| Author | Message | ||
     Ironhead1977 |
I do not know of any other motorcycle company where owners can go on a forum and ask the man himself questions and get honest answers back.Try doing that with honda and see how far you get. Yep, I have alot of respect for Mr. Buell and BMC and apparently they have alot of respect for their customers. Just felt I had to point this out. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Point well taken. It is quite amazing and it is making the upcoming purchase of the 1125r a true pleasure. The only problem I have is not having this bike RIGHT NOW! | ||
| Molly_hatchet |
ironhead couldnt be more right ..funny i posted after i bought my honda...im pretty sure the chances of talking to the head of honda america is between slim and less than zero. | ||
| Crusty |
What other company does this? What other company spends a fortune on a Homecoming Rally, then lets the loyal owners be among the first people in the world see the unveiling of their new flagship machine? | ||
| Diablobrian |
What other group of owners can go to the factory and all leave their keys in the ignition of their bikes and not worry about it? The Buell way is all about being different and doing it your own way. I dig it! | ||
| Garrett2 |
another reason i love buell just a diffeernt way of life | ||
| Blake |
Words of truth! And so the question would be, why is Buell, meaning the folks and philosophy at Buell, so different? Anonymi, why do you go to all the trouble and effort? | ||
| Mikej |
Enthusiasts first, employees second. | ||
| Court |
>>>Enthusiasts first, employees second. Actually . . . together hand in hand would be more accurate. I have two GREAT stories of Buell employees doing very BOLD things (major rule breaking) to ensure a Buell owner got what they needed. It's commonplace and highly regarded at Buell as long as you adhere to the FIVE VALUES. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I've only met Erik Buell once, at March Badness 2, but he took the time to talk (and probably have the same discussion) with anyone who came up to him. He spoke at length and never broke away from one conversation to get away. If you wanted his attention, he gave it. Plus, he carries different color paint pens so he can autograph any color bike. He seems like a very busy man, but he wasn't too busy to talk to me, a total stranger, for almost half an hour. I don't know how much a Model T is worth with Henry Ford's signature on it, but my Erik Buell autographed M2 is priceless. | ||
| Mikej |
I actually meant to say: "Buell employees are enthusiasts first and employees second". At least that's how it seems everytime I meet one of them. | ||
| Court |
Then you were precisely right. | ||
| Blake |
All the Mrs. Anonymi deserve a share of the credit for the latest achievements. I can personally attest to the fact that there is no husband who can achieve good works without the loving support of his wife. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
Djkaplan is spot on!!!! I too met Mr. Buell at MBII and he is one helluva genuine person. Erik even watched on as some shade tree mechanic type stuff (using a log to support the rear section) was going down trying to get a fellow Buell rider up an running!!! For those that have not heard that story, a Buell rider went down on that Sat. The rider, along with others worked well into the darkness to replace an upper rear shock mount. The rider was reaching his "give up" point when he was urged to eat. By the time the rider was done eating, the task was complete!! Oh yeah, the replacement part came off of one of Stone Mountain H-D/ Buell's stock bikes they had brought up there!!!! It must be a Buell thing... | ||
| Court |
>>>>It must be a Buell thing... And a common thing that he's been doing for years. Dating back nearly 18 years, I've been at Buell events where Erik finds something wrong with a bike . . . starts with one thing and the next thing you know he's got the damn bike torn apart working on it . . . this shot is from Blue Groove 1997. The owner was amazed. I snapped this, had Erik sign it and we sent it to him . . . fun stuff.  That's my "baby" sitting on the blue S-2. | ||
| Diablobrian |
How about people that show up at the factory during homecoming with a flat, or a broken light and get the parts replaced by Buell employees without having to ask? Amazing. The good will those actions generate far outstrip the dollar value of the part(s). People at Buell are either riders themselves, or have a real understanding of the passion we have for our bikes and for riding. They take pride in what they do, and they certainly should! (Message edited by diablobrian on July 20, 2007) | ||
| Trojan |
What other company spends a fortune on a Homecoming Rally, then lets the loyal owners be among the first people in the world see the unveiling of their new flagship machine? Ducati is the only other company I know of that do a similar event (World Ducati Weekend) every year. This year they showed the first production ready Desmosedicci and the prototype 1200 WSB racer to the assembled masses  | ||
| Nicozzzz |
in Italy all builders make , Yamaha made a big party with Valentino , honda made different in many circuit , kawa made in little exhibition like KTM and suzu most of time only for some models in a very short track (not more than 1/4 miles ) builded in 2 hours on a big open spaces . In buell day for my experience the customer is at center of attention from buell , this mean great satisfaction for customer , but in this case is difficult that a non customer can tuch the family directly . big company spend a lot for book a track , and organize a party the other spend less and probably at the end give possibilities to more potential customer to try the bike Ducati also mades another interesting thing every year ducati riding school , in multylevel pourpose base medium expert, of course is a payment event , but price are cheaper than other riding school , you can rode the lasts ducati models after a good school with good driver , and also a part of thing is for the girl that wants to learn , (usually monster 620) that probably will became also their first bike . other event is 1 brand championships like R6 Cup or KTM supermoto championship , where the builder offer at special price bike , usually with race exhaust ECM and filter , with a special race color , the driver suite and the annual fee for the competition , the driver are very happy cause each driver start with same bike very hard competition and big advertisment for the builder is a question of choice if you need to keep the customers or you need to get new customers probably a middle way is the best (Message edited by nicozzzz on July 20, 2007) | ||
| Ratbuell |
