| Author | Message | ||
     Americanmadexb |
on Motorcycle USA dot com... good read! http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/682/5642/Motorcycle- Article/Erik-Buell-Interview-Exclusive.aspx | ||
| Iman501 |
gahh i get on the computer and pull up badweb, and mcusa, and was going to post it, but you beat me to it! | ||
| Americanmadexb |
LOL... My favorite part of the whole interview was at the end when he said “I’m certainly not done...... All i need to know! | ||
| Gbackus |
Erik is definately a class act | ||
| Hex |
...Is Toyota going to promote as hard as they can that they’re better than a Ford or something, are they going to take advantage of that? Of course. I bet that this statement was made before the Toyota recall. Ironic. ...But my belief is that I have to lead through racing.” 'Bout sums it up, see you at the races! Don't forget that We are the only country to set foot on the Moon. Don't forget that We designed and produced the Hubble and all the other great spacecraft. Don't count Us out just yet... | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
Thanks for the post. It really is A shame, not just Buell closing, but We (America) can make A great sprtbike and don't. | ||
| Carbonfibrebob |
I, for one, can't wait to see what the future has in store for us all. Stay tuned! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
“Absolutely. And we tried, and couldn’t pull it off. I built the prototype of the 1125 in 1988, so it took me 20 years to get it to market. And then we had another run at it, we were actually supposed to have a water-cooled bike out by 1998, but that became the motor, Harley Davidson decided to take the motor and changed it into a cruiser motor and that became the V-Rod. But it actually started out as our engine. We were trying to get a water-cooled bike. It was actually scheduled to launch, it was ready to launch in Europe in ’98. " Interesting. | ||
| Whatever |
I think the part about the heart of Harley being "coleslaw wrestling" is hysterical... good for you Erik!!! Keeping a sense of humor is essential... I like his integrity too considering the situation... but the typos are driving me nuts!!!  | ||
| Brumbear |
That was awesome. I can still smell a rat when it comes to why H-D didn't sell Buell. The thing that bothers me is of course Erik Buell can't speak his mind. If someone were gonna buy the bike line and name they would have to pony up projected parts sales and inventory purchase as well no? I don't like what they say and IMHO the ship is starting to sink again http://quote.morningstar.com/Stock/s.aspx?t=HOG. Also several H-D dealers are closing in NJ I know Legends is done end of next month. | ||
| Bads1 |
I'll bet more dealers are going to close then ya all think. To many dealer's with Floor plans that are not selling. These big Walmart dealership buildings financed by HD also. To many dealers to close to one another competing for sales. HD turned into a bank for alot of it. Now they need to figure out what stays and what goes. Less dealers.....I'm sticking by it. (Message edited by bads1 on January 28, 2010) | ||
| Drfudd |
I don't buy that whole too integrated BS to sell. look at the autocompanies, Jaguar wasn't too integrated to sell despite the fact that just about every part on the car was ford. What trade secrets does harley want to protect? they have none, they have no revolutionary patents, all they have is brand image and Buell has nothing to do with that image. I can't see a harley with a ZTL brake or Fuel in the frame, it goes against their image. I don't buy it, something fishy is going on there | ||
| Swamp2 |
One certainly gets the impression there's a lot more he'd like to say, but can't... | ||
| Rex |
I agree. More of these big super dealerships will have to close, or move to the smaller buildings they used to be in. Bikes are everywhere in the buildings, but they are cutting back on the inventories of shirts, hats, chrome. Labor drastically cut back too. They better start asking their hog members to start showing up every day, and having a bbq at the dealership every weekend. There are going to be some of the huge Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki dealerships closing too. A large VTwin dealership closed here in Phoenix. They sold used HD's, and there was never anyone in there shopping. I don't think we have seen the end of it. I am wondering what it will be like this year at the AMA races, Laguna Seca Moto GP, etc. Some of the big corporate villages may not be there. REX | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
The economy is far worse than we have been told and the continuation of these negative conditions are increasing the pace of business closures. The longer it continues the worse it's going to get. Buckle up because the morons in Washington haven't a clue. | ||
| Alchemy |
I wonder if HOG stock will stay in the 20s? | ||
| Jon |
That he is not done is the thing I have been wondering about. Mind you I think the man has done enough X10. And I think it is wrong to sit and wail about him, expecting him to keep cranking...like I said, he's the man, he prevailed valiantly. That Harley blew it up is on them, not him. I think the real telling comment is that he "still has tons of energy for this stuff". I'm glad they did not beat him. Discouragement can be real tough to shake. But he's up, not down and out. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
 (Message edited by wolfridgerider on January 28, 2010) | ||
| Jimduncan69 |
thats some funny $h!t right there! i don't care who you are.....lmao!!! | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
Very cool. The bit I like the most is "I look forward and always have". The drive the man has to keep moving forward is incredible. Interesting thoughts on the way people see U.S. products too. | ||
| Elvis |
Great interview!  The idea that Harley wanted to keep Buell maintenance in Harley dealers for the revenue stream got me thinking. I think there may be something too it, but I think it goes beyond the money they'll bring in servicing Buells. Remember all the e-mails and snail-mails and phone calls we got from dealers trying to talk us into "trading up" after the announcement? I think Harley management is actually deluded enough to think that by killing Buell but keeping us in Harley dealers we will eventually succumb to a chrome fetish and buy a Harley. With that in mind, and, on the off chance that someone from Harley might actually read this, I'll offer the following (and I'll make the font large enough that Keith Wandell can read it without his spectacles): IF Harley stands by their decision to not sell key Buell rights, I would sooner cut off my left testicle (my favorite testicle, by the way)than buy a Harley. If Harley sells the Buell rights to BRP, EBR or someone else, my attitude would soften significantly and I might even consider a Harley under the right conditions (like when I get too old to ride an actual motorcycle and/or if the XR1200 loses 100 lbs). I think the idea that Buell owners will fall inline and buy Harleys when no Buells are available is symptomatic of Harley's ignorance of non-Harley riders and that ignorance is why they were never able to market Buells. They try to sell everything with the empty marketing that works for Harley without realizing that Buell riders are more influenced by the product than the marketing. The product we want is not a Harley no matter how they try to sell us. At some point (but probably unfortunately not until it's too late) Harley may realize that the ill-will they have been creating (not just within the Buell community but within the broader, non-Harley motorcycle world) by their idiotic actions related to Buell will cost them far more sales than they will ever gain by convincing former Buell owners to "trade up".  | ||
| Two_buells |
Elvis +1  | ||
| Jon |
Wolfridgerider and Jim Duncan...been together very long? | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Of all my friends that I grew up with....riding motorcycles,NONE of them own a harley.Of all my current friends that ride harley's,NONE of them grew up with motorcycles.They are all 40 or older and the harley was their first bike. They bought the lifestyle,period. Everyone of them surprised me in their purchase of a motorcycle,let alone a a harley. What's that tell you? | ||
| Boltrider |
Great interview. I'll be in line for when he does street bikes again. | ||
| Iman501 |
I'll be in line for when he does street bikes again. along with everybody else on here! | ||
| Two_buells |
“and the things that we did are the real deal” Quote of the year | ||
| Rex |
The new cycle world has a lot of pro buell, anti harley reader write ins...REX | ||
| Vampress |
but the typos are driving me nuts!!! I'm with you Char, you'd think by now, they'd be able to spell his name right at least. As for the comments under so far...some people just don't get it, some people don't read the news and some people are just too full of themselves! |
