| Author | Message | ||
     Gearheaderiko |
If it still bothers you take two Midol and call me in the morning. " Said the man who rides a 12 year old Buell! Certainly doesnt look like they make anything you'll be buying. Again: I thought this was a website about Buell motorcycles. If you're not interested in the Blast (or its successor?), perhaps there is another thread here that may interest you? | ||
| Rainman |
On the bright side, I had limited my options on my next bike due to misplaced loyalty. Now my options are wide open and I'm not fettered by such outdated emotions. Good night, all. I think you've heard enough from me. | ||
| Methed |
Actually, I am interested in the Blast, and wasn't flaming at all but rather stating fact. I'd rather see Buell stay afloat during these lean years than hold onto models that aren't providing sufficient profit--I also defer to HD on this point. Anyone remember the AMF years and the shite HD was forced to build and put their name on? That said, I'm looking for a Blast 'for the wife' and am disappointed that they've now become collectors items, and that the prices will likely go through the roof. (The 'for the wife' is just my way of selling her on it BTW, please do not take that personally as well.) Good luck. | ||
| Ezblast |
Gee - is that American? I'm sure Erik mentioned that he likes his bikes to be manufactured by American companies - none of us said we have all of a sudden stopped liking Buell, but we sure don't like his tone about a bike we did like, and that he had nothing but praise for in the past. This is really shooting your foot - an almost guaranteed loss of a percentage of customer base, a lot of Buellers started on Blasts, if your wrong about one bike - according to the manufacturer themselves, then your current selection comes into question as well. Will EB use a stick of dynamite to say good buy to the next model? Is this really a thing I can stand behind as American? The new ruthless philosophy? I suspect not, 'The rider first!' was the old call to arms, and I was there for that, the new one leaves me disappointed - sounding more like excuses for why you will have less bikes to choose from, and soon be sold in boutique racer spaces in the HD show room - lol - please and to think, I actually had friends here - Ruthless indeed - baaaa humbug! EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Confused Blast riders thinking they were sportbikes  Yeah, we all know what 'for the wife' means. Thats how we end up with more than one bike  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Now that they're labeled as furniture, I doubt the prices will skyrocket anytime soon. Didnt happen for the Yugo, the Daewoo, the Diahatsu, the Pacer or the Delorean. (eventually, maybe).... PS: HTFU- I'd say is inflammatory. Hard not to take that wrong. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
I need a primary gasket for a 2000 blast... I'm sure my dealer wont have it in stock... SOOOO... what else will get the job done???xb9?? xb12?? sportster?? | ||
| Gregtonn |
...If you're not interested in the Blast (or its successor?), perhaps there is another thread here that may interest you?... If you search the archives you might find a very lively discussion between Blake and I about putting a Blast engine in an XB frame. I was in favor of it. I also understand why it never occurred. I can also explain the likely reason why all the XB upgrades were never applied to the Blast. (I am not, nor have I ever been, a Buell or HD employee). G | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Then why the inflammatory remarks? You offered nothing to the dialogue about why the Blast upgrades were not applied, just snide comments and posts.  | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Wolfridgerider: Why not ask at the thumper side? The XB gasket will probably work. One top bolt may be different or may not be. My XB gasket kit came with 2 gaskets. One is exactly the same (but better) as the Blast gasket, the other has the bolt hole moved up. | ||
| Gregtonn |
Good Lord! I think I may have a way to explain this!!! Think Monty Python. If you don't understand; Google Monty Python Flinging Cows. G | ||
| Cityxslicker |
so it was time to update the platform, great, H-D does big platform upgrades between powerplant and suspension about every 7-10 years, they do that so you buy something NEXT. I get that. Repeat SALES depend on it. (nobody crushed FXR's when they left the line) I dont get crushing the bike. Hell the last Blast could have been numbered/seried/signed/badged and auctioned off. With all the chatter about it, an enthusiast would have picked it up. It would have lived to ride (race) another day. I just dont see the point in crushing it and making it furniture, the epitome of SITTING when your whole new ad campaign slams just that. There is no world cup championship for sitting... so we have came out with commemorative Blast cube chairs/ottomans?!? Maybe I am just dense, I am missing the clever and smart part of this charade. (For the five years I sold them, I would like to THANK the 29 Buellers for buying the Blast new and used from me; carry on) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Crushing the bike was creative imagery. Based upon what we've been told about Erik, he has absolutely no ability to look backward. He pushes forward relentlessly. The most striking way to demonstrate the termination of a bike model is to show it "cubed". It wouldn't make sense to do it to an HD. HD doesn't really move forward. EVERY bike they make is a throw back to a previous time. The latest model they produce is STILL an anachronism. City, from what you've said you sell over 300 bikes a year. That's 1500 bikes if the average holds true. 29 bikes is less than 2% of your total sales. I can't imagine ANYONE seeing that as a significant number of sales of a particular model. I'd bet you sold 5 times that number of Road Glides that don't seem to be selling anywhere. | ||
