During one of the Buell Mid Ohio inside pass days, I was cooling off in the garage with a Buell employee (forgot his name).
I (not thinking about it and frankly being rude and insensitive) asked him how he felt about Harley canceling the Dirtbike program.
Turns out he did some work on it, and personally was a dirt rider and was looking forward to a hare scrambles he was entered in two days later.
I asked the question, and I could see the red haze go over his eyes, and I could hear his "inside voice" screaming "Kill them. Kill them all." Outside, he remained calm and kept a decent poker face. All he said was "I'm sure it was a hard decision, and Harley did what they thought was best". The "the *&^^ &^%%$^& &&**&^% ^^%$#$%^ ^^&%^%^^^ %^^%%%%^^ing &*&&*** **&****s" that followed it was back to his inside voice.
That was, at the peak of my Buell coolaide consumption, the first moment when I started to understand just what kind of mountain Buell had been climbing to make the great bikes I have owned and loved.
If they had released a 450 dual purpose/commuter, I probably would have one now.
The XB12X is a great machine but I have always had a small hankering for my old KLR250 in the back of my head. Gotta love a bike that gets 70 MPG and can climb the stairs at your high school!
A Buell dirtbike would be nice and I'd love to see it but, in my opinion, why would they bother. Last I remember Buell is focused on what we love them best for.............. sport bikes.
I'd rather see Erik Buell Racing focus on making sport bikes, marketing them and building his new company bigger and better than ever. Cause until THAT happens then the price of his new bikes, like it was in the beginning, will be out of most folks price range.
Watching this again reminds me why I was glad to sell my XB9S. Erik pissed me off with this video. The Blast served a good purpose and didn't deserve to die like this. I put 10k miles on my 2000 P3 "Thor" and it was what drew me into the brand. The XB9S attracted me because of what the Blast did for my riding enthusiasm.
"My work here is done." says Erik at the end. With regards to HD he was close to being finished.
A Buell dirtbike would be nice and I'd love to see it but, in my opinion, why would they bother.
Erik's already said that Erik Buell Racing would like to build the dirtbike. Re-post of something I posted on the Rooster Board a while back:
Found this while reading an article linked on the Quickboard. All the discussion there is about the 1190RS, but Erik says the dirt bike is back on the drawing board!
Google translation from a Italian article covering an interview with Erik by Alan Cathcart:
quote:
EB - For the moment I think the symbol will appear on the tank Erik Buell Racing. But it is not necessarily only road bikes. Among my projects there are in fact off-road motorcycles. For some time I think of it even if one has not happened yet, but now we are near.
AC – This is new! Some other technical details?
EB – Special Rotax single cylinder engine of 450 cc. We are not looking to produce the lightest bike ever, but very light, but more reliable than competitors, which requires little maintenance and is very easy to start. It will have an aluminum frame that will also serve as the fuel tank and other attractions of the genre. At the time of Harley Davidson have spent years and many millions of dollars on this project, but then the manager decided it was not suitable for the Buell brand. We knew however that many dealers would have liked that there were also range in off-road motorcycles. The stop came in late 2006 and early 2007 and I think that that was the beginning of the end of the Buell.
yes, Buell should focus on street and track.... never mind the ULY and all that it did to bring people to the brand.
I get my kicks out in the woods sunshine, let them build the bike, you already have your track stable filled.
just please for the hate of all things big and stupid and corporate, make the thing dual sport legal. MX does nothing for the crew that knows gravity is cruel at our age and bones break all too easy.
I would have to strip the cityX and sell it off though. and change the screen name.
Imagine if you had a vision of a great entry level / intermediate capable bike, filling a great hole for a reliable and practical street single. There is incredible potential there and a gaping hole in the US market.
Now say that your vision got "death by a thousand cuts", not just in what it does, but by what Harley did to you to build it. For example, they charged you 2x what the motor cost from any other maker, and simply by that alone blew up the whole deal (which has bang for the buck as a core precept).
You still end up with a cool bike, that has some of the vision, but that is more or less 60% ruined by idiots.
I'd probably want to crush it as well... not so much because of what it is, but because of what it could have been, but wasn't.
I still think Buell missed out on an excellent marketing opportunity. The video was everywhere about crushing the Blast. The following week Erik should have rolled out the 450 in dirt, street, and sm form.
I still think Buell missed out on an excellent marketing opportunity. That should read, H-D missed out, Buell had every intention of releasing the dirt bike, until H-D said, stop.
buell LOST money on EVERY blast sold, originally it was planned to have a liquid cooled, DOHC, 4V engine with about 50hp, but HD didnt like that so they stuck it to buell and made them buy GROSSLY overpriced engines from them and forced them to sell them at LOW prices, and considering that they sold like hotcakes it cost buell ALOT of money and hurt buell for EVERY blast EVER sold
this was all VERY publicized in the cycle world article back when..
The dual sport & adventure market is still one of the strongest segments in the MC biz. Even when others were waning. I don't think Erik Buell Racing (or whatever follows) will be hurt in any way from pursuing an evolved thumper platform. Bring it on!!
All you'd have to do here is put a headlamp, tail light, and brake light, ride it over to the tag office to get your tag. Blinkers, and rear view mirrors, aren't required unless they came on the bike.
not in Washington state, they just delisted an entire field of KTM bikes that were 'technically' street legal with the baja kits, but have the wrong digit on the frame
the dreaded 8 in the VIN number. Too many environmental tree hugging whiney succofants that want to legislate the sport, but have never been on a bike themselves.
It has to be 'street legal' from the mfg and on the title saying so. F-tards.
you would think with the budgetary crisis that they would apply a licensing fee to them, an inspection fee, and let us ride; because the enforcement of it is bordering profiling, anybody with an orange bike is stopped. yes the officer in question didnt know a Buell from a KTM; it is pathetic.
