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Buell Motorcycle Forum » Old School Buell » S2 Thunderbolt » Archive through November 30, 2009 » S2 Owners list and more » Archive through January 13, 2009 « Previous Next »

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F_skinner
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 12:36 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Joe, I post that link in the for sale section a couple of days ago. I got the info on the list. Thanks, Frank
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Ratbuell
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 09:59 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

<sigh> Guess I need to pay better attention, lol.
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F_skinner
Posted on Sunday, December 28, 2008 - 10:12 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Good find, it looks to be in great shape. Well worth 5K but I doubt he will get that for it. One day these bikes will go for what they are worth. I think as Buell grows, sells more bikes and with books like the 25 year book will only help bring the value up.

Frank
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Easy_rider
Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 08:33 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Looking at the list, the numbers are all over the map. I understand Cali bikes will be different, but I'd have thought the '96 numbers would be all above 1326 or less than 516. Anyone have any insight?
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Ratbuell
Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 08:39 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I believe they reset the sequence numbers each year, and change the year digit to show ...well... to show the year. One of the '09 UlyX's at IMS was a Mar. 08 build (validation bike?) with VIN 00003.
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F_skinner
Posted on Monday, January 12, 2009 - 08:58 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I think, and I am not sure, that Ratbuell is right. There will be a separate set of numbers 95 models, 96 models, 96 S2T models, CA 95 models and CA 96 models. I think there were about 200 CA bikes made and about 500 S2Ts made.

I am not sure, but it really is not important in the long run. They all have a unique number. But yes, you are right they are all over the place. LOL....

Frank
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Sportyeric
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 11:55 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Would it be true that there were no 1996 S2s made? Other than the S2T and maybe California models. The Signature plates that read "x of 1499....." That 1499 refers to S2s excluding S2Ts and California models. But were there any regular S2s labelled as 1996? And if so, how many?
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 01:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

>>>Would it be true that there were no 1996 S2s made?

No.
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Ratbuell
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 01:22 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

There were no '95 S2T's made (mine just has all the accessories, added at a later date).

Were the '96's signature series bikes, too? Don't know why, but I thought it was just the '95s...
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F_skinner
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 01:45 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

All S2s are Signature Series bikes. The superior S2Ts and the low end S2s..

The S2s were sold as 95 and 96 models with the S2T only offered in 96. The difference between the S2 and the S2T are of course the "Touring" items (pegs, bars, bags, lowers etc and the color of the frame. The S2 frame (both years) is white and the S2T is a dark gray color.

Frank
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 01:56 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)


quote:

The S2s were sold as 95 and 96 models with the S2T only offered in 96. The difference between the S2 and the S2T are of course the "Touring" items (pegs, bars, bags, lowers etc and the color of the frame. The S2 frame (both years) is white and the S2T is a dark gray color.




That's accurate.

I still have all my "T" stuff from 1994/95 but some of it is in basic black with paint stick test numbers on the back, some in ice white pearl and some in green from when we tested a green color and I rode it to the Honda Hoot and the BMW gatherings to park it and see how it was received.

For a complete summary see the BUELL TOURING CATALOG from 1996.
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Ratbuell
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 02:06 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

For a complete summary see the BUELL TOURING CATALOG from 1996.

Ah...if I only had a copy : ) I wish I had *half* the cool old lit you have, Court!


(Message edited by ratbuell on January 13, 2009)
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F_skinner
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 02:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I wish I had the foresight Court did as well Joe. Or maybe he is just a packrat. Doesn’t matter, it is cool stuff for the Buell infected people like us.
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 02:58 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I am a packrat . . . and I am in the process of uupacking.

I have unbroken cases of CRUD . . . catalogs, literature, Snap-On Race of Champions shirts and memorabilia (the vile HD staffer told me to "get rid of this Buell crap" so I did. : ) ) the old PASSION posters with the red RS-1200, 1,000th Buell made (in the days when the "goal" for Buell was to build 300 S2's. . . and so forth.

Buell released an entire "now you can pack your jammies" catalog. . . . it was a winner!
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Easy_rider
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 03:32 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

If there's not a Homecoming this year maybe Court should just schedule a yardsale! We'd all meet, he'd "unpack", all would be good.
It's strange you should mention it - there's a Passion poster on ebay right now. I'm struggling with whether I should bid or not. Hate to bid against another Badweb member and should probably restrict expenditures to the S2 rebuild.
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Ratbuell
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 03:38 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

....wow....

Well, if any of it needs a new, responsible home, please feel free to send me a PM. I can send you my addy, or hop in the truck and pay a visit. It'd fit right in - my mother-in-law won't let me in their house (known their daughter/my wife for *seventeen years* and haven't been in that house yet). So much stuff - like original National Lampoon ads for VW, featuring "Ted Kennedy's Bug" - that there are pathways through the rooms.

Seriously.

Now, none of the Buell stuff would go there, or we'd never see it again...but if it needs a home.... : )
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Easy_rider
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 03:46 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Rat,
I thought about offering to drive my truck by too, and saw you were a lot closer. We're on the same page, though!
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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 04:44 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

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Easy_rider
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 05:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Have you got pics of blue and red with white wheels, too? It'd be nice for comparison.
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Phelan
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 05:13 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

That pic is my new iPhone wallpaper : D. Do you have any larger pics of the S2T just like that? As in white background, profile view? I need one for some photoshop experiments to figure out the finish combination I want for my EFI S2T project planning that'll probably take like 3 years LOL. In the meantime it's just mental masturbation.
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F_skinner
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 05:22 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Buell released an entire "now you can pack your jammies" catalog. . . . it was a winner!

