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Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 03, 2012 - 02:35 pm: | 
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quote:The worse part of all, unless someone can show me otherwise, is that I have never ever seen any support about bike problems from EB. Am I going to spend $30,000 on the new Buell?
I hope not.
If $20k entitles somebody to rant in the face of every observable fact and declare that they were a "victim" and Erik Buell somehow sold them out for money... I shudder to think what they would feel entitled to say or do for $30k more. Yikes. |
Crusty
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 03, 2012 - 02:47 pm: |
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I have seen the absolute best Customer Service from Buell that I've ever experienced. I personally saw and heard Erik tell a mechanic at a local shop to take the wheel off his personal bike, so that a rider at Homecoming could get home. I have a few stories about my experiences that show just how far "Above and Beyond" Buell has gone to keep me satisfied.
Without going into the story again, the phrase, "You'll be at Homecoming if I have to come out to Massachusetts and bring you back myself!" will always reinforce my opinion of the best Customer Service in the industry.
You obviously never had to deal with the vaunted Honda customer service. Or any other manufacturer, for that matter.
Nobody goes out of their way as much as Buell did for me and many other Buell owners that I know.
$20K? Between my Buells, and the Buells of my Ex-wife and family, we've spent well over $50K. I don't regret a cent of it. |
Pkforbes87
| | Posted on Tuesday, April 03, 2012 - 02:51 pm: |
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Yeah.. um. I'm not sure where that came from, but I don't believe EBR or any of it's staff have access to all of the things required to "support" Buell owners. HD made it pretty clear that they would support Buell for a somewhat indefinite amount of time. Nobody really knows how long that will last.. certain aspects of that support have already disappeared, but it seems to me that if any Buell owner has a problem with their motorcycle, they should take it up with HD, not EBR. EBR is essentially nothing more than an aftermarket supplier for Buell parts at this point. They've done a great job answering my questions and providing me with a quality product with regards to their "aftermarket" race ecm. I would venture to guess that they'll do the same for anyone else concerning any of the parts, accessories, or services they offer for Buell owners.
They are not a "Buell" company.
Complaining about a lack of Buell support from EBR is like complaining that Ford won't service a post-2008 Jaguar. It's not their baby any more. |
Swampy
| | Posted on Wednesday, April 04, 2012 - 10:51 pm: |
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get a black one... |
Motorbike
| | Posted on Thursday, April 05, 2012 - 11:53 am: |
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Or red. |
Ourdee
| | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 - 01:23 am: |
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I had a rear bearing failure at HomeComing. Erik Buell (EB) went into the service area at Hal's hd with me and signed my bike. I turned to leave when I noticed Erik wasn't leaving. He knelt down at the rear of my bike to personally take a look at the bearings. I found out later that he said to take the wheel off his Uly and put it on mine if they didn't get mine repaired in time. Earlier that day he had a man from the factory put parts for my bike in the front seat of the car and bring them to Hal's in case the ones Hal's ordered didn't come in.
I claim he went above and beyond my expectations. As said earlier, EBR is not the Buell that hd owns. Erik is no longer an employee of hd, and has no authorization to fix hd problems. If I had a disposable 40k I'd be on an 1190 and trying to put a side car on my Uly for winter commuting. My RS would be arctic white over carbon fiber with blue wheels and aerodynamic aluminum hard bags. |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2012 - 09:38 pm: |
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I'll back that up.
I was in Daytona in '02, for the XB release and demo rides. A co-worker was on an X1W that was having some hiccups.
We got back from the ride ("don't pass the lead rider" they said...hell, we couldn't SEE the lead rider half the time!!), and Blaine's bike wasn't where we left it (next to my M2).
Back of the trailer, there's his X1W plugged into a digital tech computer.
Guess who was holding the computer and fretting over the bike?
(it didn't hiccup after that, either!)
Erik will bend over backwards to help "his" owners. The problem is...his hands are largely tied by politics, and contracts.
Erik still gets himself in trouble sometimes, though, by helping "too much". And I respect that.
Immensely.
The man is passionate about his motorcycles, and about the people who love them.
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Buelldualsport
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 06:19 pm: |
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Passion for the sport, support of his bikes and riders.
