| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
Calling it a miss is kinda like going shopping at a Victoria's Secret store for flannel long johns and announcing to everyone that their products are a miss. I think Crusty needs to do about five push-ups and post at least a dozen unique close-ups of his Guzzi as punishment. Or a pic of him in long johns surrounded by Victoria's Secret models would be even better.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
One thing folks keep missing...or at least, not talking about... How long did it take Erik and a group of what...eleven people?...to bring this bike to life? The gestation period on this one is AMAZING. Erik's in tune with what people want, and he's doing it the right way. 1. build race bike 2. win race series 3. "make name" for self and for company by winning race series; gain publicity 4. put name on "other" types of bikes. "Race on Sunday, sell on Monday" 5. watch production line continually fall behind because demand is so high As _dan mentioned above - I have no doubt the next one is already in the works. Somewhere. Personally? I can't wait to watch this all unfold. | ||
| Slaughter |
I have yet to get a good steak in a sushi restaurant. Not that steak is bad... or sushi for that matter. | ||
| Stirz007 |
Hell yeah, it's expensive...how could it not be? Magnesium wheels, Ohlins, Accossato, CF everywhere. "The leash is off" - appropriate. What would I do if I could? Go highest quality everywhere. That's what I'm seeing and it's pretty impressive. I'm really interested to see how this machine does compared to 1125RR or last year's 1190. Now, with that said... It could be the basis of a versatile platform. Aluminum instead of magnesium, change suspension, glass instead of fiber, stainless instead of titanium, etc., and you get something maybe 90% as good for half the price. Rat, et.al.,:I'm with you on this one - - I wanna see this thing run!!! Better yet, I hope Erik will call me up and ask me if I'd like to demo it - (I think I could make some time for you, EB - call me?) (I'd have to lose that second can and hanger if I could actually buy one, though) | ||
| Sparky |
Oh Crusty and Blake, you both are spot on but since we all are in the present space-time continuum, we don't really know what The Man portends for our future , so, just go with the flow and take it as it comes... but talk amongst yourselves, like Linda Richman would have you do. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Crusty, buy a Concourse and call it good bro. Erik Buell Racing needs to focus on this path and not dilute the message.....yet. | ||
| Danger_dave |
Ahhh - but Erik allows for adjustments to rake and trail - a concours can't adjust the handlebars. | ||
| Crusty |
Crusty, buy a Concourse and call it good bro. I've got my Norge, and it suits me well enough. I don't care for multis; I've owned several in the past, and they don't do it for me. I have a predilection for twins. My S3-T was the most beautiful motorcycle ever made, and felt wonderful to ride. The only problem was that every time I went somewhere, it broke. If it didn't break, it would have been almost the perfect motor cycle for me, and I probably would still be riding it. I understand where Erik is coming from, and I see what he's trying to do. Hell, I'm in the middle of a divorce, and I'm so broke I'm having trouble paying attention; yet I'm still thinking of going to Daytona to cheer on Geoff May and Erik Buell Racing. I did not call the 1190 a miss I said I would give it a miss. That's an expression that means, "This is the wrong bike for me, and I'm not going to buy one" The 1190 is beautiful. It uses cutting edge technology and the components are all first class. It's in the same league as Bimota. I would enjoy spending a good amount of time examining one up close, and plan to when the opportunity presents itself. I think Crusty needs to do about five push-ups and post at least a dozen unique close-ups of his Guzzi as punishment. Or a pic of him in long johns surrounded by Victoria's Secret models would be even better. Why would you want to do that to those poor girls? Have you got something against Victoria's Secret models? | ||
| Elvis |
