| Author | Message | ||
     Coyote_xb12s |
Well, I stopped by Chosa's in Mesa today to see if they had a CityX, you know, to see it in the metal. Turns out there are no Buells ANYWHERE in the store. So I go and ask the service department if they are going to offer any service support. The answer: Not after the first of the year! WTH  Turns out HD told them that if they don't carry the bike, they won't send them the parts. I talked to Chandler HD and it turns out that they are still carrying and offering support. So any of you in the valley who might need anything from the dealer, this is the only place in the area available now: http://www.chandlerharley.com/ | ||
| Fullpower |
CHOSA= losers | ||
| Fullpower |
Buell needs to be sold on the same floor with Ducati, Triumph, etc. The Buell owning, riding,and service experience has almost no resemblance to the H-D way of doing business. I think it could benefit the Buell brand to divorce itself from the H-D brand at the dealership level. | ||
| Tripper |
amen. | ||
| SouthernMarine |
Friggin Basterds, no wonder they won't let me order any dammned parts. I have to go see them Wednesday and I'm gonna tell them they can suck my sweaty balls. | ||
| Whosyodaddy |
Any idea why Chosa's has dropped Buell? | ||
| Rockbiter1 |
why does any dealer drop Buell? They don't market the bikes to the prople that would buy them, they don't carry even the simplest parts like brake pads and turn signal lenses, they have no accessories beyond axle caps, the service department can't change the oil without breaking off the belt tensioner, they place the bikes in the back of the store so customers have to look to find them, sales persons say "hey, wouldn't you rather have this HD Super Ultra Delux Heritage Bagger, that costs twice as much?" and they wonder why noone buys Buells from them. If more dealers (and MoCo) would support the Buell brand better, they would sell the bikes and make it worthwile to support Buell. Its a vicious circle, but it works if the people care about the product. I'm sorry, I was ranting again, wasn't I... (Message edited by rockbiter1 on September 03, 2004) | ||
| Easy_rider |
Something that Buell is supposed to have is easily located support anywhere in the country. I think that's part of what helped Buell grow -- Service isn't hours from home like the Ducatis, Aprilias, and Triumphs have to deal with. We're better off if Mother Harley uses some influence for the dealers to at least carry the basics to back up the support claims instead of divorcing themselves. I've seen a couple of those specialty bike shops fold in the last decade. | ||
| SouthernMarine |
I bought my bike from them in April. I walked in and not only did they have the Buells right there when you walked in the door, they also had them out front. Told me how they would take care of me, talked about their customer service and tech's, etc... I asked them why they didn't have any Buell products other than the bikes and 4 or 5 items on the wall. Got no answer from them. Only reason I stayed and bought the bike was because of the price, new 12R for $8995, on display, two miles. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
the dealership by my house was pretty good to me about the buell and they had the 2 buells (an s and a blast) they had in stock right there in the middle of the floor just like the rest of there bikes (exept the vrod they had it on a stand like it was god). the only thing was the guy was trying to talk me in to a s insted of getting a r like i had wanted but i think it was more of his opinion than him trying to push the bike on me cuz the one he had was already sold. I gave them a call yesterday and told them that i was wanting a 05 xb9r and that i would be home on leave in a few weeks and wanted to have one by the time i get home in march so the guy on the phone told me i should come buy when i go home on leave and he will make sure i get what i want by the time i get home so they really seem to be trying to work with me. | ||
| Shawn_9r |
OK... it really sounds like service and support are turning to "do do". So here is my suggestion...Let's ALL just get our parts from Daves and cut out all the other BS. I know thats who I will be using if/when I need parts. I know it does not help with warranty issues but hey just a thought. Or maybe we just clone him. | ||
| Daves |
I like Shawn's idea!  Ride to the edge! Dave daves@h-dappleton.com | ||
| Dale |
Believe Me when I say CHOSA,S SuCKS. They do not have a clue. Just got a place in Mesa. | ||
| SouthernMarine |
Dave will probably be my guy in the future as well. Knock on wood, hopefully I won't have to use you that often, only parts to upgrade.  | ||
| Whosyodaddy |
This is a shame. When potential buyers (especially first-time Buell buyers) see dealers dropping the line, how comfortable are they going to feel investing in the product? Does anyone know of any new dealership announcements for Buell? | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Chandler is not the "only" store left. There's still Arrowhead and Hacienda. BTW, Hacienda really hooked me up on the TQ Fest II ride we took. I showed up on their doorstep at closing and they fixed my bike w/no appointment. The service manager was great! They even washed my bike to get the 1300 mi. of road I put on off of it... Go check out the custom paint XB they've got!  Schwing! | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Avoid Arrowhead like the plague, they are NOT Buell friendly at all, and have no problem telling you they wish Buell would dry up and blow away. Hacienda has been very good to me as well. Helping me out in a couple of real pinches even going so far as to have an item another dealer dropped the ball on rushed at their expense. (IE:returned the rush charge I paid for an overnite delivery then turned around and had it rushed from somewhere else at their expense.) | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
