Blur - Drive Day 1

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:05 am

9/12 - Blur delivered. 2+ inches of rain fell. Blur in garage.

9/13 - Sun shining. Got off work early. Went on a 40 mile cruise.

I'm a total rookie, as I just got my temporary license on Saturday and today was my first solo flight.

Background:
I knew I wanted it when I saw the literature and my local dealer, Seth @ Metro Scooters, told me about it. Then I saw it 'live' after 3 arrived in The 'Nati last week. Nice! Purchase made. Got a short lesson on the basics last Friday and set up delivery date. (didn't have my license to drive it home).

Today:
It had been a long weekend waiting for the delivery and then an extra day for better weather, but today was my day. All I can say about my first riding impression is that the Blur feels solid, handles and rides really nice. I've been told that the brakes are really great, but have nothing to compare that to. They felt excellent. Fit and finish look great, and the engine is smooth and a bit throaty.

Since I'm a rookie, I don't have the skill to corner while dragging my kneecap on the ground (yet), but I felt totally confident on the Blur. I look forward to many more miles and improving my feel and ability to control the Blur like a skilled rider.

Just wanted to share my Day 1 as I'm totally amped up about my Blur. Wish I had more daylight to put on more miles now! I hope that all of you reading this have such a great memory & experience when you get a new scooter.

RisingSunset · Post by **RisingSunset** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:18 am

I love your enthusiasm! It cracked me up that you mentioned the rain & it being in the garage.

Have fun!

SteMer · Post by **SteMer** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:23 am

Awesome! Glad you're thrilled with it, kneedragger. On second thought, maybe we shouldn't go riding together. My Buddy might get a little jealous of your Blur. Mine sat in the garage yesterday too - not today, though. Let's ride soon!

Steve

AxeYrCat · Post by **AxeYrCat** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:19 am

I'm totally jealous in a lot of ways...

Granted, I'm really happy with my Buddy, but damned if I don't find myself feeling Blur envy a LOT more than I thought I would until I saw one in person.

Congrats!!

360 · Post by **360** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:42 pm

Keep posting your riding experiences with the blur...that way I can live vicariously through you until I get mine (hopefully very soon).

Until I have it the next best thing is reading about it.

Post by **illnoise** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:33 pm

blurblaine wrote:Since I'm a rookie, I don't have the skill to corner while dragging my kneecap on the ground (yet)

I've been riding for 10+ years and my knee's never come anywhere near the ground, that's not really #1 on my to-do list, ha.

Watch the centerstand, that'll hit well before your knew does.

Bb.

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 11:01 pm

What a great day it was to ride the Blur! Yesterday was nice, but today was primo! Got up around 80 and it was sunny and perfect (that was the temperature, not my speed).

As you may have read on another Blur post, I've been registering kilometers, not miles ... but have covered 120 of 'em now in 3 rides.

Funny thing about today, 2 motorcycle guys gave me a 'low wave' as I approached. I returned both waves (with a subtle low wave, hand below handle bar, of course) and watched both looked a bit surprised as they got closer and realized I was on a scooter ... not a sport bike.

Well, it is a sport scooter!

My basic skills are improving and riding feels fairly comfortable. Starting to take corners a bit faster and getting better at 'the lean'.

The Blur has been perfect. Nice ride.

Bert · Post by **Bert** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 2:09 am

I'm so glad you love it. I probably won't have the money for mine 'til spring.

bert

Post by **illnoise** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 4:00 pm

Took mine on the Eisenhower Expressway (I290) in downtown Chicago yesterday. It's not quite broken-in and it was windy, so I was taking it easy-ish, and I'm a heavy dude (250lbs) but let's just say it's not really a highway bike, heh. Looking at the speedo, i got to (indicated) 55 no sweat, but traffic in the left two lanes was moving faster than that. I got it up to an indicated 65 or so, passed a couple cars, but my exit is in the far left lane and I didn't dare try to merge across five lanes, I got off a couple exits early on the right.

Got home and checked the GPS, it said my top speed was 57.8. (interestingly, I GPSed my Honda CR-V speedo, and got similar results, so either all speedos are 10% fast or my GPS sucks, or some combination thereof) I think I could get a bit more out of it, but not much. I'm sure it'll never see 70 with me on it unless i'm in a freefall off a cliff.

The good news is that i've ridden a Vespa with a slightly lower top speed on the highway before, and it was terrifying. The Blur felt great, it was comfortable, not getting blown around by wind, and I felt totally in control.

