Buell just folded !!!!

Another sad news for American Business and Economy

Message from Erik Buell :

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




Buell Motor Company Folds
by staff
Thursday, October 15, 2009
There have been rumors for weeks that Buell would not re-open after the current shut-down. It appears that those rumors are true.


BUELL OFFICIALS THANK CUSTOMERS, DEALERS AND EMPLOYEES FOR UNFORGETTABLE RIDE



BUELL OFFICIALS THANK CUSTOMERS, DEALERS AND EMPLOYEES FOR UNFORGETTABLE RIDE

EAST TROY, Wis. (Oct. 15, 2009) - Buell Motorcycle Company officials thanked the company's customers, employees and dealers for an unforgettable ride, following today's announcement by Harley-Davidson, Inc. that it will discontinue the Buell? product line as part of Harley-Davidson's go-forward business strategy. The new long-term strategy aims to drive Company growth through a focus of efforts and resources on the Harley-Davidson? brand.

"I want to personally thank all our past and present Buell employees, dealers and suppliers for their efforts. I also want to thank Buell motorcycle owners for their support and passion for the brand," said Buell Motorcycle Company President Jon Flickinger.

Flickinger said a limited number of new Buell motorcycles remain available for sale through authorized dealerships and production will wind down by October 30. He also stressed that Harley-Davidson will provide replacement parts and service through dealerships and that warranty coverage will continue as normal for Buell motorcycles.

"I will always be proud of what we have accomplished. It is a testimony to what a small group of passionate and inspired people can do, and with brilliant innovations, we've produced some of the best-handling bikes of all time," said Buell Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell. "I personally look forward to exploring how I can continue to work with Harley-Davidson to bring advanced product technology to riders.

"I have also had the great fortune to meet and get to know many Buell riders over the years, and they are an amazing and interesting group of free thinkers," Buell said. "May you ride with pride into the future. And may your roads ahead be as adventuresome and rewarding as mine have been for the last 26 years."

A wholly owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc. since 1998, Buell Motorcycle Company was founded in 1983 by Erik Buell and produced more than 135,000 motorcycles. Over the past 26 years, Buell motorcycles won numerous design accolades and awards, and countless races and championships around the world, including the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike championship in 2009.

ENDS

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Sad for sure, but it has been comming for a while. The writing was on the wall.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Wow...........

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Thad said:

Sad for sure, but it has been comming for a while. The writing was on the wall.

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To say the least.

Their demise has been looming overhead for 26 years.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Buell and Harley is about as dumb as Chevy and GMC trucks or Crown Victorias and Grand Marquises.
It would have been different if Buell would have been competitive with the Japanese bikes, but Buell was not even close.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Shame but I have to agree with the above post. My neighbor has one and the engineering on it leaves a lot to be desired.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

That's bad news for sure. Hate to see it happen. I hope Victory motorcycles can make it through. They also make great bikes! Times are really tough.

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Heh, every time I would pull up beside a Buell at a light I would worry the engine was going to shake out of those rubber mounts and start bouncing all over the intersection. Scary bikes.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

I never cared for those bikes, but I'm sorry for the job losses.

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I've been known to shoot photos of HD and Buell bikes, but I never much cared for either one as a rider. IMO, they are over-priced and of marginal quality.

"Back in the day," I used to take great pleasure in finding them in the hills in Santa Cruz, Calif, just so I could "eat their lunch" on my not so stock Honda 750.



???

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

I have over 25,000 troublefree miles on my 1200 cc Buell. Its NOT a jap sportbike and thats the point. It doesnt sound like one and handles better than any of them. I can work on it just like my chevy powered boat, nothing exotic. Its faster than just about anything else on the street from stoplight to stoplight- thats the whole Idea behind Buell. Why would you need or want a jap bike that goes 200 mph??? I have almost 100 hp, 80 lbs of torque (dyno verified) and will do 142mph computer controlled all the while getting 50+ mpg. Its a great loss. Buell has a HUGE following in Europe. Its a great bike the problem is and has always been HD. They dont market it, they hate servicing it and the salesmen look down at potential buyers. The bike itself is an engineering marvel. No silly radiators to deal with, chains to lube and clean (belt driven) and a huge single brake up front. I'm sorry to see it go, if youve ever ridden one youd know why those of us that have them love them...

