| Author |
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Imonabuss
| | Posted on Friday, August 10, 2001 - 10:27 pm: | 
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Not much suffering really, is it, if you are a rider and not someone who buys the "hip and trendy" thing. And, the S3T is truly the most underated bike on the market. It devours an ST2 Ducati on a twisty road. Don't believe me? Ride them back to back like SPORT tourers should be...95% pace,,,and you will find the ST2 has more hinges in it than you could ever imagine. The S3T leaves it in the dust. I've done it...on a track, and timed. But the "word on the street" would never tell you that. So enjoy that S3, Rebel_1, it's a real motorcycle... |
Artful
| | Posted on Friday, August 10, 2001 - 10:35 pm: |
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As I have said many times, I love my S3. This was reinforced last night, I am storing a friend's low rider while he is out of town. He asked me to ride it periodically to keep it charged up etc...
It accelerates slower than a semi, rides like a buick, corners like a boat and is way too loud.
All in all it just makes me appreciate my S3 even more, even with it quirks and warranty issues.
Art..... |
Rebel_1
| | Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 12:09 am: |
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I've owned three Hawgs, and loved them all. But I'm not bored at all with the S3 like I am when riding a rice rocket that can only entertain you when your on the gas. |
Two_Buells
| | Posted on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 07:56 am: |
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WINNER! I love my 98 S1 - 15,500 miles
my 99 S3, yes I've had my share of exhaust breakage and F.I. woes but, thats the bike I ride all the time - 33,600 miles - both of my Buells have the same rear shock, swingarm, handlebars, wheels. the only difference is how they feel due the cg and where my butt is planted on the seat.
Like I always said, the S3 is just an S1 with different body work and a place to put your stuff.
trade in value, well, it sucks! I tried to trade up to a 2001. well... too much out of pocket, I'll just keep it. By the time I get a FireBolt my S3 will be paid for, so I guess I'll keep it. |
Snail
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 10:53 am: |
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Buell S-3 is the best Buell ever built and I can prove it.
Al, when you put stock S-3 bars back on be VERY carefull how you position them. If you don't, the clutch/brake levers will hit the fairing when the bars are turned to hard over. I know, I did it and fell down twice before I figured it out.
Sorry, I already gave my old bars away, or I'd mail them to you.
Amazing Green is the best color, and I can prove
that too.
Paul |
Al_Lighton
| | Posted on Thursday, September 13, 2001 - 04:20 pm: |
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Paul,
Thanks for the offer, but I've got a set waiting for it. I bought new bars for my S1W and had them powdercoated nuke blue, The old bars from my S1W are going on the S3.
I'm hoping by the time I put the bars on it, I've also got a Firebolt fairing on it too. My fairing and fairing spider is a bit doinked up from the drop on Mt Evans, but its plenty driveable. I had an opportunity to pick up a new S3 fairing and mount for $270, and declined. I want to wait for the Firebolt fairing. One, it's sportier, but two, the mag mount looks like it may actually make my rear view mirrors usable. The S3 fairing mount isn't stiff enough, mirrors shake too much.
Appreciate the offer, though!
Al |
Daydreamer
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 10:48 am: |
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In response to Reepicheep: $1800 loss on that ZR-7 is not to bad, who cares about percentage. To Spiked, the M2's MSRP was $7995. Since you bought it for $5160, that makes a $2835 loss for two years (I am basing it on the 2001 model year) which breaks down to $1417.50 per year. Not bad. In my case, my bike's MSRP was $12,620. I am asking $8000 and still not sold. This makes a depreciation of $4620 in one year. This is pretty sad. As far as Ralph's response, he revealed his opinion of what Buells are truly worth. Remember, you will have to sell one day also. I know I am not the only one in this situation, but this is difinetively not what I envisioned when I bought it. I fully expected it to depreciate, but not to this extreme. The S3 is no worse than the other Buells. As far as people not buying anything, I have seen a bunch of new cars with dealer plates lately (I know that cars and car sales can't be compared to motorcycles for the most part). |
Court
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 02:03 pm: |
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Snail:
As the proud owner of an Amazon Green S-2 (and previsouly an Amazon Green S-3), I'd tend to agree.
