| Author |
Message |
    
Doerman
| | Posted on Sunday, November 29, 2009 - 11:44 pm: | 
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Lack of fiber?
More like:
Lack of moral fiber. |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 01:09 pm: |
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"I’m not going to ignore its design issues or existing flaws"
By all means, feel free to live your life determined and intent on dwelling in the negative. Be sure to always remember and advertise any and all items that you personally deem to be flaws or issues.
I'll be out riding and looking for positive things in life to occupy my time. I'm determined to enjoy life and look for uplifting positive things. Silly me. |
Blake
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 01:22 pm: |
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"Believe me, these guys know what they're doing."
You've obviously not looked at their sales history for the past decade. Nor have you looked at the hole which they've dug themselves via Harley Finance Inc. or whatever it is called.
They know what they are doing? Bullshit. |
Midknyte
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 02:06 pm: |
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Hate on whatever you like, but at least know what the hell you are talking about eh... |
Chadhargis
| | Posted on Monday, November 30, 2009 - 05:46 pm: |
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I'm blessed to be in the situation to own any reasonably priced bike I want (think sub $20,000) and I can say without a doubt, the 1125CR is the BEST bike for my needs and wants. I've looked at all the big players, and I liked the CR best. Same went for the Ulysses. I really wanted a Multistrada, but after riding a Ulysses, I was in love with it.
Maybe the ZTL brake isn't as good as a dual disc setup, maybe belt drive isn't as strong as a chain, maybe fuel in frame is not necessary....I don't know. All I know is that every Buell I've ever ridden was so EASY to ride fast and it put a huge $hit eating grin on my face.
Nothing else really matters in my opinion. |
Bombardier
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - 03:48 am: |
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Got it in one brother - now how to get this message across to the organ strokers at HD? |
Jlnance
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - 03:42 pm: |
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I suppose what I'm asking is, aside from the manufacturing logistics of the product(s) themselves, could there be a genuine reason for Harley to not just cast Buell off and let them go it alone? I thought if anyone would have a deeper insight it might.
All I have of course are guesses.
HD makes a lot of money by stamping the words "Harley-Davidson" on things. That trademark is their most valuable asset, and it is valuable because of what many people associate it with. HD is _THE_ American motorcycle company.
Having other American motorcycle companies around makes HD one of many, which is a much less valuable position for them. This is particularly threatening for them since their entire business strategy seems to be based on leveraging the value of the HD name.
Having a successful Buell around does nothing good for them. Even if that Buell was not making the same kind of bikes they made, it takes away from the "HD is the American Bike" mindset, which is a lot of what they sell.
Beyond that, consider who might buy them, or ultimately end up with them. It might be Victory, and they just might be able to make that partnership work. Victory already makes American cruisers which compete with HD directly, both for bike sales and mind share. What if a Victory owned Buell created a successful race bike. What if people started walking around in Victory Tee shirts. What would that do to HDs ability to leverage their brand? |
Madduck
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 02, 2009 - 03:55 pm: |
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I doubt that any real anger would sway business decisions of this magnitude. This: http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/harley/ci_13902470
is my guess as to what happened to Buell. During union negotiations the fact that non of the non-union Buell employees were losing their jobs all the while the union employees were getting laid off and giving back benefits.
Personal guess only here, but in a downturn as severe as this Buell got thrown under the bus so Harley could survive. Every little thing makes a difference. |
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