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

AZSenza said:

I have over 25,000 troublefree miles on my 1200 cc Buell. Its NOT a jap sportbike and thats the point. It doesnt sound like one and handles better than any of them. I can work on it just like my chevy powered boat, nothing exotic. Its faster than just about anything else on the street from stoplight to stoplight- thats the whole Idea behind Buell. Why would you need or want a jap bike that goes 200 mph??? I have almost 100 hp, 80 lbs of torque (dyno verified) and will do 142mph computer controlled all the while getting 50+ mpg. Its a great loss. Buell has a HUGE following in Europe. Its a great bike the problem is and has always been HD. They dont market it, they hate servicing it and the salesmen look down at potential buyers. The bike itself is an engineering marvel. No silly radiators to deal with, chains to lube and clean (belt driven) and a huge single brake up front. I'm sorry to see it go, if youve ever ridden one youd know why those of us that have them love them...

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They seem to be the kind of motorcycles that you either love or hate.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

kenmyfam said:

They seem to be the kind of motorcycles that you either love or hate.

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Like a hardly davidson.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Elkhorn is only 10 miles from me and the economic impact will be felt. Those were good paying jobs too. I thought we were out of the recession?

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

As someone who actually owns a Buell, it is a superb motorcycle with a great chassis and unique looks. I have owned 17 bikes ranging from vintage, Ducatis,Moto Guzzi, Modern Triumphs and Japanese bikes. This bike is easily the most fun to ride bike I have owned. It is also extremely reliable and has the cool factor of a very low production model bike.
For those uniformed posters that compare it to a Japanese bike, you are way off as it was never his intention to beat the Japanese or compete with them. He made unique bikes that stood on there own merits. He was not looking to make another "me too" product.

As to the motor shaking in the frame at idle, it supposed to do that and once underway the motor is smooth. His uniplanar mounting system is designed to work that way.

I figure you have ONLY earned the right to comment on qualities of these motorcycles if you have actually owned or at least ridden one.

FYI, every motorcycle magazine that ever reviewed a Buell LOVED them.

It is too bad that we are losing more jobs.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

windsors03cobra said:

Buell and Harley is about as dumb as Chevy and GMC trucks or Crown Victorias and Grand Marquises.
It would have been different if Buell would have been competitive with the Japanese bikes, but Buell was not even close.

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Well they just won the 2009 ama sport bike championship competing against European and Japanese factory teams. Seems they did there job in that area.
As far as the product for sale. They themselves said they were not going to build clones of other manufactures. There is a lot of great stuff on those bikes.

Myself, i'm not a sport bike rider. I'm more cruiser. I have had the pleasure of taking a Buell bike for a ride. It had temp plates on it and this guy never saw me before. We just talked for 20 min and asked if i wanted to try it.
PROUD ?? this guy was. It was fast, crisp, and seemed well put together.

Would i buy one. Probably not, but mainly only for seating position and look, not for quality.

To bad. I hate to see anyone's dreams go away.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

just in case that wasn't bad enough, now HD has announced they will begin production overseas of motorcycles. That will probably be the final nail in the coffin.

even though overseas produced bikes will be sold overseas, I think just the fact that they took those jobs from Americans will put them out. It's the only thing HD really still has going for them.

Seriously what's the reason for buying an HD over a Honda/Kawi/Suzuki/Triumph or other.

I do like my HD better the jap cruisers I've owned but not that much. I loved my Buell and my jap sportbikes as well. They are truly different animals.

I think Buell may make another run at it and would do better if he took it out of HD dealers and put it where kids go to shop. Put it in a Honda dealer. That way instead of trying to get a kid to buy a bike where dad gets his, they could get dad to buy a bike where junior gets one. dads are easier to convince.

Re: Buell just folded !!!!

Bass Tracker TX17 said:

Well they just won the 2009 ama sport bike championship competing against European and Japanese factory teams. Seems they did there job in that area.
As far as the product for sale. They themselves said they were not going to build clones of other manufactures. There is a lot of great stuff on those bikes.

Myself, i'm not a sport bike rider. I'm more cruiser. I have had the pleasure of taking a Buell bike for a ride. It had temp plates on it and this guy never saw me before. We just talked for 20 min and asked if i wanted to try it.
PROUD ?? this guy was. It was fast, crisp, and seemed well put together.

Would i buy one. Probably not, but mainly only for seating position and look, not for quality.

To bad. I hate to see anyone's dreams go away.

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yes Buell won the 600cc class but with a 1200cc motorcycle. wish they could compete against ducatis and the like on an even platform.