| Author | Message | ||
     Crip2nite |
Has anyone noticed that this year a lot of Harley dealerships are discontinuing the sales of Buells?? Are Buells going in the same Direction that Indian Motorcycles did??? | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
Where's Glitch's little popcorn dude? | ||
| Mikej |
I think the primary response you're going to get is along the lines of: "define 'a lot'". Some say it is more of a purging of the bad and disinterested shops, others say it is just an internet thing making it seem like 'a lot', others say other things. For me, I have two Buells that are currently different but somewhat redundant so I'm looking for something different and am looking to swap one off for what I'd consider a fair price. I looked at an Indian at a garage sale this weekend, if Buell's go the way of the Indian motorcycle, and if the garage sale Indian owner's price is any indication of value-reality, then my Buells should double in value if Buell does go the way of the Indian resurrected motorcycle company. But then if Buell does go the way of Indian then it will be rebought by a marine outboard engine company and will resurface in some new corporate structure. But since the Phoenix hasn't arisen yet again for Indian motorcycles, and since Buell is still under the Harley corporate umbrella, I believe it is still too soon to order or begin carving out the gravestone for Buell. Current used bike market valuations not withstanding. YMMV | ||
| M1combat |
I think that HD is happy with Buell's sales numbers and are pretty certain that there are enough dealers to support the numbers. I think that Buell buyers are willing to go the extra distance to get what they want as opposed to walking into the local honda/yamaha/kawasaki/suzuki shop and just picking from what they see in front of them. I also think that they are happy with eliminating the chaff from the dealer network. I think a good deal of those dealers will get back into over the next few years when they start getting people that come in looking for Buells. | ||
| Crip2nite |
Well.....My Dealership stopped selling about a month ago. ..and I'm reading about it quite often on this site! That's why I'm making the assumption:"a lot". They closed The Indian Dealership by me after only being open for a little over a year! | ||
| Midknyte |
None of the dealerships in my area have dropped their Buells or act like they will. | ||
| M2me |
 I think I have seen more Buells on the road this year than any other year and not just XBs but tube frames too for some reason. I have also noticed that certain dealers don't mention Buell or put the Buell logo on their flyers anymore even though they still sell Buells. Not sure what it means when more people seem to be buying them while some dealers are not trying to sell them. | ||
| Midknyte |
Gotta remember, Indian was not an offshoot of another MC mothership (I am right, right?). It was it's own company [with longstanding problems] and does not make for any comparison. | ||
| R1DynaSquid |
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| Crip2nite |
UH-OH Gregg.....Get ready for the Fireworks!!!!LOL | ||
| Outrider |
Gee Dyna...How long have you been impatiently waiting to use that pic?  | ||
| Reepicheep |
This is *purely* speculation on my part... I think what happened is that Harley tried to make more Buell dealers with way too much stick, and not enough carrot. During the "good old days" of year long waiting lists of customers for any bike a dealer could get ahold of, Harley said "take these 10 blasts and 5 tubers or we aren't going to send you any more electra-glides". Some dealers treated Buell as the ••••••• stepchild, and tolerated it as long as they had to. They don't have to anymore, and dropped them like a rock, they never wanted them in the first place, and they were never a good fit. Buell was probably OK watching these dealers drop the line, as they were probably doing more damage then good in the long run. Other dealers were a better fit, and are doing a good job selling Buells. Look at the latest Cycle world, where Buell explains why the price on the XB9's *dropped*. It was because they are selling *above* projections, especially in Europe, and the amortized costs are being paid down ahead of schedule, so they could reduce sales price. So regardless of what the dealers may be doing, the bikes are selling well and prooving very reliable, at a *minimum* topping their business case back at the mothership, and more likely are way ahead of plan. Modesto was probably the one real anomoly... and I expect they are getting out of the business more as a result of residual pain, history, and issues from the tube frame era then any issues with the XB. My Cincinati "Buell Dealer" that dropped the line was never serious about it in the first place. Had two Blasts on the floor, did not stock any parts worth mentioning, did not know much about the bikes, did a mediocre job ordering parts, etc. Even as a Buell enthusiast, I was happy to see them stop farting around with it. If somebody wants a Buell, there are a couple of dealers within an hour or so that are actually serious about the brand. | ||
| Mikej |
Dang, blinked and missed the pic. | ||
| Crip2nite |
But...at the same time...I for one am not looking foward to traveling x amount of miles just to find someone to service my XB. Honestly, I have a very full day every day and it was convenient for me to have mine serviced at the Harley up the road from my business! Now I probably have to take a day off just to get it serviced and have to bribe someone in my family to follow me there, take me home,bring me to work the next day, pick me up at work and drive me to the closest Buell dealer! No one wants to do service on Saturdays or Sundays by me! When I had my CBR, Honda was very accomodating & flexible with their service hours and the mechanics worked on Saturdays also. | ||
| Careyj |
Buell dealers are dropping like flies here in Arizona also, so much for me buying another Buell. KTM RC8 here I come!!!!! | ||
| Crip2nite |
OH Boy....Look what I done did Now!!!!  | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Aside from Chosa's which was a good thing, and Arrowhead if they have actually dropped Buell who else? Arrowhead is the epitome of H-D boutique that caters to people who want to drop $100k on a bike and accessories. Buell didn't belong there to start with. | ||