The early Buell advertisements and catalogs before the HD influence are my favorites. I have a couple of S2T, S2 and S1 advertisements cut out of magazines that I really liked.

That stuff is gold Court. It is a good thing the "vile HD staffer" happened to have you become the curator of the Buell history that they probably would have just tossed out.

Frank
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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 06:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/ebutch/Sca n052January132009.jpg
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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 06:00 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/ebutch/Sca n051January132009.jpg
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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 06:07 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 06:08 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 07:23 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

These are scanned out of the 1996 (Pray For Pavement)catalog.S2T S2 in order.
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Ebutch
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 08:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

It,s Coming To Your Senses 1995 S2 (1995)

(Message edited by ebutch on January 13, 2009)
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 09:13 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

>>>>The early Buell advertisements and catalogs before the HD influence are my favorites.

The stuff you are referring to was done under the auspices of Tina Daniel's of Laughlin-Constable.

Tina and Steve Laughlin were huge Buell fans and Laughlin-Constable, who now have a NYC office, really gained traction as a result of their work on the George H. W. Bush campaign material. They are true enthusiasts.

Tina contacted me and eventually contracted me to travel to Buell events every weekend in different parts of the country. They provided tremendous support and really got the Buell ball rolling. Remember when I tool the first Buell ever to places like the Blue Ridge Parkway, Honda Hoot, Mt. Saint Helens, Rodeo Drive and Jackson Hole, WY there had never been a Buell there . . . it was a real source of curiosity. I went to Latus in Portland, OR four times in one year, flew to San Fran to speak ahead of Bill Gates at the Cow Palace and Buell high tech work and just buzzed all over like a frickin' fruit fly. Neat stuff. .. some of the names that got caught up would be quite familiar to most here. It was cool stuff.

Laughlin-Constable's work was beyond world class and I was called to a meeting one day in the downstairs of Juneau Avenue where I was much saddened to hear the account was being moved for "fresh ideas". This was shortly after totally kick-ass "PRAY FOR PAVEMENT" campaign . . . .

About that time I was labeled an "anecdotal alarmist" for insisting that Buell couldn't emulate HD in all marketing areas simply "because it "worked for HD". I was a squeaky wheel and wasn't going away . . . HD wanted to kill me so Erik did just what you'd expect. . . he hired me and told me to be in East Troy next week.

I kept the paperwork and can, I think, build a pretty strong case that, even though I pissed a lot of folks off, I made a major contribution to Buell. I keep letters from folks like Matt Levetich (now a VP at HD and a REALLY smart guy for my "saving the day" antics). My favorite, from a Buell customer was "the moment Court got word of this he owned the problem, keeping me updated daily, until it was completely solved". I like that.

I still think that Buell is really missing the mark and I guess I can't get it out of my blood. I've even gone so far as to script some ad campaigns I'd vigorously pursue in the coming 2 years. I think Buell has nearly unlimited potential as a result of the Elves at East Troy.

I was contacted by HD about "what do you have?" about 7 months ago. I think they were more curious than sincere. Frankly, I'd like to spend time, sort through all of it and preserve it. Everything from the neat stuff to special scribbled "thank you" notes from Erik. . . complete with grammatical corrections and display it in a visitors area at East Troy. Note: Erik's Mother was an English teacher and if you send him a note with poor spelling or grammar, he'll have your ass.

: )

Those were good times, I enjoyed every moment, have made about 4,000 dear friends, still keep in close touch with about 25 folks in East Troy and have no regrets.

Erik changed my life and I could not be prouder to know him. By now some of you have read the book and know that if all you see if Erik is motorcycles . . . you've not even scratched the surface.

Court
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Easy_rider
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 09:25 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I kept the paperwork and can, I think, build a pretty strong case that, even though I pissed a lot of folks off, I made a major contribution to Buell.
Amen
I still think that Buell is really missing the mark
Amen
and have no regrets.
and what more could any of us ask for? Many of us are better for it. Many thanks.
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Court
Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 09:38 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

>>>>I still think that Buell is really missing the mark

That probably warrants explanation . . . I do not think BUELL is missing the mark, I think Harley-Davidson marketing, who continue treating Buell like some sort of a Harley, are missing the mark.

You can't . . . I've said this so many years even I've tired of it . . . if you want to "think outside the box" . . . hire from within the box.

HD assigns Harley-Davidson marketing folks to the Buell account. They are there, kinda like Leslie, Laura and over 100 others were, for about an 18 month stint and then back to their Harley-Davidson career path.

They have no skin in the game.

Their over-riding objective, patent or not, is to not screw up while "out of the Buell limb".

Taking someone, particularly after recent job cuts and instructing them to go be "creative and innovative" for 18 months has failed to bear fruit.

If I were there my ONLY goal would be to not screw anything up (like the guy who decided to add 250 dealers in a year) and to get back the HD with no black marks in your personnel file.

No matter how I point out this simple law of human behavior it's gets interpreted as me suggesting these folks are less than competent. Nothing could be further from the truth, they are some of the best Harley-Davidson marketing folks in the world.

Buell requires, however, a different mindset and the behavioral principle of negative transfer of knowledge (where something you already know impedes learning something else . . . the very reason the USMC prefers to train snipers who have never touched a weapon) stagnates some of the things that should be done to promote Buell.

There are few better examples that the Buell TT.

I rest my case.
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