There's still Arrowhead and Hacienda. LOL, I just went to Arrowhead, only its a Yammy dealer on the way to Madison  Give Dave your biz, he will ship parts that are in stock the same day. Can order you anything you might need. Keep him happy & employed. | ||
| Geoffg |
So, I called down to Latus HD in Spokane, WA today to check on what Buells they might have in stock. Turns out they are now Shumate HD, and no longer carry Buells... Easy Rider said, "Something that Buell is supposed to have is easily located support anywhere in the country. I think that's part of what helped Buell grow -- Service isn't hours from home like the Ducatis, Aprilias, and Triumphs"--well, for me Buell service is no closer than any of those. I live in an area with lots of twisty mountain roads, yet Buell is nowhere on the scene...I'll still get one, mind you, but dammit! You'd think I'd get a special discount just to ride a Buell locally, so local riders can actually see one in the metal! | ||
| SouthernMarine |
HOW IN THE HELL DOES BUELL EXPECT TO SURVIVE WHEN DEALERSHIPS ARE DROPPING THEM LEFT AND RIGHT? Yes I meant to type it that way. It's aggravating when every time you turn around you hear about another store dropping Buell. If Buell belongs to HD and you own a HD and want to continue to sell HD's, then by God the Mothership should put their friggin foot down and make them ALL carry Buells. If a dealership refuses to carry them, offers poor service, etc.. the Mothership needs to take action against them. That's my friggin 2 cents. Yes I know they had good sales, but if you keep losing stores, it will not continue. | ||
| Blake |
I think that if you were to check the listing of Buell dealerships, you might find they are at or very near a record high number. I could be wrong. But I doubt it. | ||
| Xb9er |
So, theoretically, I could breakdown with an electrical problem, push my bike 3 miles to the Harley dealership (I saw on the billboard I just rode by) and they turn me away because they don't carry Buells anymore? That blows! Ordering from Daves is cool if you have to, but we should support our local BUELL Dealerships or we just contribute to the problem of HD dealerships dropping the Buell line. I cringe when I walk into my Buell dealership and I don't see the Buell merchandise rack but then I find out they just moved it somewhere behind one of the 30 HD merchandise racks. I do agree with SouthernMarine about forcing all HD dealers to sell Buells. The key is to hire new Buell sales staff and not rely on Harley career salesmen to sell something they don't believe in. Same for Buell service guys. Mike. | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Hey, there's a thought... Hire some people that are passionate about the product they're selling! (Note thick sarcasm...) It's the one aspect of my BUELL experience that miffed me. THANK GOD FOR YOU PEOPLE!  | ||
| Kim |
Buell Maintance Videos If they were made, what would you like see on them? I have a friend who does this kind of stuff for a living. Kim | ||
| Bradyclt |
Have any of you read The Motor Company's quarterly/annnual reports? All Buell sales (of which the Blast is a large percentage) only account for approx 4% of sales and revenue for H-D. Which means that H-D can justify offering the brand only if it costs them nothing additional in terms of overhead... the way to do this is same sales/warranty service channels, same parts distribution/logistics, etc... there is no way that Buell can go it alone in its highly competitive segment unless the prices of the bikes went up to cover the additional overhead (assuming retention of current profits). And that would have more potential buyers going to other brands. If dealers are starting to drop Buell, there is probably a magic (minimum) number of them to keep sales levels from dropping to a point where H-D begins to rethink offering the brand. Is the Buell rider demographic so much different that dealerships don't think their efforts are worth our business? Hopefully not... The folks at H-D corporate are smart (look at their stock price over the past 10 years compared with anything else)... they've worked for and enjoy majority market share in their main thing, heavy cruisers. The middleweight sportbike segment is highly competitive, with many more players. I think I remember seeing some market data where each major brand's market share is roughly equal... Buell is a minnow in a tank coexisting with 6 or so bass. Clearly the marketing people at H-D are aware of this. Buell profits/sales aside, it's my belief that part of the value of the Buell brand to H-D is a way to cultivate younger riders into Harleys if/when those riders switch to cruisers later in life when there's presumably more discretionary income in play. The big question is (assuming I'm right) at what point does this potential Harley market and current Buell sales fall short where they decide to pull the plug? I sincerely hope things are nowhere near that point, since I see a level of engineering detail and vision in the XBs that rival any product, not just motorbikes. How many other products combine the levels of performance and aesthetics the XB has? I've found a lot of non-riders just like looking at it... But ultimately it will be the dealerships that make or break things, and from what I and others apparently have experienced things are tentative at best. Don't want to sound too cynical, but H-D is a publicly held company, whose only job is to make money for its shareholders. It does this by manufacturing/offering motorcycles, parts, accessories, apparel, financing services, etc, etc for sale. Any activity they undertake that gets in the way of maximizing profits will be altered or stopped, including dropping a brand/model no matter how good it is on its own merits. I hope the dealers don't ruin a good thing for the shareholders and the customers. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
