Buell Blast

I have been an avid rider for almost 15 years, yes its not 20, 30 or even 40 years like some but when you ride every day with no car in the near future you get some experience. I have been riding sport bikes (GSXR 750,F4I,R6 AND MY BABY MY R1) for over 10 years, its not just a bike but a piece of you. My girlfriend and I were walking through downtown when I saw this spunky little bike with a for sale sign, I started looking as my girlfriend looks at me and says "why do you want a scooter" I just laughed it off, long story short I bought this pretty red 03' Buell Blast for $750 bucks with under 1k miles you couldn't say no, the bike just felt comfortable sitting on it, i am 5'7" and I was comfortable. Let me say yes its loud,yes it shakes and yes its goofy looking with those bunny ear mirrors, But this baby is FUN!, I took it down to what we call skaggs in California, and the looks I was getting when I was passing people on liter bikes was funny, the bike just wants to get down and ride, makes me think of a cheetah wanting to jump out of the energizer bunny and simply just GOOOOO! I have not ridden a bike this small BUT fun in a long time, and with about 60 mpg come one I just made my money back in fuel. The bike does not seam to be as cheaply made as I read on some forums, the mirrors suck and the tires are a little s,all, i went up one size in the front and back with no issues, I do wish there was a tach but I do have ears. I have not been to the dealer ( I do my own maintenance) But I would suggest this bike to anyone wanting to learn to ride, or for the avid rider who just wants something different. I will say that when your making a sharp left I have hit the belt guard, so keep that in mind when your making some strips

David~ Santa Rosa California

The Blast is an excellent first bike and they can often be bought very inexpensively. As for reliability, they have a couple well-known issues (mainly the carb intake "boot"), but these problems can usually be sorted fairly easily and cheaply. There's a huge and very friendly online community ready to help with all things Blast. In the US they are often as cheap as $1500-1800 with low miles...what a deal! Yes Buell is out of business, but pretty much all parts are available thru HD or online.

I bought the blast from a friend who wanted to move upto something exotic. Thanks to a lot of bad mouthing the bike couldnt get enough interest either trading to a dealer or through the ads, so i got it for a song, and how sweet it is, small agile and fun too, not being imported into the Uk it is as rare as an honest politician. an independant dealer services it in an afternoon and says its a shame more werent sold here as he gets asked about it by customers everytime its in his premises. I like its reliability and smooth handling, the rear tyre seems to be wearing out faster than my other bike and top speed is a lot lower but its easy to work on and has a distinctive look, low revs make it a bit vibey but it adds to the character, fuel on this side of the ocean is more expensive but it is still cheaper to run than my BMW 800, pity Buell has been mothballed, Harleys are good but buell has character straignt from the box, If more were made the aftermarket guys would have been persuaded to offer more parts to make each more individual. Guess i will have to keep mine until it cannot be ridden anymore due to extreme old age, mine or the bike.

All in all, the Buell Blast is the way to go for beginners and experienced. My neighbor is a police officer and he was happy on it. doing very tight donuts at less than 3 mph in front of the house.I use it to commute to work 40+ miles round trip and cut my fuel costs a lot. Instead of paying $160 a month on fuel for the car, I now spend $75 on fuel for the car and $14 on the motorcycle combined a month. I get money back into my wallet for other fun stuff.The gals in my office like the bike and call it "cute". I can live with that. The Buell Blast is a really fun bike, and it gets you around places.

I've had mine for 3 months, and have gone from zero experience to feeling really comfortable on local curves. In my mind, the Blast is the best bike to learn on without outgrowing it too quickly. My son has his eyes on mine already, so maybe I'll get a 650 to 750 next year....

Personally as a female owner of a sports bike I find this quite offensive.. "non intimidating looks", "bendable flashers", "cheap to fix if dropped".. I like fast sports bikes which go like mad and can't see how any bike can be gender specific.. I can ride anything I put my mind to.

The Harley motor and poor quality control ruin what could be a very good bike. High maintenence, lots of things break, due to high vibration. Very troublesome, needs a lot repairs. And dealing with your local Harley dealer is a real pain; they're so busy putting on aftermarket loud pipes and all sort of doo-dads.

As a new, female rider (5-6") I find this bike absolutely perfect! no complaints! It is so easy to manuever in all conditions. My opinion, you would only need something "more" for your ego, not for the ride. it is fast, easy on the eyes, and a "blast!" I give my bike 20-out of 10 stars! hope this helps if you are considering this make.

People who bad mouth the Buell Blast must not know anything about bikes if they don't like the blast. Not the most powerful but will get you there on time all the time. Uses rear tires a little faster than most but I live with that.

I would recommend this bike to anyone looking for the most fun possible.