| Author | Message | ||
     T9r |
After reading this article over at Snopes.com I wondered if Buell will ever produce a green colored motorcycle. Legend: Green is an unlucky color for automobiles. Example: [Collected via e-mail, January 2007] When I was young, my father was a driving instructor, every couple of months somebody calling to book a lesson would ask if the car was green. When asked why they needed to know this the answer was always that green cars were considered unlucky. One woman who phoned had lost her boyfriend to a green car accident and in a separate incident she broke numerous bones having crashed a green car. Nobody asked if the car they would be learning in was any other colour, green was the only one considered off limits. I heard this claim again recently which reminded me, an internet search brings up a lot of info on nascar, where green is considered unlucky in the early stages. Origins: Green is a hue of many powerful and ancient associations, not all of them positive. While it is the color hope and immortality, it is also deemed an unlucky shade in both Britain and the U.S. It is said various malicious wood spirits have selected the color as their very own and will lay claim to any mortal being fool enough to parade about in any of its tints, either permanently spiriting the offender away or evilly influencing him into dangerous or foolhardy acts. In the world of the theater, actors and actresses are averse to the color, with some balking at its use on stage for either costuming or props. Away from the boards, we find the beliefs that national disaster invariably follows close on the heels of any issue of green-hued postage stamps, and that those who wear clothing of a verdant shade will soon afterwards have to don black (attend a funeral). And of all the possible colors a bride could choose for her wedding dress, green is considered one of the unluckiest. This centuries-old disquiet about the color green has in modern times expanded and affixed itself to the automobile. Just as ill luck was supposed to attach to green clothing, a similar presumption of lurking calamity has come to fasten upon green vehicles, thereby dooming those who wear or ride about in emerald glory to mischance. To those of a superstitious bent, green cars seem far more prone than those of other hue to develop mysterious ailments and proclivities: strange rattles, odd knocks, and abrupt pulls towards the road's edge (especially when there are concrete bridge abutments such vehicles might be drawn into). Chariots of this shade are said to take sudden unexpected lunges at garage walls, making the act of parking them fraught with adventure. While a great many such mishaps can easily be chalked up to driver error, to the superstitious it all too often seems such acts of inattention occur only with green cars. (For example, the one and only time my mother mistook the gas for the brake, resulting in her parking the back end of her jalopy over a retaining wall, she was at the wheel of a green Plymouth Fury II.) A woman in Salt Lake City reported that while she owned a green Honda Del Sol, it was rear-ended, experienced various odd mechanical problems, had a flat tire every four months, and was stolen. After recovering it, she unloaded the beastie upon ex-husband and said this of his experience: Funny thing, though? He was backing it out of his garage and he hit the side of the garage door. Doesn't sound like much, but my ex is a hobby rally racer. He *never* does stuff like that. Ever. His car is basically an extension of himself, so he hasn't had a dumb accident like that in years — at least since I've known him, which is about 7 years now. Now he's totally convinced the car is a bad-luck magnet. The aversion to the pastoral hue is well established in the racing world. There, the sensitivity to the color's presumed darker aspects is so strong that Mario Andretti never signs autographs with green ink, and it is said Joe Weatherly (NASCAR's 1962 and 1963 champion) once removed his socks for a race because rain had changed their color from blue to green. While it is true some drivers have won races in green automobiles, cars of that complexion are rarely to be found at racetracks because they are regarded as unlucky. The prejudice against them dates to the earliest days of motor racing, fed (if not begun) by some especially memorable racing fatalities brought about by green racing machines. On 17 September 1911, the worst auto racing accident in history occurred at Syracuse, New York, when 11 fans were killed and 10 others injured by Lee Oldfield's Knox racer, a green car that blew a tire during the race, careened into the infield, and plowed through a snow fence into a group of spectators. (The driver, thrown from the car, received minor injuries.) On 29 