The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

2010 Buell Models – Where’s the Blast?

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2010 Buell Blast?
2010 Buell Blast?

Buell introduced their 2010 models just like the Motor Company, and they are making a big deal of showing a Blast after a trip through the crusher.

It just never made much of a sportbike. But, as luck would have it, it makes a killer ottoman. Or end table. Or art piece. Through an innovative process known as crushing, we’ve turned a limited number of Blasts into colorful metal cubes, each numbered and signed by Erik Buell himself. Hey, there’s no denying the Blast’s aforementioned cuteness. But there’s nothing cute about racing or riding a sportbike the way it was meant to be ridden.

Of course, they never say they aren’t going to bring out a totally new blast, just that the old model doesn’t fit their sportbike image. Let the speculation begin.

UPDATE: Wes Siler, over at Hell for Leather, just sent me a note, looks like the Blast will continue without the Buell nametag, just “Blast,” primarily for the purposes of supporting the Harley-Davidson Rider’s Edge training program. Then I reread the press release and that explains what they meant when they said:

The easy-handling and affordable Blast motorcycle inspires fun and confidence in new riders. Powered by a 492cc single-cylinder engine, the 360-pound Blast can achieve 73 mpg highway fuel economy. The Blast is used primarily in the Rider’s Edge New Rider course, which has trained more than 175,000 riders since 2000.

That didn’t make sense without knowing they were still going to produce it, just without the Buell name. Interesting.

Link: Buell

Comments

  1. LOL. I know some folks will be offended, but this made my day. I’m sure that there will be a new small bike of some kind from HD-Buell in the near future. This may just be a way of letting the Buell division focus on a more high sportbike image. I think that engine would look better in a small cruiser anyway.

  2. I’m not really a fan of the tone of the whole new marketing campaign, but it must be one of the most successful at least that Buell has ever done.

    After it first broke (Thursday?) the Buell forums errupted and haven’t stopped talking about it. I think that if I had told my wife last Thursday that her ass looked fat even she would have gotten over it by now.

    I would have thought Blast owners were laid back, good natured with senses of humor and aware that they’re not riding Hayabussa’s . . . but they sure seemed to take this goofy little gimmick seriously.

  3. What does this mean for Mac Motorcycles? Will they still be able to use the engine from the Blast? …not that they shouldn’t look at other engines anyway.

  5. Nope, Buell racing is alive and doing well. They have also beefed up their racing program recently. I wouldnt sell them short.

  6. Ian, have you ridden an 1125? Seen one up close and personal? No? Well….no, they aren’t over estimating anything. Serious bike mate.

    As for the Blast. Not so serious, but a decent little first bike as stated. As well, if one wanted to, one could build that blast engine up to something like 900cc! That’d be something….

  7. To me, the term “Sportbike” means a bike that is very responsive. It should be an extension of the rider and turn easily, accelerate quickly and stop quickly. I wouldn’t consider a Hayabussa or ZX-14 true “sportbikes” because, while they accelerate like bats out of hell, they’re too heavy to stop or turn as quickly as the bikes I consider sportbikes.

    By that definition of “sportbike”, now that the Blast is gone, I think Buell does have a very credible line of sportbikes and that is clearly their focus.

  8. Hi there. I have a Blast. I bought it used 4 years ago. I own 7 motorcycles total. My Blast has a 515 kit, 10.5 compression, Andrews cams, Screaming eagle ignition, different valve train and head work, and aftermarket exhaust. Anyway, it makes a real fun twisty road bike. If I’m going out for a fun ride, I grab the Blast. Mines been very low maintenance. Blaine

  9. Could this mean a new larger blast. How about it Buell? perhaps a 750 single. Now that would be a ……. “blast!!!”

  10. “The Blast is used primarily in the Rider’s Edge New Rider course”

    There is probably a built in demand for it then, because from what I hear dumping Blasts is a regular occurrence during Rider’s Edge training. In fact a coworker of mine recently took the course and witnessed a lady wipe out and break her collarbone. My coworker also dumped twice and she said she probably shouldn’t have passed the course. The HD dealer still ended up selling her a brand new Sportster, which she didn’t even dare to ride home, and is even now afraid to ride even to a parking lot for practice!

  11. I for one would like to see a smaller single standard in the Harley family. That would not fit the Buell image, maybe not even the Harley name, but Harley was not always v-twin only. I hate to se Harley giving away the starter/communter market. The Hoda Rebel is a great 7/8ths size cruiser that sells, Suzuki has its model in that range as well (as do others). I would think many people would love an American made starter bike in a standard or cruiser style with a real Harley lineage.

