| Author | Message | ||
     Hdbobwithabuell |
I had my checkbook out for an '06 or '07 but have put it away 'till I find an '08. (Message edited by hdbobwithabuell on July 13, 2007) | ||
| Speedcrazy |
Does anyone know when Dealers are going to get in the 08 models. I went by my dealer today he said that he was going to have to order the ulysses had didn't order any at the show and could be up to 60 days. Talk to another dealer he said he had two 07 ulysses and wasn't going to order any until they were sold.. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Can't you go to your dealer and order one with some money down? I would think a dealer would order regardless of what is on the floor if a customer had money in hand. Then again, I'm no dealer. | ||
| Iugradmark |
I went through a similar issue in buying my 2007. Many dealers had 2006 models and had no interest in ordering 2007s. | ||
| Speedcrazy |
My dealer is going to order one for me, but he said it could be up to 60 days. Thats a long time for someone how wants it now.. You know.. | ||
| Metalstorm |
The 08s will be released in what, 2 to 4 months? I think the improvements are worth the wait and the $$. Of course it's easy for me to say that being that I won't be buying a new bike for a few years (unless I win the lotto) but it just seems like the logical choice. The changes from 07 to 08 may seem small but I think they're huge. Enormous even. Kinda like "big things come in small packages". | ||
| Bottomsdown |
so one of the dealers calls back today to say the 08's won't show until mid-October, but they'd be happy to 08ify the 06/07 Ulys still onhand. They want to move those in the worst way. I figure the 08's will show up only as fast as the 07's/06's disappear off the floor. Business as usual.. hurry up for new product announcement, then wait.... wait... | ||
| Court |
I need to do some checking . . . something sounds odd. We watched 2008's being built, crated and leaving in trucks at Homecoming. | ||
| Bottomsdown |
Dealers must hate well-advertised upgrades in models when they still have old stock on hand. To us they're the 'old bikes', to them they're thousands of dollars sitting there eroding in value. I wonder how many 06 and 07 Ulys are sitting unsold in dealerships nationwide? Buell HQ knows. | ||
| Raceautobody |
A dealer near me has a ship date of early Aug. But as they said "A ship date and a recieved date two different dates" I am expecting a call from them late Aug. | ||
| Husky |
I visited the 2 closest dealers, and sat on an 06 and 07 Uly, and left word that I was interested in a Orange 07. Both dealers said they did not have any more on order and had no plans to do so until they moved the existing 06 inventory. Its been 4 months and still no call. I live in Pasadena, CA. Looks like I should wait for the 08 now. Regards, Husky | ||
| Hughlysses |
It seems that the main reason there are a significant number of left-over 06's and 07's is that nobody's gone into these dealers and begged to be allowed to purchase one. Imagine that, if you don't TRY to sell the bikes, you don't sell many of them. Sheez.... | ||
| Bosh |
I bought my 06 in September of 2005, so I would suspect they should start showing up at dealers in a few weeks. ?? | ||
| Metalstorm |
I just re read my post and it sounds like I'm way over hyping the upgrades. I meant to say that if I didn't already have a bike and I was shopping around, the 08 improvements would be well worth the wait and the higher price over the deal one could get on a pre 08 model. I however, would not trade in my 05 12S for an 08 unless it was for a completely different model. Like say an 1125R or a Uly  (I still can't decide which I think is the nicer bike) | ||
| Jdw3343 |
I've called my "local" dealer 3 times since the 08 line was announced trying to find out when their getting 08 Uly's. Each time I'm told he needs to check the list and will call right back. Surprisingly they have yet to call back. Does anyone know when dealers are getting there 08s' and at this point maybe have to look at a non-local dealer. | ||
| Court |
They may not have called back . . but they are sending you a powerful message. Anytime a dealer impedes your ability to give them thousands of dollars, step back and examine the dynamics of the transaction. | ||
| Bottomsdown |
Maybe if those of us wanting 08s make our way to East Troy, they'll let us ride our new steeds right out the factory door with a hearty "Thank you!" while holding the door open for us. Always good doing business with the friendly folks at the home office. | ||
| Court |
Actually . . . that's been looked at several times and it gets fairly complex. My response has generally been that the folks at East Troy are no more set up to deliver bikes than dealers are to manufacture them. I'm having the start of a small change of heart and have 3 I3s working. . . er, that's an "idea in incubation". I hope this discussion evolves. I'd be interested to see of there is any interest and if so what folks would be looking for. Several, as you know, car makers do this and my wife is looking at doing the factory tour and trip with her next car purchase. | ||
| Jdw3343 |
A friend of mine just bought a brand new Husqvarna SM610 from a local BMW, Ducati, Aprilla, Husqvarna dealership. The salesman was practically tripping over himself trying to make sure my friend was happy. This HD/Buell dealership I'm trying to deal with always has a good stock of buells and are always friendly. Thats why I don't understand the difficulty in getting anywhere with an 08. | ||
| Bottomsdown |
No question we are all 'seeing' the elephant from the blindfolded perspective provided by our local dealers' approach to dealing, which is shaped by local market demand, their own Buell muse, etc. Unfortunately, several of us drew the rearward position from which to assess the beast before us. "This Can't be the trunk!?!" | ||
| Bottomsdown |
