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Mbc
| Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 04:02 am: |
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First,no disrespect to H.D.Inc.,as they must do what it takes to survive.Without them it would not have come this far.I truly believe that this runs a lot deeper than the lose of my favorite motorcycle.Too much of what built this country into what it is today is going away,and with it the way we live today.We can not afford to lose any more mfg. and production in this country.What will happen to the Buell inovations,mfg. rights,patens.Will it all be sold,given away,shelved or vaporized ? The "Barn door" must stay open,maybe not on dbl hinges,maybe just a crack but open is open.When I looked at Buell in recent times it made me believe that "Made in America" still means something,Pride,Quality,Craftsmanship,Fortitude to stand behind your product and take care of customers(this is one of the things that really screamed out to me).Things are going to have to change,poeple are going to have to change or the life as we know it will no longer exist.There are answers out there,I just refuse to say "Thanks and Goodbye".At present I can not afford to buy a new motorcycle,but I would put forth great effort for the mfg. right to just one piece or part if I thought it would keep the door cracked open,not just yours but mine as well. Roymfg. |
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Gregtonn
| Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 03:50 pm: |
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"What will happen to the Buell inovations,mfg. rights,patens.Will it all be sold,given away,shelved or vaporized ?" It has been hijacked by HD. G |
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Petereid
| Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 10:00 pm: |
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It has been hijacked by HD I would bet HD paid quite a fair price for it. The question should be would they be willing to sell it. I bet not. |
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Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Friday, October 16, 2009 - 10:11 pm: |
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Well put Mbc. It saddens me to lose yet another American company, but I know many just dont get that. I've read of many that would now like to see HD go down too because of this. Then what? I dont like what they did, but the real cause is the current economy. We are not in a run of the mill economic cycle. This is serious. If every one thought things would turn out this way they would have done something. Sadly though, many were too busy making money hand over fist selling houses to people who couldnt afford them, at a 1% interest rate, and then selling those loans as a sound investment. It was a house of cards. Many took the hit when the wind blew and it should come as no surprise that when major corporations were threatening to close down, that Harley Davidson/Buell, a maker of 'recreational' vehicles, might be in trouble too. |
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Snakebreak
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 01:26 am: |
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I do not wish HD anything, but of I had my choice it would be Buell, not HD that survived. I have no use for for weak motorcycles. |
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Moonrunrs
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 01:52 am: |
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Gearheader, It seems what's killing HD and led to the end of Buell is not just the general economic downturn, it's the actions of HD's finance division. They adopted the same greed and cavalier attitude toward credit that destroyed the banking industry. So, That foolish mentality led to chaos on Wall St. and the end to American sportbikes. Read these articles: http://hellforleathermagazine.com/ |
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Gregtonn
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 02:49 am: |
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"I would bet HD paid quite a fair price for it." You would lose that bet. Because they owned BMC they could incorporate much of BMC patented technology into HD badged bikes. If they sold BMC they would lose control of those patents and others. That is the real reason they say that untangling Buell from the MoFuCo would be nearly impossible. G |
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Jon
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 03:41 am: |
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Harley is a business run by the Raider Nation. Their head guy is what...the chief of style? The real enthusiast and genius has been disconnected for stupid poorly thought out reasons. They are not enthusiasts, they have betrayed and dumped their customers. Erik would not have done that. |
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Reepicheep
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 10:58 am: |
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Easy enough to grant a royalty free license for HD to all existing Buell patents for future motorcycles. Happens all the time, sometimes formally, sometimes informally (i.e. two companies are clearly infringing on each others patents and know they cant shoot the other guy without killing themselves)... |
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Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 08:26 pm: |
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First lets understand that the economy is hurting almost everyone. HD makes 'recreational vehicles', these are the easiest (and usually first) things to cut out of your budget when money gets tight. I did choose my words carefully. They, like many other companies, did not prepare well for this 'recession' and kept their head in the sand (really, could anybody not see some kind of economic devastation coming with the financial practices that were commonplace?). They perhaps are not making the best of decisions, but they wound up in the same sinking boat as everyone else and maybe they are panicking as every hole they plug, two more appear. Only time will tell if cutting Buell was the right decision for Harley Davidson. More rambling: I read constantly that HD isnt doing anything to get new customers, they should diversify into other motorcycle types, they havent done anything innovative. Perhaps from a purely financial standpoint 'business as usual' could be deadly. From a product perspective 'business as usual' has proved very lucrative. Lets look at the last fifty years, briefly: The 1950's everybody came out with a scooter, so did Harley. And that lasted how long and sold how well? The 1960's-1970's when the Japanese invasion began, Harley came out with the small motorcycles. Did that really change their market share? Lets not forget the XLCR. That sat in showrooms for years (just like the XR1000 did). The 1980's saw HD very near closing the doors and while they did look into developing some new models/types they decided to stick with what they know. Its worked that way for a very long time. Thats their niche and considering its probably the most copied motorcycle style in the world, they'll probably stick with it. There is also a lot more choice in models now than there was in the dark days of the early 1980's. Lets be clear: I dont like the decision. I dont think its the right decision for HD and it certainly wasnt the right decision for Buell (time will tell, but I'm skeptical). But Harley's and sportbikes made strange bedfellows. I'll rant about the whole stupid 'sportbikes vs Harley' mentality elsewhere. I'm going out to the garage for some 'therapy'.now. This whole thing is still depressing. |
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Bombardier
| Posted on Sunday, October 18, 2009 - 04:11 am: |
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I will be very surprised if the BMC is allowed to live again. HD have just gotten rid of their competition for a V-TWIN and would not like to see it again. |
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Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Monday, October 19, 2009 - 01:41 am: |
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HD have just gotten rid of their competition for a V-TWIN and would not like to see it again. While you're not the first to write that, someone at HD would have to be completely clueless about motorcycles to think that. Buells and Harley's are completely different bikes and someone coming in to buy a "Crossbones" wasnt likely to walk out with an 1125R. Moreover, it would've been the other way around. The only two crossover vehicles that people might have chosen a Buell over Harley would be first the Blast vs the 883, for a new rider. Buell ditched the Blast, so thats not an issue.The second would possibly be the XR1200 and I dont see HD as getting into the sportbike market through the Sportster. The Japanese companies and their V-twins are the real competition, certainly never Buell.
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Skvarki
| Posted on Saturday, October 24, 2009 - 12:50 am: |
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I disagree, life as we know it WILL continue to exist... in China though instead of America. Manufacturing will come back to America one day after we bottom and China peaks. Good livin catches up to people, we can step in and make all the rubber dog shit they need then... |
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