| Author | Message | ||
     Pushrodpete |
This month's Motorcycle Consumer News listed 2006 sales figures for the various marques. Here they are: 1) Harley Davidson 265,433 up 7.47% 2) Honda 231,669 down 7.48% 3) Yamaha 175,303 up 11.32% 4) Suzuki 138,850 up 7.67% 5) Kawasaki 78,879 down 23.44% 6) KTM 22,243 up 14.58% 7) BMW 13,575 up 3.09% 8) Triumph 9,154 up 8.88% 9) Victory 7,444 up 27.49% 10) Ducati 6,165 down 3.91% 11) Buell 5,013 down 10.65% 12) Big Dog 4,565 up 4.47% No report for Piaggio Group (Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Vespa) Gee, hopefully lots of potential buyers are waiting for that number-plate option. Oops, I mean "model"....  | ||
| Tx05xb12s |
Do I assume correctly that these figures are for domestic sales? | ||
| Pushrodpete |
Yep. Sorry for the omission.... | ||
| M2nc |
I would assume that this is both on and off road vehicles? | ||
| Asdf |
Does anybody know the percent reduction of Buell Dealers since July 2005? I would not expect the percent reduction of Dealers to exactly match the percent reduction of sales. However, I do suspect that a relationship will exist between the two figures. | ||
| Rocketman |
It's more likely the choice of bikes offered by other manufacturers that are grabbing sales. Remember, the largest percentage of Buells sold will be to bikers / motorcyclists. In other words, not died in the wool Buell fans, but brand hoppers. Rocket | ||
| Court |
Buell units manufactured (the metric of concern to Buell, the motorcycle company as each unit is manufactured in response to an order placed) were up 8% through the end of the 3rd quarter from 8,450 (3rd Qtr 2005) to 9,105 (3rd Qtr 2006) | ||
| Court |
This topic, by the way, has been discussed ad nauseum on SacBorg. The numbers quote are NOT Buell production figures, they are a guess as retail sales AS I UNDERSTAND IT. Someone actually even posted the e-mail for the editor. If you have time to research it, you are welcome to. Buell revenues, by the way, for the prior year were up 17.8%. The coolest part is that Buell is operating in the BLACK...making money in the business of designing and manufacturing motorcycles. This is s HUGE week in Buell history.  | ||
| Spiderman |
Wow! Some people do not like the new model and the're already jumpin ship. I woulda hated to see you people during the tube frame days  | ||
| Newfie_buell |
New Model Where? I'm the last to know anything. | ||
| Spiderman |
Look down a few threads there Newf  | ||
| Pushrodpete |
Ummm... during the tube-frame days I was riding a tuber. (You still mighta hated to see me though -- George Clooney I aint...  ) I'm not jumping ship, just a little frustrated by not having either of the two present Buells grab my sack enough to make me want to spend my $$$. Making a new model outta every conceivable permutation of XB parts doesn't change the fact that the XB just doesn't do it for me. I know, I know, wait till next year..... | ||
| Spiderman |
I aint gonna tell you to wait for next year, you don;t like the XB's that's cool. I didn;t like any of the lightnings till the SX was introduced and now this S1 esq XB comes out which is pretty damn cool. And you being a tuber owner, only seeing paint and wheel changes from 99 to 2002, should know better | ||
| Slaughter |
Everybody loves wrapping small minds around simple concepts. Sales volume does NOT equate to profit. Were I a shareholder, I'd be more concerned about PROFIT. Who was it who said something about losing money on each sale but making it up in volume? | ||
| Davegess |
"Who was it who said something about losing money on each sale but making it up in volume?" I think that was a Jack Benny routine from his old TV show | ||
| Reepicheep |
And do the math folks... The Uly (and other models) are selling well in Europe. Table comes out guessing at US *only* sales, showing US sales are down 10% Buell has a fixed capacity, for manufacturing, and a high demand in Europe. US sales could be WAY down, and net sales could be well up. And to Slaughters point, If the Uly is selling like crazy in Europe, and Buell decided to stop making so many blasts and make more Uly's instead, a 10% drop in US sales could be an indicator that profits will be WAY up. | ||
| Rocketman |
making money in the business of designing and manufacturing motorcycles. Shouldn't that be NEW model motorcycles? As for the Ugly selling well in Europe, I live in the 7th or 8th largest city in the UK. The closest Buell dealer is 45 miles down the motorway, where they sell Ugly. I travel a lot too. I've never seen an Ugly on the road. Not even at the bike meets I go to. The only place I've seen an Ugly in the UK was week before last at the Motorcycle Show, and a new one parked outside St Ledger HD. If the Ugly is selling well in the UK the numbers are not that significant enough to make them anymore widespread or popular than the previous Buell models. Granted a mere few more here and there equates to a bigger profit margin, or should, but the point is this. If Buell are operating in the black they must be doing something wrong. Like not investing that profit into new bikes soon enough and plenty enough. What Buell are doing now is exactly, all be it for utterly different reasons, what the British motorcycle industry did in the early 70's. They are rehashing the same old same old. Not saying this is the end for Buell, but it was for the British industry. Why? Because the Brit's weren't competing on a par at least with the Japanese motorcycles. Instead they were busy putting Triumph engines in BSA's. BSA engines in Triumph's. Mix and matching parts bins under the banner NVT. Fitting disc brakes to existing models. Trying hard to make electric starter motors work like the fast becoming fashionable Japanese already were. In the end the motorcycling public will cry enough is enough, and the order books will reflect as much. Rocket | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Optimist!!!!  hehehehehe | ||
| Bomber |
good rule of thumb is that a healthy company makes 30% of it's revenue form new products. new products are defined as not existing 3 years ago. therin lies the rub -- is the new TT a NEW model, or not -- some would say yes, of course, others would say parts bin engineering . . . . overall, I'd say Buell is doing a good job on this front (new models) -- perhaps not the models some would wish -- I have a feeling that those who are disapointed are making their views known on the net (and elsewhere). Those who are happy with the offerings are speaking with their checkbooks. | ||
