Just got this note from Harley Davidson, so the era of Buell has officially come to an end:
Harley Davidson press release:
On October 30, a Buell Lightning XB12Scg rolled off the company’s East Troy, Wis. assembly line, the last of the 136,923 motorcycles built in the company’s 26 years of operation. Parent Harley-Davidson announced on October 15 that the Buell lineup of motorcycles would be discontinued effective December 18, 2009. Buell motorcycles will continue to be sold through existing dealers until inventory is depleted.
fazer6 says
bummer
FREEMAN says
A sad day for Buell, indeed.
Norm May says
Seems rather strange that a company that is claiming to be so cash strapped would not attepmt to sell Buell. Especially when the line is one of their better products.
Davidw says
As an American manufacturer of motorcycles Buell as originally conceived was both interesting and refreshing. Buell gave hope and pride to American motorcyclists with an interest in performance, but as it became an assembler of mostly foreign sourced parts it was doomed to failure especially as its products never were able to compete heads up with others in its displacement class. As a purveyer of tee shirts and other assorted bling made in mostly third world sweatshops, its parent company Harley Davidson will undoubtedly prosper but in a technological sense its products have always been and will continue to be backmarkers.
MacKenzie says
Now I know that I’ll keep my ’96 S1 until the end of time – without a doubt, one of the best motorcycles I’ve ever owned – and I’ve owned a few…….
Mike
Killian says
The press release sounds like the man can’t even use his own name on a new company going forward.
smithmotorwheel says
That is definitely a downer. I wish I would’ve had the money to buy a new Buell a couple of years back. Maybe if enough people had been able to do that things would be different. Whether they were competitive/comparable to other sport bikes didn’t matter to me. I had high hopes Buell was the beginning of a new era for HD. I dig them all, but I’ve gotta root for my home team. Kick Azz, USA! Let’s get some more US owned motorcycle companies going!
David/cigarrz says
I never thought of this before but Harley has put a whole lot of money into it’s NHRA V Rod program only to be fighting for it’s life against turn key Buell packages from S&S now thats the kind of subterfuge I could believe the motor co. capable of. I know my S-1 wont be for sale anytime soon either.
Job Shattuck says
As soon as i heard the sad news about buell i knew that dealers would be giving them
away, so I jumped at the chance to but a 2009 xb12ss lightining, It’s easily the best bike i have ever owned or ridden, I’m not sure wether to be happy for myself or sad for buell. Just glad I was able to get one brand new when i had the chance.
john says
sucks that an american sport bike is no more
The other Larry says
Just bought an 1125CR (the one with the Rotax, the 600 beater) and it is a very nice piece. If Harley had allowed them to be stand-alone dealerships or with European brand shops it all may have been different.
Richard says
F&*^king idiots running that company…that’s all there really is to say….
jeff says
the only thing Buell about the Buells in NHRA is the resemblance in body work and the fact that both of them have air cooled pushrod v-twins. Other than that, there is nothing Buell about it. The S&S engine can be seen here:
http://www.g2motorsports.net/Engine%20Packages/Pro%20Stock%20Engine.html
Same things holds tru for the HD Vrods – there motor is even farther away from anything HD actually makes – actually Vance and Hines made all the investment, HD just pays the sponsorship. AND….Vance and Hines will sell you one of those motors if you want. lets not leave Suzuki out of it either – they are still running TL1000 bodywork – a V-twin motorcycle – and running a 4 cylinder “loosely” based on the original GS motor – also, Vand and Hines builds a large amount of the Suzuki engines for those on the NHRA tour also….
joseph says
The best thing ever to be associated with HD is about to be discontinued. I hope somebody has trouble sleeping tonight besides the hundreds of workers employed by Buell and myself… tear.
Kurt says
Sad to see the last one roll off the line. My prayers go out to the Buell workers who created a great product and are soon to be out of work. We may never know the real reason HD Inc shut Buell down, be it political or financial. Buells never would have flourished given the poor sales and maintenance support of a majority of the HD Dealers, One would also have to ask just how much HD prevented BMC from expanding and reaching their goals. I hope now that Eric Buell is out from under the yoke of HD Inc., a company stuck in the past, that he will be able to move forward and create new bikes that will inspire this generation and those to come. Ok, let this proud Buell owner step off my soapbox….
Gary says
Harley’s do absolutely nothing for me, but, when I’ve been to the dealer for my Buell and checked out the V-Rods, I’ve toyed with the idea that I might consider one as a third bike . . .
. . . now I won’t even consider one. If anyone ever questioned if there was any truth behind Harley’s lofty marketing rhetoric of freedom and individuality, there’s no question now.
Harley is a soul-less corporation.
Scott says
Unless Harley sells the rights back to Erik Buell and allows him to continue making motorcycles, I won’t be able to look at another Harley without complete disgust.
This act of cowardice and greed says more about what Harley REALLY stands for than they will be able to counter with a thousand flag-waving ads.
The chasm between Harley marketing and Harley actions has become so great, that I wonder how long it will take before they suffocate under a pile of their own BS.
