| Author |
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Bertotti
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 05:43 pm: | 
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The store in Sioux Falls is J&L and other dealers could learn a bit from them. They don't carry a lot of Buell, they have about five on the floor. Oddly they are right in the main entrance. You can not walk in and not see them. I go in the salesman knows me by name and the big shots always how are you liking it. Well we all know the answer to that. |
Ft_bstrd
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 05:54 pm: |
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The culture is changing. Many believed that there were only two choices of bike, Harleys and "Crotch Rockets". Now there are so many great choices in between, naked standards, sport touring, adventure dual sport, etc. Not to mention there are more non-Harley cruiser choices than ever. For every HD rider that rolls on to that great slab in the sky, the replacement rider has scores of bike choices and HD must compete harder than ever for them.
Those who choose to embrace the competition will survive. Those who fail to, will not. If you have an ever shrinking pool of buyers, you have to work harder and harder for each successive sale.
Erik and crew have come too far to allow this next generation of Buell to fail at the hands of bad HD dealers. Conversely, HD dealers have a vested interest in their own survival.
That in sales is what we call a "win/win scenario". |
Soloyosh
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 06:51 pm: |
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The H-D/Buell dealer relationship is broken. I think in some cases it could be fixed by simply partitioning the showroom and providing a separate entrance for the Buell dealership, even if its in the same building.
Too often you have to goto a Harley dealership to buy a Buell. You should just be able to goto a Buell dealer. This especially with the 1125R and the 450 dirtbike essentially severing any ties that the bikes have with any H-D product. |
Mikej
| | Posted on Thursday, September 06, 2007 - 07:58 pm: |
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The relationship is getting better, trust me on this (and don't ask me why you should trust me because I won't tell you). There are some very interesting things happening (if you know when and where to listen and read and be).
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Windrider
| | Posted on Friday, September 07, 2007 - 09:52 pm: |
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Mike J,
You sound like Court.
I wish that I could be so enthusiastic.
I only know that in my 2 years of experiences with Buell ownership absolutely NOTHING has changed at the local dealer level.
I have to agree with Soloyosh: "The H-D/Buell dealer relationship is broken" |
Dr_greg
| | Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2007 - 10:40 am: |
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At the conclusion of my ride today I'm dropping by my local H-D/Buell dealer (where I bought the Uly 10/1/05 but has changed ownership since then).
My front rotor has a sticky spot which is driving me crazy. I'll be interested in their response. I'm out of warranty in about three weeks (34K miles to date).
My impression is that the Buell support has declined at that particular dealer since the ownership change. I'll post my opinion.
P.S. Don't tell me to try the aftermarket pads (forget the name now)...they're what caused the sticky spot. |
Mikej
| | Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2007 - 11:46 am: |
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I only got my first Buell in August 1999 (2000 M2), so I'm still a relative newbie. But I have seen some ups and downs at the local dealerships, even some ups and downs at the better local dealerships, yet the overall trend I've seen is a general overall improvement in the better dealerships and no reason to go to the other dealerships for much of anything beyond a free hotdog if they're having a nice street party. One of the local stores has gone thru a few ownership changes, had Buells, gave attempts at supporting Buells, even gave a seminar or two about Buells, then they dropped Buells, and I've heard a few other rumors since then.
The market is changing, the Harley market is changing, Buell is changing, but things are improving overall. It's always darkest before the dawn, use a flashlight or sleep in longer. 
Next summer should be very interesting on at least three different levels. Trust me, but I could be wrong. |
Johnny_uly
| | Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2007 - 12:47 pm: |
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Lets hope so, I will be taking delivery of my 08 soon and I am debating about that 5yr warranty plan... Is it worth it? |
Windrider
| | Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2007 - 08:58 pm: |
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Johnny uly,
Ask your dealer, and other Buell owners about warranty service expectations for delays. Every warranty claim that I have had has taken 3-4 weeks for them to even look at, then they will order a part and schedule another visit that is 2-3 weeks behind that. In two cases, I have deemed the delay not worth the wait and just fixed the problem out of my pocket. I just can't be without the Buell for 6 weeks during riding season.
I would not even consider an extended warranty knowing what the situation has been with my local dealer for response time to warranty issues but check out your local situation before you commit to a 5 year delayed service plan. |
Snowscum
| | Posted on Saturday, September 08, 2007 - 11:55 pm: |
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It did get better for me at my dealer even though it still not perfect, nor will it ever be. My first service was the worst but they don't sit on their bikes long. Out of 5 trips to the dealer I never had to leave it there overnight. Compared to some of the stories on here,its pretty good. They hired another Buell friendly salesman. Not sure on how many techs actually they have that know Buell. The one that I did like didn't stay there long. I've been down to Sun and they don't seem like their to into the scene. 1 buell and not much else. Right next door they sell KTM and the like. I'm surprised they dont sell them over with all the other sport/dirt bikes. Maybe thats the dealers their looking for to sell the 1125.
