2009
12.02
12.02
News of the demise of Buell is no longer new, in fact rumors of small groups of financial wizards attempting to resurrect the only American sport bike company have been bouncing all over the net. Here are some of our thoughts on how we think the company could be made to survive. First, get rid of the founder, Erik Buell. (What?) Erik is known to be a very polarizing individual. Either you are with him or against him, this prevents the development of good ideas because any idea that is not Erik’s is a bad one. Second, abandon some of his crazy thinking. For example, If the perimeter brake was such a good idea, how come nobody has copied it? Comment on your thoughts. What would you do to make Buell succeed?
I wouldn’t! Buells weren’t exactly flying off the shelves even in the best of times! For all of Erik Buell’s great technology and design, too many buyers saw the dinosaur Harley roots and went elsewhere! Yes the 1125 was a departure, but it was too little, too late.
I’d start with a blank sheet of paper, build a “platform” around an Inline 4,1000cc motor and build a pure super sport, a naked/standard and touring bike, all off that common platform.
I’d adjust chassis geometry with longer swingarms and adjustable rake/trail, etc. Engine powerband would be completely managed electronically.
My American company would put an “American” name on the tank and — like BMW with the S1000RR — outsource the engine and other components that could not be competitively manufactured in the US. Or if Warren Buffet stepped up to the plate like he did for Harley, I’d do more components American made.
The single platform and the reduced parts inventory, NOT reinventing the wheel by using an Inline 4 and “traditional” sport bike technology, “dumbing-down” the SS for the naked and tourer, means you could market 3 models within just a few years.
Then, all you need is “Big Lie” marketing like Microsoft, AOL, Harley, etc and you’ve got a good seller!
And that would just be for starters!
Hard to say if Buell needed saving any more than say Honda or Suzuki. Everyones sales were down recently, and this looks like HD’s response to shareholders etc. On what would it take to save the company? How about a few more people giving them a try. Do we really need 140+ hp motorcycles for everyday riding. The air cooled bikes had plenty of real world power, would cruise effortlessly all day long and require virtually no maintenance doing it. I know this is going to sound biased, but it’s quite easy to achieve over 50 mpg every day on these bikes regardless of riding style. At speeds under 100mph, there are very few bikes faster and almost none that handle as well. Two up riding is fine, as ample torque makes it easy. I suspect that if groups like Canyon Chasers would give a bike like the Ulysses a try and compare it to say a Multistrada they might be pleasantly surprised.
I know that a typical HD dealership is not the best place to market a sport oriented bike, but surely HD could see this a reasonable way to attract a younger audience. Under engine exhaust was considered strange at best when Buell first used it. Mass centralization, fuel in the frame, oil in the swingarm and perimeter brakes could all be common place in the not too distant future. Hard to believe that all of these things came from a company as small as Buell. Too bad that they have finally begun to win over journalists with Rotax engined bikes, yet don’t seem to be willing to wait for this to turn into sales.
With any luck Bombardier would be able to pickup where Buell left off. Apparently Erik is available now and this company in particular seems willing to take chances, and with BRP and Rotax being one and the same, it seems a match made in heaven. It would be amazing to see what Erik could do with some decent support from a company as large as this that truly wants to see him succeed….
I agree with Tom. BRP would be the company of choice as the 1125 is a Rotax engine and most of the 1125 is Buell specific. It would be an easy move over to BRP if they left the air cooled stuff behind, but they could still source them from HD without it being as ‘distruptive’ as HD claims.
I’ve owned a ‘99M2 since new and jumped on the 1125cr bandwagon when the $5k rebates hit. Lots of people are taking advantage of the rebates and are now really getting a taste of what they have been missing all along. Too bad BRP didn’t move on buying Buell (as one insider suggested they do 3 years ago) as HD was the WORST at selling the product. Most Buell buyers knew more about the product line than the dealer did. They did a fine job of turning away yet more potential buyers to the product….
I’m a sport touring fan, but know that they don’t sell well. I doubt going down that road would have brought Buell any additional success. Having the 1125 in a touring rig would be something I would really consider based on the engine design….it would have to be as good as my FJR or I wouldn’t move up (or over).
People like taking shots at Erik Buell, but some of his ideas are now being copied by most other mfgs…the under engine exhaust, for one. The Z2L brake is a nice idea in engineering- all brake forces are kept to the rim keeping unsprung weight low…too bad they didn’t have 40 years to perfect it like the regular discs had. No one is going to buy an american bike that is a cookie cutter of something better from Japan. You need to set yourself apart and be good at what you do. Triumph is one, Buell could have been as good or better.
Hi, great site by the way. I would agree to get rid of Erick first and foremost. Honestly I never cared for the bikes, I did own one. Just never really made the transition from second rate bikes to bike that you could rely on. Also the looks never appealed to me. Perhaps a new design and a fresh out look by the big fish is what the motorcycle industry needs. Most bikes really look too similar. Let’s see something new with some retro ties.
Harley refused to sell Buell, how bad would they have looked if they’d done that and Buell and sales doubled, or tripled. To keep Buell alive, HD corp only had to allow the sale of BMC to any one of a large number of interested investors instead of refusing all offers and liquidating assets associated with Buell Motor Company as many of the Buell faithful wrote to HD and requested they do.
As an arm chair quaterback many believe they should have gotten Buell marketing out of HD’s hands, the people that buy Buells don’t do it for the same reason HD buyers make their purchases. HD marketing didn’t get that and much of the Buell sales efforts from the mothership were just wasted money.
If Buell motorcycles could have been sold outside the HD dealerships, well that would have made all the difference in the world. But THAT was the clencher, when Erik sold the company to HD is was necessary, and required to use the HD network to get the bikes out there. BMC needed the dealer network just as badly as the infusion of money that allowed the product to improve as much as it did over the last ten years -2000 Cycle M2 (hopped up sportser engine with stock clonky tranny) vs. the 1125R (liquid cooled v-twin putting down 140+ hp) most of the bike is made in the USA. Rotax built the engine Buell engineers designed. Perimeter brakes and other unsprung weight reducing features, fueel in the frame and underslung muffler to centralize mass and even the advanced manufacturing methods used at the Buell plant in East Troy, WI.
Seriously, how do you sell that kind of tech out of a Harley shop where “Loud Pipes Save Lives” and the more it shakes the better? You don’t. Buell needed HD, but HD was the reason Buell was bound to fail with the constraints placed on them by that marriage.
Response to Wilbur, “Most bikes really look too similar” personally, I feel that Buell was braking that mold, since when have they ever looked like other bikes? What one person rides, and why can be very different from one person to another. Want a different design, go buy a Spyder. Buells weren’t for everyone, but if more had ridden Buell in the past, instead of being lured by the magic number sheets for the big four posted in the mags, I believe they could have done well.
I’ve owned my 2000 Cyclone since spring of 2001, while I love the bike it is an acquired taste, I feel the newest XB series and the 1125’s (especially with the full fairings) were the bikes to compete with the rest of the market.
If only Harley Davidson would have sold the company, then Buell could have survived.
“Cycle World -Erik Buell Unplugged and Uncut: Part One”
http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=43&article_id=2119
“Cycle World – Erik Buell Unplugged and Uncut: Part Two”
http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=2123