| Author | Message | ||
     Jens |
Wandells next step: http://blog.guidoebert.com/2010/07/02/hd-planning- buell-blast-replacement.aspx Looks like I am right, that HD keep the Buellname to offercheap farEast scrap... | ||
| Da_fraemda |
Hi Jens, can be that you are right.... ..but I don't see the hint in this blog.  For me it look's like HD want to bring out a new "Blast" under their own or maybe under an italian name. My idea is, that it will be a single-cylinder Sportster or something like this. But future will tell. Gruesse, Pascal | ||
| Crusty |
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| Trojan |
This has already been superseded by some news I read in a UK Dealer News publication this week. Apparently H-D have an agreememt with ATK to sell ATK branded motorcycles through H-D dealerships from later this year. The bikes will actually be 'kits' supplied by Hyosung in Korea and assembled at ATK in the USA and will probably be version of existing Hyosung 125/250 and 650cc machines already on sale elsewhere. I would assume that they will be the 'custom' GV650 Aquila variants and not the Suzuki SV650 based sports bikes that Hyosung make under their own name and already sell in the USA.  This bike actually gets pretty good reports from the European press and is seens as one of the better 'budget' far eastern customs with its SV650 derived motor and V-Rodesque styling. H-D apparently see this as the way to encourage younger and budget conscious buyers into the showrooms. How they then convert them from this to a H-D remains to be seen  | ||
| Reepicheep |
Idiots. If they want to attract a younger demographic with Chinese imports, they ought to be starting with dirt bikes. The full range, from Razor electric dirt bikes (which are fantastic for teaching little kids to ride on) up through 250cc dirt bikes and dual sports. | ||
| Trojan |
I can't see the logic of it either, but I seldom can when H-D is concerned. I think they expect someone who wants a 250/650 Chinese cruiser will automatically want to 'upgrade' to a H-D after a while. They kind of forget the huge gulf in price between the two that probably stops that customer buying a Harley in the first place. I would have thought an 883 engined XR1200 with a price of around the same as the stock 883 would attract younger H-D buyers more than a Korean built, Suzuki engined Harley Clone? | ||
| Oldog |
har-re-daf-re-san right outa the AMF play book, how un original. How they then convert them from this to a H-D remains to be seen} wont happen, if the asian iron is more reliable, there will be issues, if its cheaper to maintain because the asian brands come to us outside hd then the dealers are going to have a tough time making a living. I looked at a hyosung, ( the sv650 sport bike version ) in the eye ball department the work was rough, the same dealer sold chinese dirt bikes too and cheap.( they looked it ) Wandell may be opening the door for the demise of HD by giving hyosung and other asian brands a prominent net work to be seen in and the needed exposure, if they are as reliable as the Japanese bikes, the big 4 may have issues to, face it in tight times rough looking but functional will be acceptable, especialy if the product is reasonalby priced ( affordable ) I hate it for the dealers that have built the botiques.. MR Wandell,, why cant america build this bike why must it come at the expense of american jobs? and a greater trade deficit. I bet if they come here as "kits" that they will be sold as american made. Mr Thermostat rides again. | ||
| Oldog |
I would have thought an 883 engined XR1200 with a price of around the same as the stock 883 would attract younger H-D buyers more than a Korean built, Suzuki engined Harley Clone? they wont do this because it makes sense or they cant build it for that price. } | ||
| Kenm123t |
the Blast single cost more to build than they could sell these bikes for May be a undercover Elf could chime in on this | ||
| Trojan |
the Blast single cost more to build than they could sell these bikes for The Blast was never imported to the UK/Europe because the price required would have put it in the same bracket as the Suzuki Bandit 650/SV650/Honda Nornet etc, which would be pretty lucidrous. I think it was sold in the USA at a loss just to get people into the brand. It would be almost impossible for any 'Western' manufacturer to build a bike for the same costs as the Chinese are now doing. Add to this the fact that most Chinese/Korean bikes are just facsimilies of existing designs with no original features (hence very low development costs). The only way to compete would be to move production plants to India/China/Thailand and churn out low quality small capacity machines just like they do  Africa is being transformed by cheap Chinese mopeds/motorcycles right now because they are affordable even to people living miles from civilisation and supply transport to whole families (literaly all at once in some cases). European manufacturers have been unable to crack this market before simply because of manufacturing costs | ||