Erik Buell |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 06:56 pm: |
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Whoa nellie . . . no flame on my ass but you are chuck full to the gunwales with incorrect and inaccurate data.
I've owned 9 Buells, ridden over 1,000 and been paid to ride Buells in 44 states. I was riding a Buell when there were all the owners in the world could fit in a school bus.
I also handled the customer service for Erik for a number of years . . . as many of those here that I sent new bikes, the fellow who I sent 4 sets of Uly bags until he got a set he deemed "perfect" and the folks that I loaded bikes in the back of my truck and drove all night to get them on their way on vacation while we sort their bike out.
I am also the one who coordinated the replacement of every front rotor at an event in the UK while all the owners where at lunch so they'd have the latest and the greatest.
My only marching orders in 28 years of working with Erik Buell were "be honest, do the right thing and do whatever it takes" . . . .I, quite literally, had zero limits on what I could do and, as many here will attest was just as capable of telling a customer they were full of shit as I was to give them a brand new bike.
I'm a no bullshit sort of guy.
I've watched Erik, on a number of occasions, blow off HD executive meetings to work on owners motorcycles. Some here recall the red S2 he "took a look at" and spent the next four hours, missing dinner, sorting out . . . many recall when the 4 XBRR's DNF'd at Daytona and Erik, who could have been ducking questions, instead bailed from a HD executive function to drive 90 minutes and spend the evening hanging with owners, answering questions openly and honestly.
You statements hold no water.
Harley-Davidson owned Buell Motorcycle Company lock, stock and barrel. When they came in they took over everything . . when they cut Buell loose, they went so far as to take a $250,000,000 white off to completely wipe Buell off everything.
No one at EBR has access to any information, parts, service or support . . in fact, damn near the opposite.
If you have a problem, share with us what your experience has been talking to Harley-Davidosn. You have called, right? I ask . . because frequently folks come here . . piss, moan and whine and haven't taken one bloody step to do a damn thing to resolve the problem.
I can answer your a last question as well . . . you won't be buying a $30,000 EBR bike. My guess is that you'll always find a negative reason not to . . in addition, there won't be such a thing.
Court
By the way . . . there is NOTHING in any of the following that is accurate.
quote:A man who took "HDs 10 bucks" and left people like me to sort out the problems for our/myself. And before anyone gets a "Flame on there ass" about this I have spent more than $20,000 on Buells so I have the right.
The worse part of all, unless someone can show me otherwise, is that I have never ever seen any support about bike problems from EB. Am I going to spend $30,000 on the new Buell?
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Xbimmer
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 09:37 pm: |
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Rock on, Court. |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 10:04 pm: |
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Sorry . . . I've grown weary of this nonsensical bullshit being spewed as "fact". |
Ratbuell
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 11:01 pm: |
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Amen, Court. You have the clout and personal experience to back up what I try to say about the man...but I've only met him a handful of times, and every time I type something like my post I hope I'm not stepping out of line by doing so.
I have spent more than $20,000 on Buells so I have the right.
Let me fix that:
I have spent more than $20,000 with Harley Davidson
There. THAT, as Court might say, is "accurate". |
Court
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2012 - 11:40 pm: |
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I spent well over $20,000 on my first Buell and have had 2 that were over $25,000 by the time I took delivery. One, admittedly, we went way over board on.
But . . and the salient point here . . . Buell has never dispensed customer service predicated on a customers level of spending. If you are a customer you are entitled to the best experience we could provide.
I've written and studied extensively on customer service trends, policies, and emerging issues. For an interesting take on that small % of folks who simply can never be satisfied read "U Will B Satisfied" by Bob Tasca . . one of the most amazing car dealers in the history of autos.
Erik Buell's commitment to doing the right thing is without parallel and is nothing short of amazing.
Was in 1987 . . .still is.
Court
P.S.- by the way . . . if anyone is ever interested in customer advocacy, customer service or any of the related disciplines there are some wonderful books out there. I have about 40 in my library and the Harvard Business School Journal has published some great, very "Buell Centric" stuff on the nature of customer service. The last I wrote was concerned with aligning what the CUSTOMER perceives as "Service" and what the COMPANY perceives as service . . there are sometimes major disconnects where companies think they are doing much and yet customers feel slighted. |
Buelldualsport
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 07:21 pm: |
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Great input Court
And as always, well written. |
Froggy
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2012 - 07:53 pm: |
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quote:I spent well over $20,000 on my first Buell and have had 2 that were over $25,000 by the time I took delivery.
