| Author | Message | ||
     Spuds |
1125R. wow! A bold (despite perhaps being totally necessary) move for BMC. However...as someone said so well in another thread...paraphrasing: "wanted a HD, didn't like choppers, the Buell is the perfect HD for me.." I guess maybe that's one reason why '08 xb's are still offered... still looking at all the pics, feeling some kind of pressure to decide whether I like it or not-what's that about? Got my invitation to the VIP 1125R unveiling party in California, but can't make it that weekend . figure my first look at the bike in the flesh will be when my dealer gets one in. So that gets me thinking: ok...obviously I do not have all the stats and numbers in front of me - all I know is: my dealer takes pretty good care of me. occassionally they have a current year Buell sitting on the floor. they sell VERY few new Buells each year. there seems to be many examples of Buell friendly HD dealers out there (from what i read here) there also seems to be many examples of Buell unfriendly HD dealers out there (from what I read here) I'm curious about what people think the dealers' reactions will be. Head office mandates/instructions/policies aside, I would imagine that there's some investment to now be made at the dealer level to get tooled up and trained on the new engines. It's not the end of the world for them, and the rules of supply and demand will inevitably kick in... thoughts? what's their gut reaction? looking maybe even further down the road...(and I know this conversation comes up now and then here...) if and when all of Buell's line up becomes Rotax based...are they even carried by HD dealers anymore? Do we perhaps start to see stand alone Buell dealers or are they maybe added to other existing non HD dealers showrooms? there's a local Honda/Suzuki dealer here that also carries Aprillia for instance... just wonderin'..... | ||
| Budo |
Yeah dis-interested dealers continue to be a problem. My dealer, when I had a Buell (Bumpas HD/Buell of Memphis) sells maybe one Buell a month vs fifty HD's. Out of fifty employees there are maybe two who are amped up about Buell the others don't get it. But the real problem is that my dealer just did not care if I was a happy customer or not, did not care if my bike was running or not. See my business did not make a difference to them, they just did not need me and they made that very clear after I bought my bike. Of course the real problem for me then was that the next nearest Buell dealer is 3.5 hours away. | ||
| Tpoppa |
I'm curious about what people think the dealers' reactions will be. How about...How is our HD tech with the long beard and the BO gonna be able to work on that? --------- I have yet to meet a HD tech that understands issues that are specific to a sportbike. If drop my hard earned $$ on a 1125R, I'm going to want to see a 1125R certification before I let a HD tech touch it. | ||
| Mm128 |
Tpoppa, YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!! I remember a time NOT TOOO long ago that I dropped my PREVIOUSLY owned 98 S1 off to have some recall work done at a NEW HARLEY Shop in South GA... Well... 2 days later... They called me to say that they COULD NOT figure out HOW to remove the exhaust????? I was shocked.... so not wanting them to TOTALING screw up my precious bike... I drove the hour BACK there and showed them. With this NEW engine.... I am scared as to WHO will work on them proficiently.... There is NO dealer ANYWHERE close that I trust... I drive about 2 hours to Jacksonville where i was treated LIKE A KING !!! and LOVED IT. Guess thats where I will go FOR NOW ON!!! Plus the Service Rep rides in on a 96 S2T.. I hope that the HD shops get it together.... OR.. just have BUELL go COMPLETELY seperate and make a KILLING. Matt. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"I drive about 2 hours to Jacksonville where i was treated LIKE A KING !!!" You talking about Adamec's? A few years ago, I popped in just to get a T-shirt and stayed an hour talking with the mangager. He even let me upstairs and sit on Randy Goss's old XR750 they had on display. They were nice to me, too. | ||
| Buell2001b |
i think you are looking to far back in the past. i have an xb03 and the guys at ft washington never had a problem knwing what the problem and fixing it same day. but then again my xb has been so reliable i can't explain how happy im about that. any HD dealer that caried the buells will make money. and i do hope buell does keep the xb aircooled forever. its a great bike and great for the daily commute. the 1125s will be my bike when i want to hi some fast straights and nice curves. i will keep my xb for sure. i honestly never see myself on a chopper as an old man. i like the sport look since they say you are what you ride. no slowppoke here | ||
| Mikej |
