| Author | Message | ||
     Andychang |
oh wow...we posted at the same time. | ||
| Krjoseph |
HD got a new CEO recently. Drastic moves don't surprise me when the executive staff changes. Kind of a way of marking their territory. I'm wondering about MV Agusta too, that was the old CEO acquisition. I'm bummed, such a sad day. I bet HD tried to sell it, but like GM cutting Saturn loose, no one wanted it. My garage has a Buell and 2 Saturns. How sad is that? | ||
| Garlic_sauce |
I'm not surprised, once they closed the East Troy plant I knew something was up. Maybe a new American company will come out, something different than HD's twin engines would be cool. | ||
| Krjoseph |
I answered my own question, MV Agusta is toast too. http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2009/10/15/ | ||
| Roysbuell |
I believe that HD had Buell drop the Blast so they could drop Buell and still have the Blast in the Riders Edge program they so desperately need to bring in new riders. Cowards! | ||
| Gcha |
We now own a true collectors' item. May the Forum be with you!! | ||
| Awf_hand |
I hear you KRJoe. I've got a Buell, a Pontiac, and a Geo. ______________________ Firing order: 1 | ||
| Tortoise |
This is sad. The bikes were really getting good. I don't see HD doing better anytime soon. Young people don't want to ride cruisers and don't have the money for them anyways. I rarely see anyone under 45 on a Harley. My prediction is that HD will sell less and less bikes every year. Gasoline prices will continue to go up and nobody will want to ride big displacement bikes that weigh 1/3 ton. They will continue to ignore the market for small displacement bikes because they never really change or innovate. They cubed the company that was continuously improving and had some real potential. Now I've been cubed twice. F*** you HD | ||
| Crackhead |
on a positive note. since the Blast is no longer a Buell product and still produced for RE, we should be able to get our parts long after the XBs | ||
| Garlic_sauce |
I agree Tortoise, Harley doesn't really have anything exciting going for them now. I never liked Harleys to begin with, I liked the way Buells looked and that they were different, but as I learned more about bikes I like japanese motorcycles more and more. Without Buell, Harley has nothing to compete with the big four now, I see more people riding japanese cruisers now more than ever, you get the same performance (some say better, I don't know myself) for a much better price. | ||
| Krjoseph |
The short sighted folks on Wall Street seem to approve, HOG stock is up $1.61 a share, nearly 6.13 percent just today. | ||
| Garlic_sauce |
I think a XB style bike with a four cylinder 500, 600, 750cc engine would be bad ass. I'd like to see a new American naked super bike company come out with something like that. | ||
| Crackhead |
??? Buell was making money, i can see dumping MV, but Buell was adding to the black ink. | ||
| Britchri10 |
It looks like it's time to find the $$$ for an Aprilia Shiver or Tuono. I've seen all the Brit' bike companies go under. I've seen Triumph resurrected and trading on it's unique heritage with products that, although they resemble the original models, have more in common with Japanese products. Who knows? Perhaps HD will spawn a rake of V-Twin or In-line 4 cylinder sportsbikes under a generic Buell name. I was looking forward to upgrading to an XB in the next year or so. Looks like I will have to choose between Italian and Japanese now. I am keeping the Blast. My son is 10 years old and will inherit it when he is old enough. In the interim I'm gonna "ride it like I stole it" and continue to enjoy the experience. Chris C | ||
| Andychang |
for sale: one helium balloon. pickup in colorado only. will throw in pesky 6 year old for free. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/15/colorado.boy.ball oon/index.html?iref=mpstoryview | ||
| Toniportray |
Well, I guess I can start calling my Blast a "Vintage" motorcycle. No more HD stock for me. Buell was my single placed faith in HD. | ||
| Rainman |
on a positive note. since the Blast is no longer a Buell product and still produced for RE, we should be able to get our parts long after the XBs... Could be. But they've cancelled a lot of my Riders Edge courses that I was scheduled to teach. My guess is that they'll pull the plug on RE as well -- it's company supported -- and kill of the P3. | ||
| Reuel |
It's like Commodore. They made computers that were decades ahead. Some idiot was the CEO, and he managed to kill the company. I saw the look on Erik's face, and I knew what happened. Well, that really sucks. Will another company step in and fund Erik's need for speed? I certainly hope so... | ||
| Blastronomer |
I'll never ride a Harley. Never. | ||
| Crackhead |
Any one else notice the signed red Blast tank cover behind Erik? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
"Crackhead" is the master of observation (who'd of thought)-How Ironic (in many ways)! | ||
| Crackhead |
