04/26/2006
Back from Sabbatical?
Alot has happened in the last three
to four months since I updated the site.
We bought a new house and moved. I finished
the service on the Buell by putting the
footpeg back on, and alot more. I'll try
to go over the basics here.
Website
Issues in January
I
encountered some problems with my website,
seems that my webhost (Canaca.com)
restored my site to a December backup.
I had to get them to restore the site,
and also kickstandcritters.com to their
most recent updates from January.
Buell
Blast Transmission Service Followup/Finish-up
in February
Then I was working on getting the
Blast finished and wrapped up when we
started looking at houses. We loved our
old house, but I grew tired of home improvement
projects so we found a house we liked,
made an offer and put ours on the market.
This caused me to have to get the Buell
buttoned up pretty quick as we were going
to be moving before the end of February
now and I needed to ride the bike to the
new house. As such, I ended up using a
stubby wrench with a flex head and a socket
to put the nuts on the bracket. I used
the original washers, but the original
nuts had some rounding due to the original
removal and I didn't want to chance not
being able to take them off someday. As
such I used Blue Loctite (you can get
it in a stick similar to Chap Stick now,
it's great, much better than the liquid)
to butter the threads of the bolts/rods
that hold the bracket on, put the bracket
in place, and then put new Nuts with Nylon
Nylocks (spelling) on them to secure it
and tightened them down.
Super-Pooch
in Jan/Feb
Add
in that during this time we got ourselves
a pooch. My friend Paul raises Akitas
and had some puppies and we visited and
saw them and came away with the runt of
the litter. We ended up naming her Seiko,
since she's our watch dog (Bad joke eh?).
Well, she's about 60 pounds, has the sharpest
teeth, and loves chasing deer, small birds
and geese in her new neighborhood. :-)
Moving
Now
introduce into this mix the packing, prepping
to move, then moving, unpacking, buying
new furniture, hanging up pictures, etc...
and you will see there hasn't been much
time to maintain a blog or practice my
Taijutsu. Heck, I haven't even gotten
in much riding what with everything.
Kickstandcritters
dissolved
My
invention, kickstand plates shaped like
a dead squirrel or bird didn't sell well
like I'd thought. As such, I decided to
dissolve the LLC and cease business. Advertising
in American Motorcyclist Magazine seemed
to generate most of our sales, but didn't
do enough for us. If you want more info,
check out kickstandcritters.com.
I
Still Love the Blast, March/April
We
attended
a Buell Demo ride at Bumpus Harley-Davidson/Buell
in Memphis, TN not long ago. I got to
finally see and ride a Buell Ulysses XB12X.
What a Blast! The rider sits upright,
the bikes fit and finish is light years
ahead of anything on the market except
for maybe the seat (why do all stock Buell
seats have to look cheap?). Marie and
I rode in a demo ride where there were
13 riders (supposed to be 14, but nobody
wanted to ride the little Blast they had,
shame shame shame) plus the factory riders
in full racing leathers. We took our helmets,
expecting the ride to be short and I'd
brought my mesh gloves as we thought it
might be sunny and warm. Well, it wasn't.
So I buttoned up my Navy Peacoat and raised
the collar and used my helmet strap when
it was tightened down around my chin to
keep the collar up on my throat. The XB12X
handguards offered a little (just a bit,
not much) of wind protection for my hands.
The ride was 30 minutes.
First
impression of the XB12X was that it sits
HIGH. I'm 6'2", and have a 32"
inseam. On the standard seat I could just
touch the balls of my feet on the ground.
It's damned tall. The key switch is on
the side of the headlight assembly, I
couldn't find it for a while. The bike
started up like a charm, and purred like
a kitten. It's a very quiet, smooth running
V-Twin. There was some buzz on the footpegs
as we left the lot for the ride, riding
staggered. We'd been warned not to do
wheelies (like I am even capable of it),
and that a demo rider would wag a finger
at us once if we did it, and the second
time we'd get picked up in a van and taken
back to the dealership. Well, after the
initial buzz the bike smoothed out and
the ride was great. I loved the controls
setup for the bike, foot and hand controls
were excellent, the gauges are easy to
read and the bike just runs so smoothly.
It's also VERY powerful. At 1200cc's,
you might expect Sportster performance
since it's similar enginewise. Nope, the
bike is LIGHT, ultralite. I spun the back
tire once enough to squeal it while accelerating
and I was at around 50 mph when I did
it. The factory rider gave me the wagging
finger, but with a big grin on his face.
The
ride was nice, nice curves, and I was
just starting to get a feel for the bike
when it ended (damn!). I sat on the other
XB12X with the low seat, and that was
more like it for me fitment wise as I
could put my feet flat (barely). You sit
pretty upright when riding, which is what
I like, not crunched up in a sportbike
pose, but not out counting your toes like
on a cruiser (hey, I like those both well
enough, not insulting anyone here!). I
went into the dealership and saw the XB12X
in black that they had on display. PRETTY.
