| Author | Message | ||
     Zhen13 |
EBR will be adding the 1190AX to their line http://www.autoevolution.com/news/exclusive-ebr-11 90ax-confirmed-as-sport-adventure-bike-88770.html | ||
| Froggy |
This is false. Look at the date. | ||
| Zhen13 |
My bad. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's about the worst photoshop I have ever seen in a professional setting. I have seen better from somethingawful.com | ||
| Hughlysses |
THIS is what we know (or knew, prior to closure) about the AX:
Source: http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/09/03/on-the-record -with-dane-hoechst-erik-buell-racing-program-manag er/ So, it may not be an "1190" AX at all. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
It will probably be what Erik likes best, not what the public wants most. | ||
| Crempel |
I still think it will never exist. | ||
| Arcticktm |
Since there is no one left to do the work, I would have to agree. I moved on in my adventure bike life, and I think the rest need to consider that as well. Or commit to keeping your Uly as long as is humanly possible. I'll keep mine as a backup bike until something very expensive or impossible to find needs replacing. | ||
| Hughlysses |
It will probably be what Erik likes best, not what the public wants most. What do you base that statement on? Since there is no one left to do the work, I would have to agree. Dan Hurda is back on board, Steve Anderson seems to be, and Erik never left. So yea, there are people to do the work. That said, indications are the AX will not be the next new EBR design to be produced. Erik was quoted in an article after the closure saying they had more-affordable, more mainstream model(s) that were a few months away from being ready for production and comments made here by people who should know back that up. | ||
| Phelan |
Those more affordable options were going to be Hero rebrands. That obviously isn't going to happen now. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Those more affordable options were going to be Hero rebrands. That obviously isn't going to happen now. That is likely true of some models, but the LAP press release indicates more models are in the works. | ||
| Ourdee |
I should make a guess too. Light, capable, dependable, agile, powerful, comfortable, and low priced. | ||
| Crempel |
I know we all want the "next" Uly, but I still don't see any way that LAP wants to be in the motorcycle business. My best guess, and yes, that's all it is, is that finding a buyer for a "operational" company is a lot easier than trying to recoup their investment by selling off any remaining assets that EBR might still have. Tooling and various bits of equipment have only so much value on the used market. They may be OK with EBR building current models for a time, but they certainly won't be investing in R&D on new models. If something had been in the pipeline, on the verge of production, MAYBE they would let that come to market if materials were in place, but if it wasn't close, no way. If they have a particular buyer in mind or are close to a deal with someone, that could be different. Obviously, there is more going on behind the scenes that we don't know about, but I see it as unlikely. Not impossible, just unlikely. Ourdee, I found exactly the bike you described, assuming you remove off-road from the equation, the FJ 09. If it had the Uly's suspension, it would be nearly perfect for me. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Ourdee, I found exactly the bike you described, assuming you remove off-road from the equation, the FJ 09. If it had the Uly's suspension, it would be nearly perfect for me. The really ironic thing is that Buell might have been building almost exactly that bike if HD hadn't shut them down. Steve Anderson's article in Cycle World on the closure back in ~2010 mentions that Buell had a range of middle-weight triples in the pipeline (designs were complete) that would have gone into production in the near future. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Hugh, I based that statement on what EBR concentrated on and that was a race bike and a hooligan bike. I understand that Racing was in the name but adventure bikes are what is selling and crotch rockets that cost over 10 grand are mostly low sellers. The SX was mostly a cosmetic change from the race bike. Neither bike sold very much. I'd rather Buell go the electric route but fat chance of that. Zero seems to be doing quite well and when batteries get to a certain power density, then look out. The new Buell will go away once again. I want a good electric bike with a min of twice the range of current Zero bikes. Until then, I'll hang onto my ULY until it sputters its last exhaust cough. | ||
| Biffdotorg |
I only say this in this group rather than the general group, as the only bike I would have replaced my Uly with would have been an AX. But since the shut down by Harley, the start up of EBR, and then the shut down of EBR and now the supposed start up. It's hard for a die-hard lover of Buells to get excited let alone anyone that has never owned one. If you were in the market for a bike, not having owned any version of a Buell, how excited about a company could you get looking at the recent past? That being said, one ride will change many opinions, but I think that may be more than a new buyer can overcome. Especially if a current owner cannot get over it. I can't see myself spending any more money with EBR or whatever it morphs into in the near future. I hope I am proven wrong. Flame me if you like, but dropping that kind of money on something that has a questionable future, dealer network, and rough recent past is going to be hard to do. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I was looking for something else and found the quote from Erik about bikes they were working on. Erik was quoted in a letter from the editor in the July 2015 issue of Cycle World :
