Is This 2005 Buell Blast The Quirkiest Motorcycle Harley-Davidson Ever Made? I Take It For A Ride!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
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In this video, Alex and Andy take a close look at a 2005 Buell Blast, and Alex gets it out on the road for a short ride!
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#buell #harleydavidson #motorcycle - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
@TFLbike - You asked in the video why Harley killed the Buell line.
In 2009, Harley Davidson hired a man named Keith Wandell as CEO, even though he had never ridden a motorcycle and knew nothing about the business. Wandell immediately had it in for Buell. According to CycleWorld, Wandell described the Buell line as “Erik’s racing hobby”, and questioned “why anyone would even want to ride a sport bike.”
So Wandell had Harley announce that they would be shutting down the Buell line. A Canadian company named Bombardier made two offers to buy Buell from Harley, but HD declined both offers, apparently not wanting to look stupid if someone else was successful with the brand. So instead Harley paid out $125 million in shutdown costs to kill the Buell line rather than making money by selling it.
HOG shareholders were furious, and so were Buell riders.
And Bombardier would have done some really cool stuff with it! Especially with the 1125 platform!
Perhaps the fuel tank in the frame models, but the tube frame models weren't exactly good bikes. I owned a couple, a X1 and M1 both with 1200cc Sportster engines.
Quirky handling and constant electrical issues on both.
So, yes HD probably gave up on Buell too early and in the process screwed Eric Buell over.
But let's not wax nostalgic about bikes that weren't that good compared to the competition.
I remember the HD shirt burning and protest. Now Keith Wandell got his millions and HD and Buell hasn't fully recovered from that idiots decision.
HD also sold MV Agusta for a $1 at the same time. If I remember right.
Keith Wandell came from Johnson Controls, a manufacturer of HVAC equipment. Like others have said, Wandell had never ridden a Harley. He was a bean counter in the worst possible way.
The previous CEO, Jeff Bleustein had looked at Buell Motorcycles to be a "skunkworks" division. Erik Buell and his crew would be a small, agile, innovative group. Buell would "think outside of the H-D box". The Buell "division" would be modeled after Kelly Johnson's "Skunkworks " at Lockheed Aircraft.
The other part of Bleustein's strategy was Buell would be the sport bike brand appealing to younger buyers. Buells would also be less expensive. As the Buell customers aged, HD could move them to the Harley models.
Also Buell Blasts were the trainer bikes for HD's Rider's Edge new rider program. The Blasts would get the newbies in the showroom and the customers could choose lower cost Buells OR a Harley.
IMHO, Wandell was an idiot!
I have an 02 Blast that I've drydocked for sometime because of health issues, retirement and the pandemic. I think the Blast is a fantastic trainer. As for the low seat, Buell offered two seats. The bike in the video is the sculpted out 25.5 inch seat while there is also a
27.5 inch seat, which is flat. The additional 2 inches really helps for taller riders.
The Blast was their best seller, 2-1 over the next best selling model. It's a terrific bike and hardly anything could be easier to work on.
I have a 2000 Buell Blast. I keep her alive for friends to ride.
I also have a 2000 Buell Blast... It has 4,100 miles on it. The exhaust is chopped no baffles and has an extra hole drilled on the side. I get so many compliments on it wherever I go. It's a little thumper forsure. It sounds awesome and people are surprised when I fire it up. Like man that little bike has some rumble to it esp when I'm going thru the gears. The oil change is super easy and I even changed the spark plug on it myself. It really is a fun bad ass little bike.
I still have my buell blast. Absolutely enjoy the quirks, can’t believe you guys did a video on it
Thanks for doing this review! Maybe it was the marketing, but I really wanted this bike as a teenager. I only got into motorcycling in my 30's and had forgotten about it until this video popped up.
I had two of them over the years. Used it as a commuter bike to work. Gas was great.
