Looking for my first Blaster

[Mike49321]

Hey all

Rode quads when I was younger and haven’t had one in some years. Looking for something to rip around my property with and potentially ride some trails. Maybe the dunes.

I’m looking at a 2002 blaster right now on marketplace. It appears to be in mint condition. They’re asking $2500 for it. Just looking at what I should be spending on one. Is $2500 high? I’ll post pictures. It has been stored in a climate controlled storage unit. Family says they must sell because they need the money

Just looking for some input

Thank you all

 

[Mike49321]

just found out it comes with a cover, helmet, gloves and goggles. And a lock

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Doesn't seem too crazy of a price to me. Looks to have been well cared for.

 

[Mike49321]

Doesn't seem too crazy of a price to me. Looks to have been well cared for.

That’s my thinking. I am pumped though. Hope all goes through and I take it home tomorrow evening

Doesn't seem too crazy of a price to me. Looks to have been well cared for.

this one is an 02. Just found one for $1600, an 05. But no title. How significant is it to have a title for these?

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Depends on where you live and if you intend to ride public/club trails. I live in NY where I have to register my ATVs to ride any public/club trail systems. In NY, the registration is proof of ownership and therefore take the place of a title as NY does not title ATVs.

I know things vary greatly from state to state. So that one not having a title really depends on the importance of it pertaining to where you live and what you intend to do with it.

 

[Mike49321]

Doesn't seem too crazy of a price to me. Looks to have been well cared for.

Looked at the bike. Decent amount of oil underneath engine case, clutch felt very stiff, where the lever is on the case for the clutch, oil was present. Rear brake rotor felt wobbly, brakes didn’t work well. Had the hydraulic conversion. Didn’t have a key. Seemed to run well. Took a minute while riding before it felt like the power was there. I walked. Thinking of offering maybe $1500. Rear tires have some weather cracking

What do you think?

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Rear rotor wobbly, as in warped or?? The rear rotor floats on these Blasters. I was pretty taken back by it when I discovered it. I'm used to Honda rear ends.

Heavy clutch could be due to a HD clutch spring set.

Not terribly uncommon on these sport machines to have a little oil seepage at the clutch arm as they get older. Not a huge deal unless it's severe.

These little Blasters are fun, but a 250R they are not. They are peppy, not rip your arms out of their sockets powerful though. But there is still a descent supply of AM support to wake it up some.

I found a set of 20x10x8 Sunf Maxxis Big Horn copies on Amazon for my daughters Blaster. At $130 for the pair, I found them irresistible. 20" tires for 8" wheels are all but extinct with the old mainstay brands. They have been working very well and are a great fit to the Blaster. Always hated 22s on sport machines.

Oil on the bottom of the case, I would interested to know where it's leaking it's transmission oil.

Might warrant a second look

This was the first one you shared right??

 

[Mike49321]

Rear rotor wobbly, as in warped or?? The rear rotor floats on these Blasters. I was pretty taken back by it when I discovered it. I'm used to Honda rear ends.

Heavy clutch could be due to a HD clutch spring set.

Not terribly uncommon on these sport machines to have a little oil seepage at the clutch arm as they get older. Not a huge deal unless it's severe.

These little Blasters are fun, but a 250R they are not. They are peppy, not rip your arms out of their sockets powerful though. But there is still a descent supply of AM support to wake it up some.

I found a set of 20x10x8 Sunf Maxxis Big Horn copies on Amazon for my daughters Blaster. At $130 for the pair, I found them irresistible. 20" tires for 8" wheels are all but extinct with the old mainstay brands. They have been working very well and are a great fit to the Blaster. Always hated 22s on sport machines.

Oil on the bottom of the case, I would interested to know where it's leaking it's transmission oil.

Might warrant a second look

This was the first one you shared right??

Yes, this is the first one, with all the stickers. the oil was clear and seemed to not have much of a smell to it. They now said they’d take $1500 for it … the rotor probably is just floating. It was weird lol. Brake didn’t seem to work well despite plenty of meat in the pads

If you have any more things I should look for, please tell. I’m brand new to these blasters. I am pretty mechanically inclined

Thank you!

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Yeah, the cable actuated brakes leave something to be desired. Adjustment may be needed being you said the rear brake seemed weak.

These little air cooled 2-strokes are pretty simple. Basically if it started cold without too much hassle you can probably assume the top end is fairly healthy.

Other things to check, a-arm bushings, swingarm and axle bearings, front wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stem bushings....that sort of stuff. Basically the same things you would want to check on any wheeler you are considering buying.

Something to note if you find bad ball joints: the stock a-arms have the ball joints welded in and therefore a bad ball joint requires replacement of the entire a-arm. Kudos to Yamaha for putting grease fittings all over the moving parts on these little quads, but the non-replaceable ball joints are ridiculous.

