| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
When the first Buells for the street came out, they had 1" bars, those clunky Harley-style switches, a Sportster engine, Dunlop tires and a chain drive ('cause the Sportsters still had drive chains back then). Eventually they switched to the Gates belt drive after the Sportsters did. First to go were the 1" bars, replaced by a more standard 7/8" bar. Along with the standardized bars were standardized controls. Next to go was the Gates belt, replaced by a Goodyear belt. Following that were the Dunlop tires for Pirelli. And now, finally, that lump of an engine, beloved by many here but despised by most of the sportbike community and the enthusiast press is gone... replaced by a modern, water cooled mill designed by Buell but built by Rotax. As time goes by, there is less "Harley-Davidson" and more "Erik Buell" in these bikes, despite the majority ownership of the mothership. One can only hope that if the present pattern continues, the next step is to get them OUT of the shadow of those chrome-plated pieces of garage jewelry they share showroom space with and into either their own standalone dealerships, or better yet, sold alongside other competing brands like Aprilia, KTM, Ducati, Benelli, etc. Wouldn't that be WONDERFUL?? | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
Am I wrong are could someone, if so inclined open a dealership and sell what ever brands they want? Dealerships that sell 2,3, or all of the 4 Jap brands under one roof are common. I've seen dealerships in larger cities that sold Ducati, Triumph, and Aprilia bikes together. Is there anything keeping Buell from being sold in multi-brand dealerships? I think up till now it's been the stigma of Harley and the (unwarranted) unpopularity of Buell with the sportbike community. | ||
| Mikej |
"Is there anything keeping Buell from being sold in multi-brand dealerships? " Just the contract between the dealership and HDI. It would be interesting to see a big Euro shop buy a H-D shop just to get the Buell business. | ||
| Mm128 |
Is it possible to OPEN a BUELL only dealership and say put.... Ducati in the same building???? Or... does HD have say so in that?? **I am curious as the CLOSEST Buell Dealer is about 2 hrs... I think one could do VERY well here with the Military Crowd thats present. Matt. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
Is there anything keeping Buell from being sold in multi-brand dealerships? Someone specificially asked Erik this question during his seminar at Homecoming. He said he didn't want to do that. There were several reasons but I don't remember them right now, sorry. Anyway, it's not going to happen. | ||
| Jaimec |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/17/ 291283.html?1184855768#POST933954 | ||
| Cgocifer |
Ok, Open a HD shop with a separate, but connected building for Buell. Two different entrances so the clientele don't have to mingle. Chrome and chaps for the HD crowd, Leathers, full face helmets, tank pads, knee pucks, and etc. for the Buell/sport bike enthusiasts. Same dealership made to look like two different ones. Parts department and maint. would be shared as well. | ||
| Iamike |
We have a couple of HD shops in N.E. Iowa that also carry Suzuki. I am guessing that is the reason one of them dropped Buell (where I bought mine), since it was hard for Buell to compete with the rice rockets. It was no fault of the salesman and owner. They seemed to be very Buell enthusiastic, even gave me 20% off on parts for several months. |
