| Author | Message | ||
     Pnw_uly |
Just a bit of levity in these dark times... So, most of us are past our initial shock, disappointment, and frustration (somewhere on that Denial to Acceptance scale...) of last week's decision; but knowing the resilience of Erik Buell, what will the next company that produces his vision be called? Someone recommended "Erik", but that doesn't seem to have the right ring to it... Gotta couple of ideas - - 1. "Laertes" - Okay, so this one is Uly owner biased, but Laertes was the father of Ulysses, so makes sense, right? Ties in quite nicely to the Pegasus logo, too. 2. "Odysseus" - Roman version of the Greek Ulysses; once again, very Uly owner biased, still has the tie to Pegasus. 3. "Lleub" - Buell spelled back words, not a very good sound... 4. "Kill Rube" - Anagram of Erik Buell, still sounds a little flimsy... not so much if your name happens to be Reuben  Gotta be a few ad agency moguls in this group - - Any ideas? | ||
| Barker |
Pegasus. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A couple of people have suggested Phoenix, as in rising from the ashes... | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'll probably be flayed alive but here's my take on this matter. Erik should get down on his knees and beg the HOG BODirectors to reconsider. Heck, call the bikes Harley Davidson Buell editions. Harley has Dynas, Sportsters, Touring, and Buells. You gotta realize that Harley owns everything Buell has his name on, lock, stock and barrel. Unless they sell Erik the rights to all the XB engineering drawings, and the 1125 stuff also, that is the only way ULY's could resurrect. | ||
| Tstone |
Electraglider makes a strong point. Add to it that HD probably has plenty of slack capacity too. Man, it just makes me sick though to think about the Elves being unemployed. | ||
| Court |
.. (Message edited by court on October 19, 2009) | ||
| Itileman |
The "Morningwood." Cuz it's an exciting bike to ride (draw your own conclusions). As far as the MoCo goes, don't write them off as being stupid. If the right deal (as in a goodly sum of $$) comes along to resurrect Buell in any way shape or form, I'm sure they'd do it. They seem to be holding all the chips, but you never know for sure. | ||
| Hooper |
Pegasus is pretty brilliant...perfect symbolism, great logo possibilities, and universal international recognition. Unfortunately, I bet H-D owns some of those winged-horse logos. It's gotta' be memorable and inspiring. I remember when I first started noticing Buells, probably a decade or more ago, way before I started riding. I had no idea how to pronounce "Buell" - "boo-ell?". Although that's a bit of the liability of Erik's last name as a brand name, it's also what makes the bike amazingly unique, and opens up a million conversations about the bike. "Boo-ell? Who makes that?" Everyone thinks it's German, until they see the "American Motorcycle" label on the airbox of my '06. If he can't get the name back, a strong, Internet-based marketing campaign to motorcyclists around the world could bring everyone back under the new name. I'll do my part! I've got a really interesting example to get you thinking. Marillion is a British progressive rock band that has been around since the early 80s, but got a new singer and a new musical direction in 1991. They became brilliant. But, they didn't get much radio airplay or critical notice because their music is so unique. However, their fans are RABID and are everywhere around the world. About nine years ago, Marillion lost their record deal. Instead of begging around to other companies, they went to their fans via the Internet and fan clubs and asked, "Will you buy our next CD before we even write or record it, without even hearing it? If you will, we can make the kind of music we want to make and the kind that we think you'll like, free of influence from the record company." The worldwide fans did (I included) - we sent $20 or something to the band and they created an amazing record called "Anoraknophobia". In the liner notes, they named and thanked every single person who pre-paid for the CD. What's more, they couldn't afford to fly across the Pond to tour the United States. The North American fan club swung into action and asked its members if they would pre-pay for a concert. We did, we sent our money, and Marillion came. It was the best concert I've been to, because the band knew they were loved. Anyway, this is the way to leverage an adoring fan club. Granted, it was no problem to send $20 to buy a CD that hadn't been written or recorded versus making a down payment on a bike that hasn't been designed or built, but I had faith that this great band would create something great, and they did. I'm saying that I - right now - might be convinced to put down a payment towards a future Erik Buell product, sight unseen, seat unridden. But this is all still fresh. We have some time to let it play out. (Message edited by hooper on October 19, 2009) | ||
| Jphish |
Another option is Telemachus or Telegonus - both son's of Ulysses by different mothers. Unfortunately Telegonus killed Ulysses. Neither has much of a 'ring' to it. "Honey let's go for a ride on the 'Tele' today" ???} | ||
| Kickastro |
