If Harley made Buells again.....
- Thread starter Zeroflat24
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It seems as though HD gets the brunt of the hatred for where Buell is today, and yes they are guilty of making questionable moves, but the fact of the matter is, it takes two people/entities to enter into and complete a business transaction. As much as HD is guilty of probably hamstringing Erik, Erik agreed to Harley's terms to go into business with them.
Yes, things change as business progresses, but it was obviously a business decision that HD made to shut it down to protect their interests, good, bad, or indifferent. It was obviously not a profitable situation and was probably hemmoraging money, OR heading in the "wrong direction" according to the Harley Davidson brand. They are the bank, they make the call, no?
He's now under contract with an Indian company(which I understand we now live in a global economy, and India is the fastest going economy in the world right now), who is the largest manufacturer of two wheeled motor vehicles, due in large part to the huge number of scooters they manufacture???? I repeat........scooters..........
Erik knew who he was getting into bed with and knew the risks.
Disclaimer: I'm no Harley apologist, I'm just calling it as I understand it, and most of us will never know all the details and/or reasons for it being shut down.
Yes, things change as business progresses, but it was obviously a business decision that HD made to shut it down to protect their interests, good, bad, or indifferent. It was obviously not a profitable situation and was probably hemmoraging money, OR heading in the "wrong direction" according to the Harley Davidson brand. They are the bank, they make the call, no?
He's now under contract with an Indian company(which I understand we now live in a global economy, and India is the fastest going economy in the world right now), who is the largest manufacturer of two wheeled motor vehicles, due in large part to the huge number of scooters they manufacture???? I repeat........scooters..........
Erik knew who he was getting into bed with and knew the risks.
Disclaimer: I'm no Harley apologist, I'm just calling it as I understand it, and most of us will never know all the details and/or reasons for it being shut down.
haha you don't go to Zylstra, do you? The guys i bought my bike from there LOVE buells, and two of the staff members still have buells. The said if they had to choose between their Vrods and Buells, they would probably choose the VROD (straight line performance) but would have a hard time parting with the buells, because it's the closest to a harley that people under 40 will ever enjoy.
I hate HD. I love Buells. Simple as that. I remember about two years ago when I first got stationed in Virginia, and since I'd heard that Buell had gone out, I went to a local HD dealership to see if they had any more Buell apparel left. The people in there made me feel like I disgusted them, like how dare I walk into their HARLEY DEALERSHIP and ask about BUELL products.
(South Park reference): I hate those ****.
(South Park reference): I hate those ****.
DrogeN Omen
Well-known member
im an EBR convert... cant wait for the EBR street models ot be released.
HD is ok but way to expensive for what they are.
HD is ok but way to expensive for what they are.
BuellyBagger
Well-known member
Im not aa huge harley hater. I am still angered at how bad their fire sale hurt the value of our bikes, but my first bike was a harley and I still enjoy riding them on occasion. Harleys are what they are, cliches for the most part of course but a bike just the same. I'm very worried about the pairing of EBR with HERO. I'm afraid it will result in less than premium motorcycles @ a premium price.
Would I buy a new HD sportbike, maybe if the price was right and the engineering appeared descent. But id prolly lean towards bmw first.
Would I buy a new HD sportbike, maybe if the price was right and the engineering appeared descent. But id prolly lean towards bmw first.
BikerTrash
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- Feb 21, 2010
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- 220
I understand the whole "Erik sold his soul to the devil in 2003", but it wasn't a complete disaster until the current CEO. Buell won the championship, and was set to have a new building built. Enter the new sportbike hating CEO, and no more Buell. Yeah, there were plenty of good ideas that HD shut down, but Erik finally got his race winning liquid cooled Rotax, and ultimately, Wandell killed Buell.
dannenvance
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- Jun 6, 2012
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- 216
Let's just get to the meat of the original question asked and rephrase it more clearly...
Q: "If Harley Davidson were to build a motorcycle again called a Buell but removed the soul, good looks, innovation & racetrack-based performance and instead added incredibly dumbed-down design, poor handling and crappy/incompetent service knowing they'll make millions and millions of dollars merchandising toothbrushes, steel-toed boots, do-rags, stadium seat-cushions, and every other item known to man as long as it said "Buell" on it, would you buy one?"
A: Uh, no. No I wouldn't.
And since I keep seeing $45k price tags on motorcycles from EBR I'm afraid they're going to stay out of my price range for a while.
I agree with Hooker, if I couldn't have a Buell I'd probably head in the direction of the KTM Superduke. THAT is an original & badass bike.
Q: "If Harley Davidson were to build a motorcycle again called a Buell but removed the soul, good looks, innovation & racetrack-based performance and instead added incredibly dumbed-down design, poor handling and crappy/incompetent service knowing they'll make millions and millions of dollars merchandising toothbrushes, steel-toed boots, do-rags, stadium seat-cushions, and every other item known to man as long as it said "Buell" on it, would you buy one?"
A: Uh, no. No I wouldn't.
And since I keep seeing $45k price tags on motorcycles from EBR I'm afraid they're going to stay out of my price range for a while.
I agree with Hooker, if I couldn't have a Buell I'd probably head in the direction of the KTM Superduke. THAT is an original & badass bike.
Zeroflat24
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- May 18, 2011
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- 1,219
Are you rephrasing my original question? because that wasnt it. And Harley Davidson announces they are going to make the XB again exactly how it was before but will have nothing to do with Erik Buell what so ever
SilveradoTX
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- Apr 19, 2011
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- 569
Unless I'm missing something, the only one from the Duke series available in the US is the 690... wish the full Duke lineup was available here in the states.
As for the topic at hand... I think I might have a hard time buying a Buell-like bike from HD. I just don't think it would have the same attitude, character and "soul" as Erik's bikes. I'd probably keep finding used Buell's or go to a Street Triple.
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