I owned that exact bike. I put 30,000 miles on it in 3 years commuting to work. I bought it to save money on gas. That it did. But it was not meant to put that many miles on it. But thankfully it had three year unlimited miles. I took complete advantage of that. Engine rebuild three times and stock muffler fell off. Just not made to put that many miles on. My commute was all highway. Mpg was between 50 and 70 mpg. Very interesting bike though. Keep up the good work TFL! Love all your videos on everything. I now own a 2007 Harley Davidson V-Rod Night Rod with 58k on it. Can you do a review on the V-Rod? I love it and don't ever plan on selling it. Awesome bike! Thanks
3 rebuilds? Yikes! What caused that, and were they top end rebuilds or top and bottom end? I think they are cool little bikes for sure!
I have a Buell Blast, can confirm, the stock exhaust is heavy, weak, and restrictive all at the same time.
@Jonny Mac any bike by 30k needs at least two rebuilds to keep it in tip-top shape. Bikes have much weaker engines when it comes to wear and tear. Their made to be rode hard or soft and be worked on. That's the fun of the hobby. Just don't buy KTM. You won't worry as much, and your rebuilds won't be a blown motor just a simple rebuild and clean up
@@joebone3151 Don't buy a K.T.M.??
WHY NOT..??
I Own a 1999 K.T.M. 640c.c LC-4
Dual sport and love it.
I bought it back in 2010, and it's been a great bike. And still own it..
And I'll probably never sell it.
Whahaha, Japanese bike are barely broken in at 30k miles... I had a vfr 750 with 70k miles, nothing but basic maintenance. @@joebone3151
I had one of these. I had a full race exhaust with the intake plus the carb jetted. It was a fun little bike for what it was.
Best bike in the world to learn on and it’s great on gas
Picked one up a couple of months ago and it is very fun to ride.
A friend had an XB12R that he let me ride whenever I wanted. Pretty fun. Nice friend too! 🙂
I hope that if the X440 over in India sells well enough, Harley will consider revisiting this bike.
LOL The blast was a training bike for Harley school program ,,, Erik Buell designed the FXR ... I have 3 Blasts , great for around town ....
I've owned exactly 40 bikes in 51 years of riding and I have NEVER loved a bike more than the two Blasts I had. It's impossible to ride one without smiling from start to finish. Like a lot of things, the majority of people who badmouth them never owned one.
That's a pretty impressive amount of bikes my friend. I've been trying to see if anyone has put a twin into a Blast. I happen to have a spare Lightning engine from a 2001. I was thinking maybe put it into a Blast. It would be a fun bike for someone with a shorter stature. I'm 6 foot 4. I've sat on a Blast but never rode it. Way too tiny for me.
You are absolutely correct, Buell riders are almost a different breed. Most people that don't like them have never ridden one. Whenever I'm out on mine "01 Cyclone" I get asked a million questions from guys driving cars. The standard question, Why does your sport bike sound like a Harley ?"
Glad to hear that “
Back cylinder wouldn't clear the frame on a Blast in the usual configuration.
This was my first bike and I love how you picked up on every quirk, especially the side stand and downshifting. I loved it for what it was and it taught me a lot, but I'm excited to see what Buell comes out with next.
So would you recommend this as a first bike for somebody who has a small budget and what are the pros and cons of the bike
@@thetreverpitts it's low seat height helps you feel confident, it's not too loud so the throttle shouldn't be scary and honestly it's cheap. I tried to reach myself u turns but didn't realize you can't grab the front brake mid turn (noob). The rear brake pedal bent but with a rubber mallet and some pliers it was good as new.
The cons are that it vibrates a lot and sometimes finding 1st gear is rough. It's kind of heavy for a 500 but not unmanageable. Big picture on a budget it's a fine bike but there are a lot of better bikes if you want to do a lot of riding
Lot of better bikes ? I’m seeing these go for 2000 and less on fb .. what bike is better considering price? I mean a grom cost more with less preforming attributes. Ppl say riding the grom on highway is scary but I seen ppl take this on the highway easily so you can ride city and highway for 2k! Please give me some better options
@@obeii1805 great point, considering the price. I guess it just depends on what type of riding you like to do and for how long. I like sitting higher up so that's just me.
Great little bike!
