New '06

[zuman]

FYI, I just laid down the deposit on a new '06 Blur at Scooterworks in Chicago and will pick it up next week (my wife's getting an '08 Buddy St. Tropez at the same time).
They don't have any other new Blurs, BUT THEY DO HAVE A PRE-OWNED '06 THEY'RE RECONDITIONING, INCLUDING A RE-BUILT ENGINE. I'm told it could be available in about a week.
Ask for Jason...

[jim_0068]

Cool, did you pick up the last one that was on their floor?

[zuman]

Well, I didn't pick it up yet, but they tell me it's the last one.

[BeachBuzz]

I have been able to track down a new '06 and am just about to pull the trigger. Is there anything different between the '06 & '07 other than the color? I haven't even sat on one in person - I am basing my decision solely on the reviews I have seen and the fact that when I first saw one a couple years ago I really liked the style. At the time I was in my rookie year of commuting on my TGB50 and thought if I ever did want to upgrade the orange Blur would be near the top of the list. Well, I recently looked at the Buddy50 for my wife and ran across the reviews for the Blur and deceided it was time to upgrade - only to find out that the '08 Blur is not available and the leftover '06/07s are few and far between.

So - what's up with the '06 Blur, what should I be aware of when I go check it out in person. Also, if I do go look at it (these things are like puppies arent they - you cant just go look without bringing one home) should I ride it home (120+ miles ~3hours avoiding highways but some long streches of 55mph roads) or would it be better to haul it and break it in gently on my local commute to work. How comfy are these thing on a 3 hour ride?

thanks,
Steve

[jfrost2]

See if it runs, put it on the center stand and give it throttle and hold it to see if the bike can maintain a steady and smooth throttle. Then see if the original owner has paper work indicating last service times.

[BeachBuzz]

See if it runs, put it on the center stand and give it throttle and hold it to see if the bike can maintain a steady and smooth throttle. Then see if the original owner has paper work indicating last service times.

Sorry if I didnt mention that it's brand new at a dealership. They will be prepping it as soon as I call them back to put down a deposit.

[NathanielSalzman]

I have been able to track down a new '06 and am just about to pull the trigger. Is there anything different between the '06 & '07 other than the color? I haven't even sat on one in person - I am basing my decision solely on the reviews I have seen and the fact that when I first saw one a couple years ago I really liked the style. At the time I was in my rookie year of commuting on my TGB50 and thought if I ever did want to upgrade the orange Blur would be near the top of the list. Well, I recently looked at the Buddy50 for my wife and ran across the reviews for the Blur and deceided it was time to upgrade - only to find out that the '08 Blur is not available and the leftover '06/07s are few and far between.

So - what's up with the '06 Blur, what should I be aware of when I go check it out in person. Also, if I do go look at it (these things are like puppies arent they - you cant just go look without bringing one home) should I ride it home (120+ miles ~3hours avoiding highways but some long streches of 55mph roads) or would it be better to haul it and break it in gently on my local commute to work. How comfy are these thing on a 3 hour ride?

thanks,
Steve

One big thing generally accepted as bad when breaking in an engine is extended periods of steady open throttle. Riding it that distance wouldn't be a big deal, provided you stopped every hour or so and let it cool off for a few and were always able to vary your throttle input. But if you're looking at big cruising sections at that speed, you'd probably be better off to haul the scooter home, then ride it like you stole it with lots of throttle modulation 'round town. Being "easy" on it can actually keep your rings from seating properly, and so would long periods of steady open throttle. The biggest thing is to just be constantly loading and then unloading the engine. That way those rings can dig in under load, then oil can splash up over them under engine breaking. So haul ass up hills then coast back down the other side. Break it in with lots of variety and it'll run forever.

[BeachBuzz]

One big thing generally accepted as bad when breaking in an engine is extended periods of steady open throttle. Riding it that distance wouldn't be a big deal, provided you stopped every hour or so and let it cool off for a few and were always able to vary your throttle input. But if you're looking at big cruising sections at that speed, you'd probably be better off to haul the scooter home, then ride it like you stole it with lots of throttle modulation 'round town. Being "easy" on it can actually keep your rings from seating properly, and so would long periods of steady open throttle. The biggest thing is to just be constantly loading and then unloading the engine. That way those rings can dig in under load, then oil can splash up over them under engine breaking. So haul ass up hills then coast back down the other side. Break it in with lots of variety and it'll run forever.

thanks Nathaniel - that seems to be pretty consistant with every other scooter break-in theory I have heard. I guess my question would be - what is an extended period, a minute or two, 5-10 miles??