| Ezblast |
Sales - yes, and the loss of from poor judgment. EZ | ||
| Cityxslicker |
True, I sold way more touring HDs, but ask me who I ride with, rode with, and continue to plan rides with?... Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? yep There were customers, and there were friends. The Buell crew, and damn lot of them on Blasts, are way heavy in my phone address book. The FLH/TR/T/RC/CU/X/RS crew, not so much. I would get Blasts from other local dealers cuz they didnt want to sell them, I couldnt meet our local demand, every one we got, I sold. Its a fun bike for what it is. (was) Way more fun that sitting in an ottoman. Pity we never had the Riders Edge course, I think I would have one of those in the garage if we did. And the funny thing was, you would think that they would trade them in after one season and 'ready' for a bigger better bike... I never could coax but one of them back. Everyone else passed them on to their next family rider member that was ready to take on riding. | ||
| Gregtonn |
EZ, You just made FB's point. You're stuck in the past. Buell has moved beyond the Blast. Just like they moved beyond the S3. Both were great bikes, but their time is over. I have no regrets. I'm looking forward to the future. G | ||
| Ezblast |
You miss my point completely. EZ | ||
| Gregtonn |
What? That you thought it was a personal insult? It wasn't. Get over it. G | ||
| Ezblast |
LOL - fool - you tripping - that it was in poor taste, and not his sharpest move considering a portion of his fan base have ridden/started on that bike was the constant point I'm making. Dude - I'm good, its all good, Ruthless Engineering right? - lol EZ | ||
| Etennuly |
Did anyone else catch the part about not making friends by owning a Buell? When I rode Honda's, street and dirt bikes, and raced ATC's I had about a dozen friends over ten years. We all were into racing dirt with cars also.(it was a small town area) When I played a lot of golf for five or six years, I gained about five friends.(two of which I still have their phone numbers) When I did Corvettes, and Corvette shows for a few years, I can honestly say I didn't gain any friends.(they didn't like competition) For the five years I have had Buells, I have gained the largest number of friends I have known since I graduated from high-school in 1975. BadWeB is the biggest part of that, however it would not exist if not directly for Buell. Anybody else here that has been to March Badness, Buelltoberfest, Homecoming, WV Buell Rally, or just a lot of weekend get together to ride days, and way to much on line time, care to help me dispute that "Buell won't make you friends" statement? Ps. I like our Blast just fine. That was a stupid thing to put in there. Almost seems like they are saying the Blast was a mistake of "Edsel like proportions". How would you feel if you were new to Buell, just bought a Blast last week and see that add? | ||
| Vampress |
Man...you work for a day and the world goes haywire while you are out! Well, it seems, as a customer who was on the lookout for my first Buell, I have had a status change. Apparently this all means that I have now changed from a superfluous person who has no place being on the back of a Buell (wouldn't want my big butt to mess up that centre of gravity) to an unwanted over-sociable person who has no place being on the front of one either. If 'sitting' on a Buell on the way to college or work has been outlawed by the powers that be (as incorrect use of the vehicle) I guess I will have rethink my decision. I certainly don't intend to hang off the side of one doing 60km/hr through city traffic, that's for sure. In hindsight, I also would like to apologise for leading some of you to believe I may have been trying to 'befriend you'in any way on earlier occasions. I guess my outgoing nature just gets in the way of correct procedure sometimes.  | ||
| Etennuly |
In hindsight, I also would like to apologise for leading some of you to believe I may have been trying to 'befriend you'in any way on earlier occasions. I guess my outgoing nature just gets in the way of correct procedure sometimes Yes, I noticed that! That whole add concept is silly when you lay it out like that. I doubt Hondayamazuki are going to start telling people they won't fit on their bikes for this reason or that. | ||
| Vampress |
Yes, so if this is the case, and none of the Buells were meant to have a passenger, than why bother making passenger comfort and ease a consideration on a Uly? Is it not marketed by Buell as an all-terrain 'sportbike' | ||
| Fresnobuell |
OK drama queens, it's called MARKETING. Once you can get past that "OMG, Buell is saying I shouldn't wave or ride two-up or have friends or whatever else you are pissing and moaning about" and realize that fact, then everything in the world is again okay. It's a SPORTBIKE company and a piece of SPORTBIKE literature. Of course it's gonna point to going fast and "hanging off." Sitting on a bike for whatever reason is boring and [gasp], it doesn't make it into the marketing literature. The Blast, while it served a purpose, isn't really a sportbike, therefore possible its useful lifespan has expired. Maybe Buell just needed the space in production to make something else that has more profit built into it? I dunno. It was a probably a business decision first and foremost and the hype around crushing, etc. was a marketing afterthought. My suggestion: Take it for what it is. EB didn't crush your dog or insult your grandma. Sorry your beloved Blast (I wondered what "P3" meant now I finally know.) is gone. Time to look to the future and move on!!! | ||
| Vampress |