The first bike I owned. Rode it for a year. Next I bought a 2018 Royal Enfield. The Enfield was like a Cadillac. Current bike is 2020 Moto Guzzi V7III. It’s like a dream.
You mentioned a Mikuni carburetor, I think you meant Kehien CV40? 😊. If you was able to get a Mikuni HSR42 flatslide carburetor installed , I commend you! Especially being able to get the stock airbox cover in position. I have a spare Mikuni and even a Lectron carburetor, but not able to properly fit it and keep the airbox snugged up properly. 👍 👍 👍
Have a good day everyone
❤️👏👏 GREAT JOB
Can you tell me what each drain plug on the bottom is. I took off the one. Left front. But not sure what it was for.
Ugly? It looks great. Like a Harley and a naked sport bike had a baby.
Amazing bike I have a buell 500 myself just have problems trying to get it to stay on ideal when i start it up need to figure it out I'm no motorcycle mechanic but I'm not giving up on my bike one it wants to run it's an amazing ride
Pilot jets
Love to have one
GF just got this bike. The only issue we're having is I can't for the life of me get the gas cap off! It just spins and won't unlatch to take off.
I took a rider safety course with that bike.
We jus had to ride the street 500 for mine , such a terrible bike.
I had a buell blast as my first street bike and pushed hard into a corner it's a bike that would threaten to hi side you. They only make 35hp.
I wanted one because of the low maintenance. I test rode one an hated the extreme vibration. I just kept my Kawasaki LTD 500 Vulcan.
I happen to have a spare 1203 lighting engine from a 2001. Has anyone seen a Blast with a twin put in it ? I think it would make for an interesting ride. It would be good for someone with a shorter stature.
I was thinking of the same thing, I just got an 06 blast and was thinking if there would be space to place a twin lol. I haven’t seen one yet. Did you do it or happen to still have the spare motor? 👀😈
It's a nugget, but a really cool nugget.
Their a Blast!
This bike was a missed opportunity. The only true Harley entry level bike. So many customizers were looking at this as a donor bike before it got canned.
I'm possibly picking up an 06 Blast with 1200 miles. is the carburetor much of a pain to clean up?
The crankcase breather goes into the carb for emissions and that gums up the works. There are ways around that.
Nope, just a standard CV style carb.
For a guy like myself who isn't very good with more advanced cards like 4 barrels or even twin barrels I thought the carb on my buell was going to be a pain but honestly it's basically no different then a lawn mower or chain saw carb very easy to work on simple concept
You should put a small v twin in it. 💯👍👍😃😊
I just bought one..
Xb12 is where it's at
Should I get one for $700
I love my little tractor, and it's big brother, my Sportster, Mongrel!
It's a great beginner bike but on the highway going uphill..... it's terrifying
😂😂😂 why
@@obeii1805i think he means with any bike in general, i also have that fear that somehow ima crash and fall off the highway
first bike i ever rode. most uncomfortable vehicle i’ve ever sat on. holds a nice spot in my heart
Even if it's the most uncomfortable bike you ever had can you get like an aftermarket seat to make it feel comfortable or something
@@thetreverpitts not really man, sadly they just don’t make many parts for it anymore. you could probably deep dive and find one but, mostly you’ll see regular refurbished seats.
oh that sucks @@JustinJestyn
Try A Buell Ulysses.....
It is starter bike but designed by a race guy.
B_last...
Wow, two guys who don't know anything about Buells talking about Buells.
Erik had nothing to do with the Buell Blast, it was antithetical to what he believed a motorcycle should be but typical of HD they put out a piece of crap thinking that entry level riders or fans of smaller displacement bikes want aesthetically underwhelming Fisher-Price toys. After 2003, which is when HD assumed ownership of the Buell company the higher ups at Harley are the ones who took some of Buell's intellectual property, applied their warped interpretation of it to other bikes in the HD lineup and failed. Then HD decided to sunset the one name that allowed themselves to be associated with cutting edge engineering and performance only to continue padding their lineup with more ill handling and unreliable (by modern standards) pig-glides. Granted Buell is attempting to crawl back from the dead and put out advanced motorcycles but it's just not the same company without Erik.