As someone touched on earlier, it is to replace the Blast in the Riders Edge training program.

 

250-500cc market is a big one world wide it is about time HD gores after honda and the rest

 

Made in india or not, Harley-Davidson is still an American corporation, American owned and operated...and the money spent to buy them bnefiets Americans

 

..... fixed this for you ......

Made in India or not, Harley-Davidson is still a publicly owned and traded corporation, owned by stock holders of indeterminate nationality, ...and the money spent to buy them benefits HD stock holders and workers.

 

Hardeep Davidson

 

Agree with the "cool" comment, but respectfully disagree with the rest - as well as the former comment from someone else on page 1 about the Blast being a "failure".

I can't speak for Erik Buell, but there's little doubt that his "demolishing" of a Blast into a cube in 2010 had much more to do with the souring of the Buell/HD partnership than it did with any "failure" of the Blast in the market. To the contrary, the Blast has had immense success even during the 3 1/2 years after production stopped. They sell exceptionally easily on the used market - and there are several good reasons for that, I'll mention a few below. Back to the Blast Cube that Erik made in 2010 - think about it a bit, he makes arguably THE best racing bikes in the market, period. The Blast really doesn't do anything for the Buell name and brand identity - it was the visible face of the joint HD/Buell project...a relationship that was souring and breaking at that time. I was completely unsurprised that they dropped the bike and disassociated themselves from it in that manner.

As for the bike's dimensions - I am 5'9" and weigh 160 lbs. The Blast fits me perfectly...like a glove. This has been mentioned by friends and family over and over again - so even aesthetically to others I don't look cramped or stymied by the bike's cockpit at all. Sure - if you're 6 feet tall, the Blast probably won't be comfortable for you - but there are any number of bikes that fit that description. For the staple, 5'2" to 5'10" rider, male or female, the bike is just fine - offering a lower-model 25" high seat to those at the short end of the spectrum.

Mechanically, there are few, if any, bikes more easily worked on than a Blast. Pretty much anything that is user serviceable is easily displayed and mounted to the point of being ridiculously easy to manipulate. It's almost like working on an old Mopar car...you opened the hood and could see EVERYTHING you needed to see. Again, perfect for a first bike - what it was marketed as. Except for a few issues that were solved in the 2nd and 3rd year of production, there are very few things that can fail on a Blast in a devastating manner. Try to find many stories of being stranded on the road due to a Blast motor's catastrophic failure - there are a few, but not many and certainly less than most. Belt driven with a self-adjusting belt - service manual widely available electronically after the bike was discontinued - parts easily found. It's a recipe for really learning to work on your own bike with all the right resources.

It is the perfect combination commuter/fun motorcycle. It gets 70 mpg in the stock configuration. That's not a typo - 70 mpg. Even with performance mods and a re-jetted carb, the typical mpg is 65 or slightly above. Thus with a 2.3 gallon fuel tank I have to stop for fuel at the same intervals as the Sportster with a 4.5 gallon tank. It is ridiculously cheap to operate - about the only quick-wearing item is the rear tire, which is still 3-4x less expensive than a Sportster tire.

As to fun, there is practically no lean angle limitation at all on the Blast, especially with any of the aftermarket exhausts easily available - compare that to pretty much any stock Harley. Don't get me wrong, I love my new Sportster - it's the bomb. However, when it comes to the twisties, the Blast is simply the more fun/capable motorcycle...period. It's incredibly stable and can turn on a dime. In town, I haven't seen another motorcycle, foreign or domestic, that is as maneuverable. It's almost more like a scooter when it needs to be at a crawl and in tight spaces.

For speed, it can travel at 70 mph all day on the freeway (still getting 70 mpg) and it will get up and go for passing to 90 easily if you need it. In fact, fourth gear is probably the best for passing and it will go to 70 in fourth super easily and quickly. It's not a crotch rocket - so acceleration, etc. are at the low end of the spectrum - again, perfect for a beginning rider or a commuter. The flipside is that in the twisties it can keep up with most of what's out there due to its stability and ability to turn coupled with good grunt at the lower ends of the gearing ratios. It's super easy to improve performance on the Blast as well - good air cleaner, aftermarket exhaust, re-jet your carb - done - and you've gained at least 15% on your HP/Torque while actually making the engine run better and cooler in the process. Add an iridium racing spark plug and gain another horse while never having to replace your spark plug again for the life of the bike.

What's really amazing is that Buell managed to get a better ride/suspension out of the single rear spring/piston than the Sportster gets at all - even with most mods. The seat is "way" more comfortable for the passenger due to its width as well. It pulls at 70-75 on the freeway with no issue while riding 2-up - something I've proved with my family again and again. Honestly, I prefer the 1200C for 2-up riding, obviously, given its higher overall power and the sissy bar/upgraded seat, etc., but that doesn't change the fact that the Buell can do it as well with no problems.

Sure - it's a first bike or a commuter - but it, frankly, kicks a@@ in those roles. I commute 3 hours each way to where I work - going down on Monday and returning Friday afternoon. The Blast has remained my choice for the commute - it fits that role better than the new Sportster in every way. Ironically, it's even better at carrying baggage as it can easily carry pretty much any model of soft, throw-over saddle bags. It's windscreen is even better than the very high-priced QD windscreens that Harley offers. I like my Sportster's windscreen - but the Buell's offering is more effective and was, when available, way less expensive (there's a reason why you can't find those windshields very often now as no one wants to give them up).

Lastly, it's unique. I have yet to ride the thing, commuting or otherwise, without folks making comments about it. It's the perfect "conversation starter" and people love it and want to know more about it. I find that to be a good thing, but I guess others might see it as a negative.

I can certainly see why Harley wants to try to duplicate it, in some manner, to garner that share of the market (to include the training course needs) with its own product in addition to the given target of overseas sales. I'm interested to see what they come up with at the end of the process. I agree with others that price point is going to be super critical. There are just too many offerings out there at the $6000 or so entry point that anything much above that figure will, imo, make it difficult to succeed in the domestic market.

 

mass dealer email states harley will unveil two new babies this monday, no other info now, we'll see i guess

 

I heard a rumor that the new roadglide was ready..... true???? who knows..

 

Wonder if they will look like these two.???

Copyrighted image removed by moderator.

 

....and then there's this newest "leak".

http://rideapart.com/2013/11/2014-ha...t-750-and-500/