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Mikej
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 02:37 pm: | 
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There may be exceptions to every example.
I've been to Missoula, rode through town on the Buell once too, never stopped at the local dealership, never knew there was even one there.
Do they sell Buells too, or just Ducati alongside the Harleys?
Since you're in Arizona (according to your profile) how well do you think Ducatis would sell in Arizona Harley dealerships? |
Mikej
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 02:43 pm: |
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Is this the dealership?
http://www.mtharley.com/
Harley/Buell/Ducati/Peugeot.
Wonder how their sales and support are with them being in a college/mining/logging town. I'll have to stop in next time I pass through the area. |
Grndskpr
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 03:00 pm: |
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I can't think of an auto takeover that's worked nearly as well as the originators hoped, nor as seemlessly as Glitch's bigwigs have described . . .
How about GM, seems to have worked out ok, maybe FIAT and Ferarri, they do work, especially if its invisable
You'll probably be able to buy a new Buell at a Duc shop before you'll see a new XB-T.
What about Modesto mike????If i recall they sell both, please correct me if i am wrong
There's no color choice for heaven's sake! Red, Yellow. or red & white or yellow & white.
What about grey with the red wheels(love that one) or the silver, plus i dont recall Buell have a large selection of color choice, what its 4??
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Bykergeek
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 03:02 pm: |
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Can anyone picture a ducati with chromed straight pipes and conchos and fringe on the leather saddle? How about a sissy bar on a 996?
edited by bykergeek on November 03, 2003 |
Mikej
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 03:07 pm: |
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Re-reading what I wrote, since you apparently can buy a new Buell as a shop that also sells Ducs and since an XB-T is not available then the statement is true. But is there any bike shop that was originally a Ducati shop that later became a Buell shop also? Last time I went through Modesto they didn't have Buells, a long time ago though.
I'll go away now.
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Bomber
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 03:51 pm: |
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Grounder .. . which GM takeover are you refering to . . . ..
Fiat and Ferrari, yep, workin good . .. . another exception that proves the rule, I suppose (I still can't imagine the "techs" at Lake SHore H-D Buell setting valves on a duck . . .. frightening to consider . . . . . |
Blublak
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 04:25 pm: |
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Hmmmm.. Blaylock cycles in Rockville MD.. I think they're H-D, Buell (the original Buell dealer is their claim), Ducati, Triumph, Yamaha and BMW... So yes, there is quite a lot of brand mixing available. I think they take the outlook that each type of bike appeals to a separate segment of the purchasing public.. A BMW rider may not wish to have a Speed Triple (and so on) .. But they seem to stay busy all the time, so something works right ... I'd say that if Harley bought Ducati, they could make it work.. If they let Ducati run itself.. (Like they need to let Buell do) and only supply support..
Does anyone remember way back when, the then retired president of Toyota was touring North America, doing lectures on business at various colleges. When he got to Michigan, there were about three rows of 'industry' people sitting there right in front (students were moved to the back of course to make room for the more important visitors)..
During his lecture he accidentally gave away the secret to his companies success for all those years.
'A senior management persons job is not to control, dictate or decide the direction the individual product is to go in, or even it's final form. At 65 years of age, I would hardly know what a 25 year old wants in an automobile. I hire 25 year olds for that. My job as president of the company was to make sure that each 25 year old had exactly what he needed, when he needed it to produce a car that appealed to his select market segment. If anyone is stupid enough to try and foist his tastes on a market he does not reflect, he is doomed to failure.'
Most of the 60+ year olds in the first few rows were aghast.. How could he not dictate his personal preferences for each and every vehicle? How could he not insist that a 'sports car' have a soft suspension, four cylinder fuel efficient motor, automatic overdrive transmissions, Arctic air conditioning, Sahara heating, 1 finger steering, seating for 6 adults, trunk space for 6 suitcases (or three bodies, depending on intended use), etc., etc., etc..
Perhaps, this is what is happening now. Buell riders are, by the very mindset, a slightly 'off' group as far as most traditional thinkers go.. We like to lean it over, we like to be loud and brash and different. We don't want to be cookie cutter.. We don't make sense to some of those that are making decisions about what we ride, hell look at some of those that 'sell' what we ride.. Most of them are clueless when it comes to Buell. They 'think' it's a sportster without all the 'cool bags, chrome and leather'. Ducati, put under the same type of controls may flounder and die. Buell, may flounder and die, despite making some of the most awesome canyon carvers to ever hit the street.. At the same time, think about what could happen if Ducati and Buell could cross-pollinate each others ideas freely.. A screaming monster V-Twin 120+rWhp whomp ass terror that has the surgical precision of a laser in the twistiest most terror inspiring (to certain ilk’s of riders) of road conditions.. OH MY GOD!! You want one already, don't you?
Will Harley-Davidson buy Ducati.. I don't think so, it probably doesn't fit into the scheme of things as envisioned by some bean counter that had never ridden a motorcycle in it's life.. And never will, but gets to make all kinds of decisions that effect what you and I can ride for decades to come. The spirit of the original hooligans that took control at H-D and turned it back into a world power is fading away. Replaced by a psuedo rebel marketing strategy. Erik Buell is probably spending a lot of his time trying to work through that dull and slowly decaying super-infra-structure and may even be getting whittled down by it himself.
I love my Buell, I love my Harley.. They are not and should not attempt to be the same thing. If Ducati.. Or any other manufacture should be added to the mix, there has to be a conscious effort to keep those identities separate and as individual as possible.
Man, did I just write all that? Ok, I'm done preaching..
Later,
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Bomber
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 04:36 pm: |
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blublk . . . there should be, if there was justice in the world, two dozen business schools calling you to offer a visiting lecturer gig . . . well put |
Ray_maines
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 04:53 pm: |
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Bomber just said a lot of good stuff. Let me add my two cents.