Bert · Post by **Bert** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:12 pm

I feel a lot like 360 above. Keep these Blur bloggs coming, they are all I have until I get mine.

bert

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:16 pm

Enjoyed another nice ride last evening on my Blur.

It was a fairly windy day, so I noticed my neck getting a bit tired after an hour. The Blur felt fine and I didn't notice it getting pushed around at all.

Was on 2 roads with a speed limit of 55, and had no problem cruing at that speed (I'm 6'1" / 180 lbs) and still had throttle and revvs to spare. Since I'm still in break-in, I'm trying to abide by the rules, but I look forward to pushing it more in the future.

Glad I got the Bell Mag8 helmet with the face shield, as a giant bug hit it square in front of my eye last night. That would have hurt!

Almost drove it to work today, but then remembered a special meeting I needed to attend ... not ready to scoot in a suit, so that didn't happen.

I can tell my wife is getting anxious for me to pass my full motorcycle test (needed in Ohio) because she is tired of being left at home while I go cruising!

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 7:43 pm

illnoise wrote: Got home and checked the GPS, it said my top speed was 57.8. (interestingly, I GPSed my Honda CR-V speedo, and got similar results, so either all speedos are 10% fast or my GPS sucks, or some combination thereof) I think I could get a bit more out of it, but not much. I'm sure it'll never see 70 with me on it unless i'm in a freefall off a cliff.

Not sure about cars, but it's quite common to see motorcycle speedo's be ~7-10% optimistic. Most people know this these days and account for it when riding, but I believe it was done initially to slow people down a bit, though I can't recall the specific details.

360 · Post by **360** » Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:13 pm

blurblaine wrote: Almost drove it to work today, but then remembered a special meeting I needed to attend ... not ready to scoot in a suit, so that didn't happen.

Haha, that hasn't stopped me! I feel a little weird riding in dress shoes, but once the ignition starts all those thoughts quickly vanish. (At least until I'm stopped at a red light)

However, while riding yesterday I got my first little taste of wind power. The wind didn't seem very strong but there was a very very subtle inclination to veer to the right. Granted I'm only 5'8 150lbs on a good day

ScooterN2 · Post by **ScooterN2** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:11 pm

I bought a Blur about 1 month ago and a Buddy 125 for my girlfriend. I have ridden both, but not too much on the Buddy. I plan to write a more full comparison after riding the Buddy more, but for now I can say that the Blur is definately faster, quicker, and stops much better. The tires allow for more lean. The Buddy is easier to steer at low speeds and I like the storage bin below the dash on the Buddy.

The Blur speedo I have measures distance in Km and although I haven't measured the speedo accuracy I tend to think it is over 10% optimistic. When the fuel guage hits empty, I can only get 1 to 1.1 gal in the 1.9 gal tank, so there is significant reserve.

I'm enjoying the Blur!

Post by **illnoise** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:58 pm

ScooterN2 wrote:When the fuel guage hits empty, I can only get 1 to 1.1 gal in the 1.9 gal tank, so there is significant reserve.

I've noticed that, too, and it's frustrating because you don't want to fill up when you have half a tank left, but you also don't want to push your luck and ignore the gas gauge and run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Not too big a deal in the city, but bad for long trips. I'd like to hear what jsrjr has to say about mileage, gas stops, and the odometer on the cannonball.

Post by **jrsjr** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:33 pm

illnoise wrote:
ScooterN2 wrote:When the fuel guage hits empty, I can only get 1 to 1.1 gal in the 1.9 gal tank, so there is significant reserve.
I've noticed that, too, and it's frustrating because you don't want to fill up when you have half a tank left, but you also don't want to push your luck and ignore the gas gauge and run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. Not too big a deal in the city, but bad for long trips. I'd like to hear what jsrjr has to say about mileage, gas stops, and the odometer on the cannonball.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. And yeah, I still managed to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere... I'm not sure about the odometer. I tried pacing mileposts for 10 miles, figuring that should add 16.1 kms to the Blur's odometer. The results I got were nonsense. I don't remember what they were, but they were nonsense. The thing is, I was in so much pain at that point that I couldn't concentrate worth a flip, so any mental arithmetic I did then should be viewed as highly suspect. Wish I'd had the presence of mind to just stop and write some numbers down do I could look at them later, but again, I was in so much pain that I keeping my head down and the throttle wide open was about all I could manage.

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:46 am

Okay, I didn't wear a suit, but I did drive the Blur to work yesterday.

