Yes, More Motorcycle Agonizing

I know that when I finally get bored and give up, that is when the perfect bike will suddenly show up. Superstitious? Maybe. But that's my experience with many things. So as of yesterday, I was leaning against even bothering to go look at that 2002 Buell Blast I found on Facebook Marketplace, and kind of resolved to just thinking about other things and letting the process work.

I woke up this morning with one particular aspect of that particular bike tickling my brain, though:

In addition to being in the engine size range I want, having a sufficient max speed for my needs, etc., the history of the model has one thing going for it. When Harley-Davidson bought Buell and introduced the Blast, they had a reason for doing so. Harley ran a beginners' motorcycle course, and the Blast was the bike they made as an "entry-level" machine that could be used to train new riders, and wouldn't scare those riders as much as a full-size hog, and could also be sold to them as their first "beginner bike."

Yes, I would very much like to find myself on a Triumph Bonneville, Ducati Scrambler, Honda Shadow, etc. ... but to the extent that a motorcycle is simply my personal transportation, there's a lot to be said for a bike that's not some kind of monster, just a dependable ride that can cruise at freeway speeds.

So, this morning, I messaged the seller about coming to have a look at it.

The response -- someone already has an appointment, they'll let me know if it doesn't sell.

But then I found another Buell Blast for sale. This one is for sale by a local student who only wants $600 for it ... because it's suddenly developed some kind of problem starting. I'm going to see if my mechanic friend has some time today to go look at and diagnose it. If it can be made to run at all, I may snap it up. If someone hasn't already. At $600, hopefully I could get it running, licensed, etc. and still be out less than $1,000.