I suspect that these concerns are and will be fully addressed and that there may be more news to come as the saying goes. A great purge has happened with many H-D dealerships dropping the Buell line. Buell and Harley-Davidson have already informed their dealership chain about the new direction into the dirt bike realm. I strongly suspect that not all dealerships who request this new model will have their requests fulfilled. Time will tell. With new models not due to showrooms for many months yet there is still time for dealerships to send some of the staff off for training. And some of the more enthusiastic of them may in fact be long bearded and BO'd and fully up to speed before you can even test sit one. Competency is not defined by personal appearance nor adornment but rather by fact of applied ability and understanding. How is a tech supposed to be able to work on it? With tools and understanding and competent ability. Don't condemn them just yet, there may be great surprises yet to come. YMMV. | ||
| Bumblebee |
At the dealer I use: The sales department will the thrilled. Something new to sell. They will put it right next to the front door with all the other Buells. The (one, and only one) Buell tech will be ecstatic! He will be all over the new engine until he knows it inside and out. Most of the customers will not even notice it. The rest of the dealership? The rest of the service department will look the other way and deny it exists. | ||
| Chadhargis |
That's sad to hear about Bumpus in Memphis. I do business with Bumpus in Mufreesboro. Tom Bumpus has always treated me nice, and I've done a couple of track days with him. Steve, the service manager, has been good to me too. Always took care of me. Buells are displayed right by the front door. I don't know how many they sell, but they don't treat you like a step child. | ||
| Tpoppa |
...I took my XB9S to the dealer for the 1000 mile maintenance. Imagine my surprise when I took off the clutch inspection cover at 5000 miles to find that all 3 threads were completely stripped and the bolts were held in place with Loctite. After an hour of argue-ing the dealer acted like they were doing me a favor by replacing the primary cover under warranty. This is what I was told (with much attitude) by the HD tech that overfilled my oil by 1qt+ "Listen...I've been workin on bikes for 20 years, and you check the oil when the bike is straight up." Then I showed him the manual, "hmmm, that doesn't seem right to me, but i'll drain out some of the oil if you want." A different dealer could not recognize a problem with the front rotor... Now, the only wrenches that ever touch my bike are MINE. The 1125R is new, different technology. I sure wouldn't let them practice on my new 1125R. | ||
| Vanvideo |
What will be the reaction from most HD dealerships? "Where'd the chrome parts go?" I shoot tv commercials for the Adamec HD shops here in Jax. The owner is definitely a big Buell fan. He's the one who told me a few months ago that there was going to be a BIG announcement from Buell, but he couldn't tell me what it was, only that I'd love it. Now, not all of his sales staff understands the Buell mystique, but the sales manager is a riding buddy of mine and he owns several sport bikes. I think Adamec HD will be cool with this bike. | ||
| Bueaddicted |
This is why I'll be very, very reserved about purchasing this new model. Every time I have to take my 12R bike for service I worry and dread that something will go wrong. Actually, I'm scared "sh____ss" that something will be damaged and I'll not notice until something bad happens. | ||
| Court |
I'm betting that Liberty already has Chris and at least one other ready to go off to school and is preparing a strategy to provide high level support for this thing. Given the market I see for this type of bike in this market if a dealership could lay to rest the "what about the dealer" concerns while adding the "Buell community" value you couldn't get these things in the door fast enough to keep them in stock. | ||
| Eboos |
Dealer personnel reaction has been and will be equal to the public's reaction to Buell products. Some of us get it and stand behind the product and some wont. I think that when we can't keep these in the shop for more then a week at a time, dealer principles will start taking more of an active role in pushing Buell merchancise. It is sad that that's what it will take, but that 50-1 ratio is pretty accurate and determines the level of priority Buells will be given by the management. As for myself, I am saving up my money right now to hopefully get one as soon as possible. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
sales ratio, used harley 3.5 to 10 buell to harley 1 to 12 But then I ride the Buell, love it, would never give it up, and will welcome the new 1125R into the fold. I cant wait to demo one. And if they cant get a cert to wrench on them... then I will take a year off and go to MMI to get the new 1125R cert. Buell is a great bike, the absolute most fun I have ever had on one Single bike. Hope to see some technology cross over to the XB's and still waiting on the new dirt bike  | ||
| Bob_thompson |
With all the things that have been said in this thread, I'm wondering if anybody can shed some light as to weather Buell will have a new service manual available right away when the new 1125 bikes hit the showroom floor. I can't/won't trust any of my four local HD/Buell dealers to work on my Buells. I bought my current manual two weeks after my 2002 M2 was purchased used in '03 and do all my own work because I can with help from the manual and you guys here.BadWeb's great. | ||