I think Buell has done a stellar job of keeping current customers, and drawing new ones. The Inside Pass schedule this season was a stroke of genius. Buellers on the whole, more than any other brand than I can think of (generalization here) with the possible exception of BMWs, *ride* their bikes. Giving us a chance to come to a race track, with other Buells, and ride the bikes the way they were meant to be ridden? As they say...priceless. Allowing other brands to participate as well? Genius, as it allows off-brand owners to see what the "lumps" are truly capable of. I think Buell has truly blurred the line between "customer base" and "family"...and bravo! for doing it. The best part is, given the people involved and the (entirely too) brief contact I have had with some of them, I don't see that ever changing. | ||
| Nicozzzz |
Don't misunderstood me i'm very happy as customer to be at center of attention but I note some people that wrote on our club website and ask us how to try a buell cause after going to a dealer they answer that only customer can go on a track .. probably due to some misunderstood but appends | ||
| Trojan |
How about a European 'Buell Homecoming' for us customers who can't attend the official one in the US every year. Organise it in the same way as the European HOG rally where it is hosted by a different country every year? Combine it with a Buell track weekend/product launch/road tests at some of Europe's best race tracks and it would be a surefire hit! | ||
| Nicozzzz |
I don't think will work , people in europe are not so friendly to big and long travel . there is already something try to be made 2-3 years agoo not form HD but from BORG if i'm not wrong , but come people only from near places .. Buell is one of the most comfortable sport bike especially ulysses , but not more than 800 kms on a day and not more than 2 days after that you have to take 2-3 days of stop .. so if you made it in middle of germany you can collect south england , German people, west France people north Italian people austrian .. and a few quantity to each country .. this will require a week of holydays .. usually people with buell are engaged man .. surely will be great , but you have to expet low affluence | ||
| Diablobrian |
Doesn't Hillbilly do a big event every year? That may be a good foundation to build on for the European Buell riders... I know that Jens is a competitor Matt, but if you guys got together it could be a real blowout! I was actually surprised at the lack of vendor involvement at homecoming. Other than Hal's and the factory clothing store there was no other source of Buell goodies. Where else do you find such a concentration of Buell owners? Talk about a captive market... Both last year and this year I really expected to see some sort of representation from American Sport Bike, Racing Motorcycles, Iron machine, and the guys from Europe too, A full color catalog is for many more enticing (and portable) than a web site, and that pales in comparison to having the ability to buy that Drummer pipe, or right side scoop, and install it on the spot. I would think A few free catalogs could lead to more sales down the stretch. After all these are some of Buell's most devoted fans gathering to celebrate all things Buell. It should be a marketer's dream. I imagine the factory store sees more sales on Homecoming than on any other day (or even week!) of the year. I didn't see as much sold at Hal's this year, but I could be wrong about that. With the speed shop not having gear available, last year the McWilliams shirts were very popular as were the speed shop shirts, and there was less variety of Buell shirts. They had a better selection of jackets, but most people there either already had a jacket or didn't want one, so those don't sell in volume. The hats and patches did seem to sell well though, as well as the some T-shirt sales. I'm not trying to rip on Hal's in any way, just evaluating what was there with a critical eye. If I was a vendor I'd start talking with the factory about setting up a booth (with some extra shaded area) at the factory next year. It should be a really good thing for both the vendor and the customers. | ||
| Nicozzzz |
yes you are on true , but I don't want to be me the first to say this | ||
| Nondual |
The company may be great, but the dealerships are terrible. I've called four local Buell dealerships. Only Glendale even LETS you test drive, and since I don't have a helmet or boots (boots are required for a test-drive??), I can't even schedule a demo. Contrast this with the BMW dealer in NC who let me test drive anything they had with the equipment I had with me (granted, I DID have a helmet then, but I've never ridden with boots). | ||
| Blake |
So am I reading this right? We now have an Italian contemplating plans for an all fronts invasion of Germany? Cool! Nicozzzz, if you are up for it, I bet you could get some North Americans and maybe even some Aussies to show up too. | ||
| Nondual |
Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I wasn't even looking to test drive, but the salesman saw my enthusiasm and urged me to TD. This in light of the fact that you could still see the scratches on my muffler from when I'd dropped my SV650... What did I TD? An $18k K1200S and R1200GS. I'm having a really hard time reconciling these two dealer experiences. | ||
| Kuuud |
I was actually surprised at the lack of vendor involvement at homecoming. Other than Hal's and the factory clothing store there was no other source of Buell goodies. Vendors would have been great. I was disappointed at both Hal's and Uke's in that both advertised 25% off on Buell gear but I found nothing to buy at either one...same old T-shirts, etc. VERY few gloves, helmets, goodies, etc. I really wanted to drop some cash, but it just didn't happen. Neither one prob sold very much gear and hopefully didn't just chalk it up to tight Buell owners. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Nondual: MOST Buell dealers offer test rides. Most will also have loaner helmets. Boots, well I would think if you were serious about buying a bike you wouldn't have too much trouble locating a pair of boots to wear. As far as riding gear goes that is very minimal. You also have to take into account the fact you are in the LA area and the people in general are much different than those in N. C. and I would expect the dealers to be more cautious. After all it is a short ride to the border.... and they know that. | ||
| Nondual |
I'm just disappointed, I guess. Glendale is the only close dealer that has 'demo units'. That just blows my mind. I've seen Aprilia/MV/Ducati dealers that wouldn't let you test ride, but they were tiny little dealers. About the boots, I don't know ANYONE who wears them - not even the ultra-safety-conscious couple who sold me my SV. Helmets, check. Hard-armor jackets, check. Gloves, check. Boots? Not so much. Who can shift with those things? Also, I used my bike as basic transportation and boots are too restrictive and one-purpose. The jacket I can usually hang somewhere and the helmet fastens to the bike...the gloves get stowed beneath the seat...where do spare shoes/boots go? |