My first Buell cost me well over $20k before I even picked it up, so I am glad to see I wasn't the only one! |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 - 02:50 pm: |
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"By the way . . . there is NOTHING in any of the following that is accurate.
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
Quote: man who took "HDs 10 bucks" and left people like me to sort out the problems for our/myself. And before anyone gets a "Flame on there ass" about this I have spent more than $20,000 on Buells so I have the right.
The worse part of all, unless someone can show me otherwise, is that I have never ever seen any support about bike problems from EB. Am I going to spend $30,000 on the new Buell?"
Well Court that may be your opinion but you are NOT THE ONE who has had to deal with the problems that many Buell owners in the UK/EU have had and still do for that matter. And yes I DO HAVE THE RIGHT to ask. I am a consumer of a product and as far as I am concerned it does not matter if its a ball point pen or space shuttle I expect it to work.
This is not "moaning" about a little rust on the can its about ME asking why I had a bike, with a two year warranty, the dealer could not fix and took me two years to figure out for myself. Or was that expecting to much.
If you think that anyone, who spends $13,000 RRP on a bike that runs like a busted washing machine and thinks "Oh never mind I will park it up and walk away" is going to be happy, I would like to meet you because you are clearly not of this world. A rare treat to be sure.
Oh and before you start my area of work is waaaaaay past the electo-mecanical engineering levels of bikes. |
Buelldualsport
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 - 07:35 pm: |
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Maybe the Uly is just not your "Cup of Tea Mate"
If you don't like it, sell it, get something you like. Let the rest of the bike world enjoy their choice.
Regards
(Message edited by Buelldualsport on May 01, 2012) |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Tuesday, May 01, 2012 - 10:40 pm: |
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Come on guys, Uly_man is DEFINITELY a Buell guy and I applaud him for asking questions and expressing opinions/experiences. I love my Ulysses and I plan to have it as long as I ride but I'm all for asking questions, expressing opinions, and accepting anyone who does so, whether they are positive or negative comments/questions about Buells and I bet Erik would agree. I don't know Uly_man but from reading posts on this forum I know he has had a couple Ulysses' and maybe more Buell's, and I know he is drawn to Buell's. A forum that gets bugged about 'tougher' questions or comments based on experience is not a good forum and this forum is supposedly the best forum for Buell owners. NO Buell owner's opinion is better than the next's, NO ONE'S, despite their connections or desired status. If we can't discuss comments, questions, etc., that are expressed civilly, than our forum isn't near what we like to think it is. We're ALL Buellers here!  |
Buelldualsport
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 09:24 am: |
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There is a difference between tough questions and whining and bitching.
Guess I need to understand the difference.
No worries, I can just ignore the thread.
BTW I have spent well over $50,000 since 1999 on Buell bikes, accessories, and collectables and do not feel that Erik Buell owes me a thing. I made MY CHOICE, spent my money. It is after all a free world and human beings have the right of free will!
Regards |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 10:14 am: |
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Actually BuellerXT, thats a good point, but not quite accurate. We are closer to a technocracy here. Of course anyone is free to have or offer an opinion, but if that opinion is based on flawed logic, it will be challenged and discussed (hopefully civilly and respectfully).
Court, who knows, correctly pointed out many flaws in the accuracy of the stated opinion.
The simple fact that someone has owned a Buell doesn't make it enjoyable for the rest of us to listen to them bitch and whine about Buells. We have had people like that here before, who think that owning one gives them the right to come and just wallow in misery. At the end of the day, this is an enthusiasts forum.
If your particular Buell was a piece of crap (some are), or if you just don't like the particular engineering tradeoffs that the designers of your bike made (some don't), sell it. Heck, we will probably even do a really good job of helping you do a better job picking it's replacement. So it's perfectly valid for us, at some point, to say "sell the stupid bike already and stop whining".
I've done it with bikes I initially liked (cough*yamaha*cough, cough*kawasaki*cough) but that were really, at the end of the day, pieces of crap. I don't feel the need to go to enthusiast forums for those bikes and go on and on about why I ended up hating the ones I had. Though I was sorely tempted after working on a buddies Virago... yikes!
