| Author | Message | ||
     Paralegalpete |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izzlN2zC8PU | ||
| Froggy |
Oh no you didn't just post that.... | ||
| Badrap |
LOL, that video had lots of BAD A$$ heritage. I bet that doesn’t last long on Youtube. | ||
| Itileman |
 | ||
| Ulynut |
LOVE the ending! | ||
| Tootal |
That is fricken beautiful!!! And I ride a Harley!    | ||
| Jnjashby |
Thanks for exposing the 'Harley culture' as so many conformist call it! Nicely played! | ||
| Prior |
This has been posted before, humorous vid, too bad they picked a great dealer as the studio to shoot it in. By all means, be pissed about what Harley and Wandell did to Buell- I am too. Just remember, the dealers were not responsible for HDs actions. Some dealers were very pro-Buell, some not so much, some didn't carry the brand at all. Ultimitely, the dealer owners and their employees need to make a living too, and unfortunately they have to go with whatever the Mothership gives them, or go out of business. The folks at Zion are world class, Alan Blackburn, their GM, hooked us up with some really nice hotel rooms in Zion National Park during my Ride Across North America- on a state holiday even when the place was packed. He didn't know me from Adam, but went way out of their way to help us out. Very stand up people.   Not a bad view, eh?  | ||
| Court |
I understand the guy who made the video is a BMW guy. Interesting . . . that HD pissed off an entire segment of the motorcycle world that had, up until they screwed 200 folks out of jobs right before Xmas in the middle of a recession, no interest in either HD or Buell. Folks don't like assholes. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Hm. Do I send it to my old GM....? Life is full of debates.....I'll have to sleep on that one  | ||
| Prior |
Court, Since the closure of Buell I've been approached by many riders of various brands and non-riders to check out the Uly and ask about Buells. For many, they didn't really know much about Buell or even know it existed until they heard about HD shuttering the place and now their interest is piqued. Maybe a blessing down the road for Erik and Co- they've got a group of enthusiasts and followers that they'd otherwise never have. Folks don't like assholes, and Wandell and his cronies certainly fit the part. See you in a week or so! Alex | ||
| Court |
>>>>Maybe a blessing down the road for Erik and Co- they've got a group of enthusiasts and followers that they'd otherwise never have. I'm betting that strategy and timing will be of elevated import over the next 24 months. One key is to avoid the temptation of wallowing in "what could have been" or to waste time celebrating the missteps of HD. I'm convinced that Buell's finest hour lies not far ahead. But then . . . . I'm a construction worker. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
The folks at Zion are world class, Alan Blackburn, their GM, hooked us up with some really nice hotel rooms in Zion National Park during my Ride Across North America- on a state holiday even when the place was packed. He didn't know me from Adam, but went way out of their way to help us out. Very stand up people. The day I first met Alan, a cold-call while doing recon for Alex's ride, I rode up to his Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership on a Honda VFR. Alan and his crew treated me like family from the moment I walked in the front door. As Alex said above, they didn't know me from Adam. That I rode up on a Japanese motorcycle mattered not a whit - the welcome I received as a rider was warm and genuine. Several weeks later, when Alex's RANE Ride contingent came thru for real, we rode up on several Buells, my Honda, a Triumph, and a Yamaha. Again, we were all treated like family. It didn't matter WHAT we were riding, only THAT we were riding. Alan even had one of his techs take Unibear's XB back to the shop to diagnose why the "check engine" light was coming on. Turned out to be a simple fix, but Zion dropped everything to get Unibear back on the road, and the shop time was done gratis. I understand the Buell passion here on BadWeB. I am member #2 of this place, right behind Blake, and I've got more miles on Buells, and more time spent with Buell owners, than most. I also understand the "FUHD" sentiment coursing thru BadWeB's veins of late. But to paint all Harley riders, or even a majority of Harley riders, as nothing more than lifestyle lemmings, is myopic at best. The key aspect of the term "Harley riders" is riders. Alex, thx for standing up for Alan Blackburn and Zion Harley-Davidson. He and his people are indeed top-drawer folks, as are most of the Harley riders I've ever met. Even back in the days when I rode a Honda... Ferris | ||
| Dynasport |
I don't think HD's new touring bikes are that outdated technology wise. They don't have the most powerful engines, but they have improved the bikes in many ways. I am certainly no HD apologist, but owning a HD and having ridden it for many happy miles I think it is only right to be honest about the situation. What I really wish is that EB had been able to operate his company with HD ownership. It was never a good fit and I am not surprised how things turned out. Most of the dealerships I spoke to about Buells had little to no interest in them. That does not make them bad people, they just did not view Buells as a good income stream and they did not have any passion or understanding of them. I have no idea what the future holds for EB. I have read several posts by insiders implying that there are plans for future motorcycles. I hope that is true and I hope the plans are not only for sport bikes, but also for bikes similar to the Uly as that is where my main interest lies. Hopefully this can happen and hopefully EB's business skills will be up to the task. I am not worried about his design and engineering skills. | ||
| Court |
