New to me 2006 Buell Bast!

[jetlee]

I heard my name. It's been a week or two, but here I am. lol

Diggin' the comparison to an old MGB. I actually have a Blast engine in an XB frame and used to own a 65 MGB roadster.

And yes, BuellRidersOnline.com has had registration turned off. I'm simply tired of moderating bots. I'm also so incredibly busy between work, house, bikes, and kids, that I'm just not online enough to feel like keeping up the server maintenance.

Not much gets done to these bikes that isn't already documented anyways. Though I don't mind hopping on here and shooting ideas and assistance around.

 

[Jim Rogers]

Interesting coincidence-- I went for a ride today and was just writing up a post as yours came through, jetlee!

I am really into this bike-- completely smitten with it! First, the sound. As I said, it's awesome. It doesn't sound like a V-twin, it (quite surprisingly) sounds a lot like a NASCAR V8! To me, it's really a rolling thunder type of sound. So, on that front, I think I'll need to back off the MB comparison.

I have two 1985 Corvettes (a special year for that car!), and the Blast in a lot of ways reminds me of those cars. Loud, a little rough and crude, but in a really raucous and fun way. Lot's of beautiful sound and fury-- even when not going fast.

Second, the vibration. I've read many times about how strong (and awful) the vibes are in a 500cc single with no counter balancer. I couldn't disagree more! Yes, it vibrates a lot at idle, but that's exactly where you want it! It really gives that Harley/muscle car type of vibration that just screams character. However, just go about 200 rpm over idle and it's as smooth as can be. That combination of lope-y, vibrate-y, menacing idle with a smooth, NASCAR-sounding rev is about as good as it gets.

In my opinion, the Blast has the vibration characteristics that every bike (and car!) should strive for. Those who hate are just showing a lack properly developed taste. I'm thinking you must share my opinion, jetlee, if you put a Blast motor in an XB frame. You got pictures (or better, a video) of that?

One minor annoyance is that something is wrong with the kickstand kill switch. Any time I out the kickstand down (even in neutral) the motor stops. So you can't leave the bike idling on it's own. Also, the fact that the neutral light is on all the time is a pain.

Any chance those two problems are related?

 

[Barrett]

One minor annoyance is that something is wrong with the kickstand kill switch. Any time I out the kickstand down (even in neutral) the motor stops.

faulty sidestand switch....disconnected switch wire....faulty switch wire terminal. check all. check switch with simple OHM meter

Also, the fact that the neutral light is on all the time is a pain.

faulty neutral switch....break in circuit wire resulting in wire touching ground and activating light. switch can be removed and cleaned to restore normalcy....but not worth it due to time and effort and cleaning has no life-span.

sidestand switch still available thru dealerships----OEM # VINYO802.T
neutral switch """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""----OEM # 33900-99..............#33900-99A

Any chance those two problems are related?

NO


******DOUBLE CHECK to confirm both of your P3 diodes are functioning and installed in correct direction. SM covers same


there is absolutely NO comparison between the lawn tractor exhaust note of a P3 blast, and a stout American V-8. none.
the ONLY motorcycle in history that rivaled that unique, muscular sound was this:

 

[Jim Rogers]

One minor annoyance is that something is wrong with the kickstand kill switch. Any time I out the kickstand down (even in neutral) the motor stops.

faulty sidestand switch....disconnected switch wire....faulty switch wire terminal. check all. check switch with simple OHM meter

Also, the fact that the neutral light is on all the time is a pain.

faulty neutral switch....break in circuit wire resulting in wire touching ground and activating light. switch can be removed and cleaned to restore normalcy....but not worth it due to time and effort and cleaning has no life-span.

sidestand switch still available thru dealerships----OEM # VINYO802.T
neutral switch """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""----OEM # 33900-99..............#33900-99A

Any chance those two problems are related?

NO


******DOUBLE CHECK to confirm both of your P3 diodes are functioning and installed in correct direction. SM covers same

Thanks much for that info. Once again, very helpful and I really appreciate you taking the time.

there is absolutely NO comparison between the lawn tractor exhaust note of a P3 blast, and a stout American V-8. none.
the ONLY motorcycle in history that rivaled that unique, muscular sound was this:

I totally agree with you-- if we're talking about the sound at idle (as is the case in your video). I agree that any carbureted V4 (or cross-plane I4) sounds just like a V8 at idle.

As I said, no doubt the Blast sounds lawnmower-ish at idle, but I'm talking about the sound when pulling above idle. Like at the 0:56 time point in this video (the sound I'm talking about only happens for about a second or two at that time point):



I think I spend a lot of time in that rev range, and it really sounds great there (to me). Note that when a V4 gets above idle, it's sound is not completely dissimilar to the Blast sound I linked to:



I agree the Blast single isn't exactly the same as a V4/V8, but, at least to my ear, it's in the same ballpark as it pulls above idle. And, to me, that's pretty amazing for a 500cc single!

Even if I'm just nuts (always a possibility!), I don't care. The sound and general characteristic of this bike are working for me!

Thanks again for the help. Maximum respect,

--Jim

 

[34nineteen]

Well then you should post a video!

 

[Jim Rogers]

Nah-- I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. I'm happy to just exist in my own reality and don't care if anyone else agrees. Yesterday, I went on a little longer ride and had earplugs in and I never really heard it sound like it did the day before when I didn't have the earplugs. So, who knows? Maybe the NASCAR sound I heard on that day was just distortion in my ear. Anyway, still love the bike.

