| Author | Message | ||
     Stevel |
One more thing. Those tube things that the fuel line fittings fit to are standard 5/16 quick disconnect ends, but the hose and ends that EBR uses to connect to them are NOT available anywhere. I also researched the original manufacturer and tried to source those components and hose there. It was very painful. I kept getting bounced from England back to the factory in Germany and in the end, they gave me a price for each connector, but minimum quantity was 100 each and they never gave me a quote for the special hose. You may also note that you will need a special press to assembled them. EBR will not sell anything but the OEM hose assemblies. However, I believe aftermarket connectors may fit, but I have not tried any yet. | ||
| Stevel |
Vagelis46, Please review Court's comments. In the end, we don't know. All we can do is wait and watch. | ||
| Court |
>>>So what is stopping EBR to start making and selling parts for BUELL motorcycles ? Perhaps the same thing that prevents Ford from pursuing the lucrative Chevrolet parts market. Don't get me wrong. . . . HD has, long ago, abandoned any memory of Buell . . . and even, pretty much officially, announced they'd not pursue any Buell related litigation. There was no case in which a "win" would begin to approach the cost of ANY (the better half bills out at $1475 an hour so I don't even ask what time dinner is as home) litigation. If someone . . . .I'll entertain you for a moment . . . was going to DESIGN (Be mindful that EBR has neither copies nor access to any of the drawings or engineering information other than perhaps stuff folks like Brankin and I pirated) . . . DEVELOP (where many of the millions would go) . . . TOOL (Uh? . . Steve M . . get in here) . . PRODUCE, STOCK ( a huge expense), SELL, SHIP AND WARRANT parts . . . well . . .. let's pretend we were only going to make a set of hand grips and a custom set of mirrors . . wanna take a crack at the potential cost (don't forget that million or so to prove the mirror stalk will break . . not impale a rider, when t-boning a car) . . . Now . . picture yourself. . . having COMPLETELY CHANGED the course, pretty much against all odds and with the ease of climbing a greased mirror, of motorcycling in your career . . . having a great family and a beautiful farm you love to work . . . . QUESTION: Would you dump the entire rest of your comfy retirement, at 66 (he'll be 67 soon) years old into that operation? It's like a Rolling Stones concert kids . . . they played the hits . . they gyrated and did everything they were famous and known for . . . we cheered . . .lit shit on fire and they came and played Sympathy for the Devil as an encore. But now . . . they've left the stage and that sound you hear is the helicopter headed for Road X. And MAAAAAAANMNNNNN . . . what a show! There are a couple places we perhaps should have gone left instead of right . . . a couple folks who perhaps should have been listened to with a bit more caution . . . but, all things considered. WHAT A ••••••• RIDE ! ! ! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
As far as spare parts, I am not talking about mirrors and turning lights and grips and stuff that can be bought in any generic motorcycle parts shop. I am talking about major engine, fuel system, electrical and chassis components .....the stuff we will need to keep our motorcycles running.... BUELL was actually not manufacturing, but buying components-parts from suppliers like H-D, ROTAX, NISSIN, SHOWA, BREMBO, BOSCH, MAgnetiMArelli, DELPHI, etc, etc....And then all these parts were assembled in Wisconsin... I am sure all these suppliers have kept the designs, specs, moulds, etc of all the parts they used to build&sell to BUELL and they will be willing to sell again to EBR...maybe because the orders will be much much less, the prices will be higher ..... But then again I think most of us will not expect to pay "Jap" prices for the parts..... You see, I do not think that it would be such an impossible task as you describe it, to order-stock-sell parts for BUELL & EBR motorcycles I think that it is just a question of how Erik Buell wants to be remembered as ? More like John Britten or like Carlo Guzzi ?? There are no Brittens built/sold anymore.... BUT the MotoGuzzis are still around and have a very fanatic group of enthusiastic riders. For me the choice is very simple. I would choose Carlo Guzzi ! So if Erik Buell wants his name to be written on motorcycle tanks that are sold and hit the road many years from now, then he must make sure that he keeps EBR open, even if that means it just orders and stocks and sells low quantities of spare parts for BUELL and EBR motorcycles .... Even if that means that he personally will not design and build a new model.... I really like Erik Buell, I think that he will be remembered as the Carlo Guzzi of the USA ... | ||
| Ljm |
Some of us are still on this ride and want to know where it is going. For those of you who got off, safe travels. For those of us still on it, we are heavily invested in where it ends up. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
