Last Blast?

[charismaticmegafauna]

https://www.buell.com/en_us/bikes/blast/index.asp

New riders, nowadays (it seems?) prefer to start at or near the top, size-wise -- why waste all that time when they, ultimately, want the biggest/most-powerful bike they can get, anyway? :blink:

Actually, tho I'm not yet enthralled with his bikes, Erik seems like a pretty cool dude -- and, approaches motorcycle engineering from a place I like. I'm much more in-tune with his approach than, say, Polaris'....

 

[johnny80s]

New riders, nowadays (it seems?) prefer to start at or near the top, size-wise -- why waste all that time when they, ultimately, want the biggest/most-powerful bike they can get, anyway?

Sounds like Darwin at his best.

 

[old&slow]

Saw the same ad in Cycle World ,,,,

Didn't understand it at first ,,, Had to read it twice ,,

but then figured they finally found something useful to do with a harley's ......

They usually sit out in front of bars anyways ,,now you can have one in your living room...

put your feet up on it and drink a cold one..

I know,,,,,, I'm going to hell,,,, but it's Friday ,,,,,,,,,,,,, :yahoo:

 

[MotorToad]

The B-Last is very different from your run-of-the-mill Hardley or Buell. I admire any attempt at making a bike for people to learn on, and I think it was especially good to make one for the "I ain't buyin' no Jap ****" set. While the 883 might be burdened with beginner-level power, it's a bit heavy for a first-timer. Sadly, the B-Last was not enough bike at all, kind of like the Rebel 250 or that Kawasaki 125 cruiser thing; "not too much power" is one thing, but it's not safe to be crippled when you need some throttle, either.

My favorite (and I think most accurate) thing I've heard said about a B-Last was something a friend said when there was a recall on them. "Dealer will replace the faulty component with a GS-500E."

 

[Zorlac]

I bought a used one in Hoboken NJ and rode it about 70 miles down the NJ turnpike in the rain without any problems, but I'm not fat or afraid of traffic either.

I liked it and I think probably the majority of its detractors haven't really ridden one very far.

 

[canucklehead-biker]

Calgary Safety Council have one in the barn that gets used for road rides after the basic course. It's OK, but it isn't a great beginners bike, and it isn't a great intermediate bike either. As far as using it in the on-lot classes, we stopped doing that because it wasn't as good for learning basic skills as some of the other bikes in the fleet. It was also a maintenance pig, taking more time/money to keep it in service than the other bikes.

I like the idea of an American company trying to be innovative and designing bikes that are different and have decent performance. As he says in the video clip, the Blast was a departure for them and in the end it was a failure because it wasn't what they were about.

How much do they want for the cube?

Griff

 

[pmeysemb]

I just picked up a very nice condition '05 Blast for the wife. It is a bit underpowered for a 500 but she was able to get it up to 80 or so on the expressway pretty easily. I put some soft bags on it and a larger screen and we intend on doing some shorter trips together now.

She really likes the vibration at idle the little thumper puts out! :yahoo:

Back on topic, I also had to read the ad a couple times to get what they were saying. At first, I thought, "so they are re-doing the Blast from scratch"?

Oh well, at least most of the parts are pretty universal.

 

[old Pilot]

A buddy on the east coast bought a used Blast recently. He had no MC experience and took the Rider's Edge course. I was able to convince him to buy a full face helmet (he was at the Harley shop looking at half helmets) and other protective gear. I'm sure he'll move up to a larger bike quickly and he will probably go the HD route. That's fine as I don't see him becoming an aggressive twisty rider or doing any touring. I'm looking forward to taking his Buell for a spin the next time I go back to visit.

 

[dc1300]

The only thing that's gone is the "Buell" from the Blast gas tank. Buell is still manufacturing the Blast but without it's name on the tank. Buell wants to disassociate itself from the Blast, as it is not a sport bike. I think it’s kind of sad that they are manufacturing a product that they are not proud enough of to be associated with.

DC

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

The only thing that's gone is the "Buell" from the Blast gas tank. Buell is still manufacturing the Blast but without it's name on the tank. Buell wants to disassociate itself from the Blast, as it is not a sport bike. I think it’s kind of sad that they are manufacturing a product that they are not proud enough of to be associated with.

From Wikipedia:

To date the Buell Blast is Buell's best selling model.

So.., what's up with crushing Blasts into a cube (and signing them...)?

Just a novel marketing gimmick...?

 

[Big-B]

What are they good at making?

 

[jcyuhn]

I saw the big two-page ad in Rider. It's different, but I really don't understand the message. Any marketing types around to interpret why a manufacturer would run an advertisement dismissing their own product? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[user 213]

I saw the big two-page ad in Rider. It's different, but I really don't understand the message. Any marketing types around to interpret why a manufacturer would run an advertisement dismissing their own product? Doesn't make sense to me.

The message is "We're purists, and don't want to make a bike that we don't think is the best we can make for it's niche." And that they didn't really want to make it in the first place.

 

[Kevin Daly]

https://www.buell.com/en_us/bikes/blast/index.asp
New riders, nowadays (it seems?) prefer to start at or near the top, size-wise -- why waste all that time when they, ultimately, want the biggest/most-powerful bike they can get, anyway? :blink:

Actually, tho I'm not yet enthralled with his bikes, Erik seems like a pretty cool dude -- and, approaches motorcycle engineering from a place I like. I'm much more in-tune with his approach than, say, Polaris'....

should call it the Buell cubed!

 

[Murph]

The only thing that's gone is the "Buell" from the Blast gas tank. Buell is still manufacturing the Blast but without it's name on the tank. Buell wants to disassociate itself from the Blast, as it is not a sport bike. I think it’s kind of sad that they are manufacturing a product that they are not proud enough of to be associated with.
DC

Just a marketing decision in an effort to solidify and improve the brand image. Companies do that everyday. But I wonder if selling Buell's at H-D dealers is yet another culprit at compromising the brand image since it seems the buyers that they want to attract probably don't flock to H-D dealers. Are there any Buell-only dealerships?

 

[madmike2]

Last Blast?, not many, apparently, want a learner-bike?

Nope, they don't want THAT learner bike!

Especially when one could buy a REAL V-twin like a Suzuki V-strom.

Or any lightweight other-than-Milwaukee-built cruisers.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

Last Blast?, not many, apparently, want a learner-bike?

Nope, they don't want THAT learner bike!

Especially when one could buy a REAL V-twin like a Suzuki V-strom.

And..., with shopping -- I'm sure they could even find even more for less, etc?

Which may be beside the point? -- we're talking 'learner-bike'... :blink:

While I certainly appreciate Suzuki's SV650, a 70 hp ~ 125 mph m/c may not, exactly, be a 'learner-bike'? I hear them talked about for their back-road prowess or as a track-bike. Of course, the "learner" (if they survive?) will be up-to-speed forthwith...

The Blast, OTOH, is only 34 hp with a 80-ish mph top-speed -- probably way more appropriate for a "learner"? Add the 4" ~ 6" (confidence inspiring) lower seat-height (than the SV650) -- and more 'learner-bike' goodness. :huh:

I'm not trying to negate your support for the SV650 -- it's just that the novice rider, often, is not very well served by reccos from older/experienced riders...(often, too-much too-soon...)?