HDI is never-ever going to buy Ducati but I can see how it might work if they did.
Buell and Ducati are premium brand sport bikes that don't overlap one another the way, say, Yamaha and Suzuki seem to. I envision such a merger allowing HD to remove Buell from the traditional Harley dealership and marketing it along side Ducati at a new and fancy Ducati / Buell Sport Bike Emporium. If nothing else, Ducati aficionados seem to be as interested in carbon fiber, billet aluminum, and branded clothing as Harley owners are in chrome, billet aluminum, and branded clothing.
This would go a long ways toward legitimizing the Buell as a sport bike and expose it to potential customers who feel uncomfortable, unwanted and out of place at the traditional HD dealership.
Court: Is Ducati still owned by the investment group from Texas that bought them a few years back? If so, I don't see how or why the next owners would owe any more Italian taxes than the current owners. |
Mbsween
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 04:57 pm: |
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Hell,
my two favorite brands in the same shop. Imagine that.
I would think the shop would work, from a customer perspective, as the same sorts of people buy these bikes. Wasn't the Lightning's primary competition the Monster?
Ducati/Buell evoke the same passion in people. Its pretty rare to see a non-commital owner of either. You might get this from either owner:
....sure my [Buell|Ducati] is slower (staying with the aircooled models of course) than a [GSXR|CBR|R1|ZX] and it costs more and it breaks more and there's fewer dealers. You can have it when you pry my cold dead fingers off the throttle....
Both innovate in their respective spaces and evolve the product instead of DXing it (well maybe Buell did something like that).
Not that it would work from a cultural/financial perspective, but I would love walking in to that showroom
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Dynarider
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 05:18 pm: |
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Imagine the guys unable or unwilling to do a proper TPS reset doing a Desmo valve adjustment
Scary thought isnt it? |
Dynarider
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 05:19 pm: |
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We have a shop here that sells HD's & BMW's.
And I think the Buell/Ducati deal would be a good mix. |
Viros
| | Posted on Monday, November 03, 2003 - 05:27 pm: |
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The "worlds largest" HD dealership in Las Vegas sells HD's, Buells, & Ducati's. They had almost as many duc's as they did buells last time I was there. |
Sgtbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 04:23 am: |
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Daves
I am thinking next year after my next TDY. I was supposed to go TDY last June 03', now it is looking like June 04'.
Nice looking bike by the way. Low mileage.
How hard of a hit is the insurance on a Ducati. I only pay about $600.00 a year for my 02' M2. |
Gearloose
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 06:33 am: |
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Sgthuell,I payed $260 a year on the 998 that Dave has now.
I am 52 and clean record.
Gearloose |
Daves
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 09:31 am: |
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Damn, I didn't know you were THAT old!
Ride to the edge!
Dave
PS, I also think that Buell/Ducati would work. I know I could make it happen! |
Crusty
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 09:50 am: |
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Dave, if you can sell as many Buells as you do in Iowa, where there aren't many twisty roads, then you would have no trouble selling ice makers in Prudhoe Bay in January. Yeah, you could make a Buell/Duck shop work.
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Kevyn
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 10:00 am: |
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Here's hoping ya'll noted the sarcasm in my previous post about the 996/998 purchase question.
Actually, the vast majority of folks that I have the pleasure of talking with who ride Duc's take them to the limits whenever possible. Most of them are big on track days and have a 'track skin' for the bike so as not to damage the original body works. Most have done requisite performance modifications---just like us Buellers!
I'm sure there are some posers out there with Duc's, but for the most part, it's the love for the ride that drives them into the hills and to the tracks...
...and as far as purchasing a 996 or 998, if you can, do it without hesitation. You will not regret it...
In the words of many before, "why tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death" |
Glitch
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 10:07 am: |
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a slightly 'off' group
And proud of it too!
Cycle World sells, Buell, Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki, motorcycles, ATVs, scooters, and utility vehicles. So I still think it would grow the business to buy Ducati... |
Kevyn
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 10:19 am: |
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If there was any doubt...
http://speedzilla.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=19594 |
Blublak
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 10:34 pm: |
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Bomber.. If they would listen, even half of 'em.. I'd do the tour in a heartbeat. I too would love to see the 'merging' of Ducati and Buell into an all inclusive, customer driven, motivated shop where you never have to worry about having a clueless lazy, unmotivated Harley-Davidson sales jerk try to talk you out of the new XB your drooling over and onto the real bike.. That Ultra Classic over there.. Don't laugh, it's happened.. what a jerk..
Back on topic.. If there was a chance, I'd even want to work in such a shop. Hell, who wouldn't?
Later, |
Sgtbuell
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 04, 2003 - 11:14 pm: |
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Gearloose
Thats nuts. I thought I was making out good with my insurance. I am 32 and never had a speeding ticket or anything else for that matter. Who are you insured with. I am with USAA.
Kevyn
Damn man I thought that first post you made was serious. I am glad you cleared it up. If I didn't have the car payment and the bike payment I think I would have a Duck by now. But being a SSgt does not pay me enough. That is why I am waiting after my next TDY so I can come back, pay off my car and put a decent down payment on a Duck. It will definitely be about a year from now before I can seriously consider it though.
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Gearloose
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 05, 2003 - 07:40 am: |
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Dave bite yer tongue ya pup!
Sgt,through State Farm.All the others I checked with and had over the years got higher.Hell I had a Kawi Connie and Prog. wanted 550 saying it was a sportbike!
Dave see what all that clean livin did for me.Uhh forget 15 years of BV,Tequila,and way late nights!  Must be your Koolaid that's makin you look that way! lol
Gearloose |
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