| Author | Message | ||
     Oopezoo |
I just got email from ADV advertising a livestream interview with Erik this evening at 7pm. Hoping to tune in, thought some people might be interested https://advrider.com/baldy-interviews-erik-buell/? utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaig n=editorial&utm_content=06_09_2020 The youtube video for those who missed the live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jzKSlb2vlA (Message edited by Blake on June 10, 2020) | ||
| Crusty |
I'll definitely be tuned in! | ||
| Jaimec |
VERY cool! I wonder if he'll reveal when the Fllow might be available for purchase (and not just pre-order). | ||
| Crusty |
11 minutes... | ||
| Buellerxt |
I'm tuned in!  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Could anyone make out what he said About the photo of the steam locomotive on the wall he showed? | ||
| Hughlysses |
That interview was awesome! | ||
| Crusty |
An hour and a half long interview and I wish it could have gone on for another hour and a half! Great stuff! | ||
| 1313 |
Everybody, I mean EVERYBODY, should go on YouTube and like the video - even if you don't watch it. Well, we know that being the Buell enlightened you will watch the interview... | ||
| Cupcake_mike |
Great stuff. | ||
| Blake |
Awesome, once you get past the dicey audio of the wall-hanging pictures tour. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jzKSlb2vlA | ||
| Jaimec |
And he confirms that long standing rumor that pure, idiotic EGO crushed the Buell-to-BRP deal that we'd heard about here. Seems Vaughn Beals was a true visionary and blind assholes filled the void he left behind. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Could anyone make out what he said About the photo of the steam locomotive on the wall he showed? I watched again and I believe he said that was a photo of his grandfather, who I’m guessing was a locomotive engineer. Edit- Erik responded to a question from me on Facebook and confirmed that this pic does show the locomotive his grandfather operated. (Message edited by Hughlysses on June 10, 2020) | ||
| Crusty |
That's what I heard, as well. Now Harley is paying the price for their petty ego stroking. Pity. (Message edited by Crusty on June 10, 2020) | ||
| Needs_o2 |
Interesting how suppliers are actually dictating the course of evolution of a product and/or an entire industry they are reliant upon, to a degree. Anyone want to go into the brake business? | ||
| Mike13 |
Hey Slaughter, Erik has a pic of you and your race bike on his wall! That’s pretty awesome!!! | ||
| 86129squids |
I've not had a chance to view this video, but I grok things. I was one of three sent to Barber to evaluate the debut of the 1125R. I was probably the slowest. Having been hired on to Smoky Mountain HD/Buell in 2004, my experience was entirely with the metric world. I was aware of Whitworth stuff. I ended up being the Buell guy, and the one who evaluated metric trades. Starting out, I had no facile knowledge of the 25ish different FL/FX/XL/FS alphabet soup in front of me. I learned and understood the HD product and market. I also noticed that unlike every other major MC manufacturer, Harley-Davidson had no "aspirational" products. No pee-wee bikes, no boot-scooters. No fiddy's, no dirt bikes. No beginner's bikes like the XV250 (AKA Route 66) or the Honda Rebel. HD just ignored all that. Why in the world, with all the marketing meatsack minds they employ, couldn't they have seen it? Why? | ||
| Jaimec |
From the interview, it sure seems like Beals was aware of it. He retired way too soon. I think modern corporate America has the most f-ed up priorities I've ever seen. Everything is about maximizing shareholder profit FOR THIS QUARTER. There is no long-term planning, everybody wants their profit RIGHT NOW. So companies like Harley Davidson wanted to play it safe. Why "waste" money planning for the future when there is so much profit to be made RIGHT NOW with what we've got? Bill Gates was one of the exceptions. He had a vision for Microsoft that paid off in spades because he wasn't looking at "RIGHT NOW" but what would be possible in the future. When he retired and handed the reins over to Ballmer, that's when it all started falling apart. Ballmer discounted the entire mobile phone and tablet market and continued to push desktop because that's what Microsoft did best. Windows now trails Android by a WIDE margin as the most widely-used operating system in the world and they're playing catch-up. You'll note they also aren't innovating anything any more, just on how to squeeze the most money out of what they already have. Same thing with IBM. Once Gerstner left, all they did was jump from one new hot technology to the next. The joke in IT circles was once IBM announced they were fully behind a technology, that marked that technology's death knell. | ||
| Tootal |