Speaking of the ride yesterday, the streets are a little cleaner, so I was able to ride a little more aggressively. The handling seemed strange-- at anything above really low speeds, it seems very resistant to leaning. It's really hard to countersteer as it feels like there's some really strong gyroscopic force keeping the bar straight. At very low speeds, it seems to want to fall into the turn. Both these traits are very chopper-like, but this bike has the steepest headtube angle and lowest trail of any bike I own, so I was expecting it to be the exact opposite of chopper-like handling.

The rear end also seems to be a bit squirrely. If you jiggle the bar a bit (not easy to do with the gyro effect I just described), the rear end seems really loose and the whole bike is wobbly (but it straightens out immediately). I've never had a bike with that kind of handling. The tires are old and I'll be changing those soon, so that might explain some of it, but the handling traits seem more like something coming from the geometry than from the rubber.

The Pro-series muffler and header pipe from E-bay arrived yesterday. Both inserts are loose, so I'll need to get that fixed before I can install.

 

[34nineteen]

No one is asking for proof. Maybe we just want to see what you have going on. It’s your bike and that’s cool. I’ve owned about 7-8 Buells , but never a Blast.

 

[Jim Rogers]

Given how cheap they are, it might be more feasible for you to get a Blast than for me to figure out how to make/upload a video about one!

 

[34nineteen]

I have an XB without a motor in my garage and have considered hopping up a Blast motor to put in it. Sort of like a Vitpilen.

 

[Cooter]

Don't.

 

[Cooter]

Bubbles Blast had a V&H muffler I fully stuffed with packing and that SOB was STILL the loudest damn thing I've ever heard. Sounded like she was going elevenbillionty MPH all the time. She still misses it... :upset:

 

[Jim Rogers]

Rode the Blast about 100 miles yesterday, including some twisty roads. Continuing to dig this bike!

I didn't go too fast (i.e., no interstate) because the tires are pretty old (2010 and 2013 build dates) and fairly weather-checked. I'll get new tires on it sometime this summer. Base on my reading here I think I'll go with the over-sized Shinko SR's. I've used Shinko's for years on various other bikes and like the price and performance.

[Side note: On Felix's website here, he compares his Blast to his old MGB! First jetlee, now this guy. I swear, when I made that analogy earlier, it was totally random-- but there seems to be some kind of mystical connection between these two vehicles!]

I was cleaning up a few things on the bike and ran into these cut wires. Anyone know what they are?

 

[Barrett]

they are all listed below.
R=Red
GN=Green
BE=Blue

http://www.craigerson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/buell-blast-chapter-7-electrical.pdf

 

[Cooter]

Dang. Heres your internet point Barrett, thats damn funny

 

[Cooter]

Get the Pirelli Scooter tires if you can find them. It's the last set you'll ever need to buy and still sticky enough for some fun!

 

[cvc]

go for 34-19 and send me the XB pump to put in a blast I have sitting around that way we can reach the pegs on a twin I'll even let you ride it if you visit come to WA to visit.

 

[Jim Rogers]

I've been away for a while, but it's because I've been off the bike. About a month ago, I was out having a very enjoyable ride around town-- probably rode around for about an hour. I was on my way back home, and all the sudden it quit. I got pulled over and I could just get it started but giving it any throttle at all would cause it to bog down and die.

Since I was close to home, I called my wife, had her pick me up, grabbed my truck and got the bike, and brought it home. As mentioned before, I have a pretty busy job so I've had no time to work on it. I did start it a couple of times, and when cold it would start pretty good. But it still would take no throttle at all. Given how suddenly it happened, I thought maybe the diaphragm got a tear in it, but lifting it with my finger it seemed to be making the proper sucking sound. After checking that, I found that I could spray some carb cleaner in it as I gave it throttle and it would rev up, so then I thought maybe I got some sudden clog in the main/needle jet.

This weekend I finally had some time to deal with it, so I took the carb off/apart to try to find the problem. I'm fairly familiar with the Keihin CV40 as that's what my KLR650 has in it. I took every bit of it apart and could see nothing wrong. No clogs evident, everything was clean, diaphragm was fine. Das boot was in good condition, with no sign of any holes/rot/cracks/dryness.

(As an aside, I noted that it has 45/175 jetting, which means a PO has modified it. That's fine with me-- that's exactly what I had planned to put in it!).

Not knowing what else to do, I went ahead and put it back together, reinstalled, hit the starter, and it fired up and ran fine. Just finished about a 30 minute ride, and it ran great.

So, I must have fixed something, but I'm not sure what!

Still love this bike-- very unique and there's just something about it that just makes it very satisfying to ride to me.

 

[34nineteen]

My Cyclone used to love to clog its pilot jet if it let it sit for a couple of weeks. Luckily the KT header made getting to the float bowl and jets pretty easy.

My guess is that your bike is doing the same. I’d recommend flushing out the fuel tank and running a small inline fuel filter if you haven’t already.

Also check to make sure the bowl vent isn’t being blocked or clogged. That’s been known to happen and cause fuel starvation. Speaking of vents, if it happens again, release the gas cap to see if you can hear it letting air back in.

Sometimes the ignition pickup will get wonky when hot, but then behave normal when the bike cools back down. It’s probably worth taking a look to see if you can see it starting to melt down. Food for thought .