| Author | Message | ||
     Duggram |
In a different thread Court made a comment about getting to know Danny before he returns to a Buell. Of course I would like to see this happen. I think all the former AMA Buell riders & teams should return to the 1125. But do you really think something like this could happen? Both RMR and Latus have or are selling all of their Buell stuff. Would it be that easy for them to retool back in to Buell, say next season? I'm naive on big time racing. Please straighten me out. What kind of scenario would it take to get them back? | ||
| 99buellx1 |
Money. With no contingency support or sponsorship, I htink it would be hard to make it work. | ||
| Spank |
There has to be a stable situation for these teams to switch back. ....I pray for that everyday!! | ||
| Buell2001b |
well, I don't know enough about racing myself, but I would say it would be awesone to see Danny back on the 1125R. i think thta bike was made for guys like him. I see how Stoner has so much success with Ducati and I think some guys are meant to ride a certain bike with a certain feel. I hope HD sells buell or brings it back and with that help the guys that want to ride a Buell. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
I don't think you'll see a major player come back to Buell unless Buell comes back. A big company, such as geico wants to be on a currently available motorcycle, for marketing reasons of course, which is what sponsorship is all about. Add in the loss of contingency money and there's no good business reason to run a defunct motorcycle companys machine. | ||
| Backcountryme |
I really think it will be hard for Buell to get any major teams back at this point. Not only do the sponsors want to see the teams the support on a current bike, but the whole debate about the 1125 being in Sportbike will scare some sponsors away. As much as I love the Buells, if I were a sponsor I wouldn't want my team in the middle of it. There is unfortunately a feeling out in the greater community that Danny's championship was undeserved because of the bike he was on. That of course is crap and we all know it. Danny, RMR, and Buell had to earn that #1 plate. Even John Ulrich agrees. But in the sponsors eyes that is controversy that is un wanted. Anyhow, I don't see any major teams switching to Buell until there are some major changes to the Buell line. Bad, on the AMA level I really don't think that contingency money makes that much of a difference. At least not to the major teams. | ||
| Buellhusker |
 You will see teams coming back to Buell when you see NASCAR teams returning to running Oldsmobile's, Pontiac's and Plymouth's at Daytona. It is sad but that is the way it is. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Well put husker. | ||
| Trojan |
The biggest problem that Buell faces is that their bikes are no longer 'road production bikes' so won't qualify for the majority of production based championships worldwide. Even the AMA can only hold that door open for a limited time before being accused of favouritism (again), so unless Buell produce at least some 'homologation special' road bikes I can't see how they can come back to mainstream production based Superbike/ racing. There are some race series that are not production based of course, such as Sound of Thunder and some Supertwins championships. The problem with these is that they are not seen as 'major' race championships and carry little if any prize money or TV/media coverage. Manufacturers tend not to get involved in them other than the odd brief foray (such as Moto Guzzi with their MGS01 at Daytona)as they are not very well publicised, so would it be worth Buell and sponsors entering........possibly if there was nothing else available to them. | ||
| Duggram |
So the bottom line appears to be that Buell in pro racing won't happen for much longer. However couldn't this change if HD had a change of heart and sold the 1125 rights to another manufacturer (i.e. Can-AM)? That's the only solution I can think of. Hopefully as HD's financial situation becomes more direr this could happen. | ||
| Elvis |
I think the idea that Erik Buell won't produce street-bikes again is like the idea, a few years ago, that Buell would never produce a water-cooled model. The questions are 'how' and 'when' not 'if'. If he has to start from scratch, it might take a while, but Danny Eslick, Taylor Knapp and Cory West are all young enough to still be racing when that happens. | ||
| Trojan |