| Tunes |
Sales department will be "happy." Service department -1 will continue to complain about them ef&*in Buells. I'll buy an 1125 Service Manual and do the work myself. It's just an engine. Just cause it's new doesn't mean ya don't have the ability to work on it. Buy the tools and have at it. | ||
| Spuds |
I'm heading down the dealer tomorrow to pick up a few things--someone from there usually attends the dealer meeting--I'm anxious to hear it from his/(their)perspective. thanks for all the responses!! interesting! | ||
| Chellem |
We're anxiously awaiting a package that was overnighted today from the dealer show, with (I'm told) a few of the brochures and some info. We won't even know the schedule of classes - but I'm sure as soon as we do, or maybe someone there already does, we'll start getting at least one tech trained and up and running. We would NEVER let an underqualified tech work on a Buell. Just a bad plan - from a customer service aspect all the way to a liability concern. But evidently we have a little time, as they're not shipping them, I hear, until the end of the year. Which is frustrating on one level, but also gives us a chance to get up and running (like I said, assuming they have the classes together) so we can be ready for anything. So what's our reaction? You should have seen our sales manager Razzy-pants (Ryan, that is - I forget his badweb nick) hopping up and down behind my desk. He came down to show me the ad that was posted a few days ago, before the official word broke here. I was on the phone, and he was dancing behind me, making up a little song, something like "Michelle's gotta get off the phone/I gotta show her something/come on Michelle get off the phone..." and so forth. He actually forgot how to drink his water he was so excited. So, anyway, I can't speak for anyone but us, but I'd say Liberty's excitement level is pretty high. Ryan is out there now. I hope he makes it back OK, without anything exploding. | ||
| Jlnance |
I went to my dealership today to buy an oil filter and inspection cover gasket. When I asked the parts guy for the gaskets, another one of the parts people came up. He was wearing an HD shirt and looked like a stereotypical Harley guy. He says to me: "Did you see the new Buell?" I told him I wish I had seen it. He had printed out the info from the Buell website FROM HIS HOUSE and brought copies into work. He gave me a copy, told me I could find out more on the website, and told me what a great bike it was. This is the same parts department I went to two years ago to buy intake seals for my Cyclone and had them ask me "Whats an M2?" Times are changing. | ||
| Ratbuell |
We can't wait. My GM is at the show and asked me how many I thought he should order. Bemisderfer and the rest of the race folks can't wait to get their hands on a couple. Our lead machinist wants to start developing "race-bred" performance stuff for street 1125s. And our dealer principal wants to get one as soon as they're available...just to say he got one of the first ones. Me? My wife already sighed...and said "OK". WOOO-HOOOO!!!! | ||
| Xb12rdude |
THIS IS A HUGE CONCERN. My HD dealer has removed anything to do with Buell, not even a sign. The Buells they had sat on the floor for 2 to 3 years and never sold. Mainly because they don't know or care enough to really try to sell them. My very stupid opinion is that Buell should open 1 or 2 small dealerships per state for just Buell and skip the whole HD dealership stuff. I would rather drive 2 hours to a dealer and know that it was being fixed correctly. Maybe these dealerships could also pick up Triump, KTM, Ducati's or other small quantity bikes to help support also. DONT KNOW, but they need to get this bike out of HD dealerships to succeed. Just my Opinion. (Message edited by xb12rdude on July 10, 2007) | ||
| Court |
If I were a dealer . . and I am not . . . I'd be scripting/implementing/exectuing a 90 day plan to be the BEST 1125R Tech Service in the country. I'd have the gear, the books, and I'd DEMAND from Buell the best training possible. I'd have my techs riding and working on Buells training bikes and when they got back to my shop, with about 20 of these babes on the floor, I'd hang out a new sign . . That's just me. . . . I can see someone selling 50 of these in the first year. Court | ||
| Buellshyter |
My very stupid opinion is that Buell should open 1 or 2 small dealerships per state for just Buell and skip the whole HD dealership stuff. Someone asked Mr. Buell about stand alone or multi-brand dealerships at Homecoming and he basically said it didn't make sense at this time, so it's HD dealerships for the foreseeable future. | ||
| Teeps |
Having 1 or 2 stand alone or multi line dealers per state might work for the New England area. But where would you put them in CA, TX, or the other larger states? Personally, I don't like the idea of driving 10 miles to the closest Buell/HD dealer for service. There's no way I'd drive to San Diego for service or repairs. Face it; Buell is, and will continue to be, the redheaded stepchild as long as they are affiliated with (unwilling) HD-dealers. IMO, Buell should endeavor to expand their presence in the market by offering a Buell point to whom ever (financial qualifications considered) wants to take one on. For instance, Buell motorcycles would be a good fit at Del Amo Motorsports Mega-dealer, here in L.A. They currently have, Ducati, KTM, Bombardier, and all the major Japanese brands (except Honda), Buell would fit right in. | ||
