Working on my first bike.

I just bought my first motorcycle a Buell Blast, I'm pretty new to bikes and it's giving me some issues. I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice and help me trouble shoot. I was sent here from the Buell forum on Reddit, the people there say you guys have a lot of knowledge I can tap into.

So far I'm incredibly happy with the bike but I'd like to remedy the issues that are preventing me from progressing in skill and experience.

Some notes on the bike: 2001 Buell Blast purchased with 2,080 miles on it.

The issue with the bike is it that it has a tendency to stall in various ways. Examples: 1.) when warming up, after the auto choke does it's thing it then begins to sputter down till death. 2.) in first gear at a stop it will also try to sputter out. 3.) in one instance I've had the bike try to stall coming out of a steep grade (going up) 4.) after hitting around 50-65 mph for a few moments the bike stalls( for safety reasons I haven't figured out whether it's stalling going up or coming down from this speed) further it feels underpowered or struggling at 60mph. In most of these instances I can keep it from stalling by giving it a quick throttle.

During some of these stalls I've seen the housing of the carb smoke a little, and with the housing off I've watched the jets spew out small puffs of smoke at idle.

Given the age and milage of this bike, I'm assuming it's the carb that is gunked up a little but I would not mind a little insight from you guys here as to what I should do.

So far I've given it some spray carb cleaner, that's about it.

Given the age and milage of this bike, I'm assuming it's the carb that is gunked up a little but I would not mind a little insight from you guys here as to what I should do.

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That was my initial thought as well. A 2001 model with only 2,080 miles has probably spent many seasons sitting still without having been first drained of gasoline.

Hard to say if the puffs of smoke are related, but even if they aren't, I would suggest to remove and thoroughly clean the carburetor if you have the means. Berryman Chem-Dip Carb Cleaner is excellent stuff!

...and welcome to the forum!

For carb cleaning a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner with Simple Green works best, the Berryman is good but you have a can of chemicals after you're done. The Simple green Goes down the drain and the ultrasonic cleaner goes to the ole lady for her jewelry, everyone's happy. Cost when done is about the same.

I was initially going to take it in and have a proffesional do the cleaning because I feel like I don't have the time,but I think I'd rather do it myself, save cost and gain some familiarity of the bike's internals. Are there any in depth tutorials on carb removal/cleaning?

By puffs of smoke I mean something similar to the puffs in this video which describes it as back firing.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw0WzNbSCU8

Resolution was found in changing the spark plug which I probably should do anyways.

Thanks guys, anything helps me here.

I agree with the above suggestions to thoroughly clean the carb, & I congratulate you on your fine choice for a first bike! Welcome!

if your blast and its carb is stock it will be a keihin CV style carb. they are a great metering device but NOT for the novice or amateur to tear into. one wrong move internally or with the diaphragm when cleaning/rebuilding and you'll have an unrideable junk bike. go online and buy yourself a combo rebuild and re-jet kit. when properly installed and adjusted that carb will be the smoothest you've ever felt. if the job intimidates you send it to me and i'll rebuild it with your kit for a nominal fee.

DO NOT "THOROUGHLY CLEAN THE CARB"!!!

I wish a lot of you guys would just stop saying that.

To clean the carb on the Blast, here's the steps:
1. Remove carb.
2. Remove top slide
3. Remove fuel bowl
4. Spray everything down with carb cleaner spray
5. Assemble in reverse order

Doing ANYTHING else almost always results in pieces reassembled incorrectly or not at all. This then leads to "Well the carb is cleaned so that's not the issue," when in fact the missing tiny needle jet is.

Basically take off the top and bottom of the carb...that's it...and spray every surface and orifice down with carb cleaner...then put it back together.

Carb "kits" are for Harley twins...the Blast is NOT half a twin and the carbs are NOT the same.


Really, some of you guys should spend some time on BuellRidersOnline.com and watch the troubleshooting that we go through only to find out that someone incorrectly installed his AE or completely missed the emulsion tube after "cleaning" the carb.

Carb "kits" are for Harley twins...the Blast is NOT half a twin and the carbs are NOT the same.

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if that comment refers to my post i never said it was, never said the carb was precisely the same, and never said a thorough cleaning will solve all his problems. what i am saying....again...is if he wants his particular carb to perform flawlessly and better than new what he should CONSIDER doing is:
thorough dismantling and cleaning
re-jetted to non-smog specs
float height adjusted
main needle jet replaced
main jet needle shimmed
pilot jet replaced
vacuum slide reoriented for correct vacuum signal
air bleed screw plug removed and screw properly adjusted
make sense?

I know perfectly well what you said. I've also dealt with people that don't know what a jet is yet "thoroughly cleaned" their carburetor.

What you, and others, fail to realize when responding is that 90% of Blast owners are new to engines entirely; some don't even know what a carburetor is.

The only thing a stock Blast carb requires is being cleaned as I described above. If they want to go a step further, they can shim the needle...That's it.

thorough dismantling and cleaning Not for an engine novice to do
re-jetted to non-smog specs does not apply, there aren't "smog specs" to jet from
float height adjusted unless the carb has been opened before, it's fine
main needle jet replaced not until modifications are made
main jet needle shimmed not required, basic knowledge of CV carbs required
pilot jet replaced not needed until several modifications
vacuum slide reoriented for correct vacuum signal does not apply, vacuum slide is not adjustable
air bleed screw plug removed and screw properly adjusteddoes not apply, has no air bleed screw

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I would not recommend spraying the slide diaphragm with carb spray or use any other solvent on it. That goes for any other rubber part you may need to reuse. I like to clean with mystery oil.