I am not so sure the market is the young. The $$ is high, and the website plays on the more mature rider ( "remember why you..."  I do however feel that as the current situation, at least in my area, and from these threads, indicate, poor customer relations, lack of support, and dropping of the line altogether, is simply turning potential purchasers away. If HD gained access to riders not previously interested in HD with Buell, they are doing a great job of turning them, away for good. I for one am a non HD person who fell in love with the Buell, and am looking elsewhere to purchase a bike for my wife. We started with the Blast, looked at a 9x, then she was more interested in a sportster, but as my service has been dismal, we have since moved on to Honda and Triumph. | ||
| SouthernMarine |
Everything. Passion, the only ones I've heard about that are passionate have been on here. Chosa's put on a face, when I was there, but they showed no passion. Didn't seem that knowlegdable about the bikes either. I think I could tell you more about the bike than he could, and I didn't and still don't know all I should. I don't care, got a great bike for a good deal, and thanks to BadWeb, I'm learning more every day. Jims HD here in Yuma, nice place, friendly people, but I never saw them put much effort into trying to sell them. Bad Business = We don't carry Buells anymore so we are not allowed to order parts for your Buell that you purchased from us. Really, even though HD owns Buell. Sorry. Bad Business = Yes, I have a certified Buell tech, but because I don't sell Buells anymore, if he works on your bike the service could void your warranty. Oh, and yes your bike is under warranty and he is a certified Buell tech but we cannot perform warranty work. Yes we are a HD shop and yes HD owns Buell, but it doesn't matter. But you're the only HD shop in the area, the nearest dealer/svc is 3 hours away. Sorry, still will not be able to help you. The track in Phoenix has deals with some of the dealerships. They bring their bikes to the track for demo rides, etc.. The track offers deals if you buy one of their bikes, actually free track time. Chosa's never participated in this. But the track, being the nice people they are, offered me a good deal anyway.
No, Harley-Davidson Shop is not Chosa's. Like I said, nice guys. Offered me full track day for only $99. Just haven't had time or money for it. They may have showed more stores opening this year, but how many did they show that they lost? They shouldn't be losing any, no matter what. HD owns them, then sell them. No, I don't know business, but I do know that even if you have a few in stock it will peak some interest. They will sell. So you can't sell but 3 or 4 a year, but you can sell the crap out of crusiers. Hmm, if the store in Yuma can only sell blank number of Buells, then they should only be allowed to have this many in stock. NOT, you have to take this many no matter what. Hmm, these Blasts aren't doing to well. Well, let me find a MSF course that needs bikes and see if I can sell them these things, giving them a good deal, try not to lose money, and get them off my floor. (No, some of those riders in the course might actually like the bike and want one for their own, then I won't be able to sell them that VRod). Don't get me wrong. I love my Bolt, loved my Blast, hell Love Buell motorcycles. Told my wife I wouldn't mind working for a dealership selling them. I just think HD can GREATLY improve how they are handling Buell. Let's break it down by region. At least one HD dealership in a general area should carry Buells. No Owner should have to drive more than one to two hours to have their bike serviced (Certain areas understood, BFE, no civlization for miles). ALL HD Service Depts should be allowed to work on Buells, warranty or not, without it affecting their Warranty. ALL HD dealerships should carry and be allowed to order parts for Buells. Hell, carry the line of gear, clothing, etc.. as well. I'll stop for now. | ||
| Coolice |
The thoughts here are EXACTLY why I sold a perfectly good BMW. The dealer that I bought 3, YES 3 BMW motorcycles, was also a BMW car dealer. And decided to close the motorcycle side. So it was a 100 mile ride /tow to the next dealer for service. Not happenin, sold the bike, waited for the 05 Buell sport tourer (be waitin for loooong time I guess) so I bought a HD Road Glide for now. It WILL be sold when Buell produces a sport tourer. Reason, I have a HD/Buell dealer in town and and multiple dealers within 90 miles, good dealers too. I've owned Hondas for years but no soul/ character to them. I really like my XB9R and tell everyone that too. It's just a shame the MoCo can't put Buell under its "wing" so the typical chrome and noise makers would accept them. Enuff said for now, I LIKE my Buell! | ||
| Crip2nite |
My H-D Dealer(Lighthouse Harley,Huntington,NY) stopped selling Buells 2 weeks after I purchased mine without any warning. Thankfully, they still service mine and honor my warranty. But how long do you think that'll last??? Ya think they woulda told me about the change as they were counting my $$?? | ||
| Whosyodaddy |
There is no way that Buell can go it alone in its highly competitive segment unless the prices of the bikes went up to cover the additional overhead (assuming retention of current profits). And that would have more potential buyers going to other brands. Agreed. And as good as Buells are, they are already at the point of not being price competitive against the Japanese bikes. If dealers are starting to drop Buell, there is probably a magic (minimum) number of them to keep sales levels from dropping to a point where H-D begins to rethink offering the brand. That's why it's so troubling (to me) that we're not hearing of any new Buell dealers signing up. How long can the hemorrhaging continue? I see Harley's acquisition of Buell being a bad news/good news thing - good news for the $$$ infusion it provided Buell. Bad news for the p*$$ poor marketing, sales and service support it has provided for the Buell brand. To use an analogy that some of us older IT workers can relate to: Harley is doing to Buell what IBM did to OS/2. my $.02 WYD |
