| Author | Message | ||
     Henrik |
Jim posted what could be an interesting question - just before I did my best to derail the thread he posted in. I still think the question merits consideration. >>>>>>>>>>>>> Jssport Posted on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 01:20 pm: Sorry for not falling in line with this current theme of bashing each other to find out who is more buell than though but I have a question for you. Over the last several yrs, this board has made constant attempts to distance the Buell Motor Co. from the HD mothership on each and every occasion. But now that there has been some problems in utopia, the blame seems to placed directly on MOFOCO itself. I've seen posts blasting HD techs, dealers and and the HD upper staff in Wis while no one blames the Buell staff for anything. So I'm wondering, is Buell really a Buell as has been proposed here for the last 5-6 yrs or is Buell a Harley-Davidson sport bike? >>>>>>>>>>>>> Please keep it civil Henrik | ||
| Southern Marine |
Buell is Buell, subsidiary of HD, powered by HD motor. Right? Okay, HD Bikes share same motor as Buell.  Mr. Buell's design and creation (the bike ). Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, same question. Taurus and Sable, same car, Tomayto, Tomahto, Potayto, Potahto. I would have bought the bike even if they weren't part of HD. I DON't CARE. (Message edited by southernmarine on March 21, 2006) | ||
| Tank_bueller |
I've seen posts blasting HD techs, dealers and and the HD upper staff in Wis while no one blames the Buell staff for anything. The HD techs are(in some cases) the ones "forced" to work on our "non harley" bikes. Sometimes there is a tech who gets it and respects the Buell for what it is. But then there are the times the HD tech has the Buell shoved down his throat and hates them for it. This is where the "bad tech" can easily escalate to dealer/HD bashing because the dealer doesn't want the product in their store to start with. I can see that this is changing with more and more dealers dropping/transferring the Buell line, with the sacrifice of available parts and service(not so much service). The folks at Buell do get their share of beatings here, but they also come here to defend themselves(mostly). my $0.065(inflation) | ||
| Henrik |
My personal opinion: I think a Buell is very much a Buell. Of course there is HD DNA in there, but it's still a Buell. - the basic parameters for the entire design are completely different. HD being built mostly for cruising, Buell being built for handling, agility, fun street riding. - while the motors in the Buell and the Sportster are very similar, it is now so that the Sportster motor inherits positive traits from the Buell, not the other way around. - in a business sense, Buell is an HD subsidiary. What that exactly means - I don't know. Someone with more experience in those matters, please chime in. - as for the dealer bashing and "distancing from HD". Well, I've had my share of ... well, politely put "unfortunate" experiences taking Buell matters to a mostly HD (but still a Buell dealer) shop. Ugly and unfortunate. I have no doubt that some, possibly many, Buell owners sour on Buell ownership due to dealer mismanagement of simple issues. - if by problems in Utopia Jim is refering to the Daytona races, then I wouldn't characterize what happened as problems as such. Sure, racing motorcycles not finishing a race is a problem, but as with any an all big undertakings, Things Take Time (that goes for small projects as well ). For instance, putting together a medical textbook with accompanying DVD with surgical technique videos and an online version of the book as well as the DVD content - plus monthly updates. Getting a good group of authors together, get good section editors to reign them in, getting chapters, illustrations, photos, graphs, video clips, page design, page layout, DVD design, user interface and interactivity etc. etc. It's a huge job, every step takes time, and no matter how dedicated you are to managing such a project, you always, always end up with at least one x-ray upside down in the finished book ... damn it ... What I'm trying to say is, if you've never been involved in large scale projects like it, you may not realize the time and effort that goes into it. And even when you put all you've got into it, if you keep going over your work (as for instance when you take that bike racing) you will *always* pick up on more things that need to be done/tweaked/fixed/redesigned. Anyway, that my first 0.02 in this thread. Henrik | ||
| Rocketman |
Given that the majority of components that make up a Buell are not made by Buell, yet the fact they are assembled together to make a motorcycle of Buell design, that makes a Buell. So just for example. If I were to remove a significant amount of stock 'Buell' components and replace these items with others of my choice from non Buell sources, would this make my once Buell now a Rocket? Rocket | ||
