| Author | Message | ||
     Ebear |
ERIK BUELL RACING check out the news here..... http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=3 7701 | ||
| Ebear |
OOPS!! Sorry , I hadn't noticed this is already being discussed..... | ||
| Xoptimizedrsx |
found online!!! blame it all on the geaser glides who dont pay there bills. The biker trash the Hd gave loans to. i worked in the automotive world for a long time now. i saw many guys go to shops and get turned down for a loan to show up later on a harley that cost a lot more than the jap bike they wanted. how is this. well harley financed very poor candidates. whom 90% had it reposed within a year or two. these guys caused buell to fall not buell. it was the •••••• financing department of harley. as well as biker trash that didnt pay their bills. now we suffer for there mistake of bad banking for no reason but there own. read below. the truth!! the proof!!! What's going to happen to Erik Buell? Erik_Buell.jpgWe just got off the phone with Harley spokesperson Paul James. According to him, Erik Buell is in ongoing discussions with Harley about taking on an advisory roll at The Motor Company, in which capacity he'll contribute to future product design. The rest of Buell's 180 employees won't be so lucky, they'll be out on the street as of December 18, the day the Buell plant shuts down. This news will come as a shock to them, like the rest of us, they only found out about Harley killing Buell this morning. Paul didn't have Buell sales figures to hand and we don't believe they're published by Harley, but he suggested that this year's sales were down compared to last's about the same percentage as Harley's better-than-industry-average 21.3 percent figure. Indeed, Harley isn't killing Buell because it's unprofitable, it's killing Buell because it wants to invest every last penny back into Harley to save that brand from possible failure. It's not actually sales that are Harley's biggest problem -- although they can't help -- it's the troubled finance wing. Harley's practice of giving sub-prime motorcycle loans to unsuitable candidates has bit the company in its proverbial ass, forcing Harley to borrow $1 billion in operating capitol at 15%. That's only enough money to see it through to the end of the year. So far this year, revenue at Harley is only down 17 percent, yet net income has fallen 71.4 percent. The decision was made to shutter rather than sell Buell because it's product range and distribution network are so heavily dependent on its parent company, that there's relatively little value in the company that could be transferred to a new owner. Asked how Harley intends to replace the customers that will now be lost to Buell's competitors and how Harley intends to expand its appeal to post Boomer generations, Paul is insistent that Harley's current range already has the ability to appeal to that audience, saying, "Keep in mind, in the U.S., H-D holds the number two share position overall (all size bikes) among young adults 35 and younger and we are the share leader in heavyweight motorcycles among this group, so we know our motorcycles appeal to young adults. "We will continue to develop products under the Harley-Davidson brand that appeal to riders under 35 years old. That said - and while I can't discuss the specifics of future product plans - you can expect us to focus on high-impact product introductions that attract new riders and help define the future of motorcycling. We are not ruling anything in or out...we simply will pursue it through the Harley-Davidson brand." | ||
| Gater |
" H-D holds the number two share position overall (all size bikes) among young adults 35 and younger and we are the share leader in heavyweight motorcycles among this group, so we know our motorcycles appeal to young adults. "We will continue to develop products under the Harley-Davidson brand that appeal to riders under 35 years old. That said - and while I can't discuss the specifics of future product plans - you can expect us to focus on high-impact product introductions that attract new riders and help define the future of motorcycling. We are not ruling anything in or out...we simply will pursue it through the Harley-Davidson brand." I am over 40 and I love the Buell's. So you are saying the the target market for Buell was 35 and under. The other Christmas I was at the HD shop and there were two guys there that had traded in their Road Kings for Uly's and they were over 50. This whole thing is a raw deal and just bites my @$$. | ||
| Froggy |
Yes, an unscientific poll conducted here a few months back showed the average badwebber is 35. I bought my first Buell at 20, and there are many other sub 24 Buellers here too. Shame it came to this, I was liking the Rocker.  | ||
| Moonrunrs |
Optimizedsx, Yep. The same type of greed and cavalier attitude toward credit that destroyed the banking industry and Wall St. is what has brought HD down. They loaned money to people who couldn't afford to pay it back. Now all consumers suffer. | ||
| Ronbob43 |
My wife got her first Buell[Blast] for her 59th birthday. I got my first[XB9SX] for my 66th birthday. I built my only Harley[62 Panhead 18" over wide glide suicide clutch on a Denver frame] when I was 32. Looks like we hit the HD demographic backwards. | ||
| Devil_dog |
I am still amazed this is happening now, especially after the 1125's successful season. | ||
| Rwharden |
Just got back into riding bikes again at the age of 53 in 2008. Took a couple of years of looking to finally decide on the ULY. For how I ride better than the other adventure bikes and was wholly US made. HD needs to pull their head out of their collective A$$. | ||
| Conchop |
superior engineering being choked by corporate geeks. chinese trinkets, garments, and boots sold at American made prices layoffs corporate speak = bullshit HD came out of certain death and beat the odds. Clever people built it. Times were hard at that time too. They pulled it off. They created an icon and a true American success story. And now they do this! HOW UN- AMERICAN! They lost their balls. LOSERS! |
