| Author | Message | ||
     Hughlysses |
There are credible reports of HD already offering substantial incentives to dealers to move their Buell inventories. That seems to follow with Doerman's statements above. | ||
| Moxnix |
Intangible value includes the "goodwill" of Buell, missing in some H-D dealerships toward the brand and we customers. It's tough times in industry, in general, which will not help with the price, nor with the number of parties with potential interest in acquiring the BMC. Doerman presents cogent points. If a new BMC is to come forth, it will not be tomorrow at 2 o'clock. Maybe next year. | ||
| Eulysses |
It is always about the money...passion builds a company but money is blood. I too believe HD is preparing a tangible asset (hell, they bought it once!) for 2010 sale and probably have even talked to some key potential owners behind closed doors. Eric's video makes the situation "final" for 2009 losses for tax purposes...we sweat for a while but the asset is an incredible one...needs accurate marketing, dealer network, some capital and an economy with less fear. Bound to happen. | ||
| Bjbauer |
My wife just said "you should buy one" She is a great gal! My local dealer has a few 09 CR and R's on hand. Hard to resist if the price is right and I think it will be. | ||
| Reindog |
I purchased a new 09 XB12XP(minus the police lights, siren, and flashers) this afternoon at a substantial discount. HD will honor the warranty and parts should be available for years. | ||
| Geforce |
WTF has been going on in the world? I get back for the day from tip toeing over expended ordinance and blowing up tanks with a new weapon system and I take a moment to check BadWeb and it's like a bad preview for the movie 2012... HD is killing us? After this HISTORICAL year?!?! Friggin Hogwash... Well gents, it's time for a FRAGO...we don't just roll over and die like this. Adapt and overcome... If it is the end. I will be writing letters to BMC and asking it to be passed to the Elves. They have my highest regards and support in this. | ||
| Gian4 |
To Eric I've owned my M2 since 1998. Before I laid down the bucks I test rode my baby(how many companies let you do that now a days) but still had concerns about a small companies ability to last. Court called me at home in upstate NY and spoke to me about Buell, about his dog(I'm a vet) and about life. It was between a Ducati monster and the M2. Wellll the M2 now has 50,000 miles(best bike ever made right Court)and I love her as much now as day 1. I've ridden her to WI. for the 100th,to Tenn. WV. NC. Va. and NY. I met Eric and got his autograph on my Buell hat. I am a father of 2 beautiful girls and have a wonderful wife. I take my responsibilities seriously. My M2 always brought me home safely. Safely through the twisties through interstates traffic through snow and rain. Thank you Buell employees. Thank you Court. Thank you Eric. A sad day for all. Kenneth Gianetti Gian4 97 M2 Cyclone 50,000 trouble free miles | ||
| Ponti1 |
E-R-I-K The sentiment is certainly a good one...Sorry to be a pain, but at least spell the name right. He did lose his baby today. (Message edited by ponti1 on October 15, 2009) | ||
| Whatever |
Comon Court... spill the beans!!!  | ||
| Trackdad |
I agree with What ever.... Court where the hell are you??? | ||
| Joebuell |
C C C Court ?!?! Help us make some sense of this ! | ||
| Whatever |
Maybe try his cell phone??? | ||
| Whatever |
He is about to post... got 850 e-mails... will post soon... he is hopeful... | ||
| Whatever |
He has talked to 9 different countries... he said Australia is starting to e-mail as it is morning there... | ||
| Moxnix |
Court, take your time. When the crisis phase is over, when the heat is off, offer us the straight gouge and whatever hope is in the pipeline. Note that Court and Blake aren't posting, which may be a good thing. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
You guys are looking at Court as if he's Moses coming down from the mountain.....very funny! Here's the LINK he quoted: http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/Highli ghts+From+HOGs+Q3+Conference+Call%3B+Discontinues+ Buell+Brand,+Sees+More+Dealerships+Closing+in+N-T, +But+Intl+Growing/5020238.html | ||
| Whatever |
He ain't Moses but he has parted the red sea before...  | ||
| Clbofaz |
As an an economist and entrepreneur I feel deeply for Erik Buell and the workers that gave me a machine chalk full of innovation, pride and relentless enjoyment. ~Chris L Brewer | ||
| Davegess |
Not much hope in my heart, I posted my thoughts here. Kool-Aid ain't gonna help http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/17/ 504003.html?1255660337 | ||
| Cyclonedon |
Tomorrow is a Big day! I think I'm going to bed now after what I've seen today, I can't take it anymore! I hope to wake up tomorrow and discover this was just a bad dream I'm having! | ||
| Moxnix |
I noticed a 12% jump in the number of Buells on fleaBay since this a.m. | ||
| Glen |
i noticed the same thing. like rats jumping from a sinking ship.  | ||
| Tootal |