| Madduck |
I remember the bad old days of computer marketing where the "Kiss of Death" was the marketing sales pitch; "sales in europe are really taking off". You could count on that vendor being gone in 6 months. I really hope this doesn't apply to motorcycles too. ` | ||
| Garp |
Courts graph seems to confirm the numbers. Essentially flat total production for the last six years, but with a recent growth in international sales at the expense of US sales. Given the weakness of the dollar, US made goods are cheaper abroad, so Buell is making money where they can. Given the widespread anti US sentiment, I guess I now know why they removed the "American Motorcycle" wording from the bikes. | ||
| Garp |
And to Court's comment on "being in the black making and designing motorcycles" that is much easier when you are part of a larger parent company that is providing the "technology" If Buell was designing their own powertrains from scratch, I suspect that the economics would be much different. | ||
| Davegess |
"sales in europe are really taking off". You could count on that vendor being gone in 6 months. I really hope this doesn't apply to motorcycles too. " They sell a lot more MC in Europe than th eUS so it is huge market. | ||
| Daves |
I must be doing something wrong Buells are selling great here | ||
| Anonymous |
Units sales are at record levels, particularly twin-cylinder models. The Blast part of the business represents its lowest percentage since the Blast was announced, so the dollar sales are even further ahead of unit numbers. The Ulysses is just getting its head in the US market, with demand likely staying well ahead of Buell's production rate throughout the next year or two. Buell is hiring to keep up with the work load. These are good times for Buell, and will get better. | ||
| Grndskpr |
Were I a shareholder, I'd be more concerned about PROFIT. Correct, NOT revenue Revenue is a measure of how much cash you take in Profit combine how much cash come in and goes out So the question is while revenue is up, where is profit From a stock holders perspective, it dosent matter cause BUell is HD as far as the stock is concerned wish them all the luck in the world R | ||
| Rocketman |
I'd like to see those unit numbers for Europe. I drive through northern France every year, visit Belgium too. Sometimes I get further south. Haven't been in Holland for a couple of years, but most often I'm always behind the wheel and I've not seen a Buell in my travels in at least three years. I drive the mainland UK frequently. Last week I was across the other side of England. Week before I was in Birmingham. Next week I'm up in Newcastle. A couple of months ago I was well south west - below Bristol. Before that near to Norwich. Look at a map. That's a lot of area covered and I don't use motorways too often, preferring the main A routes. During the summer I was all over the place on the Buell. Got to a good few bike meets, or just rode some of the popular bike routes and some more obscure ones too. Sherburn Coffee Bar. Whitby in North Yorkshire. Helmsley - Stokesley TT to name a couple. Ask me how many Buells I've seen this year riding the roads. I can't think of one. Where these sales are going down I haven't a clue. When the XB's were first launched I heard as one does, so and so bought one. Others who bought a Buell got in touch. My biking friends would tell me someone they knew bought a Buell. A friend of a friend bought a Buell. I don't hear these same stories anymore. Maybe I'm out of the loop? One thing I do know though. Last time I was at the HD dealers during the summer they had four Uly's for sale. I believe these were the first batch, and probably the only batch they had / got. I was there a couple of months later and not a Uly to be had. Where are they if they are for sale? If they are sold out, they sold a handful. They are not popular by any stretch of the imagination. Ask me how many KTM's I see out and about. Ask me how many BMW GS1150's I see. How many Harley's I see. These are not hugely popular but they are popular enough to get them noticed. In other words I do see them. Buells, not the same. Buells are the kiss of death in the UK. No one wants or is buying them, save a few weirdos and die hards. In short, if there are more than a couple of hundred Uly's sold thus far in the UK I'd be amazed. In fact I'd say someone is lying. There are 27 HD / Buell dealers in the UK. One each in Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey. 24 in total on the UK mainland. I'd be surprised if more than a handful of those dealers had sold in excess of 10 Buells this year, never mind say 10 Uly's. Make that 200 Buells in total this year sold in the UK and I'd have to assume I'd be exaggerating. Prove me wrong because I'm reading bullshit on the BadWeB otherwise. Buells are no more popular here now than they were six, two or seven years ago. These big Euro sales? Not in the UK they ain't. It's bullshit. Rocket | ||
| Court |
And to Court's comment on "being in the black making and designing motorcycles" that is much easier when you are part of a larger parent company that is providing the "technology" That is inaccurate. It is not "much easier". In fact, it could be argued that it's much more difficult. >>>These are good times for Buell, and will get better. That's any accurate statement. These are, in fact, amazing times. In fact it's an amazing month and an amazing week! | ||
| Lost_in_ohio |
Forget europe. I never see a Buell on the Road in the US. I have never seen another buell at bike nights, or other motorcycle events. The only time I have seen another on the road was a the ONLY Brag even at our local dealer then there were only two others. | ||
| Daves |
Rocketman, There is a secret code that is sent out to all Buell owners in Europe warning them when you and Troy are coming thru their town. They hide from you two!  I have seen pictures of big Buell gatherings in Germany and Italy before. Can anyone post up a link or pictures for Rocket to see that there are Buells in Europe? |