  12. Ducati sells (by the truck load) an entry level bike. Honda sells a small number of entry level bikes. Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, KTM, Aprilia (scooters even), etc. etc. Each one of those brands has an undeniable “sportbike image” yet is completely comfortable with their, a-hem, smaller offerings.

    I’m one of many that would like to see the Blast with a more serious tilt towards a “sportbike image”. As it is (was) the Blast was not available with higher-grade suspension or brakes, regardless of power output (at least something along the lines of the Ninja 250R). No attempt was made to broaden its market with an enduro version or even a cruiser (ew, but nighthawks, GZ250’s, and Virago 250’s outsell even the best of Buells). It reminds me a little of BMW’s ill-fated F650CS, they blamed poor sales on the lack of power, obviously blind on how weird it looked.

    -todd

  13. I was a little surprised to see how heavy the Blast is/was, but everyone that has ridden or owned one the comments are usually all positive, and the negatives have to do with the low power output.

    Maybe the “new” will be a major improvement.

    FYI, around here dropping a bike in the MSF is almost always a quick trip out of the class and a fail, except under a few exceptions.

  14. They should put that single cylinder engine in a dual-sport that would compete with the KLR, DR650 etc., kinda like a cheaper lighter little brother to the Ulysses.

  15. Well, if you’re going to cut a product line, that’s a hell of a strong way to do it. But now their smallest bike is 900ish CCs– where’s the small(er) sportbike? The Blast may not have been a good intro to the Buell lineup, but there’s gotta be SOMETHING that is.

    I’d love to see something like the little Ninja, or even the Honda NR50 (track-only, looks awesome, meant for young road-racers). Or, you know, a middleweight supersport or streetfighter.

  16. Best. Model. Discontinuation. Ever.

    I wonder what they could do with a roadracing spec 450 single………

  17. well its a start, they should do it with all Harleys though . They are more static display “things” than Rider friendly bikes. Leave the Buell’s alone as they are way better than there cousins, know matter what cc they are!

  18. That’s an interesting idea, H-D coming out with a smaller standard single. Indeed, a Heritage Peashooter – they could take on Royal Enfield.

  19. Well you can always rely on Erik not taking himself too seriously, and being up for a laugh and a prank.

    You gotta admit, if you are going to excise a bike from your range that just doesn’t fit, this was a brilliant way to do it. Buells have always been edgy, and while Blast owners may disagree, the bike never did fit with what Erik was building. There’s a reason they were only ever sold in the US. I reckon the Blast was a 10-year profit centre – easy to build and design, sell lots of ’em, use the proceeds to fund the real work.

    Comparing Honda’s range to Buell’s range and saying that Honda have entry level bikes is a bit unfair. Honda sells and builds anything on two wheels, they have the resources, money and market perception to get away with it. Buell does not.

  20. I agree with what Buell said and his view of the Buell Blast. However, as of crushing his Buell Blast as a form of being “ruthless,” he’s really missing out on an opportunity of making something, however reliable and bland that it currently is, into something “sportbike” as he puts it. The Buell Blast is one of those bikes that has the potential there. As fun as it was to see the Blast crushed into a cube and made fun of, why not actually do some “ruthless engineering” and make it into the sportbike that many of us out there know it can be?

  21. I’m not a huge fan of Buell, but I still shed a tear when I watched a perfectly good motorcycle get crushed. Someone could have enjoyed many miles on that thing, and now it’s a piece of (s)crap with the destructor’s name on it. Doesn’t make sense to me, but who am I to judge.

  22. If you had ever ridden a Buell Blast, you would want it crushed too. They’ll make better coffee tables than they did motorcycles.

  23. The ad seemed rather harsh when I first saw it, but after some reflection I agree. The Blast is a good bike, it’s just not a Buell. Both Harley and Buell have brands that are concentrated around a particular image, so neither of them would be well served by offering a full line of bikes.

    That’s not to say that American made smaller displacement bikes have no market, though. A third brand focused around light weight 500-750cc singles could make a nice addition. All the brand would need is a patriotic name like “Eagle” or “Liberty” and to be sold from existing HD/Buell dealers. Of course, both the HD and Buell brands are so image-focused that they can hardly share a dealership with each other, much less a third brand.