Fresnobuell, while I had no particular passion for the Blast itself, it's the companys disregard for it's current customers that offends me. Yes sportbikes are their focus, that's fine, but they have just stated (in my perception) that nothing and nobody else matters. As for 'sitting' not making it into the marketing literature, I could point out quite a few pages that prove you wrong. That's the point. If it wasn't mentioned there(and quite strongly), this discussion wouldn't be taking place? If there was solid consistency between what they say in the new Buell bible 'the book of Buell' and what they say on the rest of the site, it would make a lot more sense. In the BOB they say that you won't make friends with a Buell, and noone will understand why you've bought one, yet on the site page, they say you have become part of a family that shares a common passion. That is where my Wtf? stems from. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
"A Buell won't make you any friends." You won't fit in with the guys that ride the Japanese bikes. You certainly won't fit in with the Euro sportbikers. You won't fit in with the Harley crowd. You won't fit in the metric cruiser crowd. And it's not usually the Bueller's choice. Get the picture? I don't think it's YOU that is being anti-social or whatever but peoples' attitude toward you on the Buell. Different often equals outcast. Not only with bikes, but with many things in life. I personally haven't had many problems in this regard, but I don't usually associate with random bikers (maybe I AM anti-social.) I have had some ignorant comments from friends that have talked to other supposed riders about my Buell. I like to be different. I wouldn't change a thing. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
As for 'sitting' not making it into the marketing literature, I could point out quite a few pages that prove you wrong. That's the point. If it wasn't mentioned there(and quite strongly), this discussion wouldn't be taking place? Sorry, it IS mentioned in a negative light. Please refer back to my comment about it being boring as hell. Do you expect it to be a focal point of the marketing? "Buy a Buell, they are great to sit on in rush hour traffic?" Sitting on a bike DOES suck. I rarely commute on my bike anymore. If I am gonna sit, I'll sit in my truck with air conditioning, radio and possibly a beverage or something. And if I get in a fender bender, I'll walk away for sure. I'll save my bike's tire profile for weekend twisties or the track, because sitting on a bike in traffic is no fun. | ||
| Vampress |
I do agree with you that sitting on a bike in traffic is no fun, and of course therefore not a marketing point, but I don't believe that's what they meant by 'sitting'. They emphasise that effectively their definition of 'sitting' is in not riding the bike in the way it is engineered to be ridden, in true sportbike style. Scraping pegs, leaning etc. I enjoy riding my bike, on most days I have to. At the moment it is my only mode of transport. That being the case, the BOB tells me that if I don't swing low off one side of it on a corner, if I don't get up to speed or ride hard...I should what...take the bus?...or perhaps a (tongue in cheek)"floating pool chair" As for the friends part, this reads from the BOB "Equipped with their new sportbike, they gain instant admission to a fun, freewheeling group of like-minded riders" ...Sounds a little like Badweb to me? And then this "they are invited to congregate...ride to a pre-determined location, keenly appraise one another's machines" Perhaps somewhat like a Homecoming?? Don't get me wrong, there are many things about the BOB and all that I find very good, and very funny/clever, but a few things have really got under my skin. I was hoping that would never happen with Buell. Losing respect for something is a very bitter feeling. I'm just trying to gain perspective and make sense of a few things before that happens. | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
as for as the anti-blast marketing goes it is pretty harsh but after listening to the 2 minute video it sounds like Erik was tired of the blast being the first perception of what buell is. I think i understand that. Instead of buells flagship bike the 1125 being everyone's first impression of buell it is this little dinky no frills bike that is not very impressive. So this ad campaign is aimed at getting people away from being rapped around the blast as being buells first impression so that people can focus on the rest of the Buells. He does not bad mouth the blast or say he hates it he is just saying that's not the bike that he wants to be known for basically. | ||
| Macdiver |
A friend of mine bought a RoadKing this past Tuesday. Now, he has not had a bike for the ten years that I have known him. He calls me Friday night to see if I would like to go riding with him on Saturday because his "Harley Buds" have other plans. Since getting the bike he has ridden with these other guys every evening and did a Poker run with the HOG chapter. When I ask him why he bought a bike, it was clear he bought it for the social aspect and bought a Harley because the guys he works with all have Harley's. Thats cool, I have no problems with his reasons. However, as has been stated by other people in this thread, no-one buys a Buell to fit in. You buy a Buell because you like the bike the friends that come with it via badweb is just a bonus. That is how I interpret the friends section of the "BOB". So when we are looking at his bike (they are nice touring bikes) he is gushing over how comfortable the seat is, better then his recliner he says. Then he mentions how my bike's riding position must be really hard on the back and that seat looks really hard and uncomfortable. I think it is these opinions being addressed by the sitting is not a sport comments. The seating on our bikes have been designed to allow the rider to have the most control and get the most out of the bike whether you have the skills of a racer or are just a commuter like me. Edited to add: Lighten up people. It is just marketing. The idea is to get people to notice Buell. In your face marketing works. (Message edited by macdiver on July 26, 2009) |
