I am thinking about getting an inexpensive second bike to run around on and primarily have my 2 boys get some riding experience on. I don't want them learning on a Road King.

I can pick up a Buell Blast for a couple grand. Anyone have an opinion on the blast?

 

I have a friend that bought his wife a "Be Last." I rode it. I wasn't impressed. I feel like their are probably better starter bikes. If your boys are very tall, they likely won't be comfortable on a Blast after the novelty wears off.

 

I wouldnt reccomend the blast . I bought one for my wife and neither of us liked it . It feels like your riding a loud shakey moped . I ended up selling it a few months later for less than half the price of new with about 100 miles on it if that [:@]

 

Don't care for the Buell Blast but the Buell Firebolt is a nice bike.

 

You might want to get a metric for your boys to learn on like I did. That way if it falls over it's no big deal. The only word of caution I'd give to you is what happened to me when I was younger and learning to ride. I had a Kawasaki Ninja EX500 and after a month of riding I get really comfortable and a little cocky. I ended up riding with the big boys and trying to stay with them. You know how young kids can be. They start to ride like they're racing all the time. Justa word of caution. Maybe a Honda Shadow or something would be better to learn on before they get their first harley-davidsons.

 

Well I'll be opposite of the naysayers on this thread! I bought a used Buell Blast (used, but had 42 miles on it when I got it) for about $3k. Took the MSF course (as did my wife), and we both started learning on it. We loved it! We were fighting over who could take it when, we finally got sick of it and bought a 2nd one (a Blast is definately NOT a 2-up bike!) Paid about $2500 for it. Traded them both on an 03 Lowrider, the dealer gave up $3k for each one.

Experienced riders might not care of them much, but for beginners they work perfect! I put a V&H pipe on mine (upgraded to a K&N filter, and rejetted it), and it was LOUD!! I had a blast (pun intended) when I started doing bike nights; pulling up and leaving, people would literally gawk because it sounded more like a Harley than alot of Harleys out there.....

 

I agree it is a good bike to learn to ride on, but isn't much fun to ride if you are an experienced rider. I bought a Blast for my daughter to learn on and when she's ready to move up, I will sell it and get her a Sportster.

 

Bought a Blast for my wife to learn on and after about 6 months of riding we traded it in on an 04 Softtail Standard. It was her "scoot" and she was proud of it, but I-she-we would never buy another one. Pretty grossly underpowered andnowhere near solid enough for prolonged cruising above 45 mph. But if the price is right, why not?

Replacement mirrors are pretty cheap though - about 11 bucks a piece - so don't worry if you break a few off learning. If memory serves me correctly, I replaced 3 of 'em. Along with a couple of turn signal lenses.

They're decent learner's bikes, although pretty ugly. But as others have mentioned, you can probably find a comparable displacement metric (500cc) that would ride better and look better too... much as I hate to admit it, sometimes I have to look twice at Honda Shadows to ensure HD hasn't slid one through the backdoor.

 

Thanks to everyone for the great feedback!

 

Suzuki SV 650. 650 cc's, water cooled fuel injected V twin, half fairing so you get the wind protection of a full crotch rocket without the insurance bill. V-twin that's smooth and easy to ride but redlines around 12,000 or so RPM's and will scream on top. A buddy has an 05 with almost 40,000 miles on it, rides it on the track regularly, and pretty much beats on it. No issues with it at all, just regular maintaince. It's comfortable enough for a road trip, I have the SV 1000 after riding his 650 and I've done a few 500+ mile days and not been any more sore than if I'd been on the Harley. The brakes are better than any Harley you'll ever ride, the power is mellow enough below 6000 RPM's to be a great starter bike and good enough on top to keep up withalmost allcrotch rockets on twisty roads with a good rider on it. Handles well enough to put a knee down at the track, all around great bike. A little bit faster than a 1200 buell but can be ridden harder for longer withough blowing the motor. Sportster motors just were not meant to be ridden that hard, and if you have 2 boys they will eventually ride it hard. Plus I've proven that it's easier to go from a sportbike to a Harley than a Harley to a sportbike. Check out www.twowheelforum.com and go to the beginner's corner, you'll get a lot more info there.