| Jackelfox |
i might be the only one, but in some ways i enjoy the "back ally" way about getting my Buell's needs. I have a parts guy i ask for by name at one dealership, (i even called him to tell him about he video leak) i dont talk to the others at all. And for service i ask for a specific tech by name at another dealership (he races a firebolt) who always cuts the service line and takes me straight in. Its not really a straighforward solution but i like the arrangement. | ||
| Chellem |
You shouldn't have to go to the back alley to get Buell parts. That's true. It's so funny, some people like the "exclusivity" or "unusualness" of Buell, of being different from the rest. In order to be "different", it implies a smaller group of people, NOT a large, mainstream type of person. But - and this thread is about the Dealer's reaction - as a business person, it's VERY difficult to make a profit in a small, niche market with a small, exclusive type of customer. That being said, it can be done, but it does take more work than a lot of dealers are used to doing. While it's small, it's still fairly easy to cater to the group. Once it's big, and there's lots of customers, then more people will jump on, and it's again, a little easier to take care of people, because you're more motivated, because NOW you can see clear profit in it. It's the in-between part that seems to be hard. Big enough to warrant a fairly large investment, but still too small to really see a profit. Now, Buell has this beautiful, FAST bike that's poised to really expand the customer base. Will it push Buell into the "profitably large" section of the dealership? But will it still have the exclusivity that some people like if there's a Buell on every corner? Like I said, from a dealer's perspective, I hope we can sell 50 a year, like Court said. Or more! And also, from the dealer's perspective, I hope people can start simply calling for parts, like any H-D customer, to their dealer, and get the service they deserve. | ||
| Beastie |
i might be the only one, but in some ways i enjoy the "back ally" way about getting my Buell's needs. I have a parts guy i ask for by name at one dealership, (i even called him to tell him about he video leak) i dont talk to the others at all. And for service i ask for a specific tech by name at another dealership (he races a firebolt) who always cuts the service line and takes me straight in. Its not really a straighforward solution but i like the arrangement. Same here, I deal with a guy in Gainesville for parts and ask for him by name, and turn my own wrenches or talk to the service guy in Port Charlotte who actually rides a 12R tricked and bored out. I live in Sarasota. So not the most convenient, but at least I know I'm working with people that Know Buells. (Message edited by beastie on July 10, 2007) | ||
| Bob_thompson |
One of my four local dealers was pretty Buell savy because of a dedicated Buell salesman and parts guy. He actually road and drag raced a Buell tuber and when he left for personal reasons Buell went with him and my personal conection. Now they are all,(4) of them, just HD typical(leather and chrome) dealers. Now I would rather have parts shipped from Daves replacment in Appleton or Al at American Sport Bike and always do my own wrenching. Ya, Erik, lets have some dedicated Buell shops especially after I get a new 1125R and keep my M2. | ||
| Budo |
"Bumpus in Mufreesboro." I hear that they are good. Memphis has a bad rep as do all bike shops in Memphis. Something odd about Memphis. I won't bore you with my horror stories but they are legion and I am not the only one. But I gotta say that there are maybe three employees who are really good. The others just show up to put in their time. Ok, one story I promise. I had a 1998 S1W with about 26k miles on it. The rear wheel needed to be replaced. See the belt tension might have been too high from the factory causing the bearing races to enlarge or wallow out the wheel bore. So the service mgr offered to sell me a wheel for $475.00. I turned that down intending to find a used wheel. I called Buell of Modesto and found out that the wheel was a warranty item no charge to me. I had a new wheel on my door step in three days. My dealer apparently did not know that and was just gonna sell me a wheel. | ||
| Mattwhite |
XB12RDude, I'm not sure exactly where you're coming from, but Detroit HD still deals with Buells. They can be a bit slow, but I have confidence in their main Buell Guy (Kris) for any of the new stuff. He's a Buell nut (as described by a parts guy) and the service manager loves them too. They only had one Firebolt last time I was in there, but I think that's because they sold a bunch of them this spring - including my Uly. They still don't have any t-shirts, though. |