November 1920, Gaston Chevrolet, and Lyall Jolls, his riding mechanic, lost their lives when their green Frontenac crashed at the Beverly Hills Board Track. (Another driver, Eddie O'Donnell, also died during that race.) Scant months earlier, Chevrolet had won the Indianapolis 500 in that very car. Well-entrenched centuries-old superstition about green being an ill-favored color has likely combined with memory of those two high-profile fatal crashes to help foster the belief that green cars and auto racing should not mix. Barbara "top fueled" Mikkelson Last updated: 27 February 2007 The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/autos/cursed/green.asp Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2007 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson This material may not be reproduced without permission. Sources: Economaki, Chris. "A Grand Prix with Passing!" Speed Sport News. 23 July 2003. Hill, John. "'The Mile' Embraces U.S. Racing History, Some Superstition." The [Syracuse] Post-Standard. 3 October 1989 (p. C1). Opie, Iona and Moira Tatem. A Dictionary of Superstitions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. ISBN 0-19-282-916-5 (pp. 181-182, 325). Pickering, David. Dictionary of Superstitions. London: Cassell, 1995. ISBN 0-304-345350 (pp. 53, 121). Tays, Alan. "To Drivers, Superstitions Aren't Peanuts." Cox News Service. 12 February 2004. Waring, Philippa. A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2001. 0-253-33929-4 (pp. 110-111). | ||
| No_rice |
buell already made some green bikes. i thought some of the tubers were green. | ||
| Oz666 |
Yep, I own one. And I would buy another.   Oz "Nobody gets in to see the Wizard. Not nobody, not no how." | ||
| T9r |
Yeah, okay I recall on the S3 and only for 1997 and 1998. Guess green doesn't sell well. (Message edited by t9r on February 27, 2007) | ||
| Nutsnbolt |
Where does that leave Kawasaki, huh? Green is the centerpiece of their color palate. Some of the best dirt bikes I have EVER riden were Kawi's. Soon, I hope to dispell that myth with the Buell dirt bike. | ||
| Court |
Buell made a green motorcycle starting in 1997 with the Amazon Green S3. But . . . it was not without some careful forethought as many of you who know the story behind my Amazon Green 1995 (the bodywork was put on by Buell in 1996) S2-T. Remind me to tell you . . . By the way . . . . one of the COOLEST (and I never at the time dreamed I'd say this) factory custom paint jobs to ever leave East Troy was a green S-1. Remind me to post the pictures sometime . . . | ||
| Bikerjim99 |
99 S3, Amazon GREEN. Best bike I have ever owned. Court, post the pictures. You have been reminded  | ||
| Imonabuss |
Don't tell Carmichael, Stewart and Villopoto about this! They might have to send all the trophies back!! Or how about all the championships won by cars painted British Racing Green? Although, come to think of it several of the worst race bikes I ever rode were green... | ||
| Davegess |
Don't tell all those British Racing Green sports cars like the Jags that won LeMans back in the day. | ||
| Court |
Uh. . . .  | ||
| Court |
Hey Dave Gess . . call me in the office. I got a Daytona story you ain't gonna believe. | ||
| T9r |
I still think that my first Buell 1995 S2 rolled off the Buell assy line with its custom teal green paint job. Is there anyway to know what it would of been built with by the VIN? (I no longer have the bike)  | ||
| Rich |
That guy from Colorado had a dark green RS 1200. I'll bet I have a picture of it somewhere. | ||
| Court |
>>>Is there anyway to know what it would of been built with by the VIN? Easy. send me the VIN | ||
| Xl1200r |
Maybe this myth is true because green tends to be a much more popular color on British cars, which are of course known for their impeccable build quality and reliability. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Green was the color of my very first motor vehicle, a well used 1948 MGTC. I believe most of them were painted that color: British Racing Green. Most unreliable automobile ever produced, and one of the loveliest. Green was also a perennial favorite on Velocette motorcycles, the classic English 500cc single favored by many enthusiasts in their day, not the least of which was a certain E. Buell, as well as your present correspondent. Here is an impeccably restored example of a Venon Clubman. Finest kind.  | ||
| Court |
>>>I believe most of them were painted that color: Most the TC's were green. The 1959 TD I stole was white. It was both unlucky and unreliable, in retrospect a poor choice to outrun a high performance Kansas Highway Patrol car. . . perhaps it was SUPPOSED to be green. We may be on to something here. . . | ||
| Glitch |
Remind me to post the pictures sometime . . . Court, consider this a reminder... | ||