>>>>I also understand the "FUHD" sentiment coursing thru BadWeB's veins of late. Actually . . Badweb is the tip of the iceberg. I've been amazed at the number of folks I've run into . . . who have, in the past, had zero interest in either Buell or Harley-Davidson. . . who are really pissed at Harley-Davidson. A good example is the BMW guy who made the silly video a week or so ago. I agree about not painting all Harley riders . . . let's be honest . . . .99% of them bought their bikes long before the current crop of clowns started screwing their secretaries, buying stuff like MV Agusta and generally exercising really shitting management. The laughing stock is not the riders but the current management struggling to try to come up with enough cash to pay the interest in the 15% interest they owe Buffet. The entertainment value in talking to HD execs on the phone however is priceless . . the entire company . . knowing full well of the plans to leave WI and to "retire" 2,200 more folks . . is operating in total fear . . in the "cover your own ass" mode, Nice to know that dealers like the folks at Zion are still out there . . . they are becoming a rare breed. | ||
| Court |
By the way . . .the tittle of this thread "Sponsored by Buell" is a bit misleading . . . neither Buell, any Buell owner or anyone ever connected with Buell had anything to do with it. I've gotten it . . . albeit 3rd hand . . that the guy is a BMW owner. Someone may have better intel. At the very least there are a ton of folks from a variety of brands enjoying it as it goes moto-viral. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
The laughing stock is not the riders... Inaccurate statement, at least if one has been following the recent spate of posts to the contrary here on BWB. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
zing... | ||
| Johnboy777 |
"""I'm convinced that Buell's finest hour lies not far ahead. """ Would that be as Erik Buell and the Thunderbolts, by chance?...  ... | ||
| Court |
>>>The laughing stock is not the riders... It may be inaccurate with respect to Badweb but I should have qualified it "within the financial community". Harley-Davidson's Board of Directors, recently named as one of the "Top 10 Worst Corporate Boards in America" has allowed some very inexperienced (neither CEO Keith Wandell or CFO John Olin have a lick of experience in motorcycles) leaders, seemingly acquired in desperation as the experienced folks cashed in their stock and bailed, to be influenced by a couple folks and make some monumentally poor management decisions. They've canned a good number of the folks but seem to prefer dispensing with middle management rather than top management. Besides top management is leaving at a rate that would make it tough to fire them . . you'd get to their office to fire them only to find they'd already left. We'll see how Keith and John do over time. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Court, I don't have the inside knowledge that you do regarding what's going on in the inner sanctum at Harley, but I imagine it ain't pretty. And really, at the end of the day, I'm not bothered by all the FUHD'ism that has infested BadWeB lately. Most of it seems rather childish, but when you get to be our age, I suppose a lot of things seem that way. That said, every now and then I take exception to something said, or, in the case of this video, that the perp decided to use Zion H-D as the whipping boy. As Alex and I have previously stated, Alan and his crew truly rock, and it's been my experience - having ridden around the country a half-dozen or so times now - that Zion is not the only Harley dealer out there with the right stuff. Take care. FB | ||
| Union_man |
As Court says "I'm convinced that Buell's finest hour lies not far ahead." Saving my $$$ with my fingers crossed  | ||
| Court |
>>>>>that the perp decided to use Zion H-D as the whipping boy. I confess I've not read this thread closely but I'd no sooner infer any inference to Zion than I would presume DEALER X (name withheld to protect) is a pornographer. Although . . . they did get in a bit of trouble over his little transgression . . but I presume Zion had no idea what was going on. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Re: Zion, it's safe to assume they had no idea that someone pirated their video commercial and over-dubbed it with inane anti-Harley commentary. | ||
| Dynasport |
The Harley Davidson culture cuts both ways. I admit that when I was looking at buying a bike seven years ago, after having been without one for many years, I wanted a Harley Davidson most of all. That was not because I had ridden one and knew I liked the way it rode or because they had some technological or mechanical advantage over other manufacturers. It was because I liked the way cruisers looked and it was my opinion that HD made the authentic cruisers and other companies made motorcycles that tried to copy the looks and sound of HDs. I didn't want the copy, I wanted the real thing. Was that advertising brainwashing? Maybe, but I still believe HD is king of the cruiser. However, I have since discovered that cruisers are not my favorite type of motorcycle. That is why I began looking for something else and discovered Buell. Back to the HD bashing thing though. Many HD riders disparage other brands of bikes relentlessly. Many riders of other brands disparage HDs relentlessly. I have come to accept that is just the way it is. I try not to participate in either. | ||
| Mnrider |
I like how he tries on the pink doo rag.  The last time a was pricing bikes the HD salesman tried to sell me a beatup old lowrider for 12k. NO! | ||
| Reepicheep |
Maybe Zion watched the video and laughed also. It was funny. The guy has a video singing the praises of the BMW GS, followed up by a video of the KLR-650 saying how it is better then the GS. They were funny, once. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Maybe Zion watched the video and laughed also. Maybe. But in case they didn't, now y'all know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Alan and his crew at Zion H-D deserve BadWeB's praise, not scorn. FB | ||
| Jphish |
Zion HD will gain more than whatever they might have lost on this. Hope they arent offended. My brothers Ultra had a serious head bearing & electrical problem @ 1000 mi into our 6000 mi 2007 western US trip. We got to St George just before the thing shook itself apart. Zion worked an "out of towner" into the schedule & stayed late the next eve to complete the job. Excellent mechanic & great folks. Hats off to ya zion!! | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Jphish, that's great to hear, and I'm not surprised by your positive review. Reminds me a lot of the superb folks at Topeka H-D. Exemplary service, kindness and courtesy abounds at both of these fine dealerships. Thx for sharing your story. FB |
