What to do with the Blast?

Well the day of reckoning is coming for my 2000 buell blast. It has 28,000 indicated miles actually around 29000 on the bike because the speedo sending unit is intermittent.

As for the condition, the tires are bald(200$), the clutch is pretty hit or miss(85$), the drivebelt has a chip missing(80$), front rim is kinked(free to fix or 100-150$ for new rim), got a leak from the bottom cylinder gasket or pushrod cover gasket(?), engine needs to be rebuilt as either the valve guides or piston rings are gone. I'm also starting to get more noise than usual out of either the top end or pushrods, sounds like something is clattering in the engine.

Aside from the problems the bike still runs and drives well and will hit 90mph on the freeway.

Here are the three options for the blast

1. Keep it, rebuild the engine, change the clutch and ride on. The real issue is the bike need about 500$ in parts and I don't really want to spend all that on a 1000$ bike. The reason for keeping are basically it is my first bike and has treated me good. I've put around 23000miles on it and have enjoyed it. There aren't any bikes on the road as loud, smokey, and obnoxious as mine. I don't know how many blast's buell made in 2000 but being a first year bike it may be worth something in the distant future. I doubt I'd hang onto it that long, but who knows.

2. Trade it as a running bike that needs work for a project bike that is complete and needs to be put together. I like the idea of getting a Harley basket case and putting it back together. The only issue is harley parts =$$ but I have an uncle who could probably help me out, but he is 300miles away. The real issue with this route is registering a bike that is out of the system.

3. Sell it as a running rat bike that will need work but could be a great runabout town. I'd say the bike should be able to go a good thousand miles before it will absolutely need to be rebuilt. That is assuming whoever buys it doesn't run it out of oil or hot rod it. Before selling it I would have to change oil, spark plug, adjust clutch and primary and retune the carburetor so the idle adjustment can be changed. Now it is running really pig rich but it seems to like it. I'd also clean it, not very ratsworthy but not everyone likes a bike that shows all the dirt and grime accumulated over 5 years.

So GRMers what should I do?

How much could you really get for that? I have no idea, but if you can buy a good running one for a grand, that one, needing a tad bit of work, isn't going to go for the trouble to mess with selling it. So, instead,

It looks like all you really need is a top end job and a bit of TLC. New piston, rings, bore the jug, check the guides and some gaskets.

Or, 883's go for pretty cheap these days, especially 4 speed models. 4 speeds is all you really need. If that blast is a 5 speed, I bet the trans would swap over to a 883 4 speed, but you'd have to find some Sportster experts to make sure. A title isn't that big a deal, depending on where you live. As long as it isn't stolen, you can get a title about anywhere except maybe New Jersey or Taxachusetts. Just takes a bit of paperwork.

Dr. Hess wrote:

I like this idea.

Thanks for the info Doc. I'm just trying to figure out whether to keep it or not. I talked to the machinist last week and he said to measure everything up before buying engine parts. I could also get the 515 kit and a hot cam but then the clutch will have to be done. As the clutch is now I have a rare "torque limiting clutch."

I had a mount break on my muffler the other day and so I decided to pull it and see what the bike sounded like without a muffler. It was absolutely obnoxious, but I couldn't get the smile off of my face. A straight piped blast is one of the loudest bike ever. I think it has to do with the high engine speed or something but if you pop off the rev limiter(hydrualic valves) it sounds like gunfire.

I'll keep y'all posted as to where I'm going with the blastard.

Dr.Linda's 883 with open drag pipes:

is pretty darn loud. She says she really wants to cruise Ocala at night.

I just did the clutch on it last year. I don't know if the clutches are the same (probably not), but if they are, you're welcome to her old clutch plates (1987 883). They have plenty of life left in them, especially at Blast HP levels. Are you sure your clutch is adjusted properly? You might be able to just drop another steel plate in there and get a lot more life out of whatever else is left.

I put an end to my clutch slippage by simply replacing the springs, not the whole clutch. It was a $10 repair vs. $100+, and springs are part of the whole enchilada anyway, so I figured I'd start with just the springs and see if that fixed it - and it did.

If you've never built a bike, fixing that one would be a cheep education.

If you still like riding it and are happy with it, fix it. If you're ready for something new, sell it in whatever shape makes you happy and move on.

Thanks for the tips folks. I think the first thing I'm going to do is inspect the clutch and see if I can get that fixed. After that I'll see about doing the engine. Hopefully I'll just have to do some valve guides and the top and bottom cylinder gaskets.

Thanks for the tip about the clutch spring Whitey, I'll have to inspect them.

I think I could use education regarding motorcycle repair 4eyes, I gave up on bringing the buell to the dealer after getting burned a couple times so now I do all the work except tire mounting for better or worse.

Thanks for the offer Doc, I'll inspect and adjust the clutch and see how that goes before replacing the clutch. There is a company Energy that makes an aftermarket clutch. Harley doesn't offer a clutch kit so I'd have to buy all the parts separately.

Thanks again I appreciate it!

Yeah, I went through that with Dr.L's Sporty. No "kit" so buy all the stuff individually. Five bills later, I had a clutch "kit." I needed a special tool to pull the clutch apart. I coulda made one on my lathe in an afternoon from some scrap welded together, but never having seen one, well, it was easier to just give J&P the money. Best to pull it apart and see what you need.

As for the guides v. rings, when does it smoke? On startup, after idling a while and taking off, maybe on deceleration? Then maybe guides or seals. Otherwise, almost certainly rings. I'd say do a compression test, but with only one cylinder, how do you know if it's good or not? Nothing to compare to. The oil squirt thing may help, depending on how much the compression rises. Maybe a leak down. Cylinder base gaskets are a common problem. Some people fix that with some special penetrating silicone pookie from the hardware store. I forget the name, but they squirt it in there, let it sit, scrape off the excess and ride on.

I'm sure you've seen this pic before, but I gotta post it anyway:

Behind the motel in Pierre, S.D. after I dropped a valve guide. Stoopid exhaust leak.

I would do to a Blast what Buell did to the Blast...

Osterkraut wrote: I would do to a Blast what Buell did to the Blast...

You mean turn it into one of these?

OK I got my gaskets for the rocker box and cylinder so that is done. I have a compression tester and am going to make a leakdown tester with stuff I have laying around. It sounds like those two tests will give me a good idea of where the problem lies.

I think if the problem is in the top end I'll just end up changing the valves, valve guides/seal, and maybe a couple of other parts that might be bad. I have the repair manual to guide me through it.

If the piston/cylinder need to be repaired I'm considering getting the 515cc kit from NHRS for 350$. I'd hate to spent that much if I don't have to but I figure if I need to replace the piston and have the cylinder machined the cost for the kit might start sounding better. I don't really know if simply putting a bigger cylinder/piston will make any difference in power, but the blast can use all it can get.

I also think I might order a clutch from energy one to replace the one that is slipping. It might also be that I have an issue in the shifting mechanism.

I'll keep y'all posted.

Valve guides, valves and seals rarely ever need replacing on an Evo top end. New valve seals never hurt and are cheap, though. I would take it apart and inspect before ordering parts besides the seals.

Thank you for the advise, I'm going to go buy a spark plug and the guide seals today. I'll hold off on the valve stuff until it is apart.

I guess making a leakdown tester is pretty easy and I have almost everything to do it. I'm hoping for a quick turnaround if there is such a thing for me.