Thanks for bringing me back up to speed guys. I knew there was more to the story then the little bit I had managed to scrounge up, but didnt know just how extensive it all was.
I did know that "Big Brother" HD kept a tight leash on Erik...that he had a major hand in designing alot of the engines for Harley. Never knew the designs were not as he originally intended, but that's like any other time you take a marvel of engineering and give it to someone who doesnt fully understand it...they're going to screw it up.
I by no means am trying to stick up for Harley, cause I have no idea how deep that political hole may be in reality, but I can say that it "may" not have been so much a fear on their part to contend with the Japanese Superbikes...I think it might be more like "accepted reality". Harley has its own little niche in the world, and the other competitors have the sport-bike market pretty well nailed down. I think if Harley DID try to market their own full-fairing superbike, it would have failed as an attempt (possibly even if Buell was helping it) just because its not something you would expect from the Harley namesake, so buyers would be extremely reluctant to give it a go when they could get a Honda, Kawasaki, or Yamaha (companies well founded and reliable in the superbike market) probably for less.
I used to own a Honda 600RR, it was a great machine and definitely no discredit to the workmaship that goes into them (even though some of my personal convictions have an issue with legally selling bikes capable of 200+ mph to the general public). Personally, I love the Buells, and even if they were originally meant to be water-cooled engines, I like that they're still air-cooled. Living in a city with alot of stop-and-go, I know my CBR used to get pretty hot and very close to overheating/automatic shut-off...never had an issue like that with the Buell. I just really appreciate the design, concept, and engineering that went into them.