Cool, color eh? |
Ralph
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 03:21 pm: |
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Actually, Dreamer de jour, I think the two Buells in my garage says what I think Buells are truly worth. Yes, the S1 is for sale, but only grudgingly. I would be just as happy, no, happier, if no one ever showed up with the money to buy it. The S3 will never be pried from my hands. What I revealed with my fifty dollar offer is how much money I have right now 
As far as resale value goes, tough. It's no surprise. Used Buells have not had the value that Harleys have and it's been that way for almost four years. That was evident just by looking, which I did before I bought my S3 three years ago, and again with the S1 last year. If your ticked off because This is definetively not what I was told when I was on the purchasing end, that's on you. You're the purchaser, it's not the dealers job to gaurentee you a resale value. It's up to you to do a little independant research. As a matter of fact, it's because of people such as yourself (and your dealer) that Buells resale is so low. I don't keep my Buells because I can't stand the fiscal loss, but because I like 'em so damn much. Why the heck did you buy a bike you didn't want anyway?
bighairyralph |
Werewulf
| | Posted on Monday, October 22, 2001 - 08:37 pm: |
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i havent really figured out why buells depreciate so fast. i thought that only jap bikes depreciated quickly. actually buells go down the tube at an alarming speed. i know that the economy is bad now, i found this out when i tried to trade my deuce on a v-rod. i went to killer creek harley last week and they would only give me 5000 dollars on a trade for my 4 month old x-1 with extras. i dont know what the answer is, but buell should address the problem. i admit i went into the deal uninformed, because i dont know anyone who was a buell owner. buell advertises that you can get a buell blast for 4395 and a year later get 4395 on a trade. sounds good, i paid 11300 and 4 months later its worth 4395$ not bad! |
Daydreamer
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:04 am: |
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Ralph,
To insinuate that I bought this S3 just to rush and resale it to loose a wad of cash borders on a some kind of joke. Sometimes you buy things that later you don't want or can't afford. It happens to everyone. As far as doing reseach, I did, but I couldn't find anyone to talk to that was on the resale end. Bad luck on my part. If I did, I probably would still have my Lowrider. The problem that I see is even though there is a small group of rabid Buell owners, they have not convinced the rest of the world that these are anything more than odities with potential. What the real answer to the problem is I would like to know. Buell factory do you know? |
Ralph
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 03:06 pm: |
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Buell has a liberal test ride policy. It's a cinch to ride one before you buy, unlike most other manufactures. I can understand wanting something different, but after less than a year and seven hundred miles? As far as "the resale end", your sitting in front of it. Trader online has a couple hundred Buells on it, a pretty good indication of reasonable resale. Ebay, on the other hand, has up to a dozen Buells at auction any given week. Once again, a strong indication of the "drop dead" value. By the way, when you were talking to the salesman about buying your S3, guess what, you were talking to the "resale end". The Buell factory has absolutly no control over the resale of it's bikes since all of the bikes it manufactures are sold to Harley Davidson before being distributed to their independant dealers. My statement (I don't insinuate ••••) is that Buell, Harley, Osam bin Laden and whoever else in the world aren't to blame for your inability to sell your bike. Your dealer on the other hand....
I ain't rabid 'cause I got two Buells, it's 'cause of that damned racoon.
bighairyralph |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 08:11 pm: |
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>>>there is a small group of rabid Buell owners, they have not convinced the rest of the world that these are anything more than odities with potential.
Uhhhh..that would be the Bikes or the Owners?
I love the bikes and don't see them as "odd". The owners, on the other hand, are about as gnarly a lot as a person can assemble.
Fortunately for us, we have the likes of MikeyP, bighairyralph and Rocket in England to serve as our moral compasses.....
Think you're having trouble with the bike...imagine trying to sell one of us to a "knowledgable buyer"
Court |
Rebel_1
| | Posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:23 pm: |
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Make those low resale values work for you. Snatch up a 1 or 2 year old Buell for half price while you can. I sold 3 Harleys 12 years ago that doubled in value not 4 years later. Look at the Buell for for a while, and you can see why the resale values will not fall away to nothing, and will probably go up. |
Spiked
| | Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 09:01 am: |
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Could someone clarify the test ride policy for me? Ray Price H-D wouldn't give me a test ride. They said I had to wait for the next "demo day." Were they supposed to let me ride one?
Spike
'99 M2 |
Daydreamer
| | Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 09:47 am: |
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To Ralph: Right on about you making a statement versus insinuating. My mistake. As far as the number of Buells for sale on Ebay and Trader.com the numbers go up and down all the time and if sheer volume is a criteria for lack of value than Harleys are worth a nickel. Only when you compare it to production number does it make an impact, but I never looked at buying motorcycles to be like buying stocks (endless research). I bet that damn raccoon is worth more than my S3?
