The oil leak mentioned by the seller looks (from pictures and research) like it's almost certainly the rocker box (aka valve cover) gasket. The 2001 and 2002 Blasts are known for "the notorious paper gasket" in that location.
Should be an easy fix, so tonight I'm headed over there to pay the lady and ride the bike home (turns out it's less than five miles away, and I'll have a spare quart of oil in case the leak is a LOT worse than it looks).
Projected costs:
- $910 for the bike and a quart of oil;
- $100 parts and labor for the gasket (that's a loose guesstimate);
- $200-300 to appease the state so that I can have a metal rectangle assuring them I've paid taxes on it; and
- unkown costs for any unknown problems or needed accessories (for example, my "top box" may mount easily on it, or I may need to get a decent top bag to carry stuff when I travel, which I'll be doing next month).
One friend has already generously offered to help me with those costs, and I won't stop any of you who feel compelled to do likewise. Over in the right sidebar you'll find links for sending me filthy lucre, as well as to my Amazon Wish List.
I'd wait on any Wish List items until you see me saying I've got the bike home and operable, though. What I've got on the Wish List is three quarts of oil (two for a primary oil change, one for a transmission oil change -- same fluid, different reservoirs), an oil filter, and a K&N air filter (those are expensive, but also "permanent" or at least long-term cleanable and re-usable).
Unless there's something I don't know, the bike should be safely operable once the gasket is replaced. When the previous owner had new tires put on, she was told the rear rim was slightly bent; she's including the replacement rim, which she never installed, and I'll decide once I have the bike whether I need to immediately deal with that. She's also including a motorcycle helmet, probably too small for me, but it will fit Tamara if I ever talk her into getting on a bike behind me again).
My plan is to get the bike ready to roll, then sell the Italica Bulldog 150. I've got $2,200-$2,300 in it, and hope to get $1,000 out of it. Maybe more -- my first line of inquiry will be with the shop I bought it from, which both buys/re-sells used bikes from its customers and sells on consignment. So if everything works out well, I shouldn't have more than $500 in the new bike.
At a low point last week and even yesterday, I was strongly considering moving on down to a 250cc bike, mainly because it felt like I couldn't walk down the street without someone jumping into the road screaming "Honda Rebel 250! $500!"
A major brand 250 really would be all the bike I absolutely need unless I really do decide to ride all the way around the US or something. I could ride it all over Florida and probably to e.g. New Orleans, Charlotte, etc. and the only real problem would be a sore ass.
And since most of my riding is local -- to the store, to the doctor's office, just around town on a nice day -- do I really want to drag around an 850-pound beast?
Naturally, as soon as I started thinking that way, all of the sub-$2,000 Honda Rebel 250s, etc. disappeared from Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.
But that line of thinking did get me considering 500cc as the top, rather than bottom, of the range I was looking for, which is probably wise. I'll be happier to be at the top of that range. As long as the Blast is mechanically sound, I won't worry about it lying down and dying on a 100-mile ride like I do with a cheap Chinese 150cc machine. It will have enough power for significant freeway riding if needed, but still be light enough that I dread having to mount/park it three times on trips to town. And it may even fit in my little "motorcycle garage," which would be a bonus.
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