| Crusty |
If you pull the Ducati engine out of a Bimota Tesi and replace it with an SV650 copy made by Wonhunglow Motors in Korea, would the crowd who wants to Lynch you be justified in doing so? | ||
| Dragon_slayer |
Using Crusty example above, Bimota placed many different brand of engines in their bikes over the years. They are still BIMOTAs and always will be. That said H-D and Buell are joined at the hip and have shared a relationship for I think it's twenty years now. I think both parties have made out well because of it! I like my Buell both as a Buell and as a H-D. I always liked Sportsters, and Erik's thinking and style. Todays Buell would not be here if not for H-D and H-D would not have done a Buell type bike without Erik's vision. GOD BLESS BOTH ERIK AND H-D!    I am done for now! | ||
| Diablobrian |
Race bikes are like project vehicles in the respect that they will never be done as in finished. There will always be little tweaks and modifications to be done. If they ever reach a place where they are complete it is because things have stagnated. I used an analogy on another thread about a race bike being like a chain. The chain is no stronger than the weakest link. every time you strengthen a part that broke you, through continued use find the next weakest link in that chain. It is a never ending search for perfection, and this is just the beginning of the journey. As far as H-D and Buell's relationship. I think they are running on seperate business plans and visions, but owned by the same parent company. (Message edited by diablobrian on March 22, 2006) | ||
| Doughnut |
Yes. | ||
| Light_keeper |
Is a Buick with a GM corporate engine a buick or a chevy or a pontiac? Same engine with minor differences. What about the Corvette vs the XLR ? One based on the other but with bigger differences. Some Chevy owners wouldn't own a saturn because they don't see it as a GM but it is. All part of the same family. Personally I happen to like Harleys as well as the Buells. My preference is to own a Buell but that might change, who knows. Just like car dealerships some are better than others. Some do the service thing well some don't. Some are good at selling cars some are into hype. The fact is that the Buell we know and love would not be if not for Harley. Erik and those who work with him have done a great job.  | ||
| Henrik |
If they ever reach a place where they are complete it is because things have stagnated. Or as someone once said: "a book is never finished - it's abandoned" Henrik | ||
| Bomber |
it's a Buell -- there HAVE been times when Buell (not HD) has found problems, accepted responsibility for them, and fixed em (as a member of the part of industry that makes things, I can understand the problems experienced while growning from the early tuber era to the XB seires era -- growing pains -- painful, certainly, but almost required to get from A to B) the supply chain issues that HDI faces wrt Buell is another issue altogether -- the dealer network seems to be improving (at a slow pace, our well-known cheerleaders notwithstanding), but I'm convinved the dealership network remains Buell's biggest bottleneck at the end of the day, though, Buell suffers as it's their name on the bike it's a Buell | ||
| Nedwreck |
Having had to listen to idiots misconceptions about Buell has got me thinking about starting a Cafeshops site. The only logo I'd sell is THIS: http://tinyurl.com/rb9h4 I would have liked to put the Buell logo on it but that wouldn't fly for long. Bob Edit #2 Note the "F" shouldn't have been capitalized. Sorry (Message edited by nedwreck on March 22, 2006) | ||
| Brucelee |
I think there is Buell name on my bike. 'Nuff for me. | ||
| Arkane |
Well, was an AC Colbra a Ford? | ||
| Light_keeper |
It was after Ford bought the rights for it. Before that it was an AC with a Ford engine in it created by a guy named Shelby and friends. Is a Shelby GT350 / GT500 a Ford or a Shelby. Shelby is on the Body which is different than a standard Mustang. The engine is based on a ford engine. The Cobras and GT's all say powered by Ford on the engine and some on the badges on the body. Maybe we should say Buell powered by harley? I know that the castings on my Blast have the harley bar and shield on them. So what if they are part of Harley Davidson. The engine undeniably is based on a Harley engine. That goes for both the street engine and the new XX engine. Buell may not appeal to others just as the Harley does not appeal to all on this site. Buell is a Harley Davidson Company that is a fact. Just as a Jeep is a Daimler Chrysler company. Sold with by and around other Chrysler products. |