| Rick_a |
Most of the dealers droppin' Buells were poor Buell dealers to begin with. Oh well. | ||
| Msetta |
My dealer was great, had their own shop and mechanics dept. Went by this year and they have moved the buells into the same store as harley, closed down the Buell mechanic bay, and have turned the buell shop into a used motorcycle selling/storage area. Doesn't speak well to me to turn a seperate Buell store to a used bike store. Setta | ||
| M1combat |
Grand Canyon up here in Northern AZ seems pretty friendly. They have three XB's and an S2T or S3T and want to sell them. I think they've sold three XB's or so in the last year... They'll work on my bike Saturday morning. They don't stock any Buell parts (but I think I just convinced the parts guy to at least stock a belt and some controls incase someone drops their bike. They are making progress and I think they'll stick around. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Just a curious question for people to ponder. If Buells make up 3-4% of H-D's market, should we as Buell owners honestly expect 100% of the H-D dealers to carry and service with a smile our bikes? Seriously, just what is the percentage of Buell dealers in relation to all the H-D dealerships around? Would Buell be able to be sold/serviced through an import Dealership without having to carry the H-D line if an import dealership wanted to? | ||
| Cataract2 |
So far the HD dealers in my area still all have them and the one closest to me seems upbeat about them. | ||
| Coolice |
This has been discussed here before but it the truth is that some of the h-d dealers are dropping the line. I too bought the Buell as the h-d shop moved in town and built a big.... tshirt (made in China shirts)shoppe. And they had all the XB's, Blasts and apparel. It has all sold. Lately I've asked the salespeople when are your 05's comin in? Well the CityX is there and thats it. Over the weekend all Buell apparel was 40% off. Gee do ya think the line is gonna be sold there? I just sold a perfectly good and paid 4 BMW R1100RT for the same reason mentioned above, driving 2 hours each way to get service. Well I bought my Buell a couple hours away and that dealer is strong and has a BRAG chapter. Guess my biz will go there.... this just sucks. Oh and it gets better, I ordered a new h-d road glide to replace the Bmr til Buell makes a sport tourer. Hope it happens soon I can't wait to trade a h-d for another Buell!  | ||
| SouthernMarine |
Wycked, BECAUSE Buell belongs to HD. I should be able to walk into ANY HD and be able to purchase/order anything I need for my Buell. I should also be able to expect them to know how, and to be able to service my Buell if I need them to, warranty or not. Why? Because HD owns them and sells them. An hour drive, no problem. No one should be forced to drive more than that if there is a HD svc dpt/store/dealer nearby, example, HD in Yuma, has Buell tech, no longer sells Buells, I would have to drive to San Diego or Phoenix. Why? Total BS on HD's part. | ||
| Jon |
Drama. Who cares? Buell's number one problem is that the Harley Dealership culture is THE WORST venue for Buell sales. Most don't get it or even care to know what in the world they are doing. Look what Dyna's dealer did to his bike...TWICE! My dealer Bob Dron dropped Buell. Not because of mechanical failures, but because they didn't make as much money off a Buell as they would off of a Harley, so they dropped it. That was from the lips of the Sales Manager. Buell needs a new dealership structure. | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
So Southern you expect H-D corporate to expend more on the Buell line to keep it 100% available at every H-D dealership while still keeping the price of parts down to the Buell level they are at? At what price would it cost H-D to expend for all of its dealers to carry and stock Buell consumables as well as keep atleast one Buell knowledgeable tech on staff at each dealership, provide enough bikes to have atleast one each at all the dealerships AND provide enough apparel for all of the Buell owners in each of the dealerships? In this case it is unreasonable to ask H-D to make that kind of continual loss for a small market product. If Buell had the market share to be 50% of H-D's revenue then I would expect it from every H-D shop. Now compare the number of Buell dealerships to the number of Aprilia dealerships nationwide. Which has more? Or the number of Ducati dealerships...same thing. Just because Buell is owned by H-D doesn't mean that we have to EXPECT H-D to loose money trying to make a 3-4% product a 100% product. They are a for profit company and until we as Buellers start taking up enough of the market share, we as Buellers need to accept that we aren't going to be catered to by EVERY H-D dealership out there. We aren't riding H-D's we are riding Buells. | ||
| Swampy |
OK, what about stand alones? I had the one HD store(C & S) 1 hour north of me drop Buell this year and have a HD only store(Capitol) 1hour south of me. A Buell HD store 1.5 hours west(Wild Boar) and a Buell HD store 1.25 hours east(Shiawassie). I think they need a centrally located(to me) stand alone Fun Shop. Any takers? | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
after saying all that, am I happy about the way things are? No, I would love it immensely if I didn't have to order parts from someone halfway across the country because I can't trust my local shops enough to order them and keep me appraised. Along with the constant worry of whether my warranty will be covered if I am out on the road. But I do think of it the same way a few Aprilia owners I know think of things. They are in the same boat. | ||
| Careyj |
Hacienda will most likely drop Buell next. I was Chosa's "Buell guy" for a year and a half and everyone I've talked to said when I left, Buell left. | ||
| Shky_jake |
My dealer here in Las Vegas supports Buell alot in the sealing of bikes and that is it. They do not stock basic parts. I think it is sad when you have to order parts from after market companies or from someone on this site because your local stealership wont order. I can understand not stocking major parts but basic wear and tear parts should be. If they are a Buell HD shop. If not then they should be able to order parts. That is just what I think. |