This is very much off topic, but I thought it should be mentioned, and I didn’t want to start a whole new thread. This has been a GREAT week, and it’s easy, when looking at that awesome bike, to lose sight of the difficult things that still need to happen. We laugh when we hear Erik say he can’t afford his own bike, but stop and really think about it. The only income they’ve had for the past year and a half has come from part sales and T-shirt sales, and that income has to be a drop in the bucket in terms of expenses. A staff of 11 sounds small . . . until you imagine paying those 11 people for a year and a half with no money coming in. Imagine paying the rent and utilities with no money coming in. Imagine Racing at the AMA level and paying all the fees, travel expenses, buying tires and fuel . . . and watching $50,000 go down the drain with one wreck. Imagine buying state-of-the art equipment, not to mention mundane things like screw drivers and shelves with no money coming in. Imagine just the expense of going to the Indiana dealer’s show (I’m sure many of you have attended trade shows and know you can easily drop $10,000 - $20,000 just covering the expenses of something like that) with no real income. “But, wait,” you might say. “Erik Buell is rich, isn’t he?” I’m sure HD paid him a comfortable wage, but remember he was an HD employee. Based on what we know, do you really think Harley recognized his value and paid him what he was worth? Unlike most Harley managers, he was doing it because he loved motorcycles and loved what he was doing. He wasn’t doing it for the money, and I doubt he ever walked into his boss’ office and said: “I want an $XXXXX more or I walk!” I can’t picture Erik Buell lighting cigars with $100 bills. So what can we do with that in mind? I think the most important thing is to just generally not lose sight of the fact that, despite that gorgeous bike, they are not yet a thriving business and they can still use help in any way we can offer it. The AMSOIL deal is GREAT, but, at best, that will probably only cover a portion of the racing expenses. Don’t stop buying T-Shirts from Rat-Pak just because it looks like they’ve arrived (I just received the zip-up hoodie and it’s really nice . . . and if you get some clothing with Erik Buell Racing logos, not only will you be supporting them directly, but it will give you a chance to talk them up to friends). Buy a couple copies of Anthem and send them to friends. If you could use some new brake rotors or pads, get them from Erik Buell Racing. . . . And just keep the natural and genuine enthusiasm going. Talk the bike up on forums and go to the ‘comments’ at the end of any news blurbs and let people know how excited you are. Let sponsors and investors and dealers know that there is an enthusiastic fan-base out there that will reward those who have faith and invest in this effort. . . . and I don’t want to step on anyone’s freedom to express themselves (and I'm ABSOLUTELY not pointing any fingers at the enthusiastic fans in this thread. I just put this here because I didn't know where else to stick it), but let’s not get too hung up on the cool things we’d like to see in the future and lose sight of what still has to happen in the present. I’m beyond excited that we can finally start putting Oct. 15th behind us, but that was a deep wound and it’s still only starting to heal. (Message edited by elvis on February 19, 2011) | ||
| Davegess |
Elvis, great post. I know Erik really appreciates the support and he needs it. Every dollar counts at this point. He is pretty much paying for this out of his on pocket and let me tell you he is far from rich. He was decently compensated at H-D but by no means lavishly. KEEP THE ENTHUSIASM GOING, IT IS THE BEST THING WE CAN DO. | ||
| 46champ |
Elvis that was the best post I have read in the last 3 days. A person forgets that a severance package is to help pay personal debts not start a business.  | ||
| 86129squids |
What Elvis said. I was looking at my blue E~B~R shirt yesterday that Court sent me when there was a need for race tire $$$, thinking about how proud I am to wear anything Buell... Might be time to update my wardrobe- my old Buell dealer hoodie is getting a little worn... | ||
| Court |
I'm going to echo what Dave said . . . . I had a wordy post written yesterday and canned it for fear of being "wandering off topic". This is a very critical stage. The first several models are designed, the production line is being configured and, as Dave mentioned, "Step 6" is in motion. Right now what Erik and The Elves are dealing with are precisely those items which act as the greatest impediments to entry. There is far more to do and far more to spend than most folks have the stomach for. Few folks have, in my opinion, a proper concept of what it costs to race. And, as I mentioned yesterday, racing is both critical and essential for Erik Buell. He can work his way to building a wide range of street bikes, but he can't redefine himself as a "sport touring" guy to start with. He has to prove, to investors, customers and media folks, he has the vision, talent and moxy to do what he is known for, do it well and compete on the big stage. This means racing. And when limited to racing a "production motorcycle available for sale" you can bet your ass Erik isn't going to the AMA gunfight with a knife built with a collection of compromises to insure 5,000 folks can afford it. If he shows up and is just "good" or "fairly impressive" he may as well have retired. He has to redefine . . well . . the concept of "American Exceptional-ism". . . he has to bring a sea-change to the game. The 