To Rebel1: This kind of investing is what I done with Wall street 2 years ago. Even though they were winners, I was not one of them.
To Court: I have enough problems with Buell to not wander off and judge their owners.
One question to all: Why does the Firebolt (Sportbike of sort) have an essentially destroked Sportster engine while the V-Rod (Cruiser) have the hi-tec superbike engine, and what will this mean in the future? |
Ralph
| | Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 10:34 am: |
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On one hand it means that Erik Buell likes air cooled, light motorcycles that handle like a scalpel. On the other, Harley wants to hedge it's bets and not drop too much money into a market it doesn't trust (sport bikes).
I doubt the racoon is worth much now, but it sure was tasty
bighairyralph |
Pangalactic
| | Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 01:53 pm: |
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Spiked
I was in there in May, and they say they only have one test ride buell, and one of their employees crashed it a few weeks ago. This has been months ago, but I am seeing a pattern. Personally, I think it's a ploy to get you to rent one-PAY for the test ride. I am not exactly pleased with about anybody at Ray Price. |
Spiked
| | Posted on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 10:51 pm: |
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Pangalactic,
Have they messed up something, or is it just a lack of competence? I haven't really given them the chance to screw up yet, all I've let them do is inspect the bike. I wasn't impressed when it took well over an hour to get the bike back, but the guy was pretty friendly. He claimed he hadn't seen anyone drag the pegs on a Cyclone. When I showed him the bubbled tank stickers he suggested I buy new ones. They haven't really done anything blatantly wrong yet, but they certainly haven't impressed me yet.
However, one of the guys at the parts counter really tries hard to help, even if he can't find me a 195 main jet.
Spike
'99 Cyclone |
Pangalactic
| | Posted on Friday, October 26, 2001 - 02:53 am: |
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They had my bike in for a 500mi service for 9 days. More than a friggin week! And it took two weeks before I could take it in! Three weeks bikeless! I was not happy. I don't care how busy you are, a checkup is not a 9 day operation. If you can't get to it in two weeks, when you tell me to bring it in- tell me three weeks, so I know to go elsewhere.
When I could go pick it up, the cashier was about as interested in cashing me out as I am with the inner workings of an ear wax factory.
Then, when my rocker box gasket blew, the guy I talked to one the phone said it would be -again- two weeks before they could look at it, and that it probably wouldn't be under warranty(which REALLY pissed me off), and prolly a week before the could get to it.
Monday, my heat shield broke off the rear screw-clamp while I was sitting at a stop light. Just sitting there waiting for the light to turn green, and it pops out and hits my shin. D'oh! This should be a cheap quick fix. If they won't replace it quickly- and under warranty, my opinion of them may become very public, not that they would care. I may just have some speaks with some 'associates' to 'dramaticaly improve' their website, 'fyanowhadImean.
But yeah, the kid behind the parts counter at least tries, but the as..., er...powers that be....that's another story. |
Werewulf
| | Posted on Friday, October 26, 2001 - 06:09 pm: |
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my fears were confirmed today about the buell trade in. the salesman called to let me know that my v-rod that was to be delivered this month will be delayed until at least november 25. while i had him on the phone, i told him that i would really like to trade my x-1 that i bought from him 4 months ago. he stated that he cant give em away and that he hasnt sold a buell for 5 weeks. he still has some m-2s from last june. the bottom line, he wont take my buell. i got a super deal on the v-rod, but after losing my ass on the buell, i guess it averaged out. well crying wont help! by the way, he advertises that he is the biggest buell dealer in the tri-state area. (north carolina).
now i wonder what the deal is with the v-rod? if they are being delayed nationwide as 3 dealers have told me, then maybe theres a problem with the bike. wouldnt that be sweet?
on the high side, my hayabusa that i bought last week is running like a champ. it will pull the wrinkles out of your face! after 3 harleys, i never thought that i would own a jap bike. i just had the 600 mile service and it was nice to get it serviced down the street instead of riding to chattanooga or statesville. thundercreek is the closest dealer (100 miles) they informed me that they will only do minor repair work on buells. maybe its time to realign my consumer thinking. |
Anonymous
| | Posted on Saturday, October 27, 2001 - 12:17 pm: |
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>maybe its time to realign my consumer thinking.