I've been reading reports, watching video, reading threads all day. All the financial stuff is above my pay grade, however, reading between the lines maybe what Court was hinting at is that the Buell name is dead but maybe the MoCo will continue to make the bikes under the Harley name to give the younger generation some name recognition. Erik did say he would continue with Harley. This might take a year to gel. Just speculating until Court sets me straight. He's been known to do that!  | ||
| Rangeridn |
Goodwill is simply the amount an acquiring company pays in excess of the value of the net tangible assets they acquire. When some group acquires the assets from HOG they will not be purchasing "Goodwill" from HOG. They will value the tangible assets they acquire and book the difference between what they paid and this valuation as goodwill. At the same time HOG will write down to $0 any goodwill still on its books associated with the Buell assets sold. If the HOG dealer network is not material to the future performance of the Buell brand there will be no goodwill associated with it. And... There will be no shortage of parties interested in the Buell brand/assets...and it won't take long... | ||
| Wheelybueller |
 I'm bummed,But I will be looking forward to the B.O.B sequel. | ||
| Vtwinbuell |
"Are any of the brand’s models going to be available as Harley-Davidson models? Harley-Davidson has no plans to produce Buell motorcycles as Harley-Davidson products." http://www.buell.com/en_us/q-and-a/index.asp} | ||
| Court |
Thanks Dave . . . it's why . . . since that day I walked in the quonset hut and met you that we've made such a great team! Okay . . . . we'll not get through everything tonight . . . but let me shed at least a little light . . . . knowing full well it'll likely create as many questions as answers. This will be rambling, I know . . but I'll try to hit on some of the questions I've gotten and share a bit of insight. First a couple cute anecdotes to give you a flavor for why, good day or bad, I am always fascinated with the world Erik Buell tossed me into. For starters . . . . and this, looking back, was kind of funny, but this could not have happened on a worse day for me. I was up at 0430, morning meetings in Manhattan and then off to meetings at the Nuke plant. To the 847 of you who sent e-mails from 9 countries today . . . and the 1032 Badweb posts . . . thank you for making my cell phone skating about the glass conference table the entertainment today. I've asked Erik to be more sensitive to the demands of my "day job" when he schedules the next "bad day". Wait? . . . did I say "bad day"? I'll tell you what I told Erik . . . . . of the 5 REALLY crappy days in Buell history . . . I'd put this one in perhaps the top 5 but nowhere near #1. Today's announcement is, in my eyes, is one of the most amazing dawning of opportunity I've seen. Some of you may not have realized it but the Harley-Davidson dealer network has. . at times. . constrained Buell. In fact . . . when the deal with Harley-Davidson was cut in February 1993 Harley-Davidson offered two things to Erik . . . . a motor and a dealer network. Take a guess at the two most difficult things Buell has dealt with over the years. Selling MV Agusta made sense . . . every idiot who has ever bought it (and I personally love the bikes) wakes up the next morning sleeping next to what Claudio sold them . . . . realizes what they bought while drinking the wine the night before, pays the back taxes to the Italian government and sells it. It's a company filled with more passion than sense. I hope they live long but I'd never want to try to sort out the business model. Harley wisely canned a couple of the folks who made the deal and are now getting rid of the company. Buell is a different story. Buell MOTORCYCLE Company . . . . . only designs and builds motorcycles. Harley-Davidson, through their subsidiary Buell Distribution Corporation, handles EVERYTHING else from dealer relations, demos, pr, marketing, media, technical service, technical publications, legal, customer service, warranty and so forth. Selling Buell to another company would entail granting unfettered access. Justifiably unwise. So. . . where do we go from here. I've got two answers . . . . . both that I am 100% certain of. 1) I have no idea. 2) It's going to be damned exciting. My confidence is based on experience and a keen insight in the the way Erik's mind works. Everybody is going to need a bit of time to sort things out. There are some housekeeping issues to be dealt with immediately. It will be welcome news to many of you that the premier "deliverable" from Erik's standpoint is the support of Buell Customers. Buell Elves are hard at work making certain that everything that Harley-Davidson will need to support Buell Customers over the coming years is delivered complete, in the proper format and in a fashion that will allow Harley to provide the best customer support they can. Interesting tidbits . . . . just cause I know many of you will understand and appreciate. Erik did indeed make the announcement to the Buell employees. He would never allow anyone else