| Author | Message | ||
     Ferris_von_bueller |
http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/erik-buell-ra cing-sold-for-scrap#comment-2461582205 pay specific attention to the comments made by Michael MC. It seems to me I recall that Buell did make money or, at the least, not lose money. (Message edited by ferris von bueller on January 16, 2016) | ||
| Hootowl |
Would have if hd hadn't been hiding their losses by overcharging buell for engines. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Supposedly Buell was able to pay Rotax to develop the 1125 from profits made on the XB series, which means they did make a profit. I believe that was stated in Steve Anderson's article in Cycle a world on the death of Buell. | ||
| Alfau |
The money required to establish EBR had to come from somewhere. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Alfau, Harley Davidson didn't give a nickel to start EBR. | ||
| Glitch |
The term 3%ers came from the fact that Buell was contributing 3% of the profit H-D was reporting in 2004 | ||
| Ourdee |
Alfau, Somewhere is spelled with a K. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Alfau is correct, the money to start EBR had to come from somewhere...just not from Harley/Buell | ||
| Court |
The money .... Every dime of it ....came from Erik Buell. Now ...... We've got that cleared up. | ||
| Ourdee |
Thanks Court. I was too subtle. | ||
| Ourdee |
While we are being plain here; Why doesn't anyone ever bring up the grip the union had on Wandell's scrotum when he closed Buell? just a little footnote | ||
| Alfau |
I didn't say the money came from HD. Didn't Erik Buell earn money working with HD ? Amateurs is what they were. Google that Mr spelling Nazi. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Well, "Michael MC" was spreading all sorts of falsehoods in his comments. I wish someone with knowledge on the subject would set the man straight. I hate when conjecture is passed off as fact. | ||
| Ourdee |
I am taking it that the spelling nazi comment was directed in my general direction. Meanwhile a song goes through my twisted humor infested mind, to the tune of MJ's song " A B C...1 2 3...white power " oh wait, that would be the nazi version, Oops. Sorry, that nazi crap just irritates me. The reference to being spelled with a K, had to do with the answer to the question of funding. EriK Buell used his savings for retirement to open EBR. note: There is no k in somewhere. ;p Now on to the Amateurs thing: Do you speak French down there? The French word the way you spelled it is very close to the word in english. They are spelled the same.  I just like the meaning in French more. How could Erik be paid and unpaid while at Harley? Or are you implying that he was paid at Harley but was an amateur at Hero because of the unpaid thing? | ||
| Court |
Erik Buell took a gamble that very, very few folks I know or have known would have the courage to. The small mind, occluded be it, would declare him to have rolled the dice and lost. I think he's not only won . . . but he'd not done yet. Bruce said it nicely . . but, being here on the internet, behind anonymous posts and e-mails . . . is the game for the mouth militia . . . kicking Erik Buell a couple times in a business deal only tends to galvanize and focus him. To those of us . . . safely harboring the most amazing memories of things and people Buell over the years . . some of this hurts more and becomes more personal. I'm ready for EBR Act II. Court | ||
| Crusty |
I'm ready for EBR Act II. Yah; me too! | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Me too. This 1125r isn't going to last forever. | ||
| Alfau |
Amateurs In my dictionary it means doing it for the love of it without profit. You were baited and did warn you. noun 1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons. Compare professional. 2. an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize. 3. a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity: Hunting lions is not for amateurs. 4. a person who admires something; devotee; fan: an amateur of the cinema. | ||
| Snacktoast |
pay specific attention to the comments made by Michael MC. It seems to me I recall that Buell did make money or, at the least, not lose money. "Michael MC" makes many statements that are untrue (at best) in his attempt to re-write history while arm-chair quarterbacking. | ||
| Ourdee |
I have been completely bated. You are the master. Do I get a safe word? Is this 6th grade? Come on. Stating your opinion does not belittle the higher ground taken by someone that wanted to give great people a lively hood. What is your purpose? Buell made a profit. It made the world a better place for thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts. Add up the payroll. How many lifetimes were supported while Buell manufactured bikes? How many people have been prodded into taking the high ground no matter the cost by seeing examples set by Buell? I take a lot less for granted because of the people I've met directly as a result of Buell. Want some Koolaid? I have extra in the fridge. | ||
| Snacktoast |
How many lifetimes were supported while Buell manufactured bikes? You touch on an excellent point, Ourdee, maybe in a roundabout way. Unless you've been part of this type of environment - one that creates - you have no idea how rewarding of an experience that being part of creating a product can be. Everyone from engineering to R&D to the shipping department takes pride in that product when there is a positive and constructive atmosphere. This is always something that I couldn't wrap my head around until I was part of it. Then the light bulb turned on for me. There's always a dozen douchebags in the back row that are trying to bring down the accomplishments of others. The beauty of the internet is that it's much easier to identify who these idiots are. It takes away a lot of legwork for prospective employers. Those that have no foresight or vision, or heaven forbid, the balls to try to tackle the world's problems themselves often surface like vultures trying to pickup the scraps instead of doing the actual work of building the brand, or product. Sadly, so many people cannot wrap their tiny little minds around the thought that anything worthwhile will take hard work. | ||
| Ourdee |
Three simple things I've noticed with help: 20% of the people cause 80% of problems. Only 5% of the people are awake. 1 person only catches 85% of defects. The majority of my job entails fixing the missed 15%. | ||
| Snacktoast |
Ourdee, That is pretty much spot on, regardless of the field that you're in.  | ||
| 86129squids |
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle | ||
| Ourdee |
Thanks for the history. | ||
| Alfau |
Failure is just another word to some people. | ||
| Steveford |
If you're insinuating that Erik Buell was a failure, I couldn't disagree more. Just looking in my garage I see an S1, an S2, and X1W and a Ulysses. He may have put himself in some bad financial situations but he's accomplished more in his lifetime than most people would do in ten. BMC wasn't a failure, HD pulled the plug because they made a ton of bad bike loans and the economy tanked. They jettisoned Buell and MV Agusta and concentrated on what they do best: cruisers and gigantic touring bikes. Do not forget that HD viewed Buell as an experimental development group which wasn't really supposed to amount to much. They'd develop stuff and Harley would take what they thought would work on their bikes. The V-Rod motor, for instance. EBR wasn't around long enough to build up a head of steam before Hero initiated a hostile take over. If the Hero deal had gone as advertised, I believe that EBR/Hero would have developed into a major player. They'd have little tiddlers, middleweights sooner or later and then the high performance machines. These things don't happen overnight and the man was simply undercapitalized. Aren't we all? | ||
| Ourdee |
Night. (Message edited by Ourdee on January 19, 2016) |