How long can latte sipping geeks in designer suits sell “outlaw” bikes to people who they would cross the street to avoid? How long will it be before they are laughed out of the market?
Chris says
Before we get all offensive towards Harley (even though I would never own one)…This could be a temporary closure/contract to get their numbers up during these rather trying times…and that maybe why they’re not selling the Buell name.
Tin Man 2 says
Buell sold only 136K bikes in 26 Yrs. I like the Idea of Buell but never bought one, Obviously not many others bought Buell either. Erik is still employed by HD, maybe his work will bring change to the Sportster lineup. Maybe Erik can bring change from within the Harley Brand more effectively then with the Buell Brand. I never saw the logic in a seperate brand and the expence associated with maintaining a seperate identity. Best wishes to the layed off workers in this tight ecomony, They sure cant get jobs at Yamahonda, those jobs are in Japan.
Jon P says
H-D makes most of it’s money from tshirts, bandanas, sheets ect. Any cheap Chinese product the can slap an Harley logo on and mark up 400%. I also work for an American company and they are doing the same thing. Half to two-thirds of the product is now made in China.
And truthfully, I had a chopped sportster in the seventies. I wouldn’t own a Harley if it was given to me and I was paid to ride it.
PaulN says
I don’t think Buell is done, only mothballed. Why would Harley not sell the company, the patents, tooling, etc? Why not rake in some cash, expecially when they need it? Because I’ll bet they plan on bringing it back, that’s why. Not today, not this year, maybe not for quite a while, but Buell will be back, either as it’s own brand again, or maybe in parts and pieces as the parent company integrates existing Buell ideas and technology into the HD line.
Personally, I always liked the Buell idea, and the execution, but have never owned one. Maybe one day I will.
Neil T. says
Ive often wondered why HD never introduced their own sportbike under the HD name. They had a little success with the VR1000 project years ago. Today we have the Roehr project that an outside company ran with using the Revolution Vtwin motor mached to a supercharger in a sportbike. . Perhaps…just perhaps only the name ‘Buell” is gone for the time being. Perhaps HD has a basement project in the sportbike arena much as the did with the V-Rod for the cruisers and plan on introducing a new series. After having a winning season with their Buell Bikes in the AMA races this year…I cant fathom calling a “Time of Death” on a successfull Motor Bike.
Tin Man 2 says
Jon P, I rode Japs in the 70s, they were junk also. I would not ride an Asian Cruizer if you paid me. Thats like wearing a Fake Rolex! Now lets get real. All products have improved dramaticly since the 70s, there is no difference in reliability between any of the major manufactures. If you ride Sport Bikes a Harley is not for you, But why the Hate? Its all good up on 2 wheels.
Phoebe says
Harley never knew how to handle Buell. Selling them alongside Harleys was a mistake, but killing the company outright is an even bigger mistake. Not to mention it ruined poor Erik Buell’s dreams. I would love to see Erik start making bikes again, obviously not under the Buell name, but it’s just a name. If I were him, I would thumb my nose at Harley and never use their engines again. S&S and/or Rotax can easily fill his needs for v-twins.
Scott says
I’m afraid those of you who think this is temporary are becoming victims of wishful thinking. Buell was a tiny part of Harley’s business and a tiny part they never understood. They paid over $120 million to shut things down and they’d be fools to do that if they really saw it as something they would use in the future. Just cutting back staff and keeping it running for a few years at a smaller size would have been less costly to them than what they did, but they wanted to clearly and cleanly cut it off so they could focus on their core brand.
As a business decision, I think it’s short sighted, but I can’t argue strongly against it. My real issue is they’re afraid to let Erik Buell continue to sell motorcycles because they’re afraid he will be able to do on his own what they could never figure out and become a real threat to them.
. . . but that goes against everything they PRETEND to stand for.
I put it to Harley Davidson that they need to either let Erik Buell continue to make motorcycles or stop marketing themselves as a company that represents the courageous individual who believes in freedom and the American way . . . because they clearly don’t really believe any of that.
Jimmy B says
Could it be possible that HD is not selling the Buell name because they are taking creative and technical knowledge from both Buell and MV to introduce a new (dare I say!?) HD Sport Bike in the future? Just a thought. It does seem funny and stupid that they did not try and sell Buell if they are that strapped for cash.
John says
jonp wouldn’t ride a Harley if payed to .I’m devastated,what a loss.
Bentzra says
I have always liked Buell’s and would have liked to own one (unfortunately I – like may other have had to put cycles on hold for now). Kind of funny though that the last one built it THE ONE I would have liked.
Rashomon says
“Could it be possible that HD is not selling the Buell name because they are taking creative and technical knowledge from both Buell and MV to introduce a new (dare I say!?) HD Sport Bike in the future?”
In a word: No. The XR1200R is as close as it’s going to get for the forseeable future.
Auz1237 says
This is a very sad day for Buell and a poor reflection on the management team at Harley, you guys suck. Hey, I got another great idea, why don’t you pay millions for an Italian motorcycle company and then sell it months later…. oh wait you already thought of that…!!!