I'm thinking this wasn't a Hero-derived bike, because we've pretty much seen all of those, and it sure doesn't sound like it would have been another street-legal racing bike. Whatever it is, I hope we get to see it reach production. | ||
| Crempel |
As those who have read my posts on this subject know, I totally agree with Biffdotorg. The history of the company will be enough of an excuse/reason for the general motorcycle buying public to shy away from the brand altogether. In this day and age only the most die-hard hardcore Buell fans will risk $15k on a bike from a manufacturer with a dubious future. As I have mentioned before, the only path to long term solvency is EBR/Buell being purchased from LAP by a well established manufacturer such as Polaris. Perhaps CanAm (Spyder) wants to get into the 2 wheeled street bike market, I dunno. I suppose it's possible that some big Chinese maker could pick them up, but I am not sure the market is there yet. A large part of the issue is that there are so many absolutely amazing bikes to pick from already that come from companies with a stable future. A couple of decades ago in North America, you basically had the big 4 from Japan, HD, and BMW for the masses to pick from. Ducati was a fringe player at best but is now significant, KTM makes very credible streetbikes, Triumph is back, and a lot of the smaller ones like Husky, Moto Guzzi, and MV Agusta seem fairly solid, sometimes due to corporate ownership. That's the viable route for Buell, IMHO, and I'm sure it's not what Erik hoped for. That's my $0.02 and I need change. You know what they say, opinions are like a$$holes, everyone's got one. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I hear you and it's valid. I'm a big fanboy but nothing EBR has made to date could ever be purchased by me. I admire them and lust after them but they are not for me as a consumer. What I'm looking at more and more now are light weight things. Like dual purpose bikes and motards. I don't really care about sick power anymore. I just want something cheap/light that I can throw around. Like a 250-450 cc engine that weighs less than 300 pounds. | ||
| Reepicheep |
It would be an issue for somebody choosing between a Japanese brand and an EBR. And probably an issue in the short term. But incredible bikes will make memories short in terms of past issues. How many people won't buy a Triumph because they went out of business several times? | ||
| Court |
How many shy away from Ducati as a result of their suppliers putting them on credit hold? How many remember it? How many even knew it? | ||
| Dr_greg |
I'm giving Erik until 2019 for the AX. Had to go to a 2013 BMW R1200GSW for now, and it's a very fun, absolutely bulletproof bike...almost 55,000 miles since June 2013. Not bad. BUT...the GSW is out of (extended) warranty in 2019, and I MAY think about replacing it. Should have 120,000 miles by then. C'mon elves, show us a killer ADV-style bike by 2019. I still recall my '06 Uly as the "funnest bike ever!" --Doc} | ||
| Court |
Kind of interest ...... People who ride Ulysses tend to process information better than the average population and consistently perform better on complex standardized tests. | ||
| Etennuly |
Hi Doc! I am with you. Yea-tho my riding has become limited lately, somehow an AX continually piques my interest. I find my eye automatically following any mention of it's coming about. What could THAT mean Court? I cannot even spell complex!  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I'm waiting for the AXElectric. | ||
| Crempel |
I totally get your points about the Triumph and Ducati thing. However, you're kind of making my point with those examples. Triumph was restarted by a billionaire and Ducati has been through several owners with the current being Audi. They are no longer companies that are owned by a guy with some good ideas, a shit ton of passion, and no cash. Manufacturing large ticket complex items like motorcycles takes capital and lots of it. Indian failed multiple underfunded attempts at resurrection until Polaris came along, and even Polaris/Victory were somewhat recently told by the brass to make a profit and soon or they would get the axe. People don't worry about Ducati and Triumph anymore because the issues are quite a while ago now. Also, don't underestimate the power of a brand name (see Harley Davidson). We all know deep down that Buell is not a recognizable brand name. How many times have we answered the questions "What's that?" when we told someone what kind of bike we have? Buell's financial problems could be erased from people's memories by being purchased by a well funded entity, no question. I have to believe that is the goal of LAP. They are seeking the proper buyer. Their website says so, that's not a guess. I am truly one of the people who wants Buell to come back to life and flourish, but I'm a realist too. There certainly are ways for it to happen, but LAP is not the long term solution. They may be a facilitator in the short term, but the long term solution is still to be revealed, if it exists. I am also of the mind that memories are made by motorcycling, rather than by motorcycles. I love reading Peter Egan's stories, not because of the bikes he rides, but because of the experiences he has on them. I sometimes remind myself of this. We all have our preferences as to what makes a particular bike great or terrible or pretty or ugly(it's German)or whatever. I'll ride what I've got and enjoy the experience. For now, that's a Yamaha, some time ago it was a Honda Hawk, and before that it was an RM125. All made memories. Holy crap, what a rant! Back to my cave now. | ||
| Ourdee |
I was expecting the AX to sit low enough for us short people till the switch for the suspension raised it up. | ||
| Wendell |
Has anyone put an 1125 engine in a Uly chassis? | ||
| Reepicheep |
The idea has been toyed with. It looked really hard. | ||
| Ourdee |
Probably be easier to put Uly parts on an 1125 chassis. Not that there would be anything easy about it. 1125s can be had fairly cheap though.  |
