, I am really looking to many enjoyable rides through the foothills of South Carolina and the mountains of western North Carolina. Thanks again for selling me your baby!} | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Welcome 'Anton'! | ||
| Ezblast |
Welcome! EZ | ||
| Docvan |
Don't know if yesterday's post actually made it since I had no activation code. 2001P3 8000mi NGK iridium plug,Vance and Hines exhaust, 45/175 jets (below 3500'), mixture screw adjusted for best idle, airbox mod done and K&N filter. Fired it up and instant blue on the new pipe. Is it still too lean?? Runs great but don't want to damage the cylinder,etc. Suggestions?? | ||
| Swampy |
Welcome to the Thumper Forum Docvan! I would run it and check your plug. Bluing of the pipe can occur for reasons other than a lean mixture, such as pipe thickness and coating thickness. A trick for preventing pipe blueing is to clean the inside of the pipe with brake clean, let dry, then fogg a bunch of barbeque paint or header paint on the inside. Then let it dry and cook it in the oven for a while, or run the bike till the pipe just gets too warm to touch and then let it cool, and repeat that a few times. The only way to find out what is happening in the cylinder is to read the plug. Good Luck! |
