Yes the blaster is a little little quad, and the frame doesn't need to be very heavy duty to support it's natural weight and the weight of a light rider. The suspension is nothing great in stock form for a rider of intermediate skill level or better in my opinion, but it's suffcient for a beginner and tolerable (if not somewhat challenging?) for an advanced rider.

The engine I plan to put in won't be much heavier, and the heaviest rider that I intend for this machine is myself @ ~150 lbs. So while I might consider adding some beef to key areas of the frame for strength, I won't be going with a new chassis entirely, and I won't be stretching the existing frame. Stretching it would defeat the purpose. I want a small maneuvable quad...not a quad-limo. I may consider a longer swingarm if I can't keep the frontend on the ground though [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] I have considered beefing the A-arms (integrated skidplates?) and as soon as I bend a rear axle I'll get a dura-blue.

These are all problems I'll enjoy solving after I see them having some realistic effect. None of this would be a catastrophic failure so I can afford to wait. Worst would be a bent frame, but I just don't see it happening.

I guess we'll see! I'll weigh the Blaster before and after for a benchmark. I think it's about 330 lbs as it sits right now.

SpeedDemon73

 

I think your over looking a major problem with most engine swaps. The stock engine in the Blaster is small. Almost all 4 strokes are larger in size, mainly height. To get a big 4 stoke to fit, your looking at some major frame changing. This would for sure add weight and change the little blaster into a not so little blaster anymore. There were some pics somewhere of a Blaster with a YSF250 motor. The guy had to raise the top of the frame just to get the motor in it. When he done that, that changed the seating position and the handle bar position. Which affected the handling in bad ways. It wasn't that quick, nimble feeling, Blaster anymore.
I can understand that you might have the skills to put that big 4 stoke in tha Blaster. But you need to understand theres a reason the 450's aren't little, nimble machines like the Blasters. I still believe that if you want raw power, look into a Yz400-It465-Yz490 engine. They might fit into the frame without changing it majorly, and would give you the bang your looking for. (and probably alot more)