I will have my wife following in the cage so if I slow traffic at least I will have a little buffer. I can plan the ride to avoid heavy traffic times but I am not at all familier with most of the roads I will be travelling. I Google Mapped the route home and clicked the 'avoid highways' button but that just cuts out the interstates - I expect some of the surface roads will be 55mph. I can certainly stop for breaks (and will probably need to on a 3 hour ride unless the saddle on the Blur is a lot more comfy than my TGB). My hauling option isnt great - I have a VersaHauler50cc for the TGB. The weight limit is #250 and the Blur is listed at 262 dry, so I'm expecting it to be around 275 wet. I think the VH can handle it as long as I'm not bouncing it too much. I suppose I could ride to the interstate, load it on the back and drive it to a point where I can off load and ride the rest of the way.

Any other thoughts on the '06 from you Blur owners?

[NathanielSalzman]

thanks Nathaniel - that seems to be pretty consistant with every other scooter break-in theory I have heard. I guess my question would be - what is an extended period, a minute or two, 5-10 miles??

When I was breaking in my Blur, I considered any sustained throttle over about 90 seconds a bad idea. But all you need to do, now that I think about it, even to ride the 55 mph road is just continue to vary your throttle input. The Blur will do 55 mph no problem at all, so as traffic allows, just keep surging and letting off. Speed up to 60 mph, let off to 50 mph, and so forth. You don't want to be obnoxious to other cars, but you can pull over and let people by if you need to. Ride hard up hills and coast back down the back side. Just keep the throttle guessing and you should be fine.

As for other thoughts on the Blur, have you ridden one as a demo? It's an amazing scooter. I rode in a pack of Stellas on Sunday and was just amazed how easy it was for me to squeeze the throttle and just walk away from the pack. The handling is simply amazing and the stopping power is beyond what you'd ever expect from a scooter. You'll lose your nerve before you lock up the tire more often than not. Just fantastic. It has it's faults - chiefly in my opinion the comfort of the seat, the "fireworks stand" stickers, and the fact that the odometer reads neither miles nor kilometers and the speedometer is a good 10% off.

I highly recommend the windshield, the rear rack, and I've even got saddle bags on my Blur. Love it.

[EP_scoot]

another thing you want to keep in mind is your first service. It is scheduled at 500 BDU's which equate to about 400 miles or so depending on wind direction, the phases of the moon and the little taiwanese guy that assembled your speedometer cable.

So, if you are doing 120 miles to your place and you need to bring it back to the same place for service, that is 240 miles right off the bat. Keep that in mind as you won't have much time to scoot around town before you have to bring it back for yout 1st service.

[nickwhite44]

What is the break-in period? How many miles?

Thanks,
Nick

[BeachBuzz]

As for other thoughts on the Blur, have you ridden one as a demo? It's an amazing scooter. I rode in a pack of Stellas on Sunday and was just amazed how easy it was for me to squeeze the throttle and just walk away from the pack. The handling is simply amazing and the stopping power is beyond what you'd ever expect from a scooter. You'll lose your nerve before you lock up the tire more often than not. Just fantastic. It has it's faults - chiefly in my opinion the comfort of the seat, the "fireworks stand" stickers, and the fact that the odometer reads neither miles nor kilometers and the speedometer is a good 10% off.

I highly recommend the windshield, the rear rack, and I've even got saddle bags on my Blur. Love it.

I'm buying the Blur sight unseen, kind of like I did with the TGB. I did my homework online and deceided that the TGB was the right bike at the right price at the time. 3 years and 6000 miles later I still know I made the right choice.

Last year I realized that if the wife wanted to ride along the 50 wasnt going to take us very far so I started looking for a 250 class to take the next step. I found lots to choose from and ran across a slightly used '07 Burgman 400 (also about 120 miles from me). I basically made that deal over the net/phone again sight unseen. Although I did find a new one at a local shop that the wife & I could try on for size but at the time I didnt have a M endorsement so I couldnt test ride anything. A little over a year later and I couldnt be happier with the Burgman as our 2-up pleasure cruiser.

Now the wife is seeing the possibility of herself scooter commuting but the TGB is too tall for her and she (unlike me) likes the retro style smaller scoots, Honda Met, Yamy Vino and the Genuine Buddy. So again I started net shopping just to see what prices were like and what reviews I could find for the top 3 and I ran across the Blur review at Justgottascoot and I was inspired to upgrade again.

