| Author |
Message |
    
Paint_shaker
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 06:13 pm: | 
|
One of my first draws to Buell was the association with H-D... So I don't mind them being sold at H-D dealers... What I do mind is going to a dealer that has ZERO knowledge of Buell, no desire to support them and carries no products, other than a few bikes (my closest dealer for example). Luckily, there is a Buell Dealer 45 minutes away that knows Buell and another approx 90 minutes away!!
If I didn't already have a decent job, I sure wouldn't mind taking a crack at selling and promoting Buells!!! |
Dave
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 06:29 pm: |
|
A dealer network is important. HD or Buell dropping the deadwood dealerships means less places to get a Buell serviced if "needed". I'm thinking of long rides and possible warranty/recalls. To it's credit, the XB history makes the future look bright even with a sparse dealer network.
HD & Buell needs to figure out a way to support the product. The value of BRAG's roadside assistance is increasingly important and addresses the unexpected problems. Major metropolitans without a Buell service plan needs to be addressed.
DAve
...and when HD/Buell wants someone in the Birmingham area to champion Buell...they need to drop me a line. I believe in the the product. |
Typeone
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 06:51 pm: |
|
"Sometimes I wonder if Buells being sold in Harley shops is a detriment. If the brand was sold at different types of dealerships it would spark more interest."
I don't wonder, its my opinion that it IS a detriment. Not just being sold in H-D shops but the complete association with H-D in general. I know we can't avoid it but in the 'sport bike' world (aka Japanese bike owners) Buell bikes are perceived as being Harley cruisers that will probably leave you stranded. Sad. I can't wait to see what doors open with the Uly though! It took me a while to get over the H-D connection before buying but Eriks sense of design and innovation plus the BadWeb community helped push my decision to purchase.
Even with the comments we all hear too many times about spec sheet this spec sheet that, the H-D name (and engine) associated with Buell is more of a problem in my eyes. I could care less how my XB compares to a Harley, it's a different animal in my book. for instance the tranny, it's the clunkiest thing I've ever used ('06 is a welcome improvement), i've got a heart for quirky machines but when i put the thing through its paces I don't want hickups or odd behavior. Even with my recent headaches I still love my bike, its insanely fun to ride and like nothing else out there. Fits me to a T and I hope to keep it for the long haul... But I'll never get comfortable going into an H-D shop for parts, service, etc. I have no desire to test ride any Harley at all, just not my cup of tea.
Having said all that, the H-D connection is also a blessing I guess. It takes a LOT of money and time to get where Buell is now. The bikes seem to be getting better and better with each year that passes. Even though i'm new to the brand, I want bigger and better for Buell. I just wonder how much the Mother Ship gets in the way sometimes.
Now if all dealerships and salesmen were like our Mr. DaveS... oh, man, talk about ideal.
(Message edited by typeone on August 11, 2005) |
Daves
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 07:04 pm: |
|
Thanks!
Dave |
Davegess
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 07:28 pm: |
|
I don't wonder, its my opinion that it IS a detriment. Not just being sold in H-D shops but the complete associating with H-D in general.
Most if not all of the dealers who have recently stopped selling Buells have been forced out by Buell. while it may be reassuing that there is a dealer even a bad one nearby on a long trip, just remember this. Getting your bike fixed wrong does not realy help you out. Many of these dealers had poorly trained techs that where likely to make any problem worse.
Better to have less dealer who are all competent than a lot of losers who sell a few bikes and turn the buyers off Buells forever.
Also the stand alone thing while the HD dealer association may have some negative feelings for many import owners they bring a huge amount to the table. They are the most financially stable bike dealer sin the world. The Motor Company can afford to help Buell get it right.
Buell has gone from one guy in a garage to over 10000 state of the art bikes built in a state of the art facility in 25 years. Without HD it would still be one guy in a garage. |
Bikertrash05
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 08:16 pm: |
|
I unknowingly bought my closest dealer's last Buell. I did get their 3 banners, FREE! Now I have 3 choices: a dealer 1/2 hour away with a good month to wait for rude service, or 2 dealers 1 hour away, one being Appleton. 
