Does anyone have thoughts about the Buell Blast and modifying it into a cafe?  The basic layout looks conducive - riding position, rake, suspension, 500cc thumper.

I don’t know much about build quality and parts availability.  The first thing I’d have to do is get the muffler out from underneath the motor and reroute it.  That muffler down there bothers me on so many levels.

The Buell Blast is an interesting bike.....I have often thought about buying one and playing with it for a year to two.  The thing that has kept me from doing that is that they are reported to be mediocre bikes, and hard to resell, and I was worried that I would end up stuck with the things in my garage and have to put it in my will to a relative I don't like much!

They look pretty light and simple - but is weighs close to 400 pounds with fuel in the tank.......and no counter balancer for engine. The belt drive is always a big plus for me, and the front brake is a great looking design.  I have never ridden one - but from what I have read the performance is not very impressive, the shifting is clunky.  At this point in time you might have difficulty getting parts for them.

I used to see them for sale fairly often on Craigslist and they seemed to be either low mileage bikes with good care - or horribly treated by their previous owners.  I have not seen one for sale for a long time.

I test rode a Blast about 3 years ago.  It doesn’t have the same low/mid range power of the Savage.  You have to wind it up pretty good to get some grunt.  The rake and shorter wheelbase creates a totally different ride than the Savage.

I like the fact it has cast wheels and a rear disc brake.  It wouldn’t take much to get some Cafe look to it (rear fender and solo seat would go a long way).  It’s already a wanna-be street fighter without balls.

There are several for sale around Houston.  All cheap and need work.  One guy has a 2 for 1 special for $1200.

Share your concern Dave - you’d have to want to keep it or realize you are going to lose money if you fixed one up and sold it..

If it was a knucklehead , now that would give me pause.  

The LS is a good mount , great donor bike as well for cafe , bobbers , even trackers. I have even seen some LS choppers & trikes.