Weather in The 'Nati has been better than normal the last 2 days, so I decided I would do it. Dressed warm for the AM ride, which was smart. It is a 45 minute long trip on nice back roads, with about half having a 55 mph posted limit. In the shadows it felt cool, and the low sun was a real pain as I headed East, but I still had a good time.

Enjoyed blasting up to 60 a few times, with the tach registering a bit below 8K (dial redlines from 10K up to 12k). Blasting is also a good word to describe the effect on my neck. Without a windscreen, I honestly don't understand how motorcycle riders can take a long ride ... my neck is getting stronger, but it gets tired with all the wind.

The ride home was where I really got the maximum enjoyment. Temp was up at 80 and the sun was shining, but not in my eyes. I felt like a different driver going home. Where I was tentative and a few notches nervous in the AM, I was totally relaxed, confident, and totally into the ride going home. There was a lot more traffic too, but that wasn't any concern, and my pace didn't slow anyone down... I'm starting to enjoy corners a whole lot more!

Got the pleasure of encountering my first bee impact. It hit my face shield and brushed off my chin. No nasty mess, just some pollen on my chin... but it sounded loud when it hit!

Glad to see everyone commenting on the fuel tank. I was starting to wonder what kind of range I really had because the gauge and odometer readings had me thinking the Blur was way more thirsty than I had expected. I hadn't thought about it much until yesterday, leaving home with a bit under 1/2 tank and seeing it drop below 1/4 after my drive to work. Filled it up at lunch, but it only took 1 gallon...

Now I need to set up my first oil change ... the miles, or Km's are now at the mark.

Cheers!

Post by **illnoise** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:42 pm

jrsjr wrote:The thing is, I was in so much pain at that point that I couldn't concentrate worth a flip.

The seat's not that bad! : ) I guess after a few days, any seat is pretty bad.

I had a big bruise on my butt after my roadtrip last weekend, but I'm pretty sure it was from drunk-riding through soybeans on my friend's Vespa Ciao, not from the Blur.

What was the damage? I'm guessing back, wrists, butt, legs, and arms, in that order.

Bb.

Post by **illnoise** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 5:46 pm

blurblaine wrote:Now I need to set up my first oil change ... the miles, or Km's are now at the mark.

What mark is that, though!? I believe the manual says at least two different mileages. and the sticker on the bike says 500km. I'm assuming the sticker's right, and that the odometer is in km.

I want to change the oil myself because I don't want to take a day off work to have Scooterworks change my oil, but the manual doesn't even give you a clue where the drain screws and filler holes are (well, it shows the engine oil filler, but not the gear oil or either drain screw). Maybe I'll call POC (my dealer, even though I live in chicago, long story) and see if he can talk me through it.

Bb.

Post by **jrsjr** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:34 am

illnoise wrote:... but the manual doesn't even give you a clue where the drain screws and filler holes are (well, it shows the engine oil filler, but not the gear oil or either drain screw).

The engine oil is stupidly easy to change. If you are on the right side of the bike, sit down and look at the underside of the engine just behind the center stand. That thing that's right in front of you, on your side, is the oil drain. It takes a 17 mm wrench.

When you unscrew it, the drain screw will try to shoot off when it comes away from the motor because the wire-mesh oil filter inside is captured by a spring that seats in the oil drain cap itself. Grab that puppy as it comes away and take a look at it. It's dead simple, but take a look at how the filter is oriented in the spring the first time it comes out so you'll know.

The "filter" is nothing but wire mesh. At the first oil change particularly, you will probably find some metal shavings captive on that filter so be sure to wipe it a carefully. I didn't see any more shavings on the second change.

Put in a quart of Synthetic 10W45 in and you're good to go.

Somebody will have to remind me about the gear oil change.

Post by **jrsjr** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 1:38 am

illnoise wrote:
jrsjr wrote:The thing is, I was in so much pain at that point that I couldn't concentrate worth a flip.
The seat's not that bad!

After the first 14 1/2 hour day in the saddle, I had a blister on my left buttock about the size of a quarter. It burst on the third day when I hit a pothole. After a couple more days of that, I was riding around on a raw spot about the size of a half dollar. Is the seat really that bad? No. It's just not intended for that kind of marathon riding.

Post by **illnoise** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 5:57 am

jrsjr wrote:Is the seat really that bad? No. It's just not intended for that kind of marathon riding.

Oh, I know, I was just kidding. I can't imagine any motorcycle, past or present, would be comfortable under those circumstances. Or any car, for that matter.

Either that or you didn't follow the proper break-in procedure for your butt. I guess getting the bike the day before the ride didn't help, ha.