I think Buell should be sold with other sport bikes. After falling in love with my Buell (and sport bikes in general), I wouldn't mind adding a 600 to the garage. |
Mbohmann
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 08:26 pm: |
|
The "I wouldn't buy a Buell.." thing from a dealership employee illustrates the whole problem with the Buell/Harley relationship. Most of them have never, maybe will never, embrace anything other than Hogs. A lot of those overweight Harley folks are getting up in age and you better believe Harley's marketing people are well aware of it. Hogs aren't going to be hot forever. All products must evolve or they will die in the marketplace. The transition from X1's etc. to the XB's has been remarkable. What has changed on the hogs in the past 10 years?
In my opinion; Harley should mainstream the Buells as Harley Sportbikes. I'm to the point of writing a letter the Harley's CEO on this subject. Sorry guys, the separate brand identity thing hasn't been working. Harley/Buell need all the sales outlets possible. Yes, getting rid of the dead wood is OK in some respects. But Harley should realize that the most successful strategy would be to make ALL Harley dealers full-line dealers. Maybe if their quota of Hogs was based on a formula that factored in Buell sales, the dealers might be a little more enthusiastic about promoting sportbikes. Or "not interested in the sportbike line?" "Say goodbye to your franchise". I'm sure that sort of thing is done by the car manufacturers and others. Could a Chevy dealer tell GM that they only want to sell SUV's, but not Corvettes? Is the head of Harley Marketing female, as in "no balls"?
I don't think the down-sizing was Buells idea. I'd bet it was instigated by the dealers. I'm sure there's a lot more profit on a $20K dresser than on a $10K Buell. Besides; "who wants to deal with those crazy sportbike people?" |
Indy_bueller
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 09:05 pm: |
|
Alright, I'm going to pitch-in with my $.02.
Bear in mind, I am NOT an expert in marketing, vehicle production, or vehicle design. This is just the way I see it.
I sold cars for a year. It was the worst job I ever had. But I can tell you, when you are looking at two customers, one who wants a relatively cheap car, and another who wants a decked out super duty diesel truck, who do you think the salesman is going to help first? In my experience, sales is a feast-or-famine kind of deal, and most of the time for me it was famine. So you bet I'm going for the guy whos spending a ton of cash. I gotta eat! It sucks, but thats the way it goes. As we all know, that is the situation we are looking at in HD/Buell dealerships. Its human nature to go for the cash. So to start with, Buell faces a hard sell basically from within its own ranks, because I'm sure there are many salespeople out there that dont want to have anything to do with them.
If you were faced with a choice to make $100 or $1000 in one hour, (hypothetical figures, and by the way, that might be all the money you make this week) but you could only do one or the other, which would you choose? You know darn well which one. I can't blame the salespeople. And none of you should either. They are just trying to make a good living for themselves, as they have every right to do. It is not fair of any of us to expect them to take a risk with their income just to promote Buell Motorcycles.
So, another part of the debate is weather Buells should be sold alongside other kinds of bikes. My answer is no. As it is right now, these bikes are a "niche" bike compared to the other brands. Don't tell me they aren't. If they weren't, there would be just as many Buells around as Suzukis. The kinds of people that buy from the shops we are talking about DONT LIKE BUELLS. The salespeople in those shops DONT LIKE BUELLS. Their mechanics DONT LIKE BUELLS. So why would they get any better exposure there? The simple fact is, until there is a Buell that comes from the factory that can reach 180 MPH, those shops aren't even going to consider selling them. For the most part, their clients are only concerned about RWHP and top speed. They don't give a rip about cornering. Go hang out at the local "squid" hotspots on Friday night and tell me if I'm wrong.
Should Buell sell bike from their own independent locations? Well, there are only a handful of areas that have enough Buell riders to support such a storefront. No doubt, these locations already have a "good" HD/Buell dealer in the area, which is one of the reasons why there are so many Buellers there. So why take Buells away from them?
