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This page will have more info on the Mods to my Blaster.
MAXXIS SUR-TRAKS on Douglas .190": One word, AWESOME. These tires are great!! Excellent forward, and lateral traction. NO detectable sidewall flex. And, you can slide them whenever you want!! Although they are 22 inchers, they are actually only 20.5" with 5lbs of air pressure. of air. This is about the same height as the stock tires. The offset wheels also make the Blaster 1" wider per side, helping with stability. They do not make the ride any harsher. And, they don't rub on the fenders. Purchased from Rocky Mountain ATV for $210. 4.5 stars
Long term wear report: Currently I have between 1800-2000 miles on these tires. They are showing some definite signs of wear, mostly on the outer lugs. I think that is mostly my fault (I love to spin doughnuts). They also wear in a strange pattern, at the back of each lug there is a small lip that hasn't been worn away. It's hard to explain, but it's really strange.
Resistance to punctures: As anyone can tell you the Blasters stock tires aren't very puncture resistant. Both of my stock tires are filled with plugs and Slime. I was hoping the Sur-Traks would be a little less fragile. About a two months ago, I was out riding with a few friends. When I stopped somebody noticed my right rear tire was flat. I wasn't to thrilled. But the amazing part is I didn't even know they were flat until someone told me. We ran the whole rest of the day on the flat tire. Actually about 350 miles later I am still using the flat tire. Seriously. These things have such short, stiff sidewalls, you can't even tell they are flat.
BOYESEN REEDS: These reeds help a lot in the bottom to midrange power. They also helped fix my hard starting problem. They only cost $30, so they are definitely worth they money. 5 stars. Boyesen Reeds
Yamaha Hand Guards: They definitely help keep your hands cleaner and drier. They also offer some protection from vines, trees etc. $30 3 stars
TRENGA Hydraulic REAR BRAKE GEN III: Please take my advice, don't buy them! I'V HAD THEM FOR 4 MONTHS, AND STILL CAN'T GET THEM WORKING! TRENGA WON'T HELP! They take a long time to bleed, because of the twin steel-braided brake lines. The lines are 3 in. to long (for extended swing arms), and they rub against the swing arm. I had to zip-tie them to the footguards. I also had to space the right footguard over so that it doesn't rub on the master cylinder. The caliper is twin-opposed piston and it was designed for 120mph shifter carts. Pretty trick. BUT THEY DON'T WORK AT ALL. It has a nice big sight window on the top so you can check the pad wear. THEY LOOK HIGH QUALITY BUT THEY AREN'T. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE I DID, DON'T BUY THEM!! $350 0 star.
P.E.P. Rear Spring: I weigh about 80lbs, so the Blasters suspension is a to stiff for me. We set the preload on all the shocks to its softest setting. The front felt fine this way, but the rear was still far to stiff. The rear end would like to bounce when I hit any sort of a bump, and I never got more than about 4.5in. of travel off of any jumps. So I called PEP, and they sent me a spring based on my weight (80lbs.) and type of riding (cross-country). They sent it very quickly (two and a half days). This springs rate is only 275 lbs. per inch. It's a single rate spring The stock spring is dual rate, the rates are 252lbs. inch (for the softer 3/8) and 448 lbs. inch (for the firmer 5/8). We took it to the local shop to get it put on. You need a press, and we don't have one. The PEP spring is slightly shorter than the stock spring (9in. to 9.65 inches) and it comes with two spacers to make up the difference. It makes a BIG difference for someone as light as me. I highly recommend it. It cuts down on rear end hop dramatically. They are available in different rates, so if you constantly bottom your shock, you can get a stiffer spring. It's a bargain at $109, including shipping. Easily 5 stars. 
Update 8-25-99
Custom Hydraulic Rear Brake: After getting sick of having no rear brakes, I decided to make a custom rear brake. My dealer (Village Cycle Center, Starkville Mississippi) gave me an 85 Yamaha V-Max front caliper. It had obviously not been used in quite a while. The brake fluid had turned in a really nasty goop. The caliper looked bad too. After disassembling it, cleaning it in a parts washer and letting it soak overnight in a gallon of parts cleaner (it ate the paint right off the caliper) it looks like it will be OK. I also got a master cylinder from a place that does racing go-carts. It is similar in design to the Trenga Master Cylinder, only this one actually works. We are also using the Trenga linkage for now. First we made a template for the caliper mount out of cardboard. We then transfered this to 3/8" plywood, so we could actually mount the caliper. The first bracket came out a little strange so we made another one, which turned out better. We had a local machine shop make us a steel caliper bracket, for about $15. We just got finish painting it.
We finally got brake lines!! A Harley custom shop in Atlanta made us a set for about $90. A little high, but the master cylinder has a really odd design. So we bolted it all on and bled it (bleeding took less than five min.). And let me tell you it works. Really really well. I mean like hitting a brick wall. I only have about 25 miles on it, but I'll give you a long-term report in a few months. I also have some pictures that should be done in the next week or so. Keep coming back for more updates!
Philip Moore's Custom Hydraulic Brake Page
Email: rockosmith@aol.com