| Jaimec |
It was highlighted in another thread that BUELL lost money on every Blast sold. HARLEY didn't, because they were overcharging Buell for the engines, and then forcing Buell to sell the bikes at a loss. When you charge Buell $2,500 for an engine, how do you expect them to sell the entire BIKE for $4,995 and still make a profit??? | ||
| Court |
Harley-Davidson screwed the Blast project up in a way that is nearly unimaginable. | ||
| Trojan |
When you charge Buell $2,500 for an engine, how do you expect them to sell the entire BIKE for $4,995 and still make a profit??? If I remember correctly, there was scheme running in the US where you got full purchase price back for your Blast if you traded it in for another Buell? Where did the money for this come from? | ||
| Gunut75 |
MR Wandell,, why cant america build this bike why must it come at the expense of american jobs? and a greater trade deficit. I totally agree! So, who runs HD? Did Willie G just give this company to an •••••• like Wandall or what? Sorry to hijack, but, who gave this idiot authority to make these decisions? Where did all the bikers go?  | ||
| No_rice |
hd is not selling atk's http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/406 2/576804.html?1278357886 | ||
| Trojan |
No_Rice, I can't see any mention of a a denial of this deal in the thread you highlight. These bikes could well be badged as H-D bikes for all we know so far. The article that I quoted does come from a respected source and is in an 'official' trade publication rather than one of the 'red tops' like MCN, so I am inclined to believe that there is more than a little truth behind it. here is the entire article as it appears in British Dealer News this month: Niche American off-road motorcycle brand ATK has commissioned Korean manufacturer Hyosung to produce component kits for a US assembled range of road bikes, which it hopes to market as entry level feeder offerings through Harley Davidson dealerships. The proposed agreement, worth £70 million over four years, will result in parts kits for an initial 33,000 motocycles. These will have 250cc and 650cc V-twin engines and will be essentially rebadged versions of the machines Hyosung already making using technology licenced from Suzuki. The bikes will be assembled at ATK's Centreville, Utah base creating 65 new jobs, reports company president Frank White, who is relying on ATK appeal to answer Harley's urgent need to attract younger customers into its dealerships. Until now ATK have specialised in limited numbers of motocross and enduro bikes, and ATVs with Rotax engines. You heard it here first folks | ||
| Nadz |
I bet that Raptor would outsell all the Sporty's combined. | ||
| Aeholton |
If I remember correctly, there was scheme running in the US where you got full purchase price back for your Blast if you traded it in for another Buell? Where did the money for this come from? I believe it was if you traded it in on a HD (NOT Buell). | ||
| Spiderman |
If I remember correctly, there was scheme running in the US where you got full purchase price back for your Blast if you traded it in for another Buell? Where did the money for this come from? I believe it was if you traded it in on a HD (NOT Buell). No it was 2002 and if you bought a blast and traded it in within a proposed time frame on any Buell V2 or Harley V2 you got the full MSRP of the blast on trade in. Not including tax or other fees just the 4995.00 Trojan, read the Cycleword article on the demise of Buell to understand the engine cost quote... | ||
| Runswithlightning |
If I remember correctly, there was scheme running in the US where you got full purchase price back for your Blast if you traded it in for another Buell? Where did the money for this come from? That can't be true because they were going to give me less than I owed when I tried to upgrade to my CityX a couple years ago. (Message edited by runswithlightning on July 06, 2010) | ||
| Strokizator |
"Whatever the decision, the message is clear: Harley-Davidson needs a new series, or “family,” of bikes to attract a new, younger customer/brand enthusiast as the company’s existing customer grows older and leaves the market" When was this article written, 1995? | ||