So the general rule is that you can offer an opinion as an opinion (I hate orange bikes) and not get grief, provided you don't go on and on about it. At which point you are just being a bore.
But if you offer an opinion that is factually incorrect (for example Erik Buell sold out Buell owners to for money from Harley, or an engine with higher torque is more powerful than an engine with higher horsepower) you can expect to be called on it.
The other "community value" is that we try and be positive. Not naive, but if there is a problem, we try and move it forward and make it better. Witness the great work on a really sticky problem with the 1125 stator. Complaining about a problem isn't moving it forward.
We are agreed that we should be inclusive, respectful, and civil. That doesn't mean we have to pretend everyone is always right though.
(Message edited by reepicheep on May 02, 2012) |
Buellerxt
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 11:44 am: |
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Good post, Reepicheep. I agree with all of it. Opinions need to be expressed as 'opinions' and not as facts, for sure. Hopefully that is what was intended above. And continuous rants and whining, not saying that happened above because I haven't read it all closely, GETS OLD real quick. Again, good post. Thanks.
(Message edited by buellerxt on May 02, 2012) |
Uly_man
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 01:32 pm: |
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I am sorry if anyone thinks I have been rude, a whine, a bore or think I have insulted EB or his work. It was not my intention at all. In fact it is quite the opposite even though it may not sound so sometimes. I guess I get a little "carried away" at times and I apologize for that as well.
My opinions are my own and I do not, or ever would, expect anyone else to agree with them. On the other hand I still, as a consumer, believe I have the right to question a product, service etc and I will never detract from that stand point. |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 01:51 pm: |
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quote:I am sorry if anyone thinks I have been rude, a whine, a bore or think I have insulted EB or his work.
I absolute agree and never, for one moment, thought thou rude, whining or boring
My statement, nothing more than my opinion, was that some of the things stated as fact were, again in my opinion, inaccurate.
My opinion of what is and is not fact may differ from yours. We have varying perspectives and access to information.
I would never suggest mine is right and yours is wrong . . simply that it's my opinion.
Badweb, among the various enthusiasts site I participate in F-150 trucks, Ford Focus and Porsche, is light years ahead in terms of listening to diverse and divergent opinions openly.
When I hear an opinion that varies from my own I read, challenge, question my own point of view and respond. M participate, I don't judge.
These are exciting times, the emotion is a predictable by product.
The good news is that the next year is going to be exponentially more exciting . . so tuning up our communication skills is a total "win-win'.
Court |
Pons
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 02:04 pm: |
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You can get pretty frustated with this hobby if you buy something that doesn't agree with you. In one year I went from a FJR to a Ultra Classic to a Ulysses. The FJR was crazy fast but had a electrical glitch in the harness and I just couldn't fix it short of replacing the whole harness so I traded it for what I thought was the nicest luxo tourer around (I've had Goldwings in the past) but the Ultra handled really crappy in the twisties and was hard to maneuver for me because it's so top heavy. So I bought a Ulysses last fall and I like it a lot. Looks good, sounds good, handles good, pretty comfy. I'm sure I'm gonna eventually find something that will spark a trade for another bike I just can't live without. Since I'm not rich, I can only do one bike at a time. I also went into it knowing Buell no longer was a dealer or associated with one that was excited about me being a happy camper. |
Petereid
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 03:33 pm: |
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the fellow who I sent 4 sets of Uly bags until he got a set he deemed "perfect"
ok I admit I was a pain in the butt with the bags......But I did end up buying a 1125cr to go with my Uly
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Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 03:44 pm: |
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>>>ok I admit I was a pain in the butt with the bags....
You were easy . . you only took 3 sets. In fact, it was kinda fun . . . I had the guys at the factory mount the last set before they were shipped and do an extensive water intrusion test.
There was one year I gave away like 7 bikes. . . . . each and every case (I have a record of each and every one of the thousands I've handled over the years) was a pleasure . . you can not, while I am in my customer service mode, be a pain in the ass.
My orders were to make certain the customer had a great ownership experience.
I did.
In fact, I did one today for an 1190RS owner . . .
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Ratbuell
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2012 - 04:31 pm: |
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...Is this where we're supposed to remind you sometime...? |
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