| Author | Message | ||
     Rainman |
Screw it: Let's ride! If it isn't too cold or raining or muddy and then we can buy more black T-shirts -- can't get enough -- and some pins for our leather vests. | ||
| 46champ |
I wonder if part of the reason for not building the high deck motor was to keep the Sportster ie girls bike from blowing away the big twins too badly. With the current motor you can only get 90 inches with a bore job and 114 with a bore and stroke job, and it costs a lot of money to do it. If the bore was already at 4 inches you could get 125 inches with a stroker kit at a lot less cost and a lot more reliability. | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Now i'm going to be watching the mailbox everyday. Damn it. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I have two Buell sitting in my garage, and after reading that article, I feel like they aren't even 'real' Buells... so much red tape and forced decision from the man above - they seem like a watered down version of the real vision. Let alone the B2, the thought of what 'could have been' over the past 15 years is enough to make me cringe... | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Yeah, I signed up for the two year digital subscription for $10- but it went downhill from there. When asked if I wanted to see my first issue, I followed a link to Zinio where I had to set up an account. After setting up an account, I could no longer access the Cycle World issue. After searching around the Zinio website, I found my account information- but it said I had no subscriptions. I returned to the CW website and tried to log in to the account I had set up minutes earlier- it did not exist. Now, I was a bit concerned because I had just given them my personal info and credit card number. I called CW's "Customer Service" number and talked to a distracted young lady who said my account would not be activated until Monday of next week, and she didn't know anything about the Zinio website because it was a different company. When asked about why none of this information was provided on CW's website she said she didn't know- her department was responsible for magazine subscriptions only. Also, when asked how I could get in touch with a real customer service representative, she said she didn't know- try email. Ok, so they have my info and money yet nowhere was I informed about the delays, using Zinio, or have the option to talk to a real customer service person. I can't say I'm very impressed with my first experience dealing with Cycle World Magazine. I have sent an email explaining my concerns and hopefully will get a response from them. I am surprised by the lack of professionalism so far. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
*taps foot waiting for the mailman....* | ||
| Hex |
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| Blake |
So all it takes is an email to cancel and they alert you two months in advance? "It pissed me off so bad I sent them a letter explaining why I'd never buy from them as I think their a bunch of shady crooks." I'd say your outrage is extreme, going way overboard and libeling a reputable publication. Uncool. (Message edited by blake on March 25, 2010) | ||
| Poppinsexz |
Uncool maybe. Your opinion Lets see, the ad and sale is for 1 yr or 2 yr subscription. No wait it is for a lifetime (in the small and greyed out print, can you say hidden in plain sight.) Deception, My opinion, as what you appear to sign for is a limited subscription. Notice to rebill sent 60 days before. They do this with the knowledge that it will hit the trash like most junk mail and they now bill at full price. libeling- not if their intent was to hide and decieve, which I believe to be so. reputable publication- Not after seeing the setup of that supposed 1 or 2 year subscription. They do have some great articles but their business practices could stand some improvement. Might they be owned by HD? | ||
| Froggy |
So its Cycle World's fault you just randomly throw crap in the trash without reading? Why even bother with the magazine then, you will end up throwing that out. | ||
| Poppinsexz |
Maybe I should have blindly drunk the coolaid and signed right up. This must be the best mag in the world. Can you honestly say that you read every scrap that you get from every publication that sends you a letter? Maybe I've been in someones system to long as I get junk mail daily even from places I already subscribe to. And no that's not their fault I'd say that's what they count on. I guess it must be acceptable to allow deceptive business practices without a complaint as the magazine is so good. Tis another sad day for this country when deceptive business practices are rewarded with those who will stand up for them. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Nothing deceptive about it... You said yourself it was in print right in front of you. There is no such thing as hidden in plain sight, it's either there or it isn't. Written notice 60 days in advance... what more can you ask for? How about this, maybe you can mark your calendar or set some kind of reminder that, "hey, I'm going to get billed once a year for this magazine". Are you so busy that YOU can't REMEMBER what YOU signed up for? You just can't seem to get it together, can you? Can't keep track of what you are doing? Can't keep track of your bills? Are they so many that it's just too overwhelming for you? Get a secretary if you're so important. (Message edited by pwnzor on March 25, 2010) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Did this thread go a wee bit off-track or what? | ||
| Poppinsexz |
True Hugh I think matters would be best left for dead Everyone knows where they stand so lets move on. I shall not comment anymore on the subject. | ||
| Kuuud |
