| Author | Message | ||
     Marc340 |
What is the real day of the closures of Buell. | ||
| Anonymous |
December 18, 2009 - sort of. There will be a skeleton crew staying over thru first qtr 2010 to perform the final mopping up. | ||
| Aseecobra |
Are they keeping Buell technical people on board during the warranty period and beyond to support the dealers? Chris | ||
| Anonymous |
No. | ||
| Swamp2 |
Well, that's a little scary... Glad I just ordered the service & diag manuals for my CR today. | ||
| Rickie_d |
What is so scary? | ||
| Swamp2 |
One gets the impression there won't be anybody left affiliated with the company that really "knows" the products. Considering they have an ongoing service obligation for many years, you'd think HD would want to have some bench strength... | ||
| Dfishman |
What about Vincent,Norton,aircooled VW's.Do you think somebody could get that Edsel running?Buell motorcycles will be kept running for years by the people that love them. | ||
| Swamp2 |
No argument, although I don't think Vincent maintained any liability for continued service and support after they shut down. It was more a comment about HD being exposed rather than the customers directly. Also on all the old bikes you mentioned (that were simple designs in production for decades) there was a lot of commonality in the suppliers - Amal Concentrics were universal, Lucas electrical crap was universal. They were and remain simple to support (I still have 5 old Triumphs). | ||
| Fast2win |
I think swamp2 has a legit concern, does Harley have Buell tech staff to assist dealers technicians when they run into a problem. I'm not sure if they currently call a Harley tech line or Buell. If they call A buell tech line then there is real cause for concern. | ||
| Snake_oil |
Private enterprise will prevail someones failure or in this case being cut off at the knees from behind is someone elses oportunity. After market companies will keep us in parts. | ||
| 46champ |
I'm going to continue to say this. The most important thing we can do is continue to ride our bikes. If we ride we will need parts someone will provide those parts. The worse thing we could do is park the bikes. If there is no market there will soon be no parts. The existing stock of parts will only last so long. | ||
| Greg_e |
Private enterprise is great... But what about those warranty issues? I guess we should pity the suckers that bought the extended warranty since it will be all but useless for the really difficult problems. | ||
| Court |
Wow . . . I sure disagree. But to each their own. I'm not thrilled but I suspect Harley-Davidson will live up to their obligations even if we have to hold their feet to the fire. I suspect BadWeB will be our best friend. | ||
| Rickie_d |
Factory technical support is generally for supporting the introduction of new products, not ongoing maintenance of two year old + designs; that is what the published information such as service manuals are for. Buell just spent the last couple of years refining and publishing the technical information on the last product they introduced; I am not seeing where calling someone at a factory is going to bring any more to the table. | ||
| Clutchless |
For what its worth: (without de-railing the thread....hopefully  ) I have NEVER bought ANY service items, parts, tires, gear, you name it, straight from H-D or Buell. All of Buell's loyal fanbase have gotten me through the past 4-5 years of riding. Diagnoses included. Ride with peice of mind, closing down a factory isnt going to stop the rest of the Buell community. | ||
| Cmm213 |
I have moved on, meaning I gave up street riding sold my lightning 2 months ago. But I am still sad to hear this. It sucks for people who love to ride there buell but dont know how to wrench on one. | ||
| Buell920 |
Cmm213, I as well am in the process of moving on. with Buell shut down, my money spent will only go back to HD. but on the other hand I am having a really hard time sitting on an import bike. I enjoy riding them and doing track days with them but to own one again .?. I hate to say it but I may end up on a FLHX or FLTRX, ( even typing it feels funny ). any way until E.Buell can establish a working prototype for a street bike and produce it I choose to stay american made.  | ||
| Slojon |
Gee, BUELLworld is DONE...gotta sell NOW before I cannot get ANYTHING for them.... sorry. My BLAST! shall remain. The 1125R is just at 8k and not broken in. The XBRR may be problematic as there is a rarity issue- could become a display.... I am running my BUELLS! Quitters may stay away. Parts is parts. TRIUMPH went out but I could get parts for the one I bought new in 1976....Interweb babble....can't wait | ||
| Buell920 |
Hay, Slo(w)Jon.. do not misinterpret my statement or try to start something that is not there. I will keep my buell forever. the bike and the company have more meaning to me than I care to share. the point I made is a new bike is around the conner for me and it cannot be a new Buell......... never mind I'll draw it in crayon for you some time. SMC | ||