I'd have to get this bike in black. Orange
is nice, but I'm not that flamboyant.
It was a good thing we left soon, I wanted
to take it home so bad. I think I'm in
love with the XB12X. I just wish I'd waited
a few months on TPol cause I'd have gotten
the Ulysses instead. I'd have to get a
Corbin Seat though as the stock seat looks
pretty cheap, and also the Corbin is alot
shorter than even the low seat from Buell
so I'd have a better chance of keeping
my feet down at red lights. I LOVE THIS
BIKE.
Still
Love the Blast
I
still love my Buell Blast. We talked about
trading a bike for the Ulysses on the
way home. Problem is that I wouldn't trade
my Blast (It's a hoot to ride) and HD
dealers won't take a metric bike. Besides
the insurance on TPol is pretty cheap
since it's been made for 20 years. So
I'm stuck, and waiting.
My
Buell Blast, is waiting on a new rear
tire. I ordered one from the HD dealer
in North Little Rock and four months later
the Dunlop K330 for the rear still didn't
come in. So I cancelled it and ordered
another through Rodney's Cycle House.
Well, Marie's bike got a screw in it and
needed a new back tire. So we loaded it
on the truck, she took it to the NLR dealership
and they put a new rear tire on her XB9R
without any issues. They seem to treat
her right there, no complaints from me
over it. They even got the cost taken
care of since she had road hazard insurance
on the tires, and it didn't cost her a
penny to get it replaced.
If
my K330 doesn't come in at the end of
April like it's expected, I supposed I
am switching to Avon tires for the Blast.
I love the bike, and want to keep riding
it.
Corbin,
Master of Seats
I
FINALLY ordered and recieved a Corbin
Seat for my Buell Blast. I waited TWO
years for one. I was STUPID. Man, the
Corbin seat is so much better than the
stock seat that it is sick. I can't believe
I rode for a couple of hundred miles on
the stock seat to a place one time. I
remember having a case of iron butt after
that, but had forgotten about it. Well,
Marie rode the Blast a few times while
she waited for her tire to come in and
complained about the seat. So I ordered
the Corbin. The process was awesome. The
seat is a Corbin Gunfighter. I was asked
for my weight, height, and any special
instructions. I said I didn't want to
lose the stock seat height due to how
tall I am in the special instructions.
They contacted me to verify the leather
to use, and the color of the welt. I went
with the stock colors on the display picture
- Carbon Fiber/Grey Welt. The seat came
in two weeks later in a pretty box with
Corbin all over it.
When
I opened the box, I found the seat, three
copies of a book about Mike Corbin (I
ordered one for me, but the extras turn
into one for my neighbor who rides and
one for my dad then), and my bottle of
Saddle Cream to keep the leather supple
(hey, a REAL leather seat on a Buell Blast,
wild eh?). Well, the seat is PRETTY. There
is a well defined saddle area on it for
my butt, unlike the old seat where I'd
slide back some and move around a bit
since it was like sitting on an upholstered
rail. The seat is FIRM, it seems hard
at first, but it is so comfortable because
it does not compress and you do not feel
the seat pan pushing into your backside
after an hours ride. It also makes the
Buell ride differently, the bike seems
so much smoother when riding. The first
ride out with the Corbin I knew I loved
it.
Still
Love Buell
I
wish we had a local HD dealer that sold
Buells still. Since Jone's dropped Buell
from their lineup it is pretty sad. The
dealers who still sell Buells all have
at least 10 on the floor (hey, that's
alot trust me). I think every motorcyclist
should check out Buell, the fit and finish
on the bikes is top notch. Maintenance
is pretty easy, and low. The bikes look
sharp, are powerful, and fun to ride.
My Buell Blast is the ideal beginner bike
if you ask me, and I am glad I bypassed
the Rebel route that most riders take
because while I am sure I would have tired
of the Rebel in six months I rode the
Blast for a year before adding another
pony. If I could do anything over, it
would be adding an XB12X instead of TPol
but I love my Kawasaki VN750 though and
am still enjoying it (just needs a Corbin
Seat, I prefer riding my Blast now just
because of the seat!!!). My Buell Blast
is a hoot to ride, sips gas, and while
I think alot of motorcyclists think it's
a Scooter on Steroids that is part of
it's charm for me. It's a wonderful little
Thumper and what makes it special is the
man behind it all. Erik Buell is a visionary,
and he's also a guy who loves riding.
I cannot tell you how many times I've
seen photos of him with a Blast, but it's
been a ton. We're very lucky to have an
American Sportbike manufacturer, with
the backing of Harley Davidson, who believes
in innovating and producing high-tech
and high-performance motorcycles like
Erik does. Erik's vision is something
sorely lacking in industry in the US today,
and if we have more guys like him I think
this country will always be great. I love
my Buell Blast, Thanks Erik. Now what
else can I add to it?
Sorry
for not updating this in so long, I'll
try to be more proactive in the future
- Stephen