And do your own maintainance? Good idea. |
Daydreamer
| | Posted on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 09:08 pm: |
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Might as well do your own maintenance on Buell. The dealers as a whole (to the few that do, my apology) display the know how of, humm..., flunkies from remedial vocational school. I recently took mine in for what I considered to be warranty work and not only did they not fix what I pointed out to the service writer (another worthless decoration), but they tried to charge me for it. Well, at least they are screwing up some Harleys along with the rest. As long as King Harley is rolling in dough there will be no incentive to do any better. If anybody from the factory is reading this, I wish I could be more positive, but Buells have all the Harley shortcomings plus their own specifics and nobody is willing to give anything that resembles cash for these bikes. Lots of lip, but no greenbacks. Hows about buying mine back. I need the cash for the Holidays. |
Newfie_Buell
| | Posted on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 - 09:12 pm: |
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I own a 98 S1 that I purchased NEW from a dealer in Nova Scotia, Canada in June 2001. I got it for 33% off the list price. Think I paid about $9,999.00 Canadian (about $6300 US) for it. Depreciation sitting on the floor. Imagine , I took advantage of that one. Shame on me. There was 28km on it when I drove it off the lot.
I bought the thing sight unseen apart from photos the dealer e-mailed me and I never rode one before.
I just love this thing from the moment I got on it. I agree with Ralph on the comment about the bike never being pried from my hands. I guess this would make me a rabid Bueller, was bitten by a beaver once, Do they carry rabies????
My advice to any potential Buell purchaser is that if you intend to sell for any reason don't buy one, especially a new one. Take advantage of the used ones out there.
Also the same dealer where I got the 98 S1 has a NEW 99 S3 sitting on the floor for $13,499.00 Canadian ($8,500 US) if anyone is interested in purchasing a depreciated NEW bike.
Safe Riding
Bill |
Buellzebub
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 21, 2001 - 05:01 pm: |
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Bill, lots o good deals here in the great white north. just picked up a replacement S1. [98 with 7113kms for 8500 cdn ($5246 usd
), no tax] it was sold new last april, outa heritage hd in edmonton.
only problem is its a twin tail
problem # 2, parts from the us, exchange 1.62 today, race header is worth 720 cdn here in alberta, ouch!
i am a happy camper |
Bullitt
| | Posted on Friday, November 30, 2001 - 08:57 pm: |
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Low resale prices for Buells must be kind of a regional thing - I decided to buy new here in Florida after being shocked at how well the older ones were holding their value. There just wasn't much difference in price at all. I've never had a brand new bike prior to this one but I thought it might be a few extra bucks well spent. I had a ton of trouble with it through the first 8 months, and my dealer offered to trade me off of it for what I paid for it! In the end, I kept it because I had a few hundred tied up in accessories. As I read some of the other posts, I just couldn't believe that people in points north are taking such a big depreciation hit. Reason #3 (behind the undisputed leaders Cold and Snow) to live in the Sunshine State I guess. |
Werewulf
| | Posted on Friday, November 30, 2001 - 09:30 pm: |
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what dealership did you deal with? the one in orlando was going to give me the royal shaft! he wanted 3500 cash to trade against his full retail on a 4 month old bike. |
Bullitt
| | Posted on Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 10:31 pm: |
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Yikes! I ended up buying mine from Daytona H-D. $3500? 4 months? Ouch! Maybe it has to do with the model - the M2 I bought being the cheapest to begin with - maybe it didn't have as far to go depreciation wise. I did notice while at Orlando Buell yesterday that they have knocked some serious bucks off the prices of leftover 2001's, and are closing the separate Buell showroom and moving into the H-D building next door. Hard times maybe? H-D of Seminole offered me $7K for it a couple of months ago to trade into a Dyna T-Sport (oh man! I'm glad I didn't do that! I'm sorry Erik, I had a moment of weakness). I paid $7200 for it and put 12K miles on in 11 months - that would have only been a $200 loss. My imported bikes never held their value this well. Had a Super Blackbird for 1 yr and 2 mos - paid $10K, sold for $7500. Took about the same hit on a couple of others. I'm really hoping - and I'll admit it's a stretch - that if the Firebolt really takes off it will elevate the value of all Buells. What do you think? |
Shawn Gardner
| | Posted on Sunday, April 07, 2002 - 05:58 pm: |
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Have you installed the Pro Series Race Kit on a S3T and wished you could run the fairing lowers?
Check out Deeley's House of Buell's Web Page! They offer a fairing made out of fiberglass designed fit with the race kit. It uses the same brackets you use to mount the left fairing lower. Look under the Product and Services tab, then go to the New Products tab. It's about half way down the page. |
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