There is only one way that I can see for Buell to start gaining enough customer base for ANY one of the three options to truely work. Buell has to build a bike with a top speed in the 160-200 MPH range, with RWHP greater than 100. The majority of sport-bike riders will not take the line seriously until this happens, and Buell will remain a "niche" brand.
Lots of people like the Ulysses. Thats great! Lots of people that never owned a Buell before are buying them. Thats great! The "Super-Motard" (or whatever) market is a burgening one. Thats great! It will bring attention to Buell, but that market is still very small in comparison to the sport-bike market. The Uly will not make Buell a player on the level with Suzuki, Honda, etc. Maybe in its one small market area sure, but not the sport-bike market.
The fact is, the question of where Buells should be sold will resolve itself once Buell builds a bike that will appeal to the majority of people in the "sport-bike" crowd. Once there is a Buell sportbike that is selling like hotcakes, and for MSRP at that, Buell will have to beat HD dealers off with a stick. They will be taken seriously then. Until then, they wont sell except to "specialists" like us, and they won't be taken seriously by the majority of the HD OR Sport-bike communities.
Copied from the "Sport Rider" forums:
"I have nothing against Buell, but if you have a wife like me that puts you on a "one bike policy", why not get the best/fastest/most powerful motorcycle for the money? In 2003, I came across a brand new 2003 Gixxer 1000, the king at the time--for only $8999. Needless to say I jumped on that.
So if I could have more than one bike, then I might consider getting something like a Ducati or Buell, but only after I buy the latest Gixxer 1000 that kicks major buttocks.
I had a friend that demo'd a Buell Lightning and he said the engine vibration was so bad that he could't see ANYTHING in the side mirrors, even at a stop!"
Ok, I'm ready. Flame me!
*ducks*
(Message edited by indy_bueller on August 11, 2005) |
Court
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 09:20 pm: |
|
I'm reading all these but can't type while shaking my head. . . . .
I'm sitting here with a not-to-old shirt, still in a plastic bag, from a party. It reads "1,000 Buell Sold".
Buell COULD sell 1,000 Ulysses this month if they had the production capacity.
Ulysses is not the "end all", it's a step. Try calling your local dealer and see how easy it is to get them to give up their allotment of Ulysses. In fact, call your local HD/Non-Buell dealer and ask them if they can get you one. All of a sudden there is T-R-E-M-E-N-D-O-U-S interest.
Keep watching. . . |
Rageonthedl
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 09:22 pm: |
|
We no longer sell buell but we or should I say I still work on them, we just cant do warranty work thats all. |
Whodom
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 09:34 pm: |
|
Court,
Maybe it won't be too long before we'll be seeing posts on Harley boards saying "You know, they really should give us our own dealerships. The salesmen don't know anything about Harleys, the mechanics don't know how to work on them, they don't have any chrome in stock any more, and the Harleys are shoved over in the back corner of the store. Buell, Buell, Buell, that's all they want to sell."
 |
Indy_bueller
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 09:37 pm: |
|
Whodom, that would be the definition of "poetic justice". But I would rather see Buell and Harley, side by side. American bikes for American riders, respected by all. |
Bertman
| | Posted on Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 10:33 pm: |
|
Since I'm loosing my local dealer (Santa Maria Harley Davidson) I have been wondering if anybody else on the central coast of California would step up to the plate as a Dealer. Santa Barbara was a dealer in the past but not now, so for me I would have to go down to Ventura for any service that I could not do myself.
Up north in Atascadero, Gary Bing (Harley only) just moved into a nice large new shop. He has his old small building just sitting there on the adjacent corner and to me it screams "Buell" shop. I don't know if it would be financially feasible - if he even still owns the building - but it would be a Harley backed dealer without having Harley bikes in that particular shop.
This is just a curious rambling, but I wonder if Buell would be better off with separate "tag along" dealers, not Harley/Buell combined.