Tin Man 2 says
Rumors are starting to surface about Suzuki not just exiting the USA but joining Buell in closing shop. I know the Auto bussiness has been hard on Suzy, But how are their bike sales doing? Buell may be just the 1st of many to be lost in this economy.
DoctorNine says
Tin Man 2, not only can’t you spell, but you apparently don’t read international business news. Suzuki’s profit -in South Asia alone- this quarter was up 23.1 percent from last year. Financial officers at Suzuki are conservative in their forecasts, but they are universally optimistic. Quote, “..I strongly doubt that sales will continue to grow like this,” Suzuki President Osamu Suzuki said…”
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2634194/
Suzuki may exit markets where people buy vehicles based on some idiotic notion of nationalism, but they are definitely in no danger of closing down. I’d look for HD to be the next player to fold their hand. And they don’t have a South Asian market to fall back on…
stacius says
I’m sad to see Buell go. I just bought an 2008 1125R for under 7K. That wouldn’t have happened under any other circumstances. But I felt it was good to vote with my limited dollars, if only for a product/philosophy I believed in.
It was actually gut wrenching to watch Erik’s announcement video. America was made great by men with drive, vision and the will to make their ideas manifest. I believe an unfettered Buell would become a force to reckoned with. It’s too bad they were tied to a company that would not (for whatever reason) allow them to reach their full potential.
I have enjoyed my bike thus far and look forward to getting to know the machine better.
I don’t understand why the Motor Company would not be interested in providing bikes for all segments of the motorcycling public. BMW has made some bold moves of late, despite the recession!
I do believe that HD will have to change in some significant ways in the future. New technologies are being birthed all around us. Environmental concerns will force further changes and future HD customers will (perhaps) be looking for more options, lest they seek them elsewhere. From what I’ve seen, there IS room, demand and a future for a Great American Sportbike. Whether Harley chooses to build it or let someone else remains to be seen.
DoctorNine says
And, Tin Man 2, if you want to know SPECIFICALLY about cycles, the Suzuki profit in South Asia only went up 41% Oct’09 compared to Oc’08.
http://www.wheelsunplugged.com/ViewNews.aspx?newsid=4720
Yeah… just about to shutter the doors, aren’t they? Pfffttt…
Tin Man 2 says
DoctorNine, Get a Grip…. Yes there is Info in thr financial news about Suzukis weak showing in the USA. Their Auto sales are terrible and their share of the money making cruiser market is off 62%. Im not here to fight, it means little to me one way or the other.
MadBueller says
Guys…I am torn up.
I understand some don’t get it and don’t care, but this is a motorcycle that I love. Just like some love their BMWs, BigDogs, Ducatis, Harleys, Yamahas, Suzukis and countless other brands. The way I see it is, this is a piece of Americana that has died. And it kills me the way the Harley Davidson Corporation is handling this.
This 3%er is saddened to the deepest extent
James says
*sigh* so I just have to ask, how many of you folks that are sitting around typing your oh so clearly “justified” hate for Harley Davidson would rather see the motor company go bankrupt only to get bought out by the tax payers? Just how many of you ever even walked in to a H-D/Buell dealership? And how many of you all snubbed your noses at Buell and H-D because they are air cooled? Or because Buell’s hp/to liter ratio was a smidge lower than other sport bikes? How many of you all getting on your soapbox preaching just how evil H-D is actually rode a Harley or a Buell? How bout we end this holier than thou parade, and wish the employee’s the best, rather than taking a proverbial dump on them as we see above? How bout we make the promise to try out a motorcycle before we knock it? How bout we all take the hint and support American motorcycle’s so that in twenty or thirty years we don’t have to hear such terrible new’s. And finally how bout we own up, stand up like the MEN and WOMEN that we are and take responsibility, it is no fault of any company, when the cards fall they all react to survive if they didn’t a lot more jobs would have been lost, we the consumer’s of the world are to blame. We the consumer’s listened to stereotypes and not the seat of our pants, we listened to rumors and lies. We the consumer’s put those men and women out of there jobs. We ended Buell, H-D had faith in them, so much as to risk a fortune on them, and us the consumer? Risked nothing, period. And to all those Buell owners out there be proud you didn’t follow the consumer.
James says
@ MadBueller thank you, that was perfect. thank you.
todd says
At least there’s a new American Sportbike Company in Motus.
-todd
DoctorNine says
Tin Man 2, I’ve “Got a Gripâ„¢”. I even know When To Capitalize. And I cut my teeth fixing old wrecked HD stuff in the ’70’s to get something to ride. But when you are spouting off things like:
“Rumors are starting to surface about Suzuki not just exiting the USA but joining Buell in closing shop…”
Well, that is simply so wrong that someone has to call you on it. Suzuki could stop building cruisers altogether, and not lose significant profit. It probably could abandon the US market for cars too, and still make money hand over fist in Asia and South America, where the markets are simply exploding with demand for small cars and bikes: their speciality. All that your sort of rumor mongering does, is make you look like some ‘tin man’ set up by HD to troll the blogs. Which is your chosen name, right?
The problem with HD is that they are tied to a dying dempgraphic, and their management won’t change their product line. It isn’t with guys