Buell back in business?
#52
01-25-2011, 01:54 PM
Learn your facts first. So you don't like sportbikes, go to another thread.
I have plenty of respect for Erik's passion, but there seem to be a number of commenters here who've lost sight of the fact that different riders ride for different reasons.
Been outside your city limits lately? Noticed the huge imbalance in types of motorcycles? Harleys are very popular out there in the world of intercity travel. Harleys, BMW tourers, and Gold Wings make up probably 75% of the two-wheel traffic out past the traffic lights. Turns out there's a bigger market for long-distance comfort than there is for short quarter-mile elapsed times! Harley could tell this by looking at their numbers: Buells get better performance, but that's not enough to draw in dollars. We shall see if Erik takes this lesson to heart.
I hope he does. Some of his most popular bikes were the non-racing ones: the Blast, for example, for being easy for new riders to learn on, and the Ulysses for mild dual-sport and "adventure touring" duty. Last I paid attention to him, Erik didn't care about real-world riders. He lives, eats, breathes, and goes bankrupt over one thing, and that's track performance. That's his passion and that's okay, but Harley management was right. It's not okay for him to drag all HD investors down with him when he perishes through his inattention to the whole motorcycle market.
There will always be a market for Lincoln Towncars and crossover SUV's in addition to the racy little WRXs. In fact, I'd say the former will usually outnumber the latter, so there will always be more money in that segment. Harley understands this is also true in motorcycles, and the metric builders acknowledge this fact by offering comfortable long-distance tourers and cruisers alongside their racebikes. Erik may survive as a small company by catering to a very narrow niche, but I won't consider him a success at it until he can beat his rivals with the same small engine displacement. No more special treatment in the superbike class, 'k?
Good luck, Erik. You're going to need it.
Been outside your city limits lately? Noticed the huge imbalance in types of motorcycles? Harleys are very popular out there in the world of intercity travel. Harleys, BMW tourers, and Gold Wings make up probably 75% of the two-wheel traffic out past the traffic lights. Turns out there's a bigger market for long-distance comfort than there is for short quarter-mile elapsed times! Harley could tell this by looking at their numbers: Buells get better performance, but that's not enough to draw in dollars. We shall see if Erik takes this lesson to heart.
I hope he does. Some of his most popular bikes were the non-racing ones: the Blast, for example, for being easy for new riders to learn on, and the Ulysses for mild dual-sport and "adventure touring" duty. Last I paid attention to him, Erik didn't care about real-world riders. He lives, eats, breathes, and goes bankrupt over one thing, and that's track performance. That's his passion and that's okay, but Harley management was right. It's not okay for him to drag all HD investors down with him when he perishes through his inattention to the whole motorcycle market.
There will always be a market for Lincoln Towncars and crossover SUV's in addition to the racy little WRXs. In fact, I'd say the former will usually outnumber the latter, so there will always be more money in that segment. Harley understands this is also true in motorcycles, and the metric builders acknowledge this fact by offering comfortable long-distance tourers and cruisers alongside their racebikes. Erik may survive as a small company by catering to a very narrow niche, but I won't consider him a success at it until he can beat his rivals with the same small engine displacement. No more special treatment in the superbike class, 'k?
Good luck, Erik. You're going to need it.
#54
01-25-2011, 03:55 PM
Extreme HDF Member
Old news. When HD shut down Buell, they gave a license to Eric to build a track only bike for racing.
Very limited production.
If he ever wants to sell a street bike, he can. He just can't call it a Buell as that is HD's intellectual property.
The reason's that HD did not sell Buell were phony. They stated that Buell was too integrated into HD. Not true because they only produced the air cooled sportster versions of the motors which Eric did not want and cost him $300 more than a Rotax would cost.
HD calculated that the 7 years of parts sales would exceed the amount that a straight sale would generate. There were at least two potential buyers.
HD went into the Buell parts bin and put many features of the Buell into the XR1200 except the lighter weight and better breathing that the XB's got.
103 crank hp for the Buell and 90 crank hp for the XR.
Very limited production.
If he ever wants to sell a street bike, he can. He just can't call it a Buell as that is HD's intellectual property.
The reason's that HD did not sell Buell were phony. They stated that Buell was too integrated into HD. Not true because they only produced the air cooled sportster versions of the motors which Eric did not want and cost him $300 more than a Rotax would cost.
HD calculated that the 7 years of parts sales would exceed the amount that a straight sale would generate. There were at least two potential buyers.
HD went into the Buell parts bin and put many features of the Buell into the XR1200 except the lighter weight and better breathing that the XB's got.
103 crank hp for the Buell and 90 crank hp for the XR.
#55
02-09-2011, 07:00 PM
Ultimate HDF Member
Erik Buell To Launch Street Bike At End Of Year
http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2011/02...ar/#more-61835
#56
02-09-2011, 09:17 PM
Seasoned HDF Member
yeah, i don't think that's quite right...... who told you that, a salesman?
#57
02-09-2011, 09:42 PM
Actually it was Erik Buell who contacted Porcshe for help in building a EPA certified version of the VR-1000 superbike engine to be ready for what would have been a liquid cooled XB style Buell for 1998. Early in the project H-D took over and what would have been a mild redesign to meet EPA standards morphed into what is now known as the revolution engine. Thanks to H-D's imput (form over function) the revo engine ended up being too bulky/heavy to be any use to Erik Buell. If you want the real deal info on what happened to Buell read Steve Anderson's article in the May 2010 issue of Cycle World.
#58
02-09-2011, 10:56 PM
Extreme HDF Member
Yes, the Vrod motor was for Buell and HD took it away, built a new plant and built the Vrod.
Buell's lawyers were so sure that Eric should not sell to HD, they had him sign an acknowledgment that they had informed him of their advise.
They were right.
Buell's lawyers were so sure that Eric should not sell to HD, they had him sign an acknowledgment that they had informed him of their advise.
They were right.
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