Bryan

dru_ · Post by **dru_** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:22 pm

I ought to hunt down the guys that rode the People's in the Cannonball and ask them. I'm constantly surprised at how that saddle seems to get better the longer you ride. I think a large part of that comes from it's width. When I first bought it, that was actually my biggest concern, that the width would be uncomfortable, and it frequently takes me a few minutes to get settled onto it, but I find now, that after about an hour it seems to be about right. I'd imagine that the faint 'buzzing' that my wallet in my pocket gets at about 3/4 throttle would eventually become unpleasant though.

Post by **jrsjr** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:55 pm

illnoise wrote:Either that or you didn't follow the proper break-in procedure for your butt.

I'll keep that in mind for 2008!

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 2:17 am

My Blur is still performing flawlessly.

Have not been riding as much with the ugly weather, but have taken it to out the past 2 Sunday's for a 20 minute cruise each way to church. Nice.

Got a little cold 2 weeks ago in my old school Bengals jacket so I purchased a Power Trip jacket from www.newenough.com. Got the black one with 3 white stripes on each sleeve for only $59! This week I was toasty warm, even though the temperature when I left home was in the 40's. Now I need warmer gloves!

I am so glad I bought a Blur. I think I need to move South 'cause I don't want to wait through the winter to ride more. I need a nice long indian summer....

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 12:46 pm

blurblaine,

I got the same jacket, and I've been riding with it all this week here in Cincinnati, just need a layer of something like a sweatshirt under it on the days it's been 32 or lower.

I agree about the gloves though, and I am looking forward to warmer weather when it comes too.

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 4:44 pm

My Blur is @ Mero scooters 2day for the initail service.

Seth has some long winter gloves that I checked out . look like 'a must' for the ugly weather ahead (lobsterman - you will like these)

Also asked him to install the new PGO twin turbo kit... that will be fun!

(just kidding about the twin turbo - don't think about that too long)

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:39 pm

'blaine -

I saw those gloves at Metro as well, they're on my list but will have to wait due to spousal overload on the scootering "hidden costs". Strangely it's OK for her to buy me stuff when it's her idea though. She bought me some base layer items and some lined jeans this weekend. Married 21 years and she still is a mystery to me.

I am ready to schedule my first maintenance as well on my Buddy. Maybe I can sneak the gloves in while I'm there.

SteMer · Post by **SteMer** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:24 am

Blur & Lobster-

Those winter gloves are on my list too. But I think good Cinti winter riding boots are next for me.

Sorry you missed the ride yesterday to Rabbit Hash. It was sweet. 100 miles round trip through twisty roads and farm country. Spent most of the time cruising at speeds between 40 and 60. The group did an awesome of job of sticking together. Didn't get back until after dark though. I was exhausted. You can check out photos at www.scooterdave.com/gallery/main.php - scroll down to the end where you see "Rabbit Hash 10-29."

Post by **jrsjr** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 1:48 am

SteMer wrote:..Sorry you missed the ride yesterday to Rabbit Hash. ... You can check out photos at www.scooterdave.com/gallery/main.php - scroll down to the end where you see "Rabbit Hash 10-29."

Hey, did that Honda Helix crash during the ride, or did you all just happen upon that incident?

SteMer · Post by **SteMer** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 2:50 am

That was a previous ride earlier this summer - before I joined the scooter club here in Cincinnati. I think it may have been a member of the club who broke some bones. That's all I know. Looks nasty, though, doesn't it? Our ride yesterday was without incident.

ScooterDave · Post by **ScooterDave** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:31 pm

jrsjr wrote:Hey, did that Honda Helix crash during the ride, or did you all just happen upon that incident?

That would have been from the May ride:

http://www.scooterdave.com/wp-gallery2. ... temId=1346

blurblaine · Post by **blurblaine** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 3:17 am

Initial service done - plus slight valve adjustment.

I thought my Blur ran just fine, but after this service and Seth doing a little valve adjustment, it feels smoother and even a bit stronger.

Was nice to have a 70 degree day to drive it home ... then took my wife on a slow cruise around Montgomery. Nice.

BTW - I did buy the long-sleeved winter gloves. Probably won't use them until Saturday or Sunday, but I know they are going to keep my fingers nice & warm!

ScooterDave · Post by **ScooterDave** » Fri Nov 03, 2006 2:31 pm

Right on. You should join us on Sunday. Brian is putting together a killer ride.

Dave

Modern Buddy

Blur - Drive Day 1

Blur - Drive Day 1

Re: Blur - Drive Day 1

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