Buell Gone

[Colonel Nikolai]

True dat jakes10mm. Reminds me a couple years ago I asked one of the sales guys at my local Triumph/Ducati dealer about selling Buells. He said beyond selling the occasional trade-in, "I wish I could sell them new. If they'd let us I'd make it happen here, I love those bikes and people here would buy them and they wouldn't look out of place among the Triumphs and Ducs." So there's one data point that supports our argument, at least.

[Sin_Tiger]

+1 HD never really got what Eric was about IMHO, you're right, they would have sold better against the EU background.

Still on the upside I guess anyone selling a Buell will be putting their price up.

[Colonel Nikolai]

Here's a link to a photo of the last Buell to roll off the line:

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2009/11/13/m ... -the-line/ (http://blog.motorcycle.com/2009/11/13/motorcycle-news/last-buell-motorcycle-rolls-off-the-line/)

*removes hat* *look down at the ground* *sob*

[cascadetiger]

This is especially sad as we live about 35 miles from the Buell plant in East Troy, WI.  We had a similar photo here when GM closed the local plant making Tahoes and Suburbans last December.  

The local county government is trying to find a way to keep Buell going by buying Buell from Hardley.  Maybe they should all go to Washington DC and get a bail out!!

[Colonel Nikolai]

Idunno, why doesn't Polaris buy buell? Say what you will about Victory Motorcycles, at least they're in the second half of the 20th century with technology: victory motors are DOHC, not pushrod like Hardley motors. Then buells at least wouldn't have to have big shields over the pushrod housings to hide them like they do now.

[jphish]

I love Tigers, but also own a 08 UlyX, and plan to keep it until parts are gone. (which maybe soon - ECMs currently backordered til Feb)  Too bad HD can't see their pirate convention demographic slipping into senility. I'm 61, but the Uly is an all age machine. Who is going to be buying HDs 10 years from now? Buell had ideas and a future - I bet the Uly was scheduled for an 1125 Rotax by 2012. The pisser is they won't sell them like MV Agusta - apparently better to take an IRS write off than sell Buell and invite more competition. The pox on 'em. There are no more American made Motorcycles that I would even consider. Sad. Particularly for the 200 folks that lost their job in ETroy. j

[Colonel Nikolai]

I kinda think the whole line was headed for Rotaxification. And while Erik Buell was touting on and on about the 72 degree helicon engine in the 1125r as being "designed by buell, built by rotax", the engine was built by rotax and designed by rotax, originally for Aprillia.

The only reason I would ever set foot in a Hardley dealership was to look at a Buell. Now I have no purpose for ever doing that again. This is not a positive development for HD. Furthermore, to think that Buell ran on only 200 people, too! It actually makes me think that we're living in a world where we might not even have Harley soon: their situation might be a lot more dire than it seems.

[JetdocX]

FYI,Eric is scheduled to be on Side Stand Up tonight sometime between 7-9 Eastern.

[John Stenhouse]

What's that, a chat show?

[Colonel Nikolai]

I heard somewhere that Erik Buell has a non-compete with HD until 2011. So he just might be appearing so that he can get the public ready for Buell's comeback next year. Here's hopin'.