| No_rice |
sorry thought it was over there. June 29, 2010 To: U.S. Harley-Davidson Dealers Subject: ATK Motorcycles ATK Motorcycles in a recent press announcement and other statements has described a strategy of distributing ATK motorcycles through Harley-Davidson dealerships, including the possible use of ATK motorcycles in the Harley-Davidson® Rider’s Edge® program. This letter is to make clear that Harley-Davidson does not endorse or support this strategy. Additionally, some dealers have told us that ATK leadership has approached them and stated that Harley-Davidson management has given ATK access to the Harley-Davidson dealer network and that Harley-Davidson Financial Services (HDFS) will be providing financing for ATK motorcycles. These are not accurate statements. We continue to believe that the best Harley-Davidson customer experience is provided by focused, single-line Harley-Davidson dealers. HDFS has no plans of providing wholesale or retail financing for ATK motorcycles. Furthermore, ATK motorcycles are not approved for use in the Rider’s Edge® program. As both Keith Wandell and Matt Levatich mentioned during the Q&A sessions in many of the recent Dealer Town Hall meetings, Harley-Davidson has a motorcycle under development for use in the Rider’s Edge® program that will be a Harley-Davidson® motorcycle that Rider’s Edge® graduates and other riders seeking a smaller displacement motorcycle will want to buy. Because the decision to discontinue the Buell® product line was made in a relatively short period of time, the timing of the launch of this new motorcycle did not coincide with the discontinuation of the Buell® Blast®. More details regarding the launch timing of this new model will be communicated at a later date. Harley-Davidson dealers are the strongest and most respected dealers in the powersports industry. The customer experience delivered through the single-line dealerships that make up the majority of the Harley-Davidson distribution network sets the benchmark for the industry. Other brands would like to piggyback on the success you’ve built through your Harley-Davidson dealerships without regard to how that could dilute that customer experience. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to providing the unique Harley-Davidson experience that our customers have come to expect. Sincerely, Jeff Merten Vice President and General Manager North American Sales | ||
| Spiderman |
That can't be true because they were going to give me less than I owed when I tried to upgrade to my CityX a couple years ago. Read the post above yours... | ||
| Court |
>>>>These are not accurate statements. Hey . . that's my line. That ATK rumor floats around about every 12 months . . . I'm saying that the propensity for HD to screw up a "Quasi-Blast" bike to thrill the young is the inverse of the square of the number of cylinders. . . . oh wait . . that's 1 . . . make it a cube function. I know . . I know . . . but that's the type of logic that will appeal to them. | ||
| Doerman |
The customer experience delivered through the single-line dealerships that make up the majority of the Harley-Davidson distribution network sets the benchmark for the industry. ..by building a narrowly defined "religion" that will alienate some, dilute through attrition and wither on the wine in the years to come. Defies business logic. Sad, actually. | ||
| Buellkowski |
To the H-D motorcycle line, India is the new Italy. | ||
| Buellkowski |
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| S1wmike |
NICE Sprint | ||
| Jens |
Got for our Team some good press out of that story (-: http://moto1203.blogspot.com/2010/07/buell-totgesa gte-leben-langer-pegasus.html A quick automatic Translation: Buell: There's life in longer - Pegasus shows HD where the hammer hangs Yesterday we had reported that Harley-Davidson mentally gearing up for the reanimation of the Buell blast single cylinder class. As a beginner model... da this message fits well to: the German Pegasus race team is pushing his worst RR B on European race tracks with the Buell 1190 and deconstructs the competition - with a motorcycle, which comes from Erik Buells of new race forged and that, according to HD, were no longer should... There The results seem to prove what burden and pain are dropped by the good Erik after bitter parting from HD and the closure of the heavy iron forge. The fast flight of Pegasus is particularly impressive victories at the "Festival ITALIA" in Oschersleben and the Ducati home game "Sound of Thunder" at Assen at the slip. Fly, Erik, fly. | ||
| Hootowl |
Neat article, thanks for sharing. |
