| Author | Message | ||
     Longdog_cymru |
Here is a Forum post from "someone" in H-D UK dated 9th. November 2010: Regarding on-going parts support- here is the situation as of today:- We currently support 5300 different Buell parts. There has been no plan implemented to reduce this number, rather the opposite where folks in USA are working hard to keep support going. Like all warehouses, on all products, and all brands, we periodically pull out the obsolete, none moving items, to make way for the new products as part of our normal cycles of inventory management. To restate our previously advised position:-We remain committed to supply parts for Buell Motorcycles for 10 years from the date of the last new motorcycle sold ( there is still new stock in the European network so this clock has not yet started). Also- as previously stated, we expect that during that period some component suppliers' contracts will reach their normal end. We will enter fresh contracts - however, its is possible that these companies may no longer be interested in having a contract with us ( due to reduced potential, lack of numbers etc) OR they may jack their price up significantly to compensate for the reduced volume. In this case, we are faced with two options- accept their revised price ( which gives our customers the parts they need but at a much higher price- not a great solution), or have to source another (untested) supplier who can meet our quality and durability standards (not a great solution either as they will take time to be set up- which means that customers may be faced with extended shipping times). As all our contracts with component suppliers are for a fixed term to allow them to renegotiate price/delivery options, this is a reality that we are facing. Finally- Maz, regarding your question about can UK Beg buy them.... obsolete stock may still have a value on our books... it may not be totally depreciated depending on when we bought the stock. In any event, there are taxes, duties and handling fees that we have to pay even if the part has no value (its not our warehouse and its governed by Belgian tax laws). The warehouse is supported by a similar one in the US and between them, they supply 1100 dealers globally. There is nothing to stop any group like UKBeg deciding what they wanted to buy, getting a dealer to place the order and securing that global stock for UK owners. As some forum members have already posted, other suppliers will step forward (AJS, Vincent, Rudge, Matchless, Velocette, Pre Bloor Triumph, BSA etc etc) so even after we stop officially supporting Buell with parts, I know others will be there ( I have an XB12XT). As we go forward over the next 10 years, I dont want to continue to re-state the policy or the challenges that we are dealing with, so Admin, can you link any further questions comments to this post. In a further post, he stated this: Heres the situation for Europe. The 380 UK/european dealers were offered all Buell accessories and clothing at a massive discount in late November last year. The demand was so high that the entire stock was sold in 3 days (think feeding frienzy). UK dealers still have some of that stock, plus they have access to a stock locator system which has all US dealers and 15 UK dealers actual stock (updated daily) shown on it. In the US, they decided to do the same as the feeling was that once the bikes were sold, the demand for accessories and clothing would start to reduce- so striking whilst the iron was hot, all the accessories and clothing were sold. The above is TOTALLY seperate to parts (which I define as being those parts fitted on the production line- so that includes all the wearing out parts and parts that you might damage in an accident) for which we have the forementioned 10 year support policy. Finally, I mentioned that there are some brand new, unregistered bikes still in European dealer stock- if anyone is still looking for one, PM me and if I can help make someone happy, I will do what I can. This sounds like pretty good news for UK and European Buell enthusiasts! | ||
| Froggy |
That pretty much mirrors how it is done here in the US too. A few obsoleted parts have come back from the grave, but some of them (like 1125R exhaust clamps) look like they got cheapened. HD has been doing a lot of behind the scenes stuff with parts and distribution, and it is affected the HD bikes just as much as our Buells. | ||
| Hangetsu |
I don't know anything about these people. They seem to be a salvage operation, but they could be a useful source for those unusual, hard-to-find parts. http://www.buellsterparts.com/main.sc | ||
| Froggy |
They are great if you want used parts off wrecked bikes at higher than new prices. | ||
| Hangetsu |
I dunno - I was looking through their available parts list and the prices didn't seem that high to me. I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but they seemed reasonable. | ||
| 88b |
I'd say that post was written by Steve Loxham the DP at Black Bear in Newmarket UK. Good people I'm entrusting them to do the accident damage to my Road Glide, they keep a lot of Buell stuff in stock and at least five staff members own Buell's. Another thing tham may well help UK owners Alan Brownbridge the p&a man at HD UK owns an 2010 Uly | ||
| Uly_man |
I would suggest, if you can, that people do as I have and buy-in a few needed parts as stock. I have just bought a clutch cable, belt and steering arm bearings for the future. If your going to run the bike any you will need them soon enough. If you have the parts you can wait out any back orders and keep on the road. Makes sense to me. Black Bear UK are great and, unlike some, are still enthusiastic about supporting Buells. Nobby is one of the parts Guys and runs a 48,000 mile XB12X himself. Yes parts may cost a bit more and be harder to get hold of but that is the case with some bikes now that are still in production. Aprilia for one. People still run bikes from 50 years ago and the Buells will as well even if it takes a little effort. |
