| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
Why do I have this suspicion that there is $2,400,000,000 buried under some hay in a barn someplace .... | ||
| Ratbuell |
Not hay, dandelions...right Court? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I was just pointing out what you seemed to be saying And I was pointing out that rock music and a race track are not necessarily "very squidly stuff" as you put it. but you did say you were "exclusive" (and if that ain't the same as saying you are "cool", what is?). What? I am exclusive on a Buell, which most sportbike owners find un-cool. Tell me again how being exclusive equates to being cool? Actually, I am just breaking your balls a bit since you seem to delight in busting others. From my recollection, I called out one person because of his abuse of the English language. One person, one time. You on the other hand, seem to like to cause friction with the best of them. Bottom line is that I hope the 1125r is a hit, but my feelings about squids will not change due to their lack of common sense and respect, which translates into higher insurance premiums for all of us. If selling the squid market is vital to the financial success of the 1125r, well then I hope the squids gravitate to the 1125r. If not, will I guess I get to keep my EXCLUSIVITY. | ||
| Jimidan |
Fresno sez: If I was that ••••••• worried about anything . . . I'd walk. No shit. I am changing sports to something simpler-- canoeing. Are you implying that canoeing is a sport? The memory is a terrible thing to waste. OK, not just to "others", but to me. I figure if you can dish it out, you ought to be able to take a little back...in the nicest and most respectable way, of course.  My definition (and many others) of the squid market is much broader than yours, but that is OK. It is not set in stone. The point is that with the new 1125R commercials on SPEED, they are obviously are not appealing to those tube-framer guys who are looking to upgrade their basically stock Buells. Call that intended market whatever you want, but it ain't that far off from the generation that is generally known as 'squids'. Erik said that this bike is for the street and not the track, but the commercials have been all about the race track and youth...and these commercials work, IMHO. There is a reason for that. Buell is hoping for (actually, counting on) a respectful percentage of that market that has yet to be swayed by the current air-cooled models because of the 'lump'. And I believe that this new bike will do just that! I just thought it a bit odd that you said you were hoping that this marketing strategy failed, just so that you could keep your "exclusive" status, that's all. Thanks for the 'compliment' on my proclivity for mixing it up a little with the faithful. I have never been afraid of a little controversy, as it keeps things interesting. It often brings out the best in people when they discuss something that they are passionate about. Isn't that what these boards are all about? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
It would be interesting to know the number of 1125s that need to be sold for a breakeven and how many to be considered a success. And how much the 1125r will cannibalize the XB sales (tough to determine for sure)? Me for one would probably not have bought another XB nor would I have purchased ANY bike for a couple years, but I already have a deposit down on the 1125r (and I'm counting the days until i can swing my leg over it.) | ||
| Jlnance |
If 20,000 units is the pain of growing, think of $2,400,000,000 cash on hand as the analgesic to help ease the pain. I'm sure it's a problem Buell would like to have. But it is a big deal. Growing a small company into a large one w/o losing your soul it a hard thing. I think they can pull it off though. | ||
| Jlnance |
how much the 1125r will cannibalize the XB sales (tough to determine for sure)? That is a very interesting question. I can make a case for it either increasing or decreasing XB sales. Probably the model that it has the most potential to take sales from is the Firebolt. For the lightning, and more so the Ulysses, the bikes aren't appealing to exactly the same market. But the new bike will generate new publicity and interest in the company, and people will be looking at the lineup, who never considered it at all before. | ||
| Bobup |
Court Posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 02:15 pm: -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ >>>>I suspect there would be some growing pains. If 20,000 units is the pain of growing, think of $2,400,000,000 cash on hand as the analgesic to help ease the pain. " Court I do believe your math is off by a power of ten 1 unit is $12,000 10 units is $120,000 20 units is $240,000 200 units is $2,400,000 2,000 units is $24,000,000 20,000 units is $240,000,000 NOT $2,400,000,000 close, but no cigar bob | ||
| Court |
