| Author | Message | ||
     Carbonsteel |
Legacy Harley-Davidson in Odessa, Texas has dropped their Buell dealership. Total Bummer. My rear wheel bearing went out and I used to get my parts from them. Now there isn't a Buell dealership within 600 miles of where I live. Oh well, at least there's the Internet. | ||
| Bienhoabob |
When I brought my '06, I thought any Harley dealer would be able to help out if trouble arose on the road. I couldn't get a tire in Texas or Louisiana, then lately, Elkhart, In, HD would not even look at my bike when the fuel pump went out on IBA event. Luckily my Uly has been very reliable, but now with 51 thousand miles on it, I'm starting to think twice before I sign up to do IBA events. Hate to say it, but if Buell fails, lack of dealerships will be the major cause. | ||
| Froggy |
Trust me, Buell isn't going anywhere. | ||
| Trevd |
"Trust me, Buell isn't going anywhere." I know how you meant that, but it could also be taken to mean that Buell isn't going anywhere until they get a better dealership network. My local HD/Buell dealer is pretty good, but they are 99% an HD dealer - that's clear. They have a couple of Buells on the floor, but only a couple. Everytime I walk in there I feel like I'm about to get screwed over by the inflated HD service prices and inflated HD egos. I know I'm dreaming, but I would love to be able to walk into a Buell-only dealership and be treated like my bike matters instead of just a sideline. Or, maybe walk into a multi-line dealership and see Buells alongside Hondas and Ducatis. I think if that happened, Buell would increase their sales since I don't know of any sport bike riders that would stop in at the HD dealer here, but that would probably look at Buell if they were beside their CBR at the dealership. Up until a couple of years ago, I never would have considered a Buell because I thought of it as HD's weak cousin - an afterthought. Somewhere along the way I smartened up, but I wonder how many others think the way I did... | ||
| Johnboy777 |
There's a dealer not too far from me in Warren, Ohio that just dropped Buell as well. They must have needed more room for all of those HD chrome bits and $35 T-shirts they sell. . | ||
| Froggy |
They have been phasing out many sub par dealers that have been only hurting the brand, and opening up new ones that will hopefully support them. The Buell dealer in Daytona has the Buells next to Triumphs and Ducatis. Things are getting better, slowly but surely.  | ||
| Trevd |
Froggy, is it an HD dealer too, or just Buell, Triumph and Ducatis? | ||
| Froggy |
Yes HD too, its the Bruce Rossmyer place in Daytona. I believe the Buell/Triumph/Duc building is run by his daughter. | ||
| Rotorhead |
Two dealers in the central NY area dropped Buell (OR BUELL DROPPED THEM) also, Binghampton and Rome. The Binghamton guys were top notch service too. Syracuse has one but I will never go there becuase the Buell sales man asked me if I liked my BMW?!?!?!? HELLO I just rode up on my ULY, berfore I disguised it!! The service guy is suspect. so my options are looking at 200 miles to get dealer service if my ULY ever has a problem beyond my level of mechanics. It is a shame northern NY, VT, NH has some great Buell roads and has lost the dealer support. | ||
| Backroad_hog |
I am very fortunate, I have a HD dealership in College Station Texas, that the service manager used to work for Buell as a tester for the ULY. I get top notch service and advice. So if you are looking for a Buell friendly dealer, look at Independance HD in College Station | ||
| Cyclonedon |
I'm fearing that more dealers are going to drop Buells. The marketing program isn't doing Buell any favors right now. One of their best, most reliable motorcycles ever built was cubed for a publicity stunt that I think will come back to haunt them in the future. As I travel around to different Harley / Buell dealers in the area, I'm seeing less Buells on the floor because there NOT selling so dealers are not re-ordering new product. I'll be surprised if at least two local dealers don't drop the line by the end of this year. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Which ones Don? Is Ukes in the lineup? | ||
| Buellsrule |
If any of you know the dealers owner by name, go in and talk to him/her about the Buell brand. I think you will get quite an education. The long and short of it is Buell is a niche brand. Their numbers are not big and it takes a lot to make it work. There are probably 50 dealers in the US who are doing well with the brand. The rest are not. This is a business. Businesses need to make money. If they don't, they go out of business. Simple. This is one of the reasons why Buell cannot go it alone with it's own dealer network. They will have to be sold along side something else and as long as Harley owns them, it's probably not going to be imports. We can always hope that Erik will some day do what the Davidson family did and that is get some financial backers and get the company back. If I were king... | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""One of their best, most reliable motorcycles ever built was cubed for a publicity stunt that I think will come back to haunt them in the future"" +1 ...I never understood that stunt from a marketing perspective - but Erik must have signed off on it, he's in the video. As far as "phasing out many sub par dealers" ... that sounds just plain ridiculous. If anything, Buell wants more dealers, not less. From a dealer's perspective, Buell guys are NOT buying high mark up chrome bits, apparel and all the other HD logo'd nonsense on the shelf, and add to that, Buell riders don't trade in their bikes as often and there aren't as many Buell guys out there, either. I'm sure the profit margins are greater on HD bikes, too, which are way more expensive to boot. Lastly, a dealers tech and service guys need to be trained and updated to work on Buells. I can see why dealers drop the Buell line. . (Message edited by johnboy777 on August 12, 2009) | ||
| Sayitaintso |
Yes HD too, its the Bruce Rossmyer place in Daytona. I believe the Buell/Triumph/Duc building is run by his daughter. Yes its a completely separate building and when you're there you really do have the feeling that it is completely separate from the big HD place next door. It seems more like a local multi european dealer shop than anything else.... you know the kind, sells Ducs, Moto Guzzi, KTM and Triumph all in the same place. Small inventory but seem to give that personal attention and knowledgeable about riding in general and not just the HD image. | ||