| Greg_e |
If you don't want on import, buy a Fischer, it's at least designed and assembled in the USA, might even be everything except the engine in the USA. If you are pissed at Harley and concerned about sending them money on Buell items, why in hell would you then say you might buy one of their bikes? Either way you are giving your money to Harley so you might as well ride a Buell. Your logic make zero sense. | ||
| Buell920 |
I said >> but on the other .... I hate to say it but I may end up on a FLHX or FLTRX, ( even typing it feels funny ). any way until E.Buell can establish a working prototype for a street bike and produce it I choose to stay american made. you said >>If you are pissed at Harley when did I say that? they as well mean a great deal to me. I disagree with there current choices and cannot put all the pieces of the puzzle together yet, but I have a good idea as to what there intentions were/are. HD has 100+ years of data to look over and analyze, they have been through very hard time before. Buell had the largest motorcycle manufacturer backing it for 26 years along with support in the early years, the return on investment was only starting to look good. the gamble was if it was going to continue. The 1125 has been doing great but sales ( prior to discount ) were dismal at best. HD had to trim cost in all areas, look at the RD department that just took a big hit, SOARS are roping left and right, they need to look at the small picture for a while and let the big picture go. HD will soon attract a market they have never touched. new things are in the mix an a bigger gamble is about to unfold in the next year. (Message edited by buell920 on December 01, 2009) | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
Scott, you have to be kidding yourself, hd does have a history. There is alot of failure in it too. What makes your think they are capable of doing anything right while just casually looking at the sales and purchases in the last few years. Including moves, buildings etc. hd cant learn anything from yesterday, They forgot the past 100 years, they didnt care to avoid the shape they in. They dont mind and we dont matter. (Message edited by mmmi_grad on December 01, 2009) | ||
| Buell920 |
yep, forget 100+ years of data, good or bad, I guess NASA should never look at the hole Discovery thing, Race teams should just toss out data collected from a lost race and so on. good point information of any kind; sales, CSI's, investments, is still info that can help with future progress. E.Buell I'm sure will look back to move forward. Question: how many times did Edison fail prior to getting a light bulb to light? | ||
| Xb9rski |
I've been living under a rock lately and have just found out about Buell closing. I am truly saddened by this, but I knew it would be the end of Buell when Erik sold the last 48% he owned to HD, I just didn't think it would be this soon. Since I bought my XB9R in 2003, I've always said that Buell needs to find a better engine and get away from HD. I'm not selling my XB, I'll ride it until I die, or as long as I can anyway. "Ride it till it seizes" Ski  | ||
| Sparky |
Hi Ski, long time - no see, no hear. Retirement must be agreein' with ya. It looks like Erik did take your advice and built a better non-HD engine. So much better that HD couldn't stand it and decided to shut him down in case his little company just might start cutting into their sales. Just kidding, of course, but it sorta seems like it, huh? | ||
| Daveswan |
Just to stir the pot a bit – I was on the AMA website looking at some of the people in the Hall of Fame and I scrolled down to the Erik Buell entry where near the bottom there's the phrase – "due to the strains of a severe recession, Harley-Davidson SUSPENDED production of the Buell product line in October". "Suspended" as defined: To render temporarily ineffective, to cease for a period; delay. Interesting choice of wording especially where EB is still connected through racing, he didn't up and leave everything. As a prosecutor I wish to cross examine the source. Tell me sir, why did you refer to the Buell closure as merely a suspension while you could have used any other word to describe the closure in more definitive terms? What information do you have that the rest of us don't/ Then if it is a complete closure why does EB still maintain an office in the back while racing your SUSPENDED equipment! maybe it's too much Law and Order.  | ||
| Court |
WAY too much law and order in concert with some flawed basic facts. | ||
| Buell920 |
So, Court, have you seen all the facts (in black and white)? I still think HD has a couple tricks up there sleeve. I can't seem to find the liquidation of assets sale, or any type of documentation for that matter, that generally follows after a company closes. there seems to be some very large holes and very thought out word tracks coming from HD and Mr. Buell himself the last couple weeks. SMC  | ||
| Court |
>>>I can't seem to find the liquidation of assets sale Specifically where did you look? |