I own a Aprilia Pegaso or 'Flying Horse' in italian. I love that my Uly has wings too! Both bikes are brilliant steeds that fly. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Pegasus is probably the best but I like Phoenix the most. | ||
| Metalstorm |
What about Better than Buell Motorcycles  hey nice bike. Is that a Ducati? no Is it a Buell? I thought they stopped making those. It's not a Buell. It's a Better than Buell. It's all Erik and no HD The Phoenix would be the first model. An extraordinary, amazing sport bike. Followed by the Sport touring Pegasus  But if wishes were horses... (Message edited by metalstorm on October 20, 2009) | ||
| Oddball |
"The company formerly known as Buell" Or maybe out of the greek alphabet. Beta_Upsilon_Epsilon_Lambda_Lambda He could even sign the bikes. Epsilon_Rho_Iota_Kappa Beta_Upsilon_Epsilon_Lambda_Lambda | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
East Troy Bluells http://www.jsonline.com/business/64849017.html | ||
| Johnboy777 |
That article is about the E. Troy Chamber doing what Chambers do in these situations. How can you sell a brand that would have no distribution network and has been losing money for years? HD would never want any potential buyer using their distribution network. Harley’s hands may effectively be tied (their decision written in stone) by their decision to discontinue Buell, in that it makes better sense, from a corp. accounting perspective, for them to take the $125 million write-down (because of current conditions @ HD), than try to sell Buell. That is to say, HD would receive a far better benefit from the write-down. But of course, this is pure speculation on my part. Hopefully, Erik Buell has some latitude within his employment contract (e.g., non-compete) for this type of situation. He may even have the right to call them Buell, again. . (Message edited by johnboy777 on October 20, 2009) | ||
| Court |
>>>That article is about the E. Troy Chamber doing what Chambers do in these situations. It's WALWORTH COUNTY, not East Troy. Huge difference. Remind me to tell you someday why Buell located in East Troy and not Mukwonago. This article, by the way, has been picked up and mis-represented in a lot of publications. Walworth County doesn't like the idea of loosing jobs. That's all. There are no "secret" deals or groups of wealthy investors they are holding meetings with. About 98% of what I am reading about Harley-Davidson, Buell, Erik, Patents, Contracts, Non-Competes and so forth is pure speculation and internet rumor. Not arguing, just want to keep things in perspective so as not to impede any possibilities. | ||
| Volume_eight |
How about instead, (following suit after Prince) they could just use a symbol to represent the company. no more name. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""It's WALWORTH COUNTY, not East Troy. Huge difference. Remind me to tell you someday why Buell located in East Troy and not Mukwonago"" Thanks for the clarification, Court. Remind me to tell you someday why I didn't say 'WALWORTH COUNTY' in the first place. . | ||
| Oddball |
"How about instead, (following suit after Prince) they could just use a symbol to represent the company. no more name." I thought about that and was trying to use greek alphabet. Only thing that kind of sucks if you just swap the letters it looks like BYE with two upside down V's.  http://www.physlink.com/reference/GreekAlphabet.cf m | ||
| Thegibbon |
They'd actually be doing it for similar reasons. Prince a record contract that didn't allow him to use the name Prince, so he used the symbol until the contract expired. | ||
| Sekalilgai |
Permagrin Motorcycles You-don't-know-what-you're-missing Cycles HD may own the Intellectual Property (IP) but not so much the IP (Intelligent Person) from which those patents sprung eh? | ||
| Eulysses |
American Motorcycle, Inc. Torque Cycles, Inc. Woohoo Bikes (Message edited by Eulysses on October 20, 2009) | ||
| Cityxslicker |
what ever it is.... I hope they bring back the Rooster As long as we are dreaming  | ||
| Thepod |
Phoenix as in rising from the ashes... It's a winged animal too (Message edited by thepod on October 21, 2009) | ||
| Mad_doctor |
What about the "Buell Lazarus" ? you know it doesn't have to be a greek name. the company will be brought back from the dead. I will buy another Buell, when they re-open. It's the BEST damned bike I've owned. What a blast!! (oops, wrong word). Tim | ||
| Oddball |
Thou brought forth that five letter word from thine lips. Thou shalt be cubed!  | ||
| Alchemy |
I like Lazarus Motor Co. but there are many possibilities Erik has had done as much a single man can do to bring his dream to life and succeeded. This time around it is more than Erik Buell alone that will make a way for this to happen. When an initiate passed through death's door and got a glimpse of eternity, it was a transformative enlightening journey and they often took a new name. I would go for a new company name that has a connection with the history/mystery of the journey. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Badweather Bikes | ||
| Buewulf |
It may be Can-Am or Rotax if the plausible rumors are true that Buell has been spending the week in Canada with BRP. |