In today's market, $1500 I think is very reasonable for that quad going by the pics you posted. A little bit of minor TLC wouldn't dissuade me if I was looking at it. As long as you don't find any major issues. Do check the crankcase for cracks, especially around the countershaft sprocket. A thrown drive chain can wad itself up around the countershaft sprocket and crack the case.

 

[Mike49321]

Yeah, the cable actuated brakes leave something to be desired. Adjustment may be needed being you said the rear brake seemed weak.

These little air cooled 2-strokes are pretty simple. Basically if it started cold without too much hassle you can probably assume the top end is fairly healthy.

Other things to check, a-arm bushings, swingarm and axle bearings, front wheel bearings, ball joints, tie rod ends, steering stem bushings....that sort of stuff. Basically the same things you would want to check on any wheeler you are considering buying.

Something to note if you find bad ball joints: the stock a-arms have the ball joints welded in and therefore a bad ball joint requires replacement of the entire a-arm. Kudos to Yamaha for putting grease fittings all over the moving parts on these little quads, but the non-replaceable ball joints are ridiculous.

In today's market, $1500 I think is very reasonable for that quad going by the pics you posted. A little bit of minor TLC wouldn't dissuade me if I was looking at it. As long as you don't find any major issues. Do check the crankcase for cracks, especially around the countershaft sprocket. A thrown drive chain can wad itself up around the countershaft sprocket and crack the case.

Awesome input. I really appreciate this. The one I looked at took 4 or 5 kicks to get it started. Then I let it sit there and idle and it did randomly die and took a few more kicks to fire it back up..

I’m actually going to check out a ‘95 tomorrow. $1800. Appears very nice. This is his post:
1995 Yamaha blaster pretty much everything is rebuilt


-new top end about 3 hours on it
-bottom end rebuild
-tors delete
-new swing arm Bearings and bushings
-new chain
-new bar pad
-original light works and aftermarket leds very bright
-have extra rims and tires
-new clutch
-have a huge box of parts
-oil pump delete kit
-upgraded bills pipe
-new wiring and electrical
-new stator
-new reeds
-original carb rebuild
-all new engine bolts
-plastics are good and refurbished
-new air filter

Cons tires hold air but are on there way out and the rims need to be repainted

2000 obo or trade (would like a 4stroke sports quad doesn’t have to be running)

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

I just went into my Amazon order history to send you a link to the tires I got for it. I don't know if they are a popular seller or low production, but they sho not currently available right now.
I'll be getting a set of Banshee extended hubs for her so I can swap some 9" rear wheels on and have better selection for 20" rear rubber.

Here is a couple pics of what she has now and they are working great.

 

[Mike49321]

I just went into my Amazon order history to send you a link to the tires I got for it. I don't know if they are a popular seller or low production, but they sho not currently available right now.
I'll be getting a set of Banshee extended hubs for her so I can swap some 9" rear wheels on and have better selection for 20" rear rubber.

Here is a couple pics of what she has now and they are working great.
View attachment 35977View attachment 35978View attachment 35981View attachment 35981

Look like they’ve got some meat on em!!

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Yes they do very well in trails and mud. But they don't seem too heavy for the little Blaster. She pulls them well .

Of course the daughter wants a set of Holeshot GNCC on the rear like Dad's 250Rs once we get it converted to 9" rears....

 

[Mike49321]

So, sorry I’m asking so many ridiculous questions. Do you think it’s worth buying a 1995 blaster with an engine rebuild? How many times can these engines be rebuilt before they’re too thin?

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

I believe .080" over is the largest piston Wiseco offers. So it could be bored as many as 8 times (if Wiseco offers oversize pistons in .010" increments).

Only way to know what bore it's on is to pull the head and measure the bore and/or piston.

 

[Tooloose]

Sounds like you are on the way to a fast 250 version mate! Be careful, I had a Blaster with a CR-500 . It was totally outrageous quick /fast! Only one problem , it didn’t want to stay on the ground.

 

[Mike49321]

Sounds like you are on the way to a fast 250 version mate! Be careful, I had a Blaster with a CR-500 . It was totally outrageous quick /fast! Only one problem , it didn’t want to stay on the ground.

Nah, thing was pissing oil where the case split. Sounded like it had some piston slap also. I passed on it.

Rode a kfx 400 and loved the power of it. But any of those are more than I want to spend. Thinking about that first blaster again…with the sticker kit. Damnit. Lol. I just want something to go rip around on! They are willing to take $1500 for it…

 

[Mike49321]

On my way to pick up the forest blaster I looked at with the stickers. Something is telling me to just buy it

 

[RIDE-RED350r]

Cool! Enjoy

 

[Mike49321]

Cool! Enjoy

Ripped around the yard a bit. My girlfriend has a kfx400 and she says “wtf is that, a little kids toy”?! . Thing is sweet. It does need a new air filter. Any recommendations?