Had nothing to do with units. . . my point was that Harley-Davidson, short of Fort Knox, is better equipped, in terms of cash reserves, than about any company in the United States. One thing you learn in construction . . . there's no substitute for cash. Trust me . . . if Harley-Davidson needed to build a plant or expand production capacity quickly, they can. One element of that "can" is that they don't have to be writing a loan proposal to get a bank on board. Cash is king. By the way . . HD just built a 480,000SF manufacturing plant . . if you want to have some fun, see if you can find it.  (Message edited by court on August 30, 2007) | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Would it be more likely to be next door to an egg roll stand or a brat stand?  | ||
| Court |
Actually the new HD facility in Bejing is a paltry 1,800SF from what I've read. | ||
| Toona |
By the way . . HD just built a 480,000SF manufacturing plant . . if you want to have some fun, see if you can find it. Umm, are you talking about the former New Holland bldg near Bellville, PA? | ||
| Frequency |
I like the cover of the magazine, where this thread is now i have no clue but i did see a magazine and a ton of posts of crap (Message edited by frequency on August 31, 2007) | ||
| Ponti1 |
In the midst of all you folks bickering, I missed whether or not anyone actually posted a link to the article...If not, http://www.box.net/shared/ca5ns2ufye | ||
| Unibear12r |
Somebody posted somewhere that they saw where the factory was supposed to produce a very small number of 08 Firebolts. Anony has posted that the Firebolt is not going away but I'm betting that Buell is expecting a big short time dip in Firebolt sales due to the 1125R. Not directly but indirectly due to all the used Firebolts that will be traded in and up for sale privately. Ah, I'm getting lost in all these wondering thread topics, should I have posted this here? | ||
| Ratbuell |
We have an 08 'Bolt scheduled to ship on my birthday - 9/17. We haven't been restricted on orders, AFAIK. 1125R's? We're expecting to MAYBE be able to get three or four. Total. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
It wasn't there Wednesday... but yesterday the local grocery store HAD THE MAGAZINE!!! It was an interesting article. I was expecting a ride review... that, it was not! (I was pretty tired, maybe I missed something) It was more a detailed and ecstatic writeup of what it took to get the bike to where it is now, and why all those weird Buell specific parts are better than the average sportbike type parts. GO BUELL! | ||
| Rex |
After looking for the magazine in california, arizona, oregon, and colorado, I finally found it at the denver airport as I was flying home yesterday. the article seemed to have been written by buell motorcycle company themselves. they sure gave them high praises on being able to develop a bike like the 1125 R, with such a small facility and small group of engineers......great for the factory employees. quite a compliment, I would say. rex | ||
| Crusty |
I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail.  | ||
| 1313 |
I'm still waiting for my copy to arrive in the mail. Don't fret. I haven't received mine yet either. Hell, I didn't even get my Fuell until this past Friday... 1313  | ||
| Nondual |
I found it at the local news stand. I was expecting an article that went into the actual RIDING of the machine. What I found was yet another physics lesson as has already been written up by a million other online sources.  | ||
| José_quiñones |
 http://roadracingworld.com/magazine/current-issue/ | ||
| Windrider |
The CW article was a good write up on the design of the engine and motorcycle and general Buell philosophy. Sadly though, they didn't actually get to ride the bike so there is no information about how the 11125r actually rides or performs. It will be great to read more about this exciting new machine in future months. I am going to make it to demo days next year to hopefully take one for a spin. | ||
| M1combat |
WOW!!! Cover of RRW! That's WAY better than cover of Cycle World | ||
| Anonymous |
Actually the cover of Cycle World is incredible, especially for a pre-ride report. It only happened because there was enough excitement to get Kevin Cameron to actually come to Buell and see first hand the engineering. Kevin was really obviously smitten not just by the product, but by the engineers and the processes. He is not easily impressed, and the fact he spoke the way he did is a real measure of how Buell looks to a technical expert who gets to go inside (another one was Steve Anderson; he was so captured he decided to join!). Kevin has never given false praise, so we are very, very proud of what he wrote. | ||
| Davegess |
Kevin is indeed the "wizard on the mountain top". The only thing more impressive than the man's knowledge is his ability to explain it in such a way that a thick headed old guy like me can understand it. He has been impressed by Buell in the past. His stories on the RW750 and the first RR are classics. | ||
| M1combat |
I wasn't trying to take away from that achievement at all . You got BOTH . WAY TO GO BUELL !!!!!!!! | ||
| M2nc |
Very cool. I like the caption, "A Twin like no other"! That says a lot. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
So has anyone read the RRW article yet? | ||
| Gregtonn |
"Sadly though, they didn't actually get to ride the bike so there is no information about how the 11125r actually rides or performs." I think they did it right. IMO ride reviews of the pre-production bikes are best left to the web mags. I look forward to a full blown CW review of the genuine article. |
