XB to a Blast?

[J20tD]

if you are on a lower budget, i know you haven't talked about this bike but i had an sv650 and let me tell you that bike was very fun also and i think its fairly stylish too.

 

[Hooker]

The only thing i didnt like about my blast was the very small limit of aftermarket parts available for it. I got an XB9S last spring, and never looked back. The feel from my blast to my XB9 was very weird, and i couldnt stand the feel of the XB9 at first. The 9 felt a LOT higher up, and very intimidating. I wasn't going to even buy it at first, but it sounded and looked so friggin' good, that i forced myself to adapt, and now i cant stand the way blasts feel.

If i were you looking for something fun and inexpensive, i'd go with a supermoto. Look for Suzuki DRZ400s and the such. Those are cheap and more fun than just about anything else on the road

 

[deathandtexas]

That red 3/4 helmet is hilarious. Gotta rock a handlebar stache with it...

 

[generalcuz]

I like the Blast even though I ride an 1125cr 80% of the time. I live in area where there are two distinct types of riding. Big wide open canyon carving, interstates etc and riding downtown to grab dinner at the vintage cafe bike meets. The blast is nimble and fun for that type of thing whereas I feel like I am just holding back the cr the whole time.

One thought or regret... I think we would have been better off with a cyclone. Slightly bigger and just as much fun.

 

[Fin]

Well gents, I do believe I'm going in the opposite direction i originally intended.
I have a line on a reasonably priced HD XR1200x. Dude was an ol' Softail rider who bought it on a whim but now wants out because he has too many toys.

Anyone w experience on one?

 

[go cytocis]

I have a line on a reasonably priced HD XR1200x....Anyone w experience on one?

I have ridden the XR. It's the fastest Harley they make but I still found it overweight, underpowered, with slow turning and marginal brakes. I think you'll be disappointed going to the XR from a Buell.

It'll be more competent than the Blast for some of the highway riding you plan to do, but it'll also be less nimble around town. 

I suppose if I were forced to own a Harley, the XR would be my choice, but there are so many other better bikes out there.

 

[BuellRiderX]

If it floats your boat, get it and enjoy it. I'd probably pick the XR over the other bikes you mentioned [up]

 

[Hooker]

I wanted an XR before i got my lightning, but it was a little too much for me :/ (7k before paperwork and plates and shit as opposed to 2,900 for my lightning from the same dealer). Im not sure about the XR being the "fastest bike harley makes" though. I think that the VROD would have the XR beat, at least in a straight line, which is what most people consider "fast." The vrod makes somewhere in the neighborhood of 120hp (i think, dont quote me) and im pretty sure the XR only makes around 70 or so.

 

[go cytocis]

Im not sure about the XR being the "fastest bike harley makes" though

Correct! I should have specified "fastest evo-powered Harley"...the only real Harleys IMHO!

 

[Hooker]

If i were gonna buy a HD, it would be a VROD. The XR looks the best BY FAR, but that VROD engine is something else!

 

[go cytocis]

that VROD engine is something else!

Agreed; it's an interesting motor with its Porsche pedigree. It had so much more promise however when it was originally intended to power Buells, but Harley management decided it should also be used in cruisers and therefore had to be visually more massive than the designers planned. Ultimately it became too heavy for sport bike applications and that's why Buell sourced the 1125 from Rotax...