Alot of the big citys have owners that run both a harley store and another building that sell KTM,honda,etc ???? |
Johnny_uly
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 12:36 am: |
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I think I am going to drop the extended warranty plan. Thats another almost 1k down for them because of the dealer situation... |
Gtmg
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 12:19 pm: |
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Dont ever by a warranty that is not factory based. Things can change quickly in the motorsports retail world including shops going out of business and I think we will see some Harley shops bight the dust during this down turn. |
Johnny_uly
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 12:26 pm: |
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It is/was a factory warranty but I think my life would be easier if I just fix or have it fixed myself after 2 yrs. |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 06:38 pm: |
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I thought I was getting a great deal when I was offered two years' free maintenance or $500 worth of accessories when I bought my Uly. I took the service deal, in retrospect I should have taken the $500 and spent it on special tools...
When I brought it in after 3 days and told them it pinged they told me "Buells do that, run it higher rpms". When I asked them at the 1k to check the timing because the pinging was BAD I got it back with an "It's OK". It was "OK" until another dealer in ID found my timing too advanced from the factory...
They then left my bike an oily handprinted mess after the 5k, botched the sidecase latch issues, botched the sidestand recall, botched the warrantied oil cooler replacement, and still haven't reimbursed me for the money I spent having the timing set to spec out of state on a trip even though they supposedly looked into it at the 1k.
I've been doing my own services since the 5k but when my charging recently took a dump I was forced back to them. Even after I pointed out the regulator 77-connector issues brought forth here on BadWeB they insisted it was my stator.
Week and a half ago I let them replace my stator. Surprise surprise, now my bike wouldn't charge at all... when I insisted they check the VR they couldn't even separate the connector! Some check they did! I told them to button it up, and I took it home where I discovered the oily mess under the engine they left, the neutral light wouldn't work, the front wheel was chingered from their restraint system (more on that soon).
Service mgr told me they'd work on the problem but after three days (now 11 days) with no call I went to another dealer 50 miles away who actually stocked Buell parts and actually took an interest in them. Bought a VR and new connector and in a couple hours my bike was good as new.
Until Glendale Buell/HD disappoints me they are my new dealer, I wasn't treated like a leper there and the guy (Serge) behind the counter found me parts not even in the book!
Point to all this is the bottom line, that Buell is stuck in the mud with dealers like mine in the Simi Valley CA area that are just fine with selling you a $13k motorcycle but don't give a rat's ass about taking care of you afterward.
The Helicon could be Buell's leap forward but man am I afraid of the HD-alliance lopping BMC off at the knees... |
Teeps
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 08:02 pm: |
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I've heard good things about Glendale Buell. The Buell tech races Buells, or at least he did.
So was the regulator connector melted? |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 08:32 pm: |
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Melted big time Teeps. Don't have time now to post the pics but the negative terminal in the 77-connector had gotten so hot that plastic had flowed throughout it and fused the two halves together.
BadWebber RayS has an excellent doc that he sent me to check on that connector but mine was too far gone. And how the H does a tech determine a stator is bad without a VR check also? Burnt stators that still produce a charge get burnt for a reason, right?
I was very impressed by Glendale Buell. 50 miles isn't a real hardship for me since they're actually a few miles from where I work. What frosts me the most is the ignorance and serious lack of concern in the service department at my purchasing dealer when it comes to Buells. |
Rekrab
| | Posted on Sunday, September 09, 2007 - 11:59 pm: |
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Things are changing,. Just returned from Harley HOG Adirondack,Staff now has Buell patch on shirt sleeve. Looks good on the Black & Orange. My 08 Uly one month old and 7000 Mi. YES! |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 08:25 am: |
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Rekrab, did you just do the ironbutt???
Must be nice to have that much free time  |
Soloyosh
| | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 11:32 am: |
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Well, I'll update if I see any change this week. My bike wont start with the handlebars turned to the left. Also the fan started vibrating real bad and there is contact between the blades and the housing now (it's been making gravely type noises for 2 years). My warranty is up on Saturday (9/15). I'll report back on how it goes at Chandler. |
Xbimmer
| | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 03:35 pm: |
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Pics of my 77-connector my dealer should have found as the real source of my charging problem.
Not real clear but you can get the idea. Connector halves were fused together, dealer "techs" should have zeroed in on this during their "testing", especially after I asked them to. 
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Teeps
| | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 08:07 pm: |
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That is a classic example of localized "heat damage" (melting) due to high resistance.
Now the question is, how was the resistance created?
Those that ride in the rain might take a peek at this connector to prevent a similar failure. |
Johnny_uly
| | Posted on Monday, September 10, 2007 - 10:37 pm: |
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Yikes! |
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