@Ljm, well said.... | ||
| Buelliedan |
I respect all of those who are still on the ride but you should carefully read what Court has said. The man has a direct line to Erik and it sure sounds to me like he is saying Erik has decided it is time to stop before it kills him. I respect that as well. As for LAP doing anything...... Well my direct experience with Bill Melvin Jr would say don't hold your breath. They were only in it to try to sell it for triple what they paid for it. When that did not pan out they bailed as I always expected they would. | ||
| Jaimec |
Yeah, when Court's endless optimism doesn't have encouraging words, it's time to cue the bugler... | ||
| Buelliedan |
As far as keeping your Buells on the road. I think the best resource is going to be used parts. There are plenty of Buells now starting to be parted out on e-bay and you can pretty much get any part you need. Folks like Paul who buy damaged bikes and part them out always have what I need. | ||
| Mnscrounger |
I'm relatively new to the Buell party (bought mine in 2010) I've only met Erik Buell once, at last years Homecoming. I don't claim any great insight to the man, but that one meeting made a hell of an impression on me, and my take of his personality is this: His enthusiasm knowledge, and damn it all determination are downright infectious. Having said that, he didn't strike me as a guy that spends a lot of time looking backwards. I doubt he would have any burning interest in keeping legacy products on the road. Even if the demand and money were there to build air cooled tuber and XB parts, (an idea floated by 2016 EBR leadership), My guess is Erik might support the idea, but wouldn't want to spend his days doing it. (Been there done that, got lots of T shirts.) My guess is he would rather move on to the next cool design in his head. Like any good rider, he seems to always be looking ahead to the next corner. If LAP closes the EBR doors, the IP of everything EBR was working on should be on the block too. Given the innovation and capability we've already seen demonstrated in EBR products, its likely even the now 4 year old drawing board designs would still be damn fine bikes. I would hope someone picks up those CAD drawings and IP, and tries to make a go of it, even if Erik decides it's time to take a well earned break. I firmly believe we have not yet seen the last Erik Buell inspired design on the roads. It might just have a different logo on the tank. IF they don't get a buyer for the current 1190 lines, I would hope as a goodwill gesture, LAP would at least make their drawings and vendor sourcing open source, so we could keep those rare and wonderful examples running. Also, since HD isn't interested in defending the brand, there apparently is little, if anything stopping any one of us from making quality knock-off Buell Motorcycle replacement parts. ( Well, little other than the huge investment Court mentioned.) | ||
| Buellerxt |
Harley Davidson's 7 year assurance of providing parts ran out in Oct., 2016. The assurance was given in Oct., 2009. Hopefully, as posters have said above, parts will be available from other sources. As for putting any responsibility on Erik to provide parts to maintain a positive legacy, I call complete bunk. Erik has worked his butt off and has given us all many happy riding miles for many years. I hope he enjoys a comfortable, well earned retirement doing whatever he wants to do with his family. | ||
| Reepicheep |
When the fuel level sensor in Mike's XT (now mine, muhahahah) gave up, I was actually kind of dissapointed to find out it was readily available and fairly priced. I had already figured out how to build my own from off the shelf parts. It's a clever little design actually, that uses a quirk of thermistors I got bitten by when I was designing a thermostat. I was kind of itching for a project.  (Message edited by reepicheep on February 27, 2017) | ||
| Hughlysses |
I did see a post in the last few weeks (here or on Facebook) that said intake (?) valves are NLA from HD for 1125's. The poster was finally able to get some, I believe from Twin Motorcycles. | ||
| Willmrx |
Well, the valve are all gone, I got a set, and Lance, I believe got the remaining. I just tried to order some oil pump parts, and got back a email saying they now are obsolete. I have been waiting on, 2 cam chain tension guides and 4 head bolts since mid Jan. They are on BO till 3-18. So to finally start putting the bike back together. I bought the cam guides and the head bolts from EBR last week (way expensive compared to HD), plus they are slightly different. The bolts do not have threads as far up the bolts as the HD do, and the cam guides have slightly more of a curve to them. So if you need to rebuilt a 1125R, it is going to be tough to get the OEM bolts and other items. I ended up buying a used oil pump on E bay. | ||
| Stevel |
