Some Quarter-Mile Times
Every so often I get an e-mail asking for the Blast's quarter-mile time - like I would know? But the last one was from a lady in distress, so I rummaged the file looking for it. Luckily, the dedicated professionals at Cycle World magazine are more attentive to their duties, not such slackers. So here it is, from the 3/00 issue:15.73 seconds @ 82.19 mph
Kevin Duke's Blast review in Roadracing World says that's about the zip in a '78 Vette. This, remember, was done with the higher '00 gearing. I haven't seen the bike tested with the later, larger rear pulley - might be a bit quicker.
I know from riding that even a relatively mild motorcycle will blow off any ordinary four-wheeler, but there's more to it than that, as I discovered looking through an old, 1982 Road & Track "special" on sports and GT cars. Check this out:
Ferrari 308GTSi - $55,800 - 16.1-second quarter mile.
Maserati Merak/SS - $40,500 - 17 seconds.
Aston Martin Volante - $115,000 - 16.8 seconds, estimated.
Jaguar XJ-S - $30,000 with a 12 cylinder 5.3L - 15.9 seconds.
Feeling better now?
Out of 33 cars listed, only four outdid the Blast, and not by much:
BMW M1 - $87,000 - 14.5 seconds.
Morgan +8 Turbo - $26,000 - 15.1 sec.
Porsche 911SC - $29,900 - 15.3 sec.
Datsun 280ZX Turbo - $17,000 - 15.6 sec.
I guess you could say the Blast is "slow" - if you're used to a turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa running 8 seconds at 180+ mph. But in the real world, on the road, a motorcycle with a 500cc single-cylinder engine packs enough performance to leave some legendary names in the dust.
Go easy on 'em out there, huh?
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