  25. The lack of crossover between the feet forward crowd and the tank humpers (though there are sportbike people with cruisers and cruiser people who also own sportbikes, they are not the norm*) seems to make it difficult for HD and Buell to share dealerships/sales staff – and they’re the same company fer fork’s sake. It’s like the advent of “narrowcasting” in news and entertainment (“For Jah’s sake, don’t expose me to ideas I don’t already have a handle on.”) in the late ’90s. The Blast is just about the best starter/learner bike available in the US, but ‘Murrican noobs don’t want a starter bike they want a ‘busa, or a Road King, or a GSadventure like their friends who started earlier than they did have. So they can fit in with whichever “lifestyle” their peers have chosen. Which almost always means dissing all of the other kinds of bikes and the people who ride them.

    The feet-forward people don’t give a rat’s about flickability, they just want to “cruise” and look a certain way while they’re at it. The tank humpers are just as narrowly focused – if the bike doesn’t pack >150hp and weigh less than this morning’s paper it’s a PoS. It’s not about either being right, they just seem to want everybody to know how wrong the other group is. It’s not about “better” bikes, it’s about how “my” kind of bike is the better one.

    Excuse me for bluntness, but the whole thing is fcuking stupid. Just ride what you like.

    *The norm: Whatever there’s the most of.

  26. i have a gut feeling here.

    on that hell for leather site there is an interview with roland sands talking about the 450 moto series they want to get started. he talks about making street legal versions as well. in the interview they elude to rumors of other manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon such as ktm, and cagiva.

    in my opinion it would be a GREAT idea for buell to jump in on the ground floor with a model that fits this class perfectly. a nice 450 single liquid cooled bike built for pure racing with some lights tossed on to make it road legalish.

    the buell, a nice bike for what it was, would not be able to compete. would it? yet it serves a function. so give it to harley for there riders edge program, let them make some tiny cruiser out of it, and build yourself a entry level sport bike that newcomers can enjoy before steping up to the big bikes and racers can use in the 450 moto class.

    that’s what i’d do if i ran the circus.

  27. It´s a shame to destroy new bikes, specially when you made money out of them. The joke must be pretty funny to whoever has the money to buy bigger bikes, but for those that cannot afford goddamm Road Kings, it sounds like “the bike you bought from us is junk, come and see what we think of it”.

    Bad press where I live.

  28. The Blast was a nice enough bike. Crushing them is a massive waste of time, material, energy: Stupid. As a marketing ploy, obviously successful, but should Erik want to up Buell’s racebike cred, perhaps Buell should take the Superbike podium more. Than once.

  29. Why don’t they just have the AMA/DMG make a new class or change the rules so that the Blast is competitive in the beginner class?

  30. Mac’s going in the right direction…look very nice. The stock Blast…er, everything is too heavy, though it probably makes a good training range bike. I’d personally like H-D/Buell to come out with something like the Borile… Good suspension, lightweight, stone simple. I’d line up for that.

  31. Borile, yes, great reference.

    Harley can use the Blast platform and call it a Sprint. That would work for sure. They used to have cool bikes back in the Aermacchi days.

    -todd

  33. I can only imagine and hope that the acquisition of MV Agusta, which includes Cagiva, means that the Blast replacement will be in the form of the Mito. Harley branded Italian bikes in the past, so this is part of the script and I spent some time with a mito at the NYC moto show a couple years ago, it is an amazing sport machine.

  34. I ran across a interesting quote the other day:

    “Oh, all the kids in the family rode motorcycles while growing up. Not Harleys, though – small Japanese bikes.” Jean Davidson

    Anyway, this ad is all great fun and all but there’s really nothing big here. The Blast was only in the specs page of the 2008 Buell catalog and didn’t appear in the 2009 catalog at all. Harley’s 2009 catalog stated “Harley-Davidson does not build starter bikes.” So clearly the Blast had been declared incompatable with the dealer and brand image for both nameplates (think: Lexus dealer’s don’t sell the Yaris). HDI will continue building Blasts – actually, in the same Buell factory where they’ve always been built, by the same folks. They just won’t put “Buell” decals on them. Yawn. Probably the only news will be the Blast will no longer be marketed to the public.

  35. A lot of people are not happy about this, however I for one laughed when I saw the 2010 blast. I learned to ride on a blast and still have it in the garage, along with 2 other larger non-buells. I’ve thought about selling it every once in a while but I just can’t bring myself to do it. While it won’t win many races it is still a fun little bike for zipping around town on.

  36. I have always had an affinity for the smaller sport bikes. There is nothing wrong with pushing the edge on say a Ducati 450 Desmo, a Honda CB1 or even a 250 Ninja. I had hoped to see Buell develop the Blast from an entry level slogger to a more potent, all be it, smaller sport bike. I hope this is where Buell is going with this recent slam of their own product but after being almost completely ignored since its launch I am not very hopeful.