WOW! My buddy works for Buell - He just sent me this Message:

"Harley-Davidson will discontinue production of Buell motorcycles. Remaining inventories of Buell motorcycles, accessories and apparel, while they last, will continue to be sold through dealerships. Warranty coverage will continue as normal for Buell ...motorcycles and the Company will provide replacement parts and service through dealerships. Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009."

 

That is sad indeed ...

I'm not a Buell fan but this is one dumbass decision on
Harleys part and especially since they just won a championship :no

 

WTF..... Why don't they sell it off? They actually finally built a bike and now Harley's killing off the brand. It all went wrong when he slide a H-D engine into his bikes.

 

WTF..... Why don't they sell it off?

Exactly what I was thinking.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/HarleyDavidson-Announces-3rd-prnews-1887306056.html?x=0&.v=1

Not that I'm a big Buell fan but it's a shame to see them killing off the Buell division. Especially after they have finally made a bike sort of worth owning in the 1125R (even if it is ugly).

Wonder who's gonna buy MV.

I guess their goal is to get back to their "core business" of making over priced, under engineered bar hopping garbage.

Erik Buell's message on the subject, pretty sad: http://www.buell.com/en_us/

Wow. :no How sad.

I've always admired Buell's outside the square thinking. Why do I get the feeling this is a monumentally boneheaded move on H-D's part?

 

Sad to see Buell go out like that, they had a very good season. But what can you expect from Harley Davidson. They have been a company mismanaged and bounced from one ownership to another. You want to know what the deference is between a Harley and a John Deer? Well harley doesn't offer the green color John Deer does. But it's funny how they are both very similar. They are both tractors and farm implements.

 

I would had closed H-D and kept Buell and MV :crash

 

THey just don't sell enough I suppose. HD doesn't see a benefit to the cost of making the bikes. Shame really - just as they apear to be making something people like. Last track day I was at I saw a number of Buell bikes and counted 5 1125R's. I've seen more Buell's around the local streets lately than ever before. Wish they could give it another year - but I'm certain that their funding is being cut short.

 

Harley's impact on the motorcycling industry as a whole has been nothing but negative. Since they were able to sell overpriced pigs to the general public based on lifestyle principles instead of a good product this convinced the Japanese that was the way to go and they introduced cruisers that are far out of the price range of most people, albeit you're getting a much better product.


Harley's brand image is slowing going to die as the general populace of tatooed, bearded HA wannabees have lost their jobs and cant afford to keep riding. The professionals Harley was trying to reach with Buell and the V-rod are'nt fairing much better.

 

Erik Buell should have known this was coming when he sold out to them. No surprises here.

 

+1, What a D!ck...
I Kinda Liked some of the Buell's..
Not my Style for riding now, but as I grow older I might have considered one.

 

Sad....HD is retarded...I have a good friend that a HD mechanic out of his garage and the new HD stuff is trash to him. Quality control and engineering, and HD stealerships being total dumbasses have made him a decent living.

That being said....he and the other guys he does buisness with will tell you the sportster was the best motor harley built. But the HD wanabes will tell you it a girls bike.

 

I'm surprised it didn't go to China with Hummer!

 

Having owned a Buell before....Harley is a con. :fact Harley should go before Buell.

 

That is very sad. I've never ridden one and now I probably never will get to.

 

Their bikes had limited sales, and the AMA racing "success" they had this year was a huge gift from the AMA. Financially speaking, this is the right decision. Sucks for their employees, no doubt about it.

 

Yea I agree it was a gift, but at least they tried to help it

 

They just did a major re-branding and now they are terminating the company... Must have been a last chance effort to turn things around... I for one, was excited to see where the Buell brand was headed. I guess we'll never know...

 

Less oil on the tarmac is always a good thing for us.

 

Its sad they started to do something on the sport bike scene.

 

From what i can see Eric Buell seems like a genuine guy that loved what he does. He had good ideas and i think the company was headed in the right direction with the rotex motors. If HD had let him break away from the retard HD stealerships who treated the brand like crap it would have done better. But i guess someone had to take the fall for hardleys crappy sales and product. I hope china buys harley.

 

Eh, so what? Is anybody truly surprised? I mean, Buells are quirky for no other reason that to be quirky for quirky's sake. Spotty build quality, suspect reliability, and lousy performance numbers (they are "performance bikes" right?), and if it wasn't for Harley footing the bill, they wouldn't have made it this far.

 

actually the 1125R is not a bad bike, ugly, but performance wise not a bad machine if you like twins.

 

Ugly is the deal. The CBR1000RR isn't a bad bike either (and you could argue that it's a phenomenal bike) but it's so damn ugly no one wants one. Same thing with the 1125R.

The 1125R was just too late to turn the tide.

 

http://www.buell.com/en_us/


Bummer!!!!

 

after the harley announcement you knew this couldnt be far behind.... shitty deal since they just won a championship

 

That's Harley for ya, win a championship, throw away the brand.

 

this is a shame...

I have a plan for Harley profitability.. Quit making bikes which saves money on factories, employees, marketing, advertising, Heavy machinery, tooling, suppliers, etc and Just sell the lifestyle as in leather wear, t-shirts, chaps, du-rags, fingerless gloves, etc..much lower overhead...much higher profits in relation to production costs...better economies of scale.

Didnt they just buy MV a week ago? now they're ditching 'em... Did they seriously intend to make serious profits by owning MV or were they just a jewel on the crown because of their windfall monetary profits from selling H.D's since the boom in new and returning riders? MV has never been high volume or notably high profit...what did they expect?

Hopefully with the MV acquisition and divestment, this means that the outstanding debt and financial issues MV had prior has been wiped out and they can start with a clean page...at least they were able to put out new refreshed models just before the news.

I said on another board...it might be an opportunity for VW to pick up a motorcycle company to add and bring them into the fold. I know they have denied the talk about their desire to get into the motorcycle biz but if there is any truth to them wanting to give it a go...MV sounds like just the brand dont you think?

As for Buell... You could see the emotion on Eric Buell's face and hear it in his voice..it's a shame. With the new models they put out, the new engine the respect that the machines have for it's good dynamics...why the hell did they make the bikes so goddam ugly? I usually get fed up with some guys here touting and putting way too much stock in how pretty the R1 is but on the flip, you've got to give the unconverted potential new audience a reason to want to buy your product..not saying it has to put undue emphasis on looks but c'mon. Now I have a couple of ugly bikes...but badass ugly (Speed triple, zx-14) but nothing about the Buell made me curious to take a closer look....in fact the looks repulsed if I must tell the truth..they did not attract..

What were Buell's numbers like? Were the new models a sales success? Did it's numbers speak toward H.D's decision to bail? Does anyone know?

Remember that ad that showed the crushed and compacted Buell blast (or was it the bolt?)...figure they can add the whole shebang in there now...

 

Sad news. Should have been Buell dumping Harley, they're the ones that are stagnent.