i wounder if there was a promise of funding for a new single in exchange for crushing (removing from Buell) the Blast? | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Five stages of grief: Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance. You'll watch them all unfold on the board. First: I feel a little guilty about feeling the way I did when they killed the Blast. (but only a little) Second: Do I now go over to the 'twin' side and tell them what a bunch of crybabies they are (I think not). But there will be people who do. Third: Did anybody else expect (watch the video) the camera to slightly pan back and we see someone with an automatic rifle pointed at Erik's head? Fourth: Another casualty of the "economic downturn". You can blame Harley, but without Harley it wouldnt have become the BMC as it was and there is very little chance there would have been a Blast and probably just as unlikely there would have been affordable Buells. And before you go out and throw your money to the Japanese motorcycle companies, remember this: Erik Buell pursued "The American Dream" and got it. "Buell" as we know it 'ended' on a high note. The name Erik Buell will go down as making an indelible mark on motorcycling history. He Did Not Fail. The "Big Four" would have killed it if they'd believed it would really happen. They started too late. Continue to support them and we will see HD, Triumph, Ducati, Victory, etc. fail. What happens now remains to be seen. Both Harley Davidson and Buell have seen the end and both have survived. These are hard times. | ||
| Tortoise |
I didn't want this. I might have said it in the heat of the moment a few months ago but now that its happening it really sucks. They made great bikes at reasonable prices (compared to euro bikes). This is a sad day in American history. Gearhead Erik makes a good point about buying Japanese. I feel sick to my stomach now 'cause I threatened to go Japanese. The Asian bikes aren't very inspiring and the Euro bikes are too expensive. WTF am I supposed to buy now? (Message edited by tortoise on October 15, 2009) | ||
| Rainman |
One guy on the twin side said it all: Now I know how the Blastards felt. This, however, is much worse. Even mad as I was about the crushing, I knew the only other bikes I wanted were Buell. Now I guess it'll be a Speed Triple in the future. Unless, of course, there's a good used XB Ss available when I'm buying | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
For those perhaps not visiting other parts of the board: if you'd like to send a card of well wishes here's the address. "It would be absolutely wonderful if folks would send TWO cards." "One to Erik." "One to THE ELVES" Buell Motorcycle Company 2799 Buell Drive East Troy, WI 53120 An email or phone call is nice, but nothing says it like taking the time out and sending a card or letter. PS Yeah, I do think they get the idea how we Blastards felt. Its not so funny anymore..... | ||
| Blastronomer |
Have you noticed that the HD website's "contact us" page says "Sorry, we're unable to receive e-mail at this time." I wonder. I'll be writing a letter to mail immediately and I'll post it here when it's done. I'd like HD to know that they not only lost a customer, but they've created an enemy. I feel so let down right now that I am vowing to never ever own an HD. I've been loving my P3 and was already planning on moving up to an Xb9 next year. My wife is even fully on board. She wants the P3 so that she can join in the fun and the only bike that I even considered buying was another Buell. Now I don't know to do. Of course, I'll continue blastin' around and loving every minute of it but where will I go from here? I don't want an HD cruiser but I want to ride an American bike. Buells are the bikes that really spoke to me; the ones that really appealed to my sense of individuality; the bikes that really got me excited. And let's face it, isn't that what motorcycles are about? I thought the cubing that started a month after I bought my P3 was bad but this is terrible. So, I need advice from the Badwebbers. Would I be fool to go out and buy an Xb9 now? I almost feel like I want one just to have a piece of what once was. Like owning a vintage bike. But realistically, how reliable is HD's commitment to service and honor warranties on existing Buells? Any thoughts? | ||
| Rainman |
If you've got the money, an XB-9 is a good bike. I don't have the cash, so I'm waiting until the kids are out of college. Maybe Erik will be building idea bikes with the triology of tech -- the basis for our Blast -- through BRP (Can Am) or on his own again. I'll be in the market for whatever he designs. In the meantime, it's full speed ahead on all cylinder! | ||
| Black51 |
Sad to hear about the Buell brand. I wonder how badly it will affect resale prices? I was getting ready to sell one of mine. Sad about Saturn too. And let's not forget that Hummer was bought by a Chinese company. Chinese! I sincerely hope that the US Govt. doesn't start buying Chinese-made Hummers for our military. Seems like most of our country is now owned by foreign companies and our once great manufacturing sector, that got us victoriously through both World Wars and several "conflicts", is but a shadow of its former mighty self. Where are we headed? Our agrarian society moved to a manufacturing society and is now a service-oriented society since the majority of jobs are now in service-related fields. Most manufacturing is done overseas where cheaper does not equal better. In fact, China has over 1,000 scooter manufacturers. And we (the US) is now down to a single American-made motorcycle brand (aside from Canadian-owned Victory). Kids today are told to go to college, but not all kids belong there (I'm a college professor by the way)! Kids need to learn trades. My father was a machinist with his journeyman papers. Now a kid at the local vocational school presses a few buttons on the CNC machine, but can't appreciate doing the work by hand. It's a dying art, same as Jay Leno said. RIP American manufacturing. | ||
| Ylwblast03 |
This is terrible. Erik's looks so sad during the video. I hope to see him break from HD and make some bikes we can all enjoy very soon. HD has lost my confidence for good. |
