Buell All Done

[Just_Jeff]

Jeez people its not a HD issue, its a Buell. HD is a company, not a person who wants to be your friend. In order to survive it has to make $. If times are tough you have to work harder focus on what makes you $ and get rid of what is costing you $.
Now look at what most people have posted in forums all over the net.
Nice Bikes but I (the poster) would never own one.
that s the ONLY fact you need to know about this issue. You can hate HD all you want but the bulk of the responsibility is on Eric's shoulders. He is the one who made bike we all looked at but never bought. I really don't care what your product is, or how cool it is If its not selling enough to turn a profit its going to go away. Every time, all the time.

[DesmoTull]

Jeez people its not a HD issue, its a Buell. HD is a company, not a person who wants to be your friend. In order to survive it has to make $. If times are tough you have to work harder focus on what makes you $ and get rid of what is costing you $.
Now look at what most people have posted in forums all over the net.
Nice Bikes but I (the poster) would never own one.
that s the ONLY fact you need to know about this issue. You can hate HD all you want but the bulk of the responsibility is on Eric's shoulders. He is the one who made bike we all looked at but never bought. I really don't care what your product is, or how cool it is If its not selling enough to turn a profit its going to go away. Every time, all the time.

Unless you are GM, then you are all set.

[typeone]

You can hate HD all you want but the bulk of the responsibility is on Eric's shoulders. He is the one who made bike we all looked at but never bought. I really don't care what your product is, or how cool it is If its not selling enough to turn a profit its going to go away. Every time, all the time.

yes and no. Erik's hands were tied with the HD relationship, the double-edged sword he could never shake... influx of cash to bring his vision to light but handcuffs on the motor and dealer network he could use (Rotax is too new to the whole Buell picture to matter)

[ff36buell]

Typeone is right, and anyone who wants to ride my 11 and tell me it runs like it has a HD motor in it, test her out. I loved my XB with the HD motor, but the Rotax motor makes this bike completely different.

[Pittenger5]

Typeone is right, and anyone who wants to ride my 11 and tell me it runs like it has a HD motor in it, test her out.

PM sent

[eboos]

You can hate HD all you want but the bulk of the responsibility is on Eric's shoulders. He is the one who made bike we all looked at but never bought. I really don't care what your product is, or how cool it is If its not selling enough to turn a profit its going to go away. Every time, all the time.

That shows just how much most people do not understand the Harley/Buell relationship. The 1125R was introduced 10 years too late because Harley wanted to build the Vrod. Harley would not let Buell outsource an engine, but also would not build an appropriate engine for them.

[Just_Jeff]

Its what Eric Signed up for. Anyone that thinks he was going to get access to the HD network and cash with no strings attached has never owned their own business or tried to run one.

[ff36buell]

Jeff, there IS a bigger story behind that. EBoos is right, that Porsche designed motor was supposed to be a compact, light, high hp vtwin for use in both Buell and HD lines. It seems THAT is what Erik signed up for.

[typeone]

a look back...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1pFLg3t5q4

[Eddie]

News like this make me feel less bad about the 08 1Ks leftover inventory prices. Too bad for the industry tough.

[nixoid]

Tis strange.... They obviously didn't bother to tell Richie Morris the owner of the Buell team that won the AMA this year. He was at Barber Motorsports Park last Thursday with the new Buells and Ulrich Jr. and Brian Catherson were trying them out all day. Unfortunately, Brian Catherson lost part of a finger on a highside entering the front straight trying to recover from overshooting the turn from the grass.

[zombie]

Erik sold 51% of buell to H.D. and made a boat load of money , so while it's sad to see them go I view it as an internal HD decision. I was thinking about a ULY for a good while but can't get passed the technology or lack of in the motor , the chassis is a cracker but let down by the power plant. I rode one for a couple of days and kinda enjoyed it but not enough to buy one and my 01 tiger with a ton of miles on it still felt the better bike.
I know a lot of people looked at them and kinda liked them but not enough to buy one.
I'm really interested to see what will happen with DMG now that Buell are done
and the big 4 want nothing to do with the series , sad times indeed for any up and coming race talent that are trying to crack the overseas racing makes me feel that Ben Spies got out in time , it will be a shame if road racing in America dies a death but maybe something better will come out of the ashes.
Will there even be a superbike season next year in the states??
troubling times for all the people who work in the race industry

[eboos]

Erik sold 51% of buell to H.D. and made a boat load of money ,

Are you sure about that? Or did he sell the company and pay off the debts that he was personally responsible for? I don't know how the deal was writen, or how his finances were covered, but I highly doubt he made a boat load of money.

