Demise of a brand

[lemppari]

Was sad to see Eric's message in Buell homepage. I've never been a huge fan, but it is sad that the parent company won't do other than oldfashioned ironmongery. And the XR is certainly not even near as a sportsbike to a Buell!

[Lex]

For those of you who haven't ridden a recent Buell, these are/ were great bikes. I had plans to buy an XB12XT (the touring version of the Ulysses) after renting one for a day. Another monument to the rigidity and narrow mindedness of many motorcycles. It doesn't look like a everything so it must be junk.

 

I'm glad Guzzi is still (barley) alive so people who don't what to be like everybody else have a choice left.

 

Eric says goodbye: http://www.buell.com/en_us/

 

Lex

[GuzziMoto]

As another former and possibly future owner, I am very sad to hear of this.

One of the best streetbikes I owned was a Buell Lightning and I probably will own another someday. I only sold it to buy my Griso, and quite frankly the Buell was a more enjoyable bike to ride. The Griso is just better looking and more reliable.

[mznyc]

That's a bummer!I'm not a big fan,as the arrogance and stubbornness of mama Harley really stifled Buell's vision and passion.Always felt and told friends that I want to buy an American sport bike but it has to be better than it's competitors.It was not.As good as some in some areas and better than some in others,but not as a whole package.QC was always suspect ,uh not unlike some other brands we know.At least I though they were fairly priced.

Ah Piaggio,I know of a certain brilliant someone ,who is available to turn your MG brand around and in the right direction ! Hint Hint !

[Baldini]

...Always felt and told friends that I want to buy an American sport bike but it has to be better than it's competitors. ...

 

The logic of then buying a Guzzi confounds me...

 

Can someone tell me what's happened (I am one of the broadband deprived, so even if I waited a couple of hours for it to download the vid, I'd probably lose the connection before I could play it...)....I presume Harley has pulled the plug on Buell - if so, you gotta wonder was that always the plan?

 

Why now?

 

KB

[Tom M]

What a shame. I can't really blame Harley for doing it given their troubles. They're dumping MV Augusta too.

 

I'd love to see Buell continue in some form. It seems like this would be a perfect opportunity for Polaris to add a sport bike line to complement their Victory cruisers.

 

edit: KB, Here's an article that answers your "why now?" question:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/...uell-brand.html

[mznyc]

The logic of then buying a Guzzi confounds me...

Busted KB !Yup ,who would say there's anything logical in buying a Guzzi,I guess my Italian roots draw me to the Guzzi.I'm also an art lover,no expert,just know what i like when I see it.Thought the Guzzi had great lines Haven't we all gone out with that certain someone we shouldn't have?

[richard100t]

I wonder whats going to happen to that new sportbike engine they just shelled out all that r&d on? Do you suppose someone will buy the thing and try to start a new brand?

[Dan M]

Can someone tell me what's happened...

 

 

KB

 

 

The vid is of an almost teary eyed Eric Buell announcing there will be no more production of his beloved bikes.

 

 

 

Dropping Buell and selling MV seems somewhat knee jerk to me.

Looks like Harley is scrambling. Getting back to basics so to speak. I'm not much of a fan of either Harley or Buell. The latest Buells showed some promise but IMO were too ugly to ride and like the parent company's Harleys reliability has always been a bit suspect. I wonder if they would have been as quick to cut them loose if they were still using HD motors in all of the bikes.

[Guzzirider]

The older aircooled Buells do have some soul- I think it is a shame that Buell has been dumped but I guess understandable- I have never seen an 1125 on the road since it was launched. Too fugly.

[Lex]

The older aircooled Buells do have some soul- I think it is a shame that Buell has been dumped but I guess understandable- I have never seen an 1125 on the road since it was launched. Too fugly.

 

The 1125 was indeed launched in the US and I've ridden one. It was the first Buell that didn't ask the rider to adapt, it didn't shake at idle, it was redlined as high as other big twins, it was very comfortable for a sport bike, it stopped, turned and accelerated very well. Looks are a mater of opinion but IRL the white 1125R with blue trim was beautiful to my eye. The 1125CR was not pretty but it carried off the "I'm bad" look as well as anything other then maybe a Speed Triple. If you measure looks by how much it looks like other bikes the 1125s may have been ugly but they were the first Buell since the "tubers" I really liked.

 

Several of the comments above do a better job then I did of making my point. How many of you making negative comments about Buells actually rode one? Buells had their problems and styling wasn't a strong suit but they were really fun to ride. More importantly, they gave people an option different from the "can't tell them apart without a program" bikes that dominate today. I think is very sad that even here on a site devoted to a bike just as out of the mainstream as Buell and that has as many problems as Buells people make the same comments you hear on other sites about Guzzis. If you tried a Buell and didn't like it that is fine but to make snide comments in total ignorance isn't very impressive.

 

Enjoy your Guzzi, it may well be the last out of the mainstream bikes in production unless you want a 25 HP Indian Royal Enfield.

 

Lex (Yes, he is pissed off AND depressed)

[luhbo]

....

Lex (Yes, he is pissed off AND depressed)

 

That's when he makes his best posts

 

Hubert

[Dan M]

..... I think is very sad that even here on a site devoted to a bike just as out of the mainstream as Buell and that has as many problems as Buells people make the same comments you hear on other sites about Guzzis. If you tried a Buell and didn't like it that is fine but to make snide comments in total ignorance isn't very impressive.

 

Enjoy your Guzzi, it may well be the last out of the mainstream bikes in production unless you want a 25 HP Indian Royal Enfield.

 

Lex (Yes, he is pissed off AND depressed)

 

Why would anyone buy or ride something they didn't like? I truly wanted to like the new Buells. The engineering has always been innovative and when the 1125 was announced I thought, finally a modern engine in an American sport bike. The bottom line though is they just didn't do anything for me visually and while the 1125 had no track record yet the reliability of the air cooled units certainly was suspect. In my eye the CR was better but there is just other stuff out there I would pick first. My comments were not snide, just observations and impressions. I don't like to see any business fail or become victim of the current economic climate, but many, many have.

Blame Harley, they pulled the plug. If this move by them pisses you off and makes you depressed, I feel for you.

[jihem]

What a shame. I can't really blame Harley for doing it given their troubles. They're dumping MV Augusta too.

 

I wonder who will jump on MV Agusta. Wouldn't be a blast if Ducati was to buy it back ?

 

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/uptospeed/...uell-brand.html

 

 

thanx Tom, interesting read.

[felix42o]

Hmmm... I just stopped by the overseas harley dealer here in Bahrain and they have one '09 1125R in white for $7500USD. Anyone looking to buy an '03 Cali Aluminum? Maybe a DR650? Obviously I can't sell the Tenni but I think at the price I need to make room for this Buell.