What about the BLAST as a beginner?

jixdog · 07-20-2004, 10:58 PM

A lot of people talk about the Kawi 250, 500 and the Suzuki GS500F as good beginner bikes, and I do agree. I have rarely heard anything about the Buell Blast. Does anyone have any reasons why one should or shouldn't get the Blast as a beginner bike? I'd be curious to hear some intelligent feedback.

dennisred69 · 07-20-2004, 11:00 PM

i know nothing about them but i dont see that as a problem. The only thing is if you lay it down anything Harley is going to be expensive to fix

jim schmidt · 07-20-2004, 11:08 PM

I've ridden it and not been impressed. It's a rather expensive and sort of clunky bike. Harley uses them in the Rider's Edge (Harley sponsored) MSF program. It's meant to be a starter bike, has a really upright riding position, a huge amount of driveline lash and Harley style parts.

I'm guessing it has roughly the same power as the 250s you've mentioned but a higher MSRP. Nothing to recommend it really.

Lok · 07-21-2004, 12:55 AM

It'd be a good beginner bike for sure, but I think EX500 and GS500 would be a better starting point. Not a big fan of a thumper on the street. But, they seem to be a great place to start, I just don't think it'll hold it's 'fun value' better than the other two.

Squid Killer · 07-21-2004, 06:30 AM

Its a good starter bike if you can stand the shaking.

RACER X · 07-21-2004, 06:37 AM

the reliaibility is not as high as the other mentioned ones. good bike otherwise......and the shaking too......

Warren · 07-21-2004, 12:29 PM

I rode the Blast at the MSF course and I own a Kawi 500R.

That Kawasaki is IMHO a way better bike. Blast was not smooth, sounded awful, looks dumb, and rattled my teeth...

Buy Jap.

Jackal79 · 07-21-2004, 01:55 PM

It'd be fine to start on, but the other bikes are better and just as good for a beginner so why not start on them?

ripthenightopen · 07-21-2004, 08:53 PM

I rode a ninja 250 for about a year and was looking for something that had a little more balls... so I was thinking that since my dad hasled me about my jap bike all the time that I would take some time to look into a blast. It is really the only affordable newer "harley" out there so I figured I would give it a chance. I found someone that was selling a 3 year old one with about 700 miles on it. The bike was mint, and the guy needed to just get rid of it, so he said he would sell it to me for 2000. This I will admit is an amazing deal. I test drove the bike around for a while, and well.. I now I have a FZ6. The bike really didn't have all that much going for it. It's clunky, it rattles so much that I would question the shape of your genitals after a long ride, and it really doesn't sound good. The engine sounds like it's missing something. My dad has a Buell Lightning, and that bike is amazing in every way. The blast though, is really small, not all that comfortable, and overpriced. I wanted to go american, but well they just don't make them like they do overseas. My advice is to only buy one if you can find a dealer that will buy it back for what you pay for it from them, because it would make a decent learner, but you would get bored quickly of it....

bpmull · 07-22-2004, 08:57 PM

When i was researching a possible xb12r/s purchase, i found some information online about the blast. the page was filled with nothing but complaints. leaking oil, belt drive problems and dealership horror stories were a common occurence. go to yahoo and type in buell and i'm sure you can find some of this stuff.

qwik huh · 07-23-2004, 01:56 PM

I looked at the blast for my wife and ended up with a small Honda....sounds like we made the right choice

mercutio80 · 07-23-2004, 02:18 PM

Quote:

When i was researching a possible xb12r/s purchase, i found some information online about the blast. the page was filled with nothing but complaints. leaking oil, belt drive problems and dealership horror stories were a common occurence. go to yahoo and type in buell and i'm sure you can find some of this stuff.

I imagine you can find just as many people who are happy with the Blast. Just remember that most happy people don't take the time to create a website. When something goes well, nobody talks about it.

I'd think the main reason to buy a Blast is to learn for a year then trade it in on a Harley or larger Buell. They used to allow you to ride it for a year then what you paid as trade. So, if you paid 3,000, you got that as trade on a Harley or Buell.