Buell assumes room temperature

[Jayhawk]

Erik Buell with the eulogy

 

[4gasem]

HOLY SHIT! Not really surprising as they came to the game with to little to late... The latest W/C engine is a great engine but they never seemed to get the attention Buell needed.

Chris

 

[SteelerBike]

What the H happened?

Did HD pull the financing plug?

 

[Jayhawk]

What the H happened?

Did HD pull the financing plug?

Here's more:

Harley-Davidson's Profit Plunges

The FINANCIAL -- Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) announced decreased revenue, net income and earnings per share for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, while reporting a moderation in the decline of retail new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales compared to the second quarter.

"Worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson? motorcycles declined 21.3 percent in the third quarter compared to last year?s third quarter, an improvement from the 30.1 percent decline in this year?s second quarter. An 84.1 percent decline in net income and an 84.5 percent decline in diluted earnings per share from the year-ago quarter reflected lower motorcycle shipments and the effects of the economy on retail and wholesale loan performance at Harley-Davidson Financial Services," Harley-Davidson informs.

Harley-Davidson also unveiled major elements of its go-forward business strategy to drive growth through a single-minded focus of efforts and resources on the unique strengths of the Harley-Davidson brand, and to enhance productivity and profitability through continuous improvement. As approved yesterday by Harley-Davidson?s Board of Directors, the Company will discontinue its Buell product line and divest its MV Agusta unit as part of this strategy.

Link

 

[4gasem]

We started continuous improvement six sigma about 18 months ago. It's the only way a semi large corporation is going to survive. It cuts down on waste and organizes everything so well.

More companies need to do this.

I bet Eric works with MV to help grow it. I bet he was PISSED when he heard the news that MV was sticking around and Buell was going away... Man... I feel for him. He's a really good guy and Buell was just starting to become good IMO.

Chris

 

[CaptainKyle]

Not a surprise up untill the 1125 they were nothing more than a glorified sporster motor they never stood a chance against the other sport bikes .

 

[SteelerBike]

Well they could have marketed the brand instead of treating it like the ugly two-headed step sister.

So, my XB9SX either just plummeted in value or increased due to impending scarcity???:confused2:

 

[ghostntheshell]

Interesting. Sad too.

 

[Rollie]

We started continuous improvement six sigma about 18 months ago. It's the only way a semi large corporation is going to survive. It cuts down on waste and organizes everything so well.

More companies need to do this.

I bet Eric works with MV to help grow it. I bet he was PISSED when he heard the news that MV was sticking around and Buell was going away... Man... I feel for him. He's a really good guy and Buell was just starting to become good IMO.

Chris

I don't think MV is sticking around under the HD logo.

 

[CaptainKyle]

I don't think MV is sticking around under the HD logo.

Yeah I cant see them putting the HD logo on the MV but who knows.

 

[naughtyG]

I think it's a great shame. Never really been a big fan of HD, but I've always likes twin engines and in Buell they had them performing much better, in motorcycles that actually handled and braked properly. I wasn't always sold on the cosmetics, but they did bring some great innovations and it's really sad to see them go.

 

[4gasem]

It says in the article that the are divesting the MV portion which means getting rid of...

 

[mattness]

collector bikes!

ive never seen an ad for a buell. ever.

hell i bet if you asked 100 motorcyclists maybe 85 would know what a buell was. maybe 60 of them would know they were american, and maybe 30 of them would know it was HD.

:th_fridaay:

 

[GREEN light BLITZ]

HAHAHA HARLEY,EAT THAT! Go back to pumping out rattling,leaking,and chrome puking cruisers so I can smack them around at stop lights some more!

Oh now might be a good time to let you know I hate Harley...
It is a shame to see ANY motorcycle name go under though.

 

[coffee_brake]

Damn, I was in LOVE with the 1125CR, the water-cooled new engine. That was THE sweetest motorcycle I have ever ridden. It did not have a sweet spot, the whole damn motorcycle was sweet spot!
The Sporty powerplants left me cold but that Rotax engine...now that one had me (briefly) considering selling the Vmax. I've test ridden the 1125CR 6 times and it's just as hot.
I hope Buell can find another outlet for his machines...a sad day for American motorcycles....

 

[gamorg02]

could it possibly be a way to get out from under HD control?

 

[Jayhawk]

Jesus. My wife would kill me.

 

[Shuriken]

Jesus. My wife would kill me.

Does anyone get the sick feeling that the dealer could STILL be making money or at least breaking even after dropping the price that much? True or not, it does make me wonder....

 

[Jayhawk]

Does anyone get the sick feeling that the dealer could STILL be making money or at least breaking even after dropping the price that much? True or not, it does make me wonder....

I don't know whether they're making money at that price or not, but isn't it kind of odd that they went from 'list price and like it' to closing the doors without some sort of huge incentive/discount stop in between? Perhaps I just missed seeing it, but when times got tough Honda, for example, started deeply discounting their bikes to get them moving. And, advertised the sale like crazy. Didn't see anything similar from Buell...just straight to closing the doors.

 

[Redbone]

WOW, that is a drastic price cut. That might be a investment there or a source for some tasty upgrades for the Vmax!:eusa_dance: