Blur 220i...how's it holding up?

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James Gamblin
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Location: McAllen, TX

Blur 220i...how's it holding up?

Post by James Gamblin »

I'm considering a Blur 220i, wondering what your experience is/has been.
dookiegang
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Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 2:31 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Post by dookiegang »

I love mine so far. I'm just over 1000mi. I ride it to work and everywhere I need to go in town. Work is 30mi round trip everyday, rain or shine. Lots of rain lately and it does fine. I've been in my car about three times since I got my Blur.

The only real problem I've had is that I'm not seeing the top speeds I thought I would which makes getting to work on the highway a little harder than I would like. It takes 15mins on the highway and 40mins on the back roads. It still does fine on the highway but I find myself going just a tad too slow to not get in other people's way. I end up pushing it too hard and have hit the overheat warning light twice and blown an exhaust gasket. My dealer replaced the gasket, free of charge, in less than five mins. It does great when traffic is light and people aren't in a hurry. This is in Atlanta where the average speed is around 80mph. In my car, 90mph is normal for keeping up with left lane traffic.

When I'm not on the highway, it's far more scooter than I thought I would ever need. It's fast and fun in the twisties and stops on a dime. It easily gets out in front of all of other traffic from a stoplight. I've made a lot of sport bikes look silly until they catch me at 30-40mph.

You really can't go wrong with the Blur unless you like to tinker (I do) and want to do a lot of highway runs in a big city. Owing to the lack of go-fast parts and the highway speed, I'll eventually move up to a maxi-scoot or a cruiser bike for long distance runs but it's been a blast learning to ride on a Blur and then using it for commuting and daily errands.
Tristik
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Location: Lake Geneva, WI

Post by Tristik »

~~
I've only got 600 miles on mine so far, but it's been a blast. Since I'm at 600, I'm only 100 over the the first service so I've only really gotten to open it up a bit the last few days. I've only had it up to about 63 indicated. Being a new rider, I won't go much faster than that yet. That being said, I can tell there's plenty of room left in the bike. I should have no problem cruising at 65mph (speed limit around here) if I choose to ride the freeway. Won't be overtaking in the fast lane much, but I don't need that. Slow and steady in the right lane is all I wanted, maximum, out of the bike. If you live in the city, with a 55 mph speed limit, you won't have any issues whatsoever.

Like the previous guy said, this thing can lean like a sportbike in the twisties and stops faster than you can imagine. My local shop is all kinds of solid and is an official Genuine dealer so I'm not concerned in the least about any issue that might crop up. Genuine, from what people say on these forums, has an outstanding track record on getting things fixed if any issues crop up.

My only complaints so far is the lack of a 'glove box' type storage (going to fix that with the Rapid Transit 11 gas tank bag), and the seat all kinds of sucks. If it wasn't for the arch in the back, it'd be fine, but I'm constantly trying to scoot back on it, and it ends up rolling your pants up all the time. I plan on getting the seat worked on before next summer.
~~
claygone
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Location: Boston

Post by claygone »

I have about 1200 miles on mine. I got it in July and it has been holding up pretty well. I like it a lot. My only complaint is right now that it is vibrating like crazy and needs service. Other then that, it has been great.
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chickdr
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Location: Atlanta, GA

Post by chickdr »

Handling and braking are amazing on this scooter, but the engine lets it down IMHO. It is quite buzzy and loud and really isn't all that strong. They should have put a liquid cooled version in the bike with 20hp or so. I had the dreaded overheat light come on today the first time I really pushed the bike. This makes me quite hesitant to take the freeway as it most certainly would have issues running 60mph for any length of time.
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SuperFlyBuddy
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Post by SuperFlyBuddy »

Good candid feedback. Unfortunately it doesn't make it an easy decision to purchase a Blur.

I'd love to step up to a 220i but the nearest dealer is three hours away and I don't want to have to take it back because of the engine overheating. If there is a definite fix to the problem it'd be nice if Genuine would publish a tech article (and make it well known to all dealers and potential owners) so one could have some confidence that the problem has been for sure taken care of before ever making the purchase.

And the uncomfortable seat adds insult to injury.

In most every other way the bike seems a good fit for me.
<insert witty comment here>
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Rippinyarn
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Post by Rippinyarn »

Remember that the engine overheat warning is a warning. It can be defeated on request, but the ECU has to go back to Genuine to do it. Maybe you could have that as a condition of purchase? Genuine will definitely take care of you post-purchase, and they offer the best warranty in the business.

The seat is fine for me when running around, but I have a Alaska Leather "butt pad" that makes it very comfortable for longer trips (100 miles+). The gas tank is too small!

The engine is agricultural-sounding, but produces good power across a very wide rev range. I have the 1/2 gram lighter Dr. Pulley sliders in mine and am very happy with the performance of the scoot.

The optional rear rack broke on mine, but I've installed some pannier bags that offer a lot of storage and sort of make it look like a touring scoot. I also have the windscreen (which is great) and I've got some new LEDs in the lighting cluster. I may or may not install my new blue headlamp bulb today. I replaced the tires with Michelin Pilot Sports and run Dynabeads for balancing.

I got the first Blur delivered in Michigan and shortly after delivery a lady ran into the front of the scoot when I was at a red light. It was a $1400 repair - they replaced the forks, front wheel and nose, fender, one lower panel and the headlamp plastic. The dealer where I bought it wasn't interested in fixing it, so I had a great old-school scooter shop (and Genuine dealer) fix it and they did a fantastic job. Sadly, they closed (after their best year in business) in order to move to California near the owners elderly mom.

I have almost 7k miles on my Blur and have gone through three instrument clusters (to cure the malfunctioning tach syndrome). The second and third one were just sent to me to install and I did them in about 15 minutes.

I commute on mine and take it on the highway for mostly short jaunts, and can not only keep up with, but can pass traffic with a top speed of an indicated 83 and no overheat warnings (in the past it would throw the warning with fewer than eight miles on the highway). I change the oil twice a year, usually around 1000 miles. It freaks my shit every time that the oil change light comes on, as you can't proactively re-set it when you do the job early.

I call it a 70-75 mph machine with 70-80 mpg. It looks awesome and it's light enough to be easily moved and leaned, but steady on it's center rack (I removed the side stand). When I'm in a hurry, I always take the Blur, as point to point, I think that it's one of the faster scoots around. I'd dearly love a different sounding and good looking exhaust to cover up the tractor engine noises, but other than that, I'm good.

It rides rough, so I keep the tires at the recommend 29-30psi, but we have some of the worst pavement in the world here in Detroit.

I have three other scoots as well - a Honda Reflex (great, but heavy and unwieldy compared to the Blur -- but what an engine!), a Bajaj Legend (totally different) and an Aprilia SR50 (which is similar to the Blur, but even smaller and higher performance such as it is, in the 50cc category). I've been riding the Reflex and the Aprilia a lot this summer, as one is new and one just got a new fuel pump, but I'm back to the Blur this week. Great riding weather!

The Blur is in a category of one in the 200+cc sport scooter product spread, but is definitely a sport scooter. Like a sports car, there are compromises with the Blur, but it is a thrilling scoot and does pretty well in general use. If you really don't want a sport scoot, there are plenty of other scooters in the 150 to 250 category that will probably suit your needs just fine. I'd start my search with a Honda PCX 150, which is a great product and as usual punches above it's weight with speed and power.

Would I buy a Blur again? Yes.
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turboscott
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Location: Port Hueneme, CA

Post by turboscott »

My bike started fine and got me to work the other day, as usual. Went to go home and it would not start. Just one click then nothing. Lights and all were fine.

Got stranded at work and had to get a tow home. Thank goodness the warranty includes tow.

Dealer found the starter ground wire broke somehow and replaced under warranty. Not sure how it happened, just advising others to look out for this.

I'm not complaining about my scoot, still love it, wish there was more power and speed though. 3600 miles and going.
Voodoo "BOB" lights, Blur Rear Rack, SHAD SH40 Top Case, Brunton Fuel Cells, Garmin Nuvi with Ram Mount, Go Pro Hero 2 with Mount
turboscott
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Post by turboscott »

Oh yeah, also check your exhaust mount bolts. Mine vibrated loose and and was causing all kinds of noise clanking.
Voodoo "BOB" lights, Blur Rear Rack, SHAD SH40 Top Case, Brunton Fuel Cells, Garmin Nuvi with Ram Mount, Go Pro Hero 2 with Mount
chickdr
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Post by chickdr »

turboscott wrote:Oh yeah, also check your exhaust mount bolts. Mine vibrated loose and and was causing all kinds of noise clanking.
Not surprising considering the amount of vibration this motor produces. Maybe Nord-Locks or Loc-Tite could help?
Tristik
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Location: Lake Geneva, WI

Post by Tristik »

~~
Loc-tite will still break and crumble under vibration. I'd think some kind of anti-seize product would be better. Those stay in a kind of a paste-like state and absorb vibration pretty well.

We use it in my machine shop and, other than it's actual use as anti-seize, it helps on tools that vibrate a lot and cause bad finishes/broken inserts/vibrating screws loose.
~~
Robbie
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Location: Desplaines Il.

Post by Robbie »

Old Harley trick.....well not that old.
I use hi-temp RTV on the threads to keep things tight.
The RTV acts as a sealant and vibration damper yet will allow disassembly if required.
Just recoat the threads at re-assembly.



Rob
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Rush
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Location: Cincinnati, OH

Post by Rush »

The scoot delivers as advertised -

70+ mph, 70+ mpg, fun, reliable, light, maneuverable, stable, noticeable, no tinkering needed (although I'm finding I want to tinker with it....), great local dealer. 7.5k miles and going strong.

Both my motorcycles are out of commission right now - one is waiting on a tire and the other got knocked over in a parking lot (luckily there was a witness) so insurance is fixing it. I've been riding only the Blur for the last 2.5 weeks. Do I miss the motorcycles? Not really.

Dig this-
http://vimeo.com/40865139
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DCUNITED4LIFE
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Location: Richmond Old Dominion

Post by DCUNITED4LIFE »

I like my Blur. It's nice...all those issues mentioned will happen though. I got 10k on mine....

^^^That Moped video has lot's of RVA spots in it....cool video.
turboscott
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Post by turboscott »

Tristik wrote:~~
Loc-tite will still break and crumble under vibration. I'd think some kind of anti-seize product would be better. Those stay in a kind of a paste-like state and absorb vibration pretty well.

We use it in my machine shop and, other than it's actual use as anti-seize, it helps on tools that vibrate a lot and cause bad finishes/broken inserts/vibrating screws loose.
~~
You guys are over thinking the solution..any standard lock washer works best...LOL.
Voodoo "BOB" lights, Blur Rear Rack, SHAD SH40 Top Case, Brunton Fuel Cells, Garmin Nuvi with Ram Mount, Go Pro Hero 2 with Mount
Primal
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Location: Maui, Hawaii

Post by Primal »

Selling mine the moment the warrantee expires. Can't find parts to work on it myself...
chickdr
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Location: Atlanta, GA

Post by chickdr »

Can't find parts? Just call/e-mail Genuine and order them direct if you don't have a dealer.
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DCUNITED4LIFE
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Post by DCUNITED4LIFE »

Over 11,500 at this point.....strong runner still! 8)
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