Buell is done, finished, gone

[Phenix_Rider]

Seems retarded to me. HD drops the only things that made them interesting to the sportbike/youngish crowd. Now they're going to focus on making more slow, overweight, over-accessorized, oil cooled bikes?

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Phenix_Rider

Seems retarded to me. HD drops the only things that made them interesting to the sportbike/youngish crowd. Now they're going to focus on making more slow, overweight, over-accessorized, oil cooled bikes?

you forgot overpriced. Maybe now victory will consider doing a sportsbike. I seriously doubt indian would

[OTB]

I got a feeling this is just the beginning; look for slashed Fim and Ama factory teams shortly. These are expenses few can continue to have in the face of plummeting sales and profits.

If you want to see what happens in worldwide economic downturn, look back to the late 70's and early 80's which heralded the demise of the British motorcycle industry and the pullback of the Europeans; Ducati stopped importing to the US, Laverda staggered on for a couple of years and many marques disappeared altogether.

Buell is just a first-rounder, Mv may find a daddy warbucks, but my bet is that Moto Guzzi will go, at least from the US; Benelli will likely get shucked off by it's Indonesian benefactor and won't likely find a buyer;look for CanAm (the folks that brought us the Spyder) to go away.....

[No Worries]

From the article: "The decision to drop Buell comes only a month after a Buell 1125R bike beat Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki motorcycles to win the coveted American Motorcycle Association's sport bike championship Sept. 8 in New Jersey. It was the first pro championship for an American motorcycle manufacturer since 1986 and the first for Buell."

Is there anything Harley Davidson on the 1125R? What does Buell need from Harley Davidson? Dealerships for sales and service.

Too bad Eric doesn't know that this is the best thing to happen to him. He should distance himself from Harley Davidson, which caters to aging baby-boomers (but not me).

Maybe he should become the first American motorcycle company to sell motorcycles and parts directly off the internet. Or at least join with dealerships from a smaller company with a similar sporty engine, like Aprilia or Ducati.

[goof2]

Originally Posted by No Worries

From the article: "The decision to drop Buell comes only a month after a Buell 1125R bike beat Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki motorcycles to win the coveted American Motorcycle Association's sport bike championship Sept. 8 in New Jersey. It was the first pro championship for an American motorcycle manufacturer since 1986 and the first for Buell."

Is there anything Harley Davidson on the 1125R? What does Buell need from Harley Davidson? Dealerships for sales and service.

Too bad Eric doesn't know that this is the best thing to happen to him. He should distance himself from Harley Davidson, which caters to aging baby-boomers (but not me).

Maybe he should become the first American motorcycle company to sell motorcycles and parts directly off the internet. Or at least join with dealerships from a smaller company with a similar sporty engine, like Aprilia or Ducati.

I suspect what Buell needs from H-D is cash. I doubt they are making a profit. What are the odds of them successfully setting up their own manufacturing and dealership network when they can't make money without having to do those things?

Additionally, with the state the motorcycle business is in right now, how many people are lining up to spend the cash necessary to start carrying Buell when H-D can't manage to sell the bikes?

Most manufacturers wouldn't want to go to direct internet sales. Dealers are great for a number of reasons, but the ability for a customer to touch and sit on a bike is lost over the internet. Also lost is dealers paying for inventory to exist. When inventory sits on a manufacturers floor nobody is paying for it. The last issue is nobody has yet figured out how to perform service and warranty work over the internet.

[Gas Man]

Originally Posted by Tmall

Erik won't let buell dissolve.

Harley may drop em, but he'll come through with something else. He always does..

It is a shame though. If they would have franchised them out with the Japanese dealers instead of keeping them in the Harley boutiques, they may have sold better.

I think Buell will do something to come back on its own. I doubt Eric will let it completely die.

Originally Posted by drewpy

just means marko will have something new to bitch about lol


it actually sucks, i was loving the buells and what they stood for

Dude you don't even know... I think this is going to completely devistate Marko. He is going to need a big "biz hug".

Originally Posted by Tmall

anybody else think this is just the start or things?

Honda still has a lot of new 07s on the floor.

They just happen to have a big parent company to eat the losses.

I think its just the start of things. Something more will happen.

Originally Posted by No Worries

Is there anything Harley Davidson on the 1125R? What does Buell need from Harley Davidson? Dealerships for sales and service.

Too bad Eric doesn't know that this is the best thing to happen to him. He should distance himself from Harley Davidson, which caters to aging baby-boomers (but not me).

I don't think there is any hd on the new 1125. Marko will know for sure.

I agree. I think Eric will now be able to direct design where ever he wants. Like he did with the 1125.

[Trip]

Erik Buell can't go anywhere else with his name on it or with any of the designs Buell created. Hell, Harley can sue the pants off of him if he tried to pawn off any of his ideas anywhere else that he created for Buell. Harley owns his designs and his name. HD will have to get paid to release any of this to anyone including Erik Buell. Apparently there were no worthy buyers, so it's gone.

Buell is dead in the water until Harley says so.

[Gas Man]

Unless HD allows Eric to buy out HD from the name sakes