I remembered seeing a Blur at Philadelphia Scooters when they came out in '06 and thinking how sharp it looked but my TGB was pretty new at the time and I wasn't in the market for anything else. Now I am planning on retiring the TGB to the beach at the 3yr/6000 mile mark so I started dong my homework again and looking into the Blur only to find they arent available anymore

So I looked up the dealer list on Genuine's site and started making calls in search of the elusive Orange Blur. My local shop, Philly, happens to have one '07 left (if anyone else is looking) but I prefer the '06, mostly because it's orange like my TGB, partly because the price on the '07 is not negotiable and the '06 was discounted when the '07s came out. I'm guessing I can remove some of the gaudy stickers if I dont like them in person. The comfort of the seat and the prospect of a 3+ hour ride home while trying to modulate the throttle and not cause problems I'm thinking I'll haul it home and break it on more friendly terms. I'm definately interested in the windshield (I've gotten used to having the wind and bug protection at speed on the Burger) so I'm going to see if I can negotiate one in the deal when I call them today. I have the optional rack on the TGB and find that I rarely use it - I'll wait on the Blur to see how I end up using it other than commuting. I probably wont need the saddlebags on the Blur but I do have a set for the Burger that woiuld probably work if I do find a need.

thanks again to the responders for your insight and WTF the ODO is not calibrated to Miles or Kilometers??

[NathanielSalzman]

thanks again to the responders for your insight and WTF the ODO is not calibrated to Miles or Kilometers??

Yeah, we here on the board call the odometer numbers BDU's (Blur Distance Units). I've read that the '07 odo is accurate, but I can't confirm it. I need to just call Scooterworks and ask them.

If you do get interested in saddle bags and your Burgman bags won't fit, I've got a post about the bags I ended up with. The Blur is kinda hard to fit (as are most small scooters), and the best part is that these bags were all of $65.

[BeachBuzz]

well I just pulled the trigger and put a deposit on the '06 Blur from the fine folks at Fun on Wheels in Frederick MD . They have 2 in stock, I'm buying the one on the floor (with 46 miles) and they have one still in the crate that will cost a little more for 'dealer prep' if anyone else is interested - I know it's the last one in the quad state area (PA, MD, NJ, DE) maybe the last one period. Due to other committments I will have to wait until Monday to pick it up so I have a few days to wring my hands and get a few more miles on the TGB before it gets retired to the beach

hope to see you all out there or in here.

ride safe

[EP_scoot]

CONGRATS !

I also bought it without ever taking a test ride . . . you won't regret it !

[NathanielSalzman]

Yeah congrats on your purchase! It's a fantastic scooter.

So long as you've sat on it and you're comfortable, then your lack of test ride won't make a lick of difference. I was lucky enough to get a 10 minute ride before pulling the trigger on my Blur and all it did was make me extra super excited to hop on mine and ride swerving into the sunset. In terms of the ride, it's absolutely everything a scooter should be.

[CTL11]

What did you have to pay for it Beachbuzz?

[BeachBuzz]

What did you have to pay for it Beachbuzz?

3K OTD

[tcas]

"Last year I realized that if the wife wanted to ride along the 50 wasnt going to take us very far so I started looking for a 250 class to take the next step. I found lots to choose from and ran across a slightly used '07 Burgman 400 (also about 120 miles from me). I basically made that deal over the net/phone again sight unseen. Although I did find a new one at a local shop that the wife & I could try on for size but at the time I didnt have a M endorsement so I couldnt test ride anything. A little over a year later and I couldnt be happier with the Burgman as our 2-up pleasure cruiser. "

Beach Buzz, off topic a bit but could you tell me about the 400 Burgman, Ive looked all over Maryland and can not find any. Mainly trying to figure out how large they are, MPG, and maintenance cost.

Ive seen 50-70 mpg posted on some other sites, thanks

TCAS

[zuman]

Well, it took a little longer than I planned, but I finally made the 4-hour drive to Chicago today with a Uhaul trailer tagged to my Subaru Forester to pick up my new '06 Blur from Scooterworks.
Jason, my salesman, took it out for a spin this morning before I arrived, and I took delivery with 21 BDUs on the clock.
Scooterworks has VERY nice and helpful employees, and now that I've run my Blur up and down my street about a dozen times I'm beginning to relax a little (watching my new scoot bouncing up and down as the trailer leaped potholes for four hours was a bit stressful).
I also ordered a very cool 3/4 orange helmet with white stripes, but for the life of me I can't remember what it is!

[BeachBuzz]

Beach Buzz, off topic a bit but could you tell me about the 400 Burgman, Ive looked all over Maryland and can not find any. Mainly trying to figure out how large they are, MPG, and maintenance cost.

Ive seen 50-70 mpg posted on some other sites, thanks

TCAS

sent you a PM