Sure, it was an internal HD decision, but that doesn't make it any better, actually only worse. It is like making a deal with the devil, and now he's come to collect.

[KawiSmurf]

Erik sold 51% of buell to H.D. and made a boat load of money

Are you sure about that? Or did he sell the company and pay off the debts that he was personally responsible for? I don't know how the deal was writen, or how his finances were covered, but I highly doubt he made a boat load of money.

I'm having trouble getting accurate numbers for HD's share, but it looks like they controlled 49% in 1993, which went to a 51% majority in 1998. In 2003, HD bought the remaining 49% from Erik to get complete control of Buell, but I don't believe the company was anywhere near as profitable 6 years ago as it was in '08. He couldn't have gotten much for the deal back then, and whatever he did get is probably close to gone by now.

I don't think a lot of people realize just how much he had personally invested in the company, how the first ten years on his own probably put him in pretty deep in debt. The way I see it, Harley slowly bailed him out over the years, but it was so bad to the point where he had to give up all control just to make it worth it for him to continue. Why else would he sell it all off when it was in its infancy unless he absolutely needed the money?

[xrocket21]

[eboos]

^ thanks

[ulyrider]

I rode one for a couple of days and kinda enjoyed it but not enough to buy one and my 01 tiger with a ton of miles on it still felt the better bike. I know a lot of people looked at them and kinda liked them but not enough to buy one.

I did. 20000+ miles later and I couldn't be happier with the bike. Here's one analyst that sees what most Buell owners do. HD just threw out their access to a younger generation by jettisoning Buell:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1669...ional-blinders

[SVRACER01]

im surprised that they didnt wait to see if winning the AMA title would increase their sales. the whole race sunday sell monday thing. youd think they wouldve stuck it out for another year

[KawiSmurf]

Here's one analyst that sees what most Buell owners do. HD just threw out their access to a younger generation by jettisoning Buell:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1669...ional-blinders

From the article:
"On a price to sales and price to book ratio one can see from the chart below that Harley Davidson is back to the levels of the late 1980s."

I wonder if Willie G. was looking back on the AMF years, thinking "those were the days."

Speaking of the AMF years (wiki excerpt):
"In 1969, American Machinery and Foundry (AMF) bought the company, streamlined production, and slashed the workforce. This tactic resulted in a labor strike and a lower quality of bikes. The bikes were expensive and inferior in performance, handling, and quality to Japanese motorcycles. Sales declined, quality plummeted, and the company almost went bankrupt. The "Harley-Davidson" name was mocked as "Hardly Ableson", "Hardly Driveable," and "Hogly Ferguson", and the nickname "Hog" became pejorative."

Anyone else see a pattern here? I mean seriously, 40 years later the exact same thing is happening. History really does repeat itself. You're gonna tell me no one over there saw this coming? So who's going to be the new 'AMF' entity to bail out Harley?

[ff36buell]

Take a look at the wall on the Harley Davidson Facebook Page.... E, THAT will make you smile

[FirstDuc-1098]

...the whole race sunday sell monday thing...

I think that is mostly not true anymore. 'Most' motorcyclists are not really motorsports enthusiasts. And with the poor job the media does on telecasting motorcycle events, who can blame them

[SVRACER01]

in AZ there are AMF bowling alleys. are they the same company? IDK. but i would only bowl there because they almost killed HD

[ff36buell]

Oxx, us Buell owners have been dreaming of the day we were saved FROM HD.... its miserable at some of the dealerships. At one dealership we were actually asked NOT to park in front. I tell alot of people if they would just ride it... they would be surprised.

[KawiSmurf]

in AZ there are AMF bowling alleys. are they the same company? IDK. but i would only bowl there because they almost killed HD

Yeah, that's the same AMF (American Machine and Foundry)

[Chippertheripper]

Good stuff, mark. This whole situation is a huge bummer for me. Time to stockpile some necessities, I guess.