These third party subscription services are shady whether they come in the mail or electronically. The magazines aren't affiliated with them and even wish subscribers wouldn't use them. | ||
| Venom5sc |
Back to the matter at hand... Since reading the part about the dozen B2's being crushed by the time we read it, I have been dwelling on that more than the holding back and the shut down. It made me think about another thread here where someone took pictures of the Buells that are being kept in the HD archive. The last Buell built being displayed at the Barber Motorsports Museum seems almost meaningless when thinking about the prototype bikes that were discussed in the article. I am not in any way trying to say that the last bike made doesn't mean anything or that it doesn't deserve to be saved and protected. When we teach our kids and grandkids about Buell under HD's control (because I know the story will not end there) and knowing what we know now, that XB12Scg just doesn't seem to do it all justice. I will speak only for myself by saying that HD's last chance at keeping any of my respect would be that somewhere behind a second set of closed doors sits at least one example of these amazing pieces of engineering art. Pictures and written documentation of these bikes just aren't enough. If HD did'nt have the decency to do it, my second hope is that they "went missing one day" and Court will find a couple of them in his basement under the rest of his Buell history collection. That would be a story to tell! Hey, that reminds me! It seems that a lot of information went missing from the 25 Years of Buell book! When will the second edition be ready??? Here's to preserving the past and to a new, unrestricted future! | ||
| Mueller |
Amen Xl1200r: "I feel like they aren't even 'real' Buells... so much red tape and forced decision from the man above - they seem like a watered down version of the real vision." Of all the stuff that made me mad in this article, being a design engineer, that was the part that bothered me the most. Although, I don't know that I have enough discipline to ride the "real vision" | ||
| 46champ |
Yes when EBR is making street bikes and all the paper work has been signed. Court and Dave can do the second volume "Buell The Untold Story" | ||
| Mindi |
It is my theory that Erik asked for Buell not to be sold to another company, so that in a few years time he could start his own company without another big brother company lording over him. 46champ - your reference to the Sportster as a "girl's bike" is insulting. In the 6 years that I've been riding, I have owned an 05 FXST softail, an 07 FLHX Street Glide, and an 09 XB12SCG Lightning. Never a Sportster - even when I was a harley girl. Your insinuation is an affront to all the women on this forum. | ||
| Xl1200r |
Mindi, I don't think the "girl's bike' comment was meant as an insult to women - Sportsters have long been regarded by some as a girls bike simply based on it's size and displacement, and I think 46champ (and I tend to agree with him) was just saying that the factory, while never admitting to believing this themselves, has made sure the Sportster is appealing to women and new riders alike, and more importantly, not a threat to the egos of the guys who own the big twins. | ||
| Froggy |
Good thing your theory is wrong 
Actually that comes right from Harley Davidson, in the past they marketed the Sportster (specifically the low) to women. I don't agree with it either. | ||
| Joshinga |
ok not to delude the point of this thread but Is for the sporty being the "girls bike" I am wholeheartedly against that. I feel the bang for your buck performance wise the sporty is the way to go. I went to MMI and got a chance to dyno my own creation in one of my classes and let me tell you pound for pound would suck the paint of the big twins for a fraction of the build cost. For the record I took a 883R and did a 1200 conversion, cams, breather, ignition, pipes, and of course thunderstorm heads, and I was nearly at 90hp all for about $1800 in parts. Now some of the big twins got over 100hp but not after spending like a billion dollars in parts. IMHO (Message edited by joshinga on March 26, 2010) (Message edited by joshinga on March 26, 2010) | ||
| Joshinga |
for the recored the TC88 were only around 10hp higher but about 300lbs bigger. Power to weight wins every time | ||
| Dbird29 |
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| Crusty |
BE A MOTORCYCLIST RIDE A BUELL (Fuggedabout the gay pirate costume.) | ||
| Hughlysses |
Not to get too far off on this Sportster tangent, but it hasn't been THAT long ago that a Sportster was the fastest production bike you could buy in the U.S. and big twins were considered "old men's bikes". HD evidently decided that wasn't in line with their corporate philosophy some time ago and let Sportster performance languish until very recently with the introduction of the XR1200. I always looked at the air-cooled Buells as what Sportsters SHOULD have become. | ||
| Ulyranger |
I will buy this issue when it hits the stands.......gotta bump the numbers for this one. | ||
| 46champ |
Mindi I have owned 3 Sportsters 1972 1986 and 2002. I don't like the girls bike label that has been placed on the Sportster but that is one of the advertising tangents H-D has done. I still have the 1986 and finances willing I will take it to Bonneville for the second time this year. There has been a change in the general H-D riders respect of the Sportster in the last 15 years or so. I've had them tell me I should have bought a real Harley, I asked them if they wanted to race any place any time. | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
I have a shirt that says "Sportsters Rule" on the front and "Blowing Away Big Twins Since 1957" on the back. | ||
| Joshinga |
 Wear that at one of these fag bike nights I would love to see there reaction |