to do that. Period. There are a couple, it's what I've come to expect from Elves, AMAZING stories that have already happened of Elves, having just got the news, who are doing extraordinary things on their own to insure certain things are completed prior to the winding down. There is another amazing story that I'm sure I shouldn't share but am going to . . . . . most of you know Erik Buell and Jon Flickinger . . . this will seem "just the way Buell operates" to you . . . other need to hear this and I'm going to make an exception to my long standing practice of not talking about families. Today Erik's wife was at home . . . . there is a knock on the door. She opens the door to see the TV trucks and a reporter is standing there. He tells her that he'd gone to the factory and that HD PR folks had the building secured and were not allowing interviews so he figured he'd try the house. But as he was leaving some Buell employees came out and he got to speak to them. The reporter when on to say that "for 20+ years I've been covering business and lots of plant closings in the Milwaukee area. As I spoke to the Buell employees today each of them talked about their dedication, how much they loved their job, the company and what an amazing company it was". The reporter told Mrs. Buell . . "please tell your husband that we were impressed, that's not what we typically hear following a plant closing announcement". I've got to sleep but I'm going to share with you what I told Erik this morning. . . I was guessing about some things but here's what I know. I don't know what he's going to do. I do know him. I know he's not going to retire. (his wife affirms that work or not . . he's leaving the house every morning  ) I know he has realized only a fraction of some of his amazing ideas. I know that each and every time, over the last 23 years I've been around him . . . . .and something like this has happened that sticking to the Buell Values has always resulted in the most amazing things happening. I, in my PERSONAL OPINION, feel quite certain the best chapters in the history of Buell are yet to be written. It's going to take Erik a bit to take a couple deep breaths and get his balance. I watched that video today, made it to 15 seconds and started crying. I thought back to the last time I sat in Erik's office late at night, just the two of us and he cried. I was hurt today as I watched my friend hurt like that. I knew the pain he felt had nothing to do with him but was his personal feeling that he'd somehow let others, owners and employees down. In closing . . . . I'd suggest that I have no ill will toward Harley-Davidson and no purpose is served with unkind words. I think the decision will be one they will come to regret. When I look, particularly after they'd led analysts to believe they would be sharing rosy information, at the results they posted today . . . any losses resulting from Buell would be immaterial, they've much bigger concerns. I summed it up when I got home tonight and visited with my wife . . . . I told her it there were two boats in the harbor, one marked Buell and the other marked Harley-Davidson . . . . . I'd get on the Buell boat. I suspect it'll be going amazing places. Thanks to all of you for your patience . . . that's not much but its a glimpse of what I can share. I will say I'm excited and eager to see what the future holds for the next 174 years. Most of all . . . and I can't speak on Erik's behalf . . . .but I can tell you that your loyalty, friendship and support is what drives and sustains him. For those of you who would like . . . and trust me he could use a few kind words from owners (more on that later) . . . it'd be great if you could just drop him a note and tell him "I believe in you". I have for years and I've never once regretted it. We'll talk more. By the way . . . . I wanted to try to catch up tonight . . . but there are 1032 posts here. I've talked to folks, as Char said from 9 countries today, been inundated with e-mails and even heard from 2 investment bankers . . . so if you wrote, be patient and I'll try to help with anything I can. You guys are wonderful. Court P.S. - Ya gotta love the carefree Aussies at Philip Island . . . . . they are at the Moto GP laughing, drinking and having fun . . . I call "did you get the news about Buell?' . . .and the Aussies . . ."no, we didn't even know they were entered". | ||
| Dentguy |
Thanks Court. Been thinking about this all day and was waiting for your post. I'm sure you had a tough day yourself and I appreciate your personal and touching thoughts. Thanks for sharing them and for the info. Steve. (Message edited by dentguy on October 16, 2009) | ||
| Froggy |
Thank you Court, I figured you were up to your eyeballs with everything. I am glad I am not the only one that cried after seeing that video this morning. | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
So court how do we go about dropping that note to Erik, because he's gotta a couple thousand(probably hundreds of thousands) words of encouragement coming his way as soon as we know... BUELLS FOR LIFE!! oh and go....  Jake |
