Old news , you should get out once in a while !  

I had a '65 Lightning Rocket and traded it on a '68 Suzuki Titan...
Holy crap - that was 50 yrs ago !!

A company might look at the success of the Yamaha 400 (retro ) and see the market for old style bikes ?

I would much prefer the old style , but the 400 Yamaha put their troublesome brush-type alt. on it instead of a permanent magnet type .  
I don't need that kinda trouble ....    what were they thinking ???  I'll suspect that High $ wound rotor has put more Yamaha's in the bone yard than wrecks !


But who wouldn't buy a new SR500 just like the original ?  
or
A BSA Gold-Star with electronic firing system and modern carb.  

 

As I recall they will be selling bikes this year.

Google : BSA Dealers  

Dave,

This Triumph dealer is why so many people end up buying Harleys.

No matter what you have bad to say about Harley, every major town has a Harley dealer and they employ mechanics that can fix a Harley.

Generally the parts departments have what I need in stock and what they don't have only takes about 4 days to get. I am still able to get Buell parts from my Buell friendly American Eagle Harley .

My 2 cents worth.

Kenny G

Ruttly,

I have a 2009 Buell Blast.

The Blasts get a bad rap because the Harley dealers used them in the Riders Edge Program. After they were worn out they sold the Blasts to bargain hunters, when instead they should have been scrapped. You take a worn out bike that has never been higher than 3rd gear and drop it on the shift side 50% of the time that a beginner falls off you can expect a lot of trouble. And you have unbelievable trouble.

You have to split the cases to work on the Blast transmission and imagine what it is like for a guy that never held a wrench before. The junk they have is the junk they try to sell to the next bargain hunter that will now own a basket case.

I purchased my Blast from a private seller who bought it to learn to ride and then teach his kids to ride. It had a couple of scuff marks on it but I was able to buy replacement parts, and the parts are quite inexpensive compared to Suzuki parts.

The Blast is not  nearly as civilized as the Savage/S40. I changed the exhaust system and the intake system.  Powder coated the brake cylinders red. I also had the peg hangers powder coated silver. I had a Corbin customize a seat so my long legs weren't under my chin and I modified the clutch per Harley Service Bulletin.

The better part of owning the Blast other than changing oil and tires there is very little maintenance. It has cast wheels and tubeless Pirelli tires, the valves have hydraulic lifters so they never need adjusted. It has a spin on oil filter and the transmission and clutch oil is separate from the engine oil. The engine oil is stored in the frame. The pegs are properly located for mid controls.

The Blast has disk brakes front and rear and will stop on a dime and give you 11 cents change.

We have a guy like Armen on the forum and he designed the intake system and produces and sells the parts to make the Blast efficient and fun.

Many of the engine, clutch and transmission parts are the exact same part number as the Sportster. Although they quit making the Blast in 2010, when Harley was in trouble because of the economic slow down, I still get parts in 4 days or less.

I am not going to try to defend the Blast from it's detractors because it is a totally different motorbike than the Savage/S40. I wouldn't own it if I didn't like it.

Kenny G

How much did you pay for it ? Sometimes I see them cheap. I see one on C/L a 02 for $1300 with 14,000 miles looks clean , most I see are pretty well beat up !