I don't think we can rely on either HD or EBR for spare parts for too much longer. Most of the parts used on these bikes were sourced throughout the industry and not made by either HD or EBR. So most of these bits and pieces are still out there and probably used on other bikes. We just have to figure out what and where they are. I suggest we somehow build a list of sources of these every time we find something here on BWB. All ideas to make this happen would be welcome. | ||
| Twirlin |
^Steve, that's a great idea. A crowd-sourced database of part names, numbers, and availability. Who feels like starting a Google sheet and sharing the link here? | ||
| Hughlysses |
I think there's a pretty good list of cross-over parts here somewhere for XB's; things like oxygen sensors, fuel injectors, TPS's, and fuel pumps. A list for each of these bikes (tubers, XB's, 1125's, and 1190's) would be a good thing to feature prominently in the Knowledge Vault. | ||
| Reepicheep |
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/790503.html?1487191539 That's the current list. If it grows it might need to be reorganized and refactored, but the information can be captured there now. | ||
| Airbozo |
I am not sure if it is the same in the motorcycle/auto parts world as it is in the computer industry, BUT There is the part number each end company uses and the part number that the manufacturer uses. If you order a part based on the end companies part number, you will not get anywhere since they are only allowed to sell that part number to the end company. If you know the manufacturers part number, you can usually order any part you like with little restriction. | ||
| Stevel |
I know that EBR had all the original Rotax engineering drawings for the Helicon motor. I got a couple sent to me when I requested them in 2010. If EBR does go away, these drawings need to be preserved somewhere. This engine is a super design that deserves evolutionary modernization. Very little has been done at EBR. I want access to those drawings. I sincerely hope some accommodation can be reached. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Id love to see those Helicon drawings! | ||
| Vintage |
To all, I purchased a new 1190RX in 2014, a 2009 Ulysses in 2015 and a 2010Ss in Nov,2016. Before all that I was really unaware of things Buell and was messing around with Ducati's, Aprilia, various Hondas, a Triumph -- on and on. I saw the RX and decided to go all- American. No regrets except for all the corporate drama. The X bikes -- well so far so good. Like everyone here I suffer through the same anxieties about parts and service. I will offer an interesting tale that perhaps will unfold in the Buell world. Last year I attended the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. The OTC is all about things related to getting oil from under the ocean. I met a twinkly fellow there from England. He has a jobbing type machine shop. He makes replacement parts for early '51-53 AJS and Matchless motorbikes. Gears, Pistons, new cranks. He does it because he loves it but personally I think he was sent by the angels. Twin in Holland is doing this to some extent. Maybe this will all sort itself out. At any rate, I am optimistic but do not delude myself into thinking it will be easy for us. This forum is very helpful and the idea of cross-referencing part #'s is wizard. Just as a guess--would anyone venture how many Buellers are out there? 50,000--enough to fund a business? | ||
| Johndd |
I would add how many machinists, mechanics, engineers (mechanical, electrical, computer science, material science...), business owners are there on this site? | ||
| Reepicheep |
That's my thought. Parts will at some point get cost prohibitive, but they will never really be "gone". If I have and love my Uly (or Uly's  ), and have to put on a $400 billet engine mount that I had to order 6 months ahead of time once every 50,000 miles, I'll be mildly annoyed when I order and install it, and forget about it as soon as I take my next ride. | ||
| Ceejay |
I'd pay some money to have some Helicon drawings - they'd end up on a wall in my house. | ||
| S21125r |
Ceejay, it might be easier to buy a spare Helicon engine and hang that on the wall instead :-) | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Im with CEE - I want it for artwork reasons. Sounds awesome! | ||
| Fmaxwell |
Opinion: Liquid Asset Partners was liquidating assets. That's all. The story about looking for investors was just lip service in order to let the state claim that they did due diligence for the good of the citizens who wanted to see a manufacturing facility. They saw enough inventory to fair number of bikes for less than they paid at auction for EBR, so they completed them and sold them. | ||
| Midknyte |
https://youtu.be/K8E_zMLCRNg | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Where is Belfer in all of this. Quick to make posts about stuff happening and since then...nothing. Just like last time when he WOULD win that company and then...nothing. |
