| Author |
Message |
    
Fmaxwell
| | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 05:07 pm: | 
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I agree that we need to support those who support us. I've ordered from Al before and have nothing but good things to say about the experience. I plan to order more from him in the future. |
Torque
| | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 05:57 pm: |
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What company does Al work for? |
Badlionsfan
| | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 06:06 pm: |
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Al owns american sport bike. |
Ridrx
| | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2007 - 06:08 pm: |
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American Sport Bike...Great folks, as are all the BadWeb sponsors who do so much for us. |
Blake
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 10:20 am: |
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Thank you sincerely to all those including Al Lighton of American Sport Bike who have exhibited integrity in this thread. I appreciate you more than you know.    
"Some one needs to take their aftermarket scoop and have a mold made and start manufacturing some cheap scoops.".
.
."Maybe one of the guys who bought one could lend it to us for a winter??"
Please rethink that approach. In my view and probably in the view of the law as well, such activity would be deemed theft, and the perpetrator a thief, so please avoid promoting such activities here on BadWeB.
As to the validity of a major price reduction, I'd dearly like to see someone try to start producing hand-built composite parts or injection moldings and selling them at a profit for ~$90. Maybe when the Chinese at $0.30/hr take up the bid? I'd much rather support our sponsors, you know, the excellent folks who see fit to support our little community here?
(Message edited by blake on August 24, 2007) |
Trojan
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 11:46 am: |
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There are plenty of unscrupulous companies out there who quite happily plagiarise and copy parts that other people have spent time and money developing. This has happened a number of times to us and is something that we feel very strongly about.
Those people that copy products contribute nothing to the aftermarket and develop nothing of their own. They tend to sell their tat on ebay etc and joe public thinks he is getting a good deal. Often there will be no warranty and no comeback, or even a return address or landline telephone number for these people.
Eventually their cheap (and often shoddy) products drive the ethical parts manufacturers to the point where it is not worth trying to develop any new products because they will be ripped off immediately, so they don't bother.
In the end it is the customer who suffers by buying cheap copies.
Aftermarket parts for Buells can be relatively expensive compared to other bikes for genuine reasons, and rarely have anything to do with increased profit for the retailer or manufacturer.
1. Buells are a minority brand and tooling costs etc must be recouped from a much lower number of units than for something such as a Honda CBR600RR product. To tool up for injection moulding plastic right side scoops would cost more than it would be worth, which is why we and other producers make them in carbon fibre or fibreglass as this is more economical for small batch production.
2. A large proportion of the aftermarket Buell products on offer are made by small, enthusiastic and skilled manufacturers, and are extremely high quality compared to some of the products aimed at other bikes.
3. It would be very easy to sell cheap products such as mirrors, turn signals, exhausts etc that are available from mainly far eastern producers, but cheap prices normally mean cheap quality.
4. Most of the people that I have met or spoken to that are involved in the Buell aftermarket (and certainly all of the sponsrs here!) are passionate about their products and about Buells in general, much more so than the equivalent specialists for other makes. The service and advice you get from a true specialist is surely worth somehting? |
Caddypat
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 02:00 pm: |
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AMEN to what court and trojan are saying about copied parts.if you cant afford to customize your ride honestly then ride it stock or dont ride a buell.buying copied parts is not much different than buying stolen parts.belive me,getting anything stolen really sucks. my 02 cents. pat |
Caddypat
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 02:02 pm: |
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sorry,i meant blake not court.pat |
Asym50
| | Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 - 03:03 pm: |
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I think ALL of us would like a bargain price on all things Buell. Trojan and Blake have put it well, Buell is a limited distribution market. Common sense would say due to this fact, Buell aftermarket parts are going to be expensive. Al has been the best thing to happen to Buell enthusiasts and I'll continue to support his shop because he is a man of his word. That is a rare trait in today's climate of make the sale and the consumer be damned. |
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