Harley-Davidson is going to discontinue Buell M/C line

[beemerdons]

https://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/news/story.asp?id=1445 Well, Buell will be no more. Time to look for a nice S3T for Papa Chuy!

 

[squeezer]

Erik Buell's comment

Sucks. They made the only Harley products I found interesting.

 

[colin]

Bit sad, not a huge fan of Buell, but liked the variety.

also, part of it is putting MV back up for sale.....

Good read here if you wanna get into some details CLICKY

 

[Zorlac]

"Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009."

Merry effin Christmas. <_<

 

[johnny80s]

That sucks.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Less choices out there now...

 

[PhilMills]

That's a bummer. It's sad that (from Erik's video) it doesn't appear that Buell's going to resurface as a private company. The poor guy looks like he's had his entire reason to exist taken away and shot in front of him.

I test-rode two Buells - an XB12S and an 1125R - and for the short time I had each of them they were the most fun I'd ever had on a motorcycle. Ultimately I couldn't justify owning either of them (no storage options to speak of on the 1125 and the paint-shaker idle of the XB12 engine would drive me crazy in town) but they were a ton of fun. If I had room in my life for a dedicated "stupid bike", they'd have been on the short-list.

 

[SockMonkey]

Though not completely unexpected, this is terrible news. The US will no longer have a domestically engineered and produced sportbike of any consequence. Erik Buell has been so far out in front on so many aspects of sportbike design (mass centralization anyone?), that most other major manufacturers are just now starting to catch up.

Unfortunately, this economy has forced companies to make some very hard decisions - and I have no doubt that this was indeed a very hard one for HD to make despite HD being HD. One would like to believe that some visionary private equity firm would come in and put a reasonable offer on HD's table for Buell, but in today's business climate one shouldn't hold out much hope.

A sad day indeed...

 

[v65]

Not being a corporate guy it's hard for me to get through the language of the release. They are refocusing on their core, it's going to cost them a one time cost over $100 million to do it, but is Buell losing money? That would seem to the naive to be an important point, but I didn't see that in the article. As I read the article it sounded like the latest buzzword think - brand refocusing is going to save the world, or at least temporarily drive our stocks up.

 

[jmdaniel]

Hard to believe that some money won't pop up down the line to resuscitate the brand, unless HD has the agreement from Erik to not let that happen. Just look at all the times folks have tried to resuscitate Indian, and that turd Excelsior-Henderson...

 

[Fred W]

The decision will result in a reduction over time of about 80 hourly production positions and about 100 salaried positions at Buell. Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009.

So they had 80 guys actually working and building the bikes and 100 people managing them.

Geeze, why was this a losing concern?

Through nine months, Harley-Davidson, Inc. reported net income of $163.6 million, down 71.6 percent and diluted earnings per share of $0.70, down 71.4 percent from the year-ago period.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. expects to incur approximately $125 million in one-time costs related to the discontinuation of the Buell product line. The Company expects to incur approximately $115 million of that amount this year.

So they only expect to net $217M but it's a good business decision to spend $115M in the next year to get rid of Buell? Sheesh...

If I were Erik Buell, I'd take my name and any technology I invented and own (that the motor company doesn't have rights to) and go find a different engine to put in my new bikes.

 

[beemerdons]

https://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/07/...d-rotax-v-twin/ I had really, really hoped the Rotax and Buell relationship was going to lead to some incredible sportbikes. Austrian mechanicals and American panache!

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.cycletrader.com/find/search-res...archid-8829593/ Wowser, there's huge glut of 1125R's on the market. Are these good sportbikes?

 

[BikerGeek99]

Wow! Hate to hear that.

Hmm... I wonder if the missus' Blast will become a collector's item now... <_<

 

[v65]

Wow! Hate to hear that.
Hmm... I wonder if the missus' Blast will become a collector's item now... <_<

I doubt it. Not really a fan of that move either.

 

[beemerdons]

https://www.roadcarvin.com/2009-buell-1125c...rst-impressions Does anyone on our FJR Forum own Buell 1125R/CR?

Find myself wondering if perhaps a smoking deal may be out there on 1125's with Buell closing its doors. Any insights guys?

 

[SouthernCruizer]

Buell, Willie G, and the entire motor company are not even a blip on my radar. I'm a biker, not a lifestyle enthusiast.

 

[Rolavine]

Erik Buell's comment
Sucks. They made the only Harley products I found interesting.

Erik Buell is a class act, what an amazing fellow and that heartfelt talk

was really something.

In just that bit over two minutes I found in him all the glory and humanity the ancient Greeks gave their heros.

Hephaestus, please save this company.

 

[Crash Cash]

The decision will result in a reduction over time of about 80 hourly production positions and about 100 salaried positions at Buell. Employment will end for a majority of Buell employees Dec. 18, 2009.

So they had 80 guys actually working and building the bikes and 100 people managing them.

Geeze, why was this a losing concern?

Hey, I'm salaried and I'm not management! Anyway, I test-drove a Ulysses before the FJR, and it was a nice bike, except for the vibes. That was enough to kill it for me, though.

I think this is a great loss for HD as Erik was a top-of-the-line engineer and person. I hope he finds a better place to work and keeps following his dreams.