| Author | Message | ||
     Renzo750 |
Forgive me if this has been posted before... I find this hilarious http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU&feature =player_embedded | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
DIBS lol  Jake  | ||
| Steeltech |
Boooo. A lot of people forget that without Harley backing Buell wouldn't have gotten this far. When Harley invested in the company only then did they have the money to come out with the XB series and eventually the 1125r series. When Harley got the line it inherited a lot of defects from the tube frame motorcycles that needed recalls and warranty work wazoo. Don't get me wrong, it sucks that they closed doors on Buell. I hate it just as much as anyone else here. But harley deserves as much blame as dealers or consumers when it comes to fault. Either way, harley still makes a solid bike. They have one of the better fuel injection systems for cruisers on the market (again...cruisers). They also have modern cartridge forks...for the a hole in the video. The springer is what we call an "option". Either way, guy in video = tool. He can blast HD, but he can't live up to their heritage. | ||
| Jules |
Oh Dear... I think it's safe to say I respectfully disagree with your opinion Steeltech. Irrespective of whether HD inherited lots of defects they are a business and saw a business opportunity... The decision to dismantle Buell makes no businsess sense at all, so theat makes them the tools.. It's old ground though so hardly worth talking about any more. Opinion is divided, personally i think HD (the company) suck and the video is spot on. | ||
| Court |
>>>>A lot of people forget that without Harley backing Buell wouldn't have gotten this far That's inaccurate...... As is the statement about Harley-Davidson "inheriting" problems. | ||
| Whippetlovr |
LOL! awesome | ||
| Joshinga |
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| A10tankkill |
Ultimately Harley money would have funded inovation through Buell that could have brought in a new crowd to Harley. Unfortunately, Harley didn't seem to know what to do with Buell. My impression is Buell inovation was mostly squelched, and where Harley could have made in roads in another market that down the road may have brought them business for their primary market, they chose to bury them and ultimately close them down. My mindless opinion is Harley should have promoted Buell's angle on the market and could have made inroads with the Jap sport bike market and eventually brought those people over to their cruiser bikes down the road. I believe the foresight was missing, as well as the planning. While it maybe evil to say it here there are any number of jap/european bikes that hit the market Harley has no missed, and they are good bikes. Harley could have hit the same markets under the Buell/Harley name and then had those people buying Harley's as they aged. I think key was letting Buell do their thing, and not making them locked to Harley technology. The improvements Buell came up with over the years could have been brought to Harleys, and vice versa where applicable. Oh well, I wish I had talked my Mom into letting me get into cycle racing when I was a kid. My Dad was an easy sell, but Mom put the kabosh. Maybe I could have been an influential source of info for Harley instead of just a dork on a forum. | ||
| Kirb |
'Ultimately Harley money would have funded inovation through Buell that could have brought in a new crowd to Harley.' Harley is aware of the problems they face- customers are getting older, product line is forced into 'tradition'...they attempted to change that by getting Buell a liquid motor and buying MV. They turned tail on that path when the economy went ass-up. Harley 'could' have had a nice line of bikes that spanned off-road, adventure touring, sport, and the traditional HD market. They just don't know how to sell anything other than HD. The part that floored me was the 125mil claimed spent to shut down buell was more than they ever invested in the company...all while ignoring the offer to buy the 1125 bikes by BRP. Just doesn't make sense any angle you look at it other than the short dollar. | ||
| Steeltech |
You can disagree all you want, but without Harley Buell would have ran out of money on warranties and recalls before they could have made it to the XB series. The purchase of Buell happened in 1998, and that was the remaining 49%. A whole 5 years before the XB series. The Harley years of Buell are like the AMF years of Harley. Nearly everybody that has anything to say about Harley says the AMF years were the worst, but without AMF Harley would surely have gone under. The introduction of the Evolution engine during those times really kept the company going. The same for the creation of the XB series and eventually the 1125r series. To bad in this example it was Harley who wielded the ax. Again...I hate it just as much, but the Buell I enjoyed was the one under Harley. That's when they got the resources and that's when they started making the motorcycles I enjoyed (not as big a fan of the tube framers). They also got a good warranty, good manuals, and better parts. Sure there were other problems with this relationship. MANY MANY MANY dealerships did not support them. That is a big problem for any company seeing dealerships not support the bike you have. That wasn't a reflection on Harley the company as Harley gave incentives to dealers that did carry the line and tried to push it on many. Many dealers said that after the tube frame Buells they would not touch the new stuff. This wasn't as big of a problem for mechanics...but those out there that can't work on their stuff it was an inconvenience. Another problem with Buell was their limited lineup. The japanese companies would probably flop if all they offered were 1000cc sportbikes. We have the Ulysees...and the lightning...but they lighting is just handlebars and fairing. The Ulysees is a sport touring bike, with a gas tank that is under 4 gallons. They should have diversified. They needed to probably make something other than a v-twin. How about a v4? Or god forbid an inline four to go compete in races. Love or hate Harley, putting all the blame on them is silly. I still enjoy a good Harley. In fact I'd almost trade my 1125r in on one right now. I love my Buell, but its hard to work on one in a barracks room (primarily the rotating the engine out bit at 12k miles). I can do a Harley in a parkin' lot  . | ||
| Kirb |
'Another problem with Buell was their limited lineup.' Buell had more than just a 1200..Blast and 900cc variants. HD limited R&D for a lot of years by using a proven product- sportster based engine/trans. It worked for a lot of years. Eric said it best- Sport touring bikes don't sell...the S2T is Buell's example. Uly was offered more as an 'adventure' touring bike more than sport. It is on par with a V-strom more than a R1200GS. buell had an off-roader in the works. The 1125 was a VERY good attempt at a liquid bike. I4? Triumph tried and failed to compete at 600cc fours. Buell would do the same at 600 or 1000. Too much $$ on the asian front in R&D. Bike design turns over yearly. They went the right direction with the 1125. Too bad it didn't mature. |
