The Blaze finally came in and I made the trip (6hrs round trip) and picked it up Saturday. Break-in and oil change on Sunday, ready to see what this thing is all about.
WRONG!!!
A couple weeks ago I was helping a friend drop off his camp trailer and I smashed my foot with his weight distribution hitch. Im in a cast for 2-4 more weeks. I purchased a cast style boot that allows me to walk, so today I decided I was up for a bit more agressive of a ride than just a break-in spin around the area. If I can work, I can ride.
In my limited condition this is what I've found- This thing rocks. It is very hard to not ride it the way it was designed to be ridden when you dont want to aggrivate an injury, especially when you've been so anxious to get on it. Here's my best description;
Power aand transmission: Nothing like it. It almost pulls like a sport streetbike. It pulls hard but somehow predictable from gear to gear. The shift is smooth and gears are well spaced. Neutral hasn't been too hard to find.
Handling: At first it seemed a bit twitchy, probably a combination of a still stiff front suspension and the front end being light when hard on the throttle. As I rode it a bit longer I felt more comefortable and feel as the suspension gets dialed in this will improve greately. Speaking of...
Suspension: Maybe a bit stiff up front, back feels great, soaks up the bumps very well at higher speeds, but does make the front end a little twitchy as mensioned. Gritting my teeth I hit a mild jump(3 feet of air, maybe 10 feet long) and landed -poof- like a pillow. Hit a couple more a bit harder and started to feel it in my foot so I laid off. Cant wait to get it dialed in more precisely.
Tires and brakes: Holeshots get the power to the ground very well but do break loose on a power slide fairly easily. Breaks do the job very well also.
Only negative comment is that this thing is LOUD.

Cant wait to get 100%, I'll probably pay for this tomorrow but I had to get on it. So far I'm very excited and don't regret my decision one bit!

 

Cool!! The Blaze has the same FMF silencer as the Moto doesn't it?
If you think it's loud, you don't want to hear the HMF then!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

 

Sorry about your foot man, I know how you feel, right after I got my 300EX I broke my hand, luckily for me I had a cast on the was perfect for grip. But I still had to go slow and I hate going slow. Glad to hear about the Blaze. I would love to have one of those myself.

 

sweeeeeeet ride enjoy it !!!!!!!! iknow i enjoy my speed so i know the blaze is bad @$$

2002 speed #165 maping and wheels and hmf and and and ......all coming soon

 

I raced against a moto and it didn't seem very loud at all compared to the other 4-strokers. I pretty much stay on the track or ride at places where loudness isn't an issue (700+ acres at a friends house and another 1500+ acres that this guy lets me ride at w/ hardly any neighbors! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]) so I want something that will get peoples attention when I'm racing. The kind of pipe that you can hear from all the way across the pits on the other side of the track, even when other people are still warming up their motors right next to you [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]. I LIKE LOUD!!! but don't worry to all yall treehuggers, I'll get a quiet core insert for when I ride around all your little nature butt buddies.

Chavychav - have you ridden any of the other Dales? If so, how does the power compare w/ the pipe and mapping?

Brian - how does the HMF w/ moto mapping compare to the stock Cannibal?

 

Definitely a difference in the low - mid power range and probably a little more on top end, well worth it!!

 

Thanks for all the comments guys. cant wait to get better. Yes the FMF is loud but that doesn't bother me at all either. Just have to choose riding locations that it isn't an issue. also cant hear what the girlfriend has to say when she pulls up next to me. I guess alls not lost!
YoDaddy- I haven't even seen another Dale except at the dealer. Hopefully that changes as Cannondale continues to pick up speed in the motorsports industry.