1190RS is a weapon in the big war. Erik has struggled (you'll eventually hear some of the stories) with more challenges than you can imagine over the last year. He'd call well known American firms, only to have them hang up on him. They would happily do business when they were able to gouge Buell under the HD banner but the idea of building something innovative and at a fair price . . no interest at all. This has been made tougher with the Chinese calling weekly offering to do anything that was needed, to fund the entire operation and basically do anything . . "if you'll just sign here". He's had chances to take several easy ways out . . . He didn't. Toss into the equation the fact that to have, in order to be homologated to race in the AMA, a street legal motorcycle. Some of you may have an appreciation for what is involved in homologation and getting the various certifications for emissions, noise, spacing of turn signals, switches and so forth. If you aren't up on it . . take a gander at some of them HERE Another element, and Dave Gess can speak with more authority than I here, is simply getting the vendors on board. Imagine dealing with something like 1,000 different vendors, many of them who have parts that have to interface and form a perfect fit with those of other vendors. First an Elf-gineer has to design the part, make detailed engineering drawings, insure compatibility with the rest of a motorcycle in the concept stage, then see if the vendor can do it, then work out terms and insure that the vendor is a good "life cycle" fit for the product. I darn sure don't want to buy something from the cheapest vendor only to find out that they can't resupply me. Think of just the number of phone calls being made on ONE telephone line (this will help folks understand why I've urged folks to e-mail rather than call). Additionally, there is a misconception that this is just a "reworked 1125R" .. t'aint so. Sameultimeously . . folks have been working on the business case and putting together what will become the "new company". This is a Herculean task for a new, from scratch company . . . triple that for trying to sort out the details of what intellectual property can and can not be used. You'll find the 1190RS has some things that frankly didn't exist on 10-15-2009. When the time is right you'll also learn that it most specifically does NOT have some things that would have been on the Barracuda for some very good and very funny reasons. There is not only the business of building the business . . . but also the art. Decisions need to be made cautiously and carefully . . . there, at this stage, are HUGE consequences for poorly considered decisions. I'm not sure folks have a proper appreciation for what racing has cost the last year. When I've mentioned the huge costs to folks I've had some tell me "well, my brother races and he does it on about xxx per weekend". I've had to ask them "what if your brother was a business and had to pay the overtime to those engineers who left Mid-Ohio on Sunday night and had to be in Laguna Seca on Wednesday? Figure a couple folks working basically around the clock and you can see that $25,000 a weekend is a tight budget. Try explaining to your wife, who just survived you loosing your job, that you are going to be diverting those funds from your retirement savings . . you get the idea. It takes not only a huge amount of confidence, but huge cajones. Dave nailed it.
Many of you know this . . . but it's that very enthusiasm that fuels Erik and The Elves. They, just like you and I, have tough days, down days where the entire thing appears to be unraveling. They've fought to make this not only a "world changing bike" and as American as it can be but to craft the entire company to rejoin a large, faithful and enthusiastic world of Buell owners eagerly waiting. I've forwarded a lot of your letters I've gotten and when they are in the throes of a tough day there's nothing like hearing "I believe in Erik and what he's doing" from a long time owner. Another thing that many American owners fail to fully appreciate is that America was always Buells smallest market. The Italians (Tribu 6800), the Brazilians, the Australians, the Germans and the Japanese . . . are not only some of the most rabid Buell fans but, as the Brazilians just pointed out to me . . they didn't get any of the stuff, B.R.A.G for example, that we did in the USA. They had far less communication and were far less shaken over HD dropping Buell . . as far as they are concerned . . . "we're just waiting for the next model and having fun in the meantime". The bottom line is that lots of folks are doing a lot of things that border on impossible. There have been the traditional road blocks and well as a couple just plain spiteful ones . . but The Elves have overcome them all to bring out a street legal race bike that is nothing short of spectacular. They've cleared the first hurdle and Geoff May will soon be on aboard the Buell on the way to the next hurdle. Me? . . I'm already whetting my appetite for my next Buell. I've been through each and every one of the "Erik Iteration" over the year and each has proven more fun and exciting than the last. I can only guess what we'll be seeing in the next year . . but frankly I expect it to be amazing. I said a couple things the day following the Buell and HD parting that folks found preposterous with regard to what Erik Buell would be doing within 5 years. I stand by those predictions. The Leash is Loose. . . . . | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
 I'm cheering for the man... I want to see him succeed, win and shove it in the face of all the naysayers. Besides family, I can't say that there has ever been any person, team or whatever you want to call it... that I have this much invested in. Every time I read about the successes of Erik Buell Racing... I get the same feeling I got when I won my first race. I like that feeling!! I'm sure I'll have many more come! can't wait to see what is next! | ||
| Brumbear |
Can I ask a stupid question here wouldn't be my first? Is Erik Buell Racing a public Co I mean can I buy stock in the Co.? | ||
| Court |
It's not a stupid question. The answer is no. | ||
| Twobuells |
I’d like to see E.B.R. employ 1500~2000 Elves. Build and sell 200,000 motorcycles a year. And be the largest Motorcycle Manufacturer in Wisconsin....no, America! Product mix Big bore V-Twin Adventure Bike 800cc V-Twin Adventure Bike Supermotard version of the 800cc V-Twin 250cc & 450cc Motocrosser, Enduro/dual sport, Supermotard (450cc only) Dirt Track bike, easy change from above bikes…… 80cc/125cc Motocrosser 250cc/500cc Standard 1190 Sport Touring Bike 1190 Naked Bike 1190RS Race Replica wait…that one is done…… | ||
| U4euh |
Hmmmm, Erik is a racer at heart, he and a FEW dedicated employees stuck with the belief that they could build one hell of a mean superbike if left uncontrolled by HD. They set about building this machine, they release it, and you complain because it is not a touring bike, or a bike made for riding around in comfort for longer than 10 minutes? You sir really need to wake up and understand what is going on. Yea, I too couldn't ride this new creation around town or some of my favorite canyon roads for longer than 2 or 3 hours (  ), but then again, thats not what it was made for now was it? 5 bucks says if you got it on the track you'd forget about your pains. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I hope to be able to see an 1190 in person at Daytona...I hope I get the chance to shake Erik's hand and tell him how important my bike is to me at the benefit breakfast cause I'm going!  | ||
| Geedee |
'The Leash is Loose' Four words summarize it all so well. When will the T-shirts be ready Court? | ||
| Court |
>>>When will the T-shirts be ready Court? I'm thinking about having the company that is doing the HOMECOMING 2011 shirts do a few . . . I'd love to wear one to the AMA breakfast at Daytona. | ||
| Britchri10 |
If you have any for the Daytona breakfast, please bring some extra's. I would happily pay to acquire one. | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
If you make it, I will buy one. Especially if it goes to a good cause | ||
| Dhutty09 |
When is the first race that will be televised where we can see this new creature in motion? | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I think the article said they're shooting for infineon. | ||
| Court |
>>I think the article said they're shooting for Infineon. Correct | ||
| Ratbuell |
I'm in for a shirt. Maybe could do something like.... Go old-school, like the old S2 art, but of the 1190 this time - a line drawing on the front, maybe in a pocket area, not full-width. Full-width Erik Buell Racing logo on the back, with "the leash is loose" under it. Just a thought... | ||
| Scottorious |
Im not skeptical, as a matter of fact i might be too optimistic in my conversations with my anti-buell fiends. Nobody can really yet know if this bike is a "game changer" or do you people in the know, KNOW that it is. I dont want to over hype it because with all of this hype if it doesnt perform up to expectation I think Buell will get a bad rap. | ||
| Ratbuell |
How'd the 1190 do in Europe, for Pegasus Racing? Go ahead. Be optimistic | ||
| Steeleagle |
I just got back from the Indy show. I saw and touched the 1190RS carbon edition. The pictures do not do the bike justice. It is a work of art and technology, and Erik was grinning from ear-to-ear. Listening to him describe the bike and respond to all the comments a term came to mind: Humble pride. I cannot believe I have to admit to having this type of brain fart, but I entered the show...having forgot a camera!! But trust me: There were PLENTY of pictures being taken. Advice: Save your money. It's worth every penny. Get in line behind me! |