I think the idea that Erik Buell won't produce street-bikes again is like the idea, a few years ago, that Buell would never produce a water-cooled model. The questions are 'how' and 'when' not 'if'. If he has to start from scratch, it might take a while, but Danny Eslick, Taylor Knapp and Cory West are all young enough to still be racing when that happens. Building just a few hand built road bikes may not be enough to satisfy the requirements of the current rules. He will have to produce enough to satisfy the homologation procedure for easch respective race series. The days when small manufacturers got big breaks in homologation are pretty much gone now, so you would be talking substantial quantities before he could get bikes homologated for production racing. If Erik gets back into road bike production then I would think that homologating for race use would be quite low on the list of priorities/problems. If Bombadier or someone else were able to buy the manufacturing rights for the 1125 and mass produce road bikes straight away then it would be a different matter altogether. (Message edited by trojan on February 22, 2010) | ||
| Duggram |
Hey Court, it looks like you deleted your post before I could get to this thread. If I had your industry/Buell insider knowledge I wouldn't have to start a thread like this. I hope you understand that I'm not trying to offend you. Your contributions here are some of the most valuable that we have, and too many of the Buell insiders have been run off by careless posting. I'm trying to gauge the future. Not just from a fan's perspective, but from a consumer's. Of course I'd like to see Buell in pro racing for as long as possible. However, before I dump major $ into my 1125 I'd like to know where we're going. I get a lot pressure to sell my Buell race bike and get one made in Japan (with all the arguments to support their opinion). It does make sense but I'd rather stay with the Buell. And, of course continue to enjoy watching Buells in AMA pro racing. BTW I look forward to your Daytona race reports, especially how the Buells fair against the Suzukis. | ||
| Davegess |
Doug, I don’t know that I can offer any real insight to you but I will try. The1125 bikes that are currently homologated for various American Racing series based on the production of these bikes in 2009 and 2010. The will likely remain eligible for these classes until there is a basic rule change, like a new displacement limit. EBR will be supplying parts and support for the foreseeable future. After a couple of years the bikes with likely be less competitive as newer, tricker machines hit the track and the existing bikes wear out. I would think you are solid for 2010 and 2011 and perhaps even into 2012. You could likely rebuild your bike indefinitely but by 2012 I suspect you may be finding that the new bikes are lighter and faster just because that happens. I don’t know about most international race series but if the bike was homologated fro 2009 or 2010 it will likely stay homologated the same as above. I am not sure that this was ever done. I don’t know if an individual can applyto have a bike homologated or if it has to come from the manufacturer. It would ordinarily be done by them or the importer BUT the rules may not require that. The rules may not be real specific as actual year of manufacture. It may be possible to homologate a bike based on 2009 manufacturing numbers; I really don’t know. Since one would be unlikely to try and race a old model against a newer model the rules may be vague on this. As far as ERB going into series production and homologating an new 1125 or 1190. I rather doubt that Erik will have the resources or the legal rights to do this. After his non-compete is done; not sure when that is but some are saying late next year, I would not be in the least surprised to see Erik launch a new company heavily focused on high performance sport bikes. These will likely not be based on the 1125 but a newer design. Erik is always about 10 years ahead of the rest of use so I am sure he has several bike designs already buzzing about in his head. Enjoy your bike, enjoy the really personal attention you are likely to get from EBR and don’t worry about your buddies. When you start beating them you can enjoy the whining  | ||
| Duggram |
Dave, thank you for the insight. It will help me in making my plans and give me something to look forward to. | ||
| Court |
Dave: You nailed it.
That's nearly a direct quote from the AMA Rule book. There is no "year of manufacturer" or "model year" in the rules. A motorcycle, once homologated, remains so until the rules change.
Close. 12 years. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
"I hope HD sells buell or brings it back and with that help the guys that want to ride a Buell." So many here on badweb express thoughts like this, and I still don't understand it. Most of us bitched and moaned about going to HD dealers for parts, being treated like outcasts, etc. Why go back to the same old thing!? Buell is no longer hindered by HD. That's what I wanted all along. Am I alone in that? When I say "Buell", I'm not referring to BMC but instead to Erik Buell, his ideas, and the motorcycles he builds. Buell will be alive and well as long as I'm riding mine. |
