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"  They&amp;#039;re called &amp;quot;thumpers&amp;quot; and with good reason. With one combustion event for every 720\u00B0 of crankshaft rotation, big-bore (500cc and up) four-stroke single-cylinder motorcycles inherently produce the most vibration of any engine design. And when that cylinder fires, it&amp;#039;s really an &amp;quot;event.&amp;quot; Even so, there are pockets of hardcore thumper fans who wouldn&amp;#039;t ride anything else. Their addiction rivals that of the diesel die-hards getting thrilled to the marrow by the sound of piston slap. Single-cylinder four-strokes have not fared very well in today&amp;#039;s multicylinder motorcycle market. So why would Buell Motorcycle Co., a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, come out with the 492cc Blast thumper? Several reasons. Right now, the motorcycle business is booming. But, the folks at Harley and Buell who are paid to worry about things were concerned that not enough young, entry-level riders were coming into the sport. Hey, if there&amp;#039;s nothing to worry about, the worriers are out of a job (another big worry for them). The plan was to develop an affordable, beginner&amp;#039;s bike that would serve as a steppingstone to a V-twin Harley or larger Buell model. While Harley and Buell&amp;#039;s Harley-based engines have long been synonymous with V-twins, Harley initially produced single-cylinder motorcycles as an alternative mode of transportation to the automobile. To achieve a target price point for the Blast, the engineers took a Sportster engine and lopped off the rear cylinder. Actually, that&amp;#039;s an oversimplification. The Blast uses a newly designed engine that&amp;#039;s closely based on the architecture of the Sportster&amp;#039;s. Interchangeability of parts is virtually nil. In its mission as a machine for the novice rider, the Blast succeeds admirably. It&amp;#039;s mechanically simple, devoid of bells and whistles (and tachometer) and is extremely easy to ride. The pushrod engine with hydraulic lifters eliminates periodic valve adjustments. The choke is automatic. The Kevlar-toothed drivebelt is adjustment-free and, considering the engine&amp;#039;s modest power output, should last for many years. The bodywork is made from Surlyn, the same stuff used on the outside of golf balls. So if you whack your Blast with a 7-iron or tip it over, it will come up smiling. Many novice riders are terrified of marring their brand-new bike, so this should give them peace of mind and help them concentrate more on developing their riding skills. We had a chance to buzz (literally) around on a Blast for a season and came away with some distinct impressions. Most folks we talked to thought the Blast was &amp;quot;cute.&amp;quot; Girls especially adored it, wanting to ride one themselves rather than hop aboard as a passenger. Don&amp;#039;t expect to impress riders of Triumphs, Harleys or the bigger Buells. Maybe it&amp;#039;s the exhaust note\u2013more lawnmower than motorcycle. Okay, so you won&amp;#039;t run with the tattooed set. It&amp;#039;s not the end of the world. Look at the bright side. The Blast starts right up every time. The only problem is when the engine is in between cold and warm, the automatic choke gets confused. The bike coughs and sputters\u2013but it still starts and clears itself out after a bit. Two seat heights are available\u201327.5 in. and a low 25.5-incher. We felt the seat was a bit narrow, especially in light of how far apart our feet were. That&amp;#039;s because the Blast uses the unnecessarily large Sportster engine and transmission cases to save on cost. A good part of the bike&amp;#039;s 360- pound mass is concentrated along its lower axis, making for a low center of gravity and excellent response to rider inputs. A very rigid frame contributes to the Blast&amp;#039;s good handling. The suspension is nonadjustable and biased to the soft side, which is fine considering the bike&amp;#039;s intended purpose. Clutch feel and operation along with the brakes are excellent. The five-speed transmission, however, is less than stellar. We found false &amp;quot;neutrals&amp;quot; between every gear, and instead of &amp;quot;snicking&amp;quot; into First at a stop, there&amp;#039;s much fanfare emanating from the gearbox with the sound of gears skipping over each other until they calm down and engage. Vibration? We thought you&amp;#039;d never ask. It&amp;#039;s most noticeable at a standstill but acceptable at cruise. While it will run all day at 70 to 75 mph, megamile touring is not the Blast&amp;#039;s long suit. Even after our daily commute of 25 or so miles one way, it took several minutes for us to become reacquainted with certain parts of our anatomy. For tooling around town, keeping up with traffic on the highway and getting the basics of motorcycling under your belt, the Blast shines. It opens up the world of two-wheel joy for a mere $4395. That kind of dough will get you nothing more than a 250cc Ninja at the Kawasaki dealer. And with gas prices going through the roof, the Blast&amp;#039;s stingy petrol-sipping 70 miles per gallon on the highway will give you the last thump, er, laugh. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/motorcycles/a57/1268541/>