 I saw the same thing with the takeover of Anheuser Busch by Inbev. The company was always quality first. August Busch III did really care about quality even though he single handedly ruined Budweiser by taking away IBU's because he though it was too bitter. It was the number one beer at the time and he changed it! Other than that bit of Stupidity, he really did want to make the best beer in the world. Then Inbev cam in and slashed engineering, IT, and secretaries. They cut till they bleed. They heal a little and cut again. Nothing but profit period. A real shame. | ||
| Jaimec |
The important thing to remember is that in modern times, the primary purpose of a publicly traded company is to return on shareholder investment. PERIOD. Nothing else matters. It doesn't matter WHAT industry they're supposedly in, they are there purely to post a return on shareholder investment. Whether it's manufacturing, news media, pharmaceuticals or technology. Those are just a means to an end. That's why I CRINGE when I see people asking when Zero will go public. I hope they NEVER do. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I want to see what happened in the alternate universe where Erik stayed with HD and took over the Sportster platform when it was offered to him (as mentioned in the interview). I don’t think he should have done that, I just think it’d be really interesting to see what he could have accomplished. | ||
| Court |
>>>Harley-Davidson had no "aspirational" products. No pee-wee bikes, no boot-scooters. No fiddy's, no dirt bikes. No beginner's bikes The "kinda" did at one time . . . this is what my kids grew up riding.   | ||
| Ourdee |
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| 86129squids |
I stand/sit/type corrected. I knew about those bikes, just forgot... but that proves my point that they no longer offer such things. Derp. | ||
| Hughlysses |
As I understood it, Erik said the CEO of Harley when Buell was bought intended for Buell to build such bikes and others while Harley produced very expensive, almost boutique bikes. When that guy retired, all that went out of the window. | ||
| Needs_o2 |
I posted the below in an archived thread and I thought the thread would get bumped back to the top but it didn't, so I thought I'd post it here, seems to fit. Can anyone do that for me, it's called ERIK's Next Chapter. Thanks in advance! Finally got a few trips on the Fluid 1S. I haven't been riding, since I was recovering from a leg injury which is almost completely healed. So the bike has been performing as advertised, but due to lack of perspective on bike riding, haven't been riding for nearly 20 yrs., I wasn't sure how well I was clipping along. I got my answer on Hwy. 9 when I approached another cyclist, definitely an avid cyclist and about my age, from behind and flew by him into a stiff head wind. Even with the head wind, I wasn't straining to maintain my cadence, I just dropped a gear or two. -The motor is quiet, nearly inaudible. -Shifting is quick and smooth. -The torque comes on quick with only about a half revolution of the crank. -Brakes are amazing, but they're backwards!  -The seat is fine for now, but might have to try my old Brooks saddle. -Tires are quite, grippy, and smooth. -TFT screen is easy to read and lets you know how much boost you're getting instantaneously, up to 650 watts. -The belt is a belt, quite, smooth, perfect. I made a carrying case for the back rack out of an old plastic router case, and I use it to carry my brief case to my store. So far, FIVE STARS and TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!! | ||
| Jaimec |
I mentioned him in my earlier post. That was Vaughn Beals. Sad day for Erik when Beals retired and idiots filled the void. | ||
| Tootal |
Back when I was dirt bike riding a friend of mine had a Harley Baja 100. It was of course Italian and wired in series. Whenever the tail light would burn out it would quit running. He had to carry a pocket full of bulbs to ride a whole day! | ||
| Jaimec |
My friend's recently bought an old Harley Sprint (built by Aermacchi way back in the day). Wonder if they also built that Baja 100? | ||
| Court |
I saved a bunch of photos of the Griffin and one of my funniest Buell stories centers around when Harley-Davidson sent some young bucks to confirm the security and safety of some of the rare and valuable products in East Tory following the closure of Buell. In terms to choosing talent to make the journey . . suffice for now to say . . "they chose poorly". Anything that was necessary to preserving the heritage and history of Erik Buell and the genius and dedication of The Elves quietly disappeared to safety. | ||
| Nuts4mc |
Bruce Ogilvie road a Baja and was member of the 100s D-37 desert club...the bike was fast with Bruce on it... always winning his class. Bruce went on to work for Honda, he passed away in 2009 from the big "C"...because it was so light- it seemed to always be air borne with Bruce on it. https://motocrossactionmag.com/classic-motocross-i ron1971-harley-davidson-baja-100/ | ||
| Tootal |
That's the bike, although it's stripped of it's lights for racing. We had to ride on the street to get to the trails so we all had lights on the bikes. In this video there's a perfect resto of the bike with it's lights still on it. I need to let the guy know to carry some spare bulbs! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQXPq4F-Vbc |
