| Author | Message | ||
     46champ |
Hear me out: 1. The current dealer system doesn't work that is a given. 2. The dealers are full of stock of unsold bikes. 3. There would be law suits galore if HDI broke the dealer agreements? not sure about tis one 4. Close down the company Buell it is still a separate division. 5. Fire sale all the existing inventory. 6. After the existing inventory is gone the dealers sign a new service center agreement if they want to stay in the Buell business. 7. Most of the marginal dealers opt not to sign up for the service agreement, they never wanted to service them in the first place. 8. Take big Tax wright off because of business shut down. 9. Get rid of non union employees, not that there worse than the union employees just easier to get rid of. 10. Wait for pipe line to completely empty out plus factory warranty to run out on most of the previously sold bikes. 11. Reanalyze sport bike market at future date decide that if things were done slightly different more product would be sold. 12. Start new line of EB bikes using existing tooling from the previous BMC. 13. Only those dealers who signed up for the Service agreement would be eligible to be Grandfathered into the new EB dealer ships. 14. Fill out the rest of the dealerships with stand alone or other suitable multiline dealerships. | ||
| Reepicheep |
1) Staff senior executives with "money guys" that can't pass high payback, high risk, business models involving trendy high leverage subprime loans. 2) Say "it'll never happen". 3) When it does happen, say "it won't last". 4) When it does last, run in circles with your hair on fire. Somewhere in the bowels of Harley Davidson, a motorcycle is trying to get out. God help them. | ||
| Slaughter |
Bet that your customer base will NEVER DIE... that rigor mortis will be come fashionable... followed by the smell of decay. | ||
| Teddagreek |
I think they consulted the all mighty magic 8 ball  | ||
| Teddagreek |
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| Court |
>>>Somewhere in the bowels of Harley Davidson, a motorcycle is trying to get out. God help them. To quote a famous phrase . . . "watch this". For a keen sense of how decisions are made take a look at the ages of their board members. Barry Allen 60 Richard Beattie 69 James Norling 67 George Conrades 71 Don James 58 Sara Levinson 58 George Miles Jr. 67 Judson Green 56 $649,231 Jochen Zeitz 46 N. Linebarger 46 $695,000 Martha Brooks 49 $731,250 Tell me how you think these folks view an innovative product that doesn't go vroom-vroom and isn't covered with chrome? How does a person who's claim to fame is being the uncompensated leader of "Club Mom" view this? | ||
| Odie |
9. Get rid of non union employees, not that there worse than the union employees just easier to get rid of.  | ||
| M2nc |
The good news is that this board is not the worst ever. I believe Harley during the AMF days was worse. Though with present decisions it appears this board is not one to be one upped. I pity Harley employees. We all know what happens when a bunch of buffoons are running a company. | ||
| Socalbueller |
If they do bring it back it will be half assed like the VR1000 program and the way they handled Buell in the past. In another 10 or 15 years they will probably try to bring Erik back as a Carrol Shelby of HD. I hope he tells them to suck it. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
One thing is for certain, there are a TON of people who have never owned a Buell who now do. If they don't currently, they will in the secondary market. I don't know if that was the plan, but that is what is happening. I'm hoping HDI created a whole new group of rabid fans for Erik's new company. | ||
| The_hammer |
The title of this thread defies logic. | ||
| Xbrad9r |
The hammer...i had to scroll back up and read it and then truly laughed out loud...that was fantastic, thanks. | ||
| Metalstorm |
I can't get past this theory about HD  | ||
| Transmaniacon_mc |
If Erik Buell stays to work for H-D as a designer then H-D will bring a sport adventure bike out under the H-D Brand name. Make it the next generation of XB1203 bringing changes and improvements to what Buell already built under the full H-D Brand name so all H-D dealers sell and service them because they are H-D motorcycles. Let Erik engineer a brand new improved model then release it as a Erik Buell designed H-D motorcycle with H-D brand logo. Sells the H-D brand name which is what H-D dealerships want to sell and the H-D Corp. wants to work only the H-D brand name with a Erik Buell design of bike. If Erik leaves H-D or H-D does not want him to work for them then all bets are off. | ||
| The_hammer |
Now that's funny right there. | ||
| 46champ |
I guess I should have titled it as Lets theorize that Harley THINKS they know what they are doing. | ||
| Gohot |
Heres a frikin thought....harley's a p o s at this point, Erick got shafted, they dont give a crap about us, wouldnt it be cool to see Erick somehow get his hands on MV Agusta and run with that. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
maybe just maybe they also fundamentally change motorcycle production, distribution and model year release. I NEVER understood why you would unveil the new model year bikes in August, ship them ready for September when most of the chrome jockies are putting their bikes away for the winter. These weekend warriors here dont ride when it gets below 45, wet and or both at the same time. Locally I can count to twenty the riders that do, 2 of them are on Harleys. Currently the glut of bikes are shipped in the dead of winter. That stock stays on the floor Sept-February until the sales season kicks back in. And just when demand is peaking and at its height (June) the motorcompany quits shipping bikes the delivery allocation shipping phase is out of sync with the riding buying phase by at least 6 months! Ok so I am new to the business of bikes (just 6 years of it) but I have been riding since I was five. I NEVER understood why the new bikes came out in September! is it a budgeting fiscal year thing ? I know that autos are the same way, very few spring releases of new models (the original Mustang being an exception) |