| Hughlysses |
As far as "phasing out many sub par dealers" ... that sounds just plain ridiculous. If anything, Buell wants more dealers, not less. Johnboy777- it's pretty well documented that in the early days, some dealers were basically forced to carry Buell. In the last few years that practice went by the wayside, which was good for Buell and the dealers. I'm sure Buell would like to have more dealers, but it would be better to have fewer dealers all of whom are enthusiastic about selling the brand than to have more dealers (like some of the ones still lingering around) that couldn't care less about selling Buells and try to steer prospective buyers AWAY from the Buell they want to buy and over to the Harley section. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
RSS's were all bad, rear bearings were all good, and dealers dropping the Buell line are all 'sub par'. It's simply more of the corporate spin that we've all heard before. No Kool-Aid for me, thanks. . | ||
| Court |
There's some accurate stuff here in this thread . . but not much. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
I wonder how much the bet on the 1125 has hurt the marginal dealers. I've seen a lot of these sitting around, it must have been a substantial investment for the dealers. A dealer in Seattle told me that the 1125 sitting on his floor was 'the first one we got, it's still here'. I saw five of them sitting around at 9995 in Salt Lake. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
Don’t get me wrong, I love my Uly, like me, it’s an imperfect, rough around the edges work in progress – but it’s that whole ‘corporate think’ with which I take issue. The Emperor's New Clothes, and all of that. Look here, just because Buell says it - doesn't make it so. . | ||
| Slash6 |
I just bought my new 09 Uly this week, there are 4 Buell dealers in the Dallas area and I went to all of them. The closest dealer said "What's that" when I asked if they had a XB12X. One didn't have any, and one quoted me $3000 over MSRP. I ended up going to the farthest dealer from my home - HD of Dallas in Allen TX. I was treated very well by everyone, they had a knowledgeable salesman and everyone did all they could to help. They had a mechanic that owns a Uly come out and go over the bike with me. Can't comment on the service yet. | ||
| Slinky |
I think that one of the main problems with Buell's is that, while they are a fun, interesting machine, they are not better than the competion. They are mainly an emotional purchase, as are Harleys. Put the specs on paper, and compare them with other bikes in their classes. If you wanted a sport tourer and had 13k to spend, a FJR or ST1300 has way better specs, and more power. A V-strom is cheaper and has more power. Ducati's are the same thing, why would you pay so much more for no more performance than an R1 or CBR, but have higher maint costs, because of the exclusive feeling you get in the dealer, and the character of the bike. I think Buells have the same feeling when you ride them. They make no sense spec wise. But the feeling I got when I took my first demo ride was enough to eventually purchase one. The dealer network lets Buell down plain and simple. These are just my ideas, no one has to agree. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Uly | ||
| Svh |
I agree with you Slinky. | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
Around here the closest BMW dealer is 2.5 hours away and there are a pile of Beamers. Buell will be fine. | ||
| Idaho_buelly |
I bought my Uly from High Desert HD in Meridian,Idaho,and they have about 8-10 buells on the floor and a Buell area in the middle of the store..They seem to sell quite a few because I'm seeing more and more around town now..Very good service dept. as well...At least they appear to very eager to sell Buells..  | ||
| Panhead_dan |
You guys talk about dealerships dropping Buell. My local dealership was not willing to order an oil filter for an '04 Wide Glide... I have no facts other than that but If I had to assume, I would assume that unless a miracle happens I will have no local dealership at all. That and one of the local taverns seems to be not open anymore... I feel very fortunate to be a Buell rider because I don't need a local dealership very much. I feel confident to do any type of repair to any XB. With no warranty anymore and a garage of my own, I don't see too much problem. I do hate to think that the dealership is going to shut down but in reality it won't effect me much. If they do close the doors, someone else will likely buy a franchise sooner or later. I am a bit bummed out for the folks that work there, some of which are friends but the fact is that they are pretty damned good at what they do and like me, they will persevere and overcome this challenge. | ||
| Tocramed |
I stopped at a Buell, HD, BMW dealership in West Bend, WI. a couple weeks ago and the sales guy told me they were going to be dropping Buell. They had about 8 or 9 bikes on the floor (both '08s and '09s). I guess they are not selling enough. But hey, I am only 1 hour away from Hal's!  | ||
| Wbrisett |
So if you are looking for a Buell friendly dealer, look at Independance HD in College Station No disrespect, but have you looked at a map of Texas? Odessa to College Station is nearly 400 miles via roads. If you have a problem, one would hope a dealership is closer than 400 miles. That being said, I also own a BMW, which means when I'm out on the road, I face the same issue with it since dealerships are not exactly plentiful. Luckily I've never had a serious problem that I couldn't fix alongside the road with either bike. Wayne | ||
| Wbrisett |
If you wanted a sport tourer and had 13k to spend, a FJR or ST1300 has way better specs, and more power. A V-strom is cheaper and has more power. You better look at your numbers again. Honda increased the price again this year on the ST1300. No way you're going to get an ST1300 for anything less than 16-17K these days. In fact, I was able to pick up a fully equipped BMW RT for the same price as one of the local Honda shops was charging for an ST1300 that didn't have nearly half the creature comforts as the RT. I'm telling you, Honda really has lost their way on that particular product line. Wayne | ||
| Froggy |
Funny, I just compared the spec sheets of the FJR1300AE and the XT, the only thing the FJR has on the XT is a 6.6 gallon tank and ABS. But it needs that extra gas for its pitiful 39mpg rating. Might have something to do with that 650lbs that it has to move. You get a lot for your $16,290! |