Taking a 1200 mi. trip to rockies this week. Occurs to me to rent a Uly instead of taking my r80gs. After reading everything written about B'Ulys in English (and some German: "lieber!"), deciding I want an 08, and stuck in the middle, the cost seems worth it ("lust!"). Rental.. the red light district of motorcycling. | ||
| Bertotti |
Court Factory sales and delivery would be great. In the end Buell is SOL till the dealers step up. I would suggest mandatory sales training for at least one sales guy from each dealership. Training should include riding and using the line to the full effect. On road Off road and product knowledge of course. In my business we have classes which we encourage a financial guy to also attend with the other employee because he is better able to drive the financial significance and impact back to the ownership. Until the ownership takes a positive stand on Buell it will be the same old same old. Unfortunately most change from what I have seen will have to come from the top down. You need to get the owners off their duffs first I think. I would think that if the owners understand the direction HD Buell is taking and why and how it will be a positive financially then you have a chance to really rock the world. I am saying this from an equally as hard industry. I am a retreader working for Bandag. We have almost 50 % of the US market and a smaller but incredibly significant chunk of the international market. We do so well that Bridgestone just finished buying us out. Trying to compete when third world countries with little to no regulation, cheap labor, turning everything into a commodity, is hard to say the least. On a side note a monthly technical bulletin to the Buell dealers on routine or abnormal problems would be a positive also. You may already do that, I don't know. | ||
| Crusty |
Court, are you thinking of a "Fly, Buy and Ride" kind of scenario? Something like, order a Uly with bags, fly out to East Troy a day or two before Homecoming, pick up your bike at the factory and break it in riding around Wisconsin attending the different events for Homecoming. Get the first service done the day after Homecoming, then ride it home. I'd better not let Terri see this thread, or my bank account could be in serious jeopardy. | ||
| Bottomsdown |
Just called.. my dealer doesn't rent Ulys. "It's a demand thing." I was supposed to know that. | ||
| Hughlysses |
It'll be interesting to see if the 1125R and the dirt bikes drive the marginal dealers to change, or if it happens by a different means. The Ulysses brought a whole new bunch of potential customers into Harley dealerships for the first time. Some people bought Ulys despite the dealers, some bought Ulys because of the dealers, and some didn't buy Ulys because of the dealers. My guess is this same experience will be repeated with the 1125R and to an even larger extent with the dirt bikes. I can imagine some of the dealerships still won't "get it", while others will finally wake up and take advantage of this. You know, no matter what you think about all this, one thing I haven't seen posted anywhere in a while is "Buell is on it's last legs; Harley's gonna shut them down any day now". Thank goodness we're finally past hearing that. The question to me is how quickly they're going to grow and how big they're eventually going to get. | ||
| Xbimmer |
In 14 months of Uly ownership my HD/Buell dealer has been able to sell me on the spot only oil filters and a couple bolts. The salesman who completed my paperwork for my bike had the enthusiasm of a guy walking the plank, and he owned a Cyclone. I get the distinct impression in the service department that any of them would rather be hung over and with the runs all day than work on a Buell. Last week I got a voicemail extolling the virtues of the new 1125R, but they can't stock a XB belt or air filter. I can imagine the techs scratching their heads at a Rotax... If a HD dealer in bike-crazy SoCA can't step up to the plate for Buell then where do we go? The Uly beginning its third year is even better, and my '06 generates a lot of interest wherever I park it. I honestly believe I do more to sell the bike than my dealership did to sell me mine, and I'd love to find a "Buell" dealer whose staff knew as much as the average BadWeB member does about our Uly's, or any other Buell for that matter. I think a factory pick-up sale program would rock. Maybe even a "signature series" for such bikes with Erik's mark! Hell, I'd do it and wouldn't wait for Homecoming. In any case, since it seems Buells may soon be all-Buell with the new designs (the single to replace the Blast! for the street too maybe?) then maybe it's also time to say bye-bye to HD. | ||
| Bertotti |
My dealer seems favorable to Buell and is hoping the few of us around can get together enough to start a club but the service department has two wrenches with Buells. I think that is the key in a lot of HD shops if one of the wrenches has a Buell you're odds of good service just went up. | ||
| Jdw3343 |
Called a second dealer today. Apparently its a big secret from Buell what their getting and when. | ||
| Atoms |
Illinois Harley in Berwyn has been great for service. I bought my '07 used from a private party, but even though I bought it elsewhere Illinois Harley has been enthusiastic about doing the 1k service and getting parts for me. The owner (or one of them?) owns a Uly himself and the service manager I spoke with rode an M2 for years only recently replacing it with a vrod. Their Buells are right in the very front of the store. They have an '06 demo Uly and seem about as supportive as one could expect. It is not all gloom and doom when it comes to the dealers. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
quote "I need to do some checking . . . something sounds odd. We watched 2008's being built, crated and leaving in trucks at Homecoming." there was a blue 2008 Ulysses that someone rode to Road America on Sunday sitting in the Buell riders parking area. Several people were there looking at it but I didn't catch where the license plate was from. |