BTW - A good friend / riding buddy of mine has a 04 Fat Boy, and when we go someplace and park our bikes together it is funny to watch the people walk by. They will look at his "Chromed out" Hog, or my Firebolt, but seldom are both seen with the same gaze. |
Usroute66
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 01:32 am: |
|
Bertman...I stopped into the new Bing shop on the way to Seca, and that place is huge. In fact, it is so big that only I and around 3 or 4 Harley girls were in the place. U R right...the old place would make a great Buell shop. |
Creeater
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 11:24 am: |
|
I just finish calling my local dealer and asked them when they plan on getting the new Buells in. He said "oh, you mean the new Eclipse model." I said yeah and he said in a couple of months. Can't wait to see it.  |
Light_keeper
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 11:57 am: |
|
Eclipse????????????? Hey Court Ignorance or slip of the lip? |
Bonesbuell
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 02:29 pm: |
|
Check
http://www.buell.com/en_us/other/helpourdealers.asp
for remaining Buell Dealers by zip code (US). |
Crashcourse411
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 04:58 pm: |
|
That list on buell.com is not updated by any means. I am from the Toledo, Oh area and there is 4 out of the first 5 listed that are no longer dealers. FYI there are a lot of dealers in my area that have a couple of bike on the floor that are out of the Buell business you might get a deal. |
Mattl
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 07:31 pm: |
|
Hey BertMan,
Was really bummed about the Santa Maria dealer discontinuing the Buell line.
I commute SLO to Paso daily, and drive by the new GBang complex. Was just thinking the other day what it would take to get a small dealership and service shop for Buell's somewhere in the Central Coast. The old GBang building is a great idea.
I know nothing about this kind of business, but does anyone know what is required to be a Buell dealer? And how the heck would you guage product interest in this area? If someone came in with some capital, I wonder if Gary Bang could be convinced to allow such a thing to happen.
Anyway, great idea. I now have to drive to Fresno to drool over the Buell's. Saw the Ulysses there. Beautiful! Looks like an awesome piece of engineering. |
Scitz
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 07:44 pm: |
|
I've been thinking about this and have a solution. Follow computer manufactures on site support model. Have a network of independent certified mechanics in each state with a truck. You call in with the problem and the mechanic comes to your location to repair the problem. If it is a major issue they can take the bike with them and bring it back when it's repaired. They could also then sell bikes online and deliver to your home if there isn't a dealer in your area. |
Indy_bueller
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 07:51 pm: |
|
Hmm....."Buell Direct". They could have a little Gekko wearing sport-riding leathers on the commercials.....
Seriously though, that actually might not be a bad idea. |
Lovematt
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 08:58 pm: |
|
Yeah...loosing Santa Maria is kind of a bummer...the way I look at it is you can't fight some corporate decisions. However I feel I can do most of the basic maintenance stuff other than if major problems crop up.
I was not aware that Fresno was still a Buell dealer? Will have to look into that...
All I can say is that there is a HUGE hole in California now with the Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Ventura not being in the fray... |
Jasonxb12s
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 09:10 pm: |
|
I won't name a dealer, but here is my latest experience with mine while picking up my bike tonight which was getting a new stator (took 12 days, told me it would only be 5 max). Tech calls me back into the shop and asks me if my bike's engine chatter sounds right. I say yes. First off, when he started the bike he neglected to wait for the engine light to go out before cranking it. Then he started reving the crap out of it until I asked him to stop. I pull out of the parking lot into traffic and start to shift into second gear and can't find the pedal. Dude put the shift linkage on wrong. I had to lift my entire foot off the peg to shift. No big deal I fixed it when I got home. Nevertheless, I am under the impression that the guy was not very knowledgeable. I also find out that they are dropping the Buell line but will continue to do service and parts. |
Norrisperformance
| | Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 - 09:41 pm: |
|
A good friend, is opening a performance cycle center
here in Clayton. Complete with a Dynojet 250.
The room by itself is 20,000.00 and that’s not counting
the price of the dyno and equipment.
He’s having a very tuff time finding
a qualified mechanic to work on twins.
I guess it’s the same for dealers.
I only know one good Harley mechanic and
he’s opening up his own custom chopper shop.
I’ll be glad when the smoke clears and we find out
who’s still standing. |
|