| P0p0k0pf |
My green 2001 Land Rover Discovery has been parked since last August with a misfire problem that I haven't been able to pin down. It won't pass emissions, so I can't get the tag renewed... But that probably isn't because it's green... | ||
| Toona |
Maybe a cool translucid Antifreeze green is in the future???????? Wouldn't that get the water cooled crowd all a-buzz | ||
| Court |
Well . . . here's one. This babe has seen 44 of the 48 contiguous United States (37 on one ride) without missing a beat. . . Green must not be all THAT bad. Of course, it's only been like in 22 states dressed in green. . . all the rest were in full carbon fiber or white. This bike is a piece of Buell history . . . first Buell on the Blue Ridge Parkway . . . Mt. Saint Helens. . . and so forth.   And to think this baby is now spewing over 110RWHP and over 100ft/# . . . I can't wait! | ||
| Court |
2nd picture is funny. . . . I was sitting in Topeka HD/Buell. A guy in Colorado calls and he and some pals are interested in seeing a Buell. Then I find out that Rich and Ann Teerlink are in Denver. I jumped on the bike at midnight, crossed the CO border about sunrise, hit Denver in time to have breakfast with the Teerlinks and then meet up with a very nice group of folks (including famed BMW rider Britta) and head up Mt. Evans where the picture was taken. One of the fellows, it turned out, was a furniture "mogul" (I think they called him) from North Carolina. I traded him the Buell for his GS on the trip down the hill. He later bought a Buell. Fun times. . . . | ||
| Naustin |
Nice.  | ||
| Ghostrider |
Maybe a cool translucid Antifreeze green is in the future???????? Great idea! I'd buy it! | ||
| Midknyte |
yer in line behind me for full translucent blue R bodywork... | ||
| Court |
Moved from another thread . . . thanks to the folks who e-mailed me and the drugged up tonsiless Mr. Johnson. . . Court Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 10:51 am: -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Thank you. There is a LOT of thought, by a VERY SMART guy (you can read about him in a number of design trade mags as well as the awards he's garnered) that goes into Buell colors. There have been a couple "memorable" colors on Buells. It's interesting that the one's that were the greatest PITA for Buell were absolutely STUNNING on motorcycles. Also of note is that paint, color, matching, fading, chipping, packaging, shipping, stocking (bodywork takes LOTS of room) and gosh darn near everything that has to do with bodywork pretty much works in concert to make a manufacturers life a nightmare. For years folks have fought this. Honda outsources (Buell used the same place for a while) much of their painted parts. Buell ain't Honda. The Elves went to the barn. . . sat on a milk crate and thought. You can't just ELIMINATE bodywork. .. nope, can't do that. But. . . we HAVE TO do something better. Think about something that's NEVER been done. Change the paradigm. Take a look at your bike. . . I'll wait here. Tell me how many painted parts you find. Steve's a lonely guy. Court Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 10:52 am: -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Along those lines. . . . the story behind the ORANGE in 1998 was huge as was what went into choosing it and making damn sure the one we chose was the right one . . . . . . remind me to tell you someday. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I hear the green superstition on the showroom floor almost weekly. One of the biggest generators of the bad luck is that the Army painted everything OD Green in WWII. So if you were delivering a message on a scooter, or doing patrol, and were shot, the myth goes that it was because it must have been the unlucky green color! I think it had to do with the war conditions and snipers, but what do I know. Reminds me of the Superstition that was in "Used Cars" where the lead character thought Red cars were bad luck | ||
| Midknyte |
I always thought it was red shirts that were unlucky | ||
| Naustin |
Yellow lighters...  | ||
| Toona |
Tell me how many painted parts you find. XB12S: Primary cover, timing cover, frame, seat rails, tail section, rider peg mounts, triples, etc... And guess what, they are ALL different colors, and from talking to a certain person at Mid Ohio last year, they are all different colors on purpose. No need to color match everything, although it bothered me enough to buy the paint and paint it all to match....., but I've been called anal retentive before....  | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Pop I'm presently running a 97 Disco, in green & it pulls well & drives superbly, bit of black smoke as the turbo spools up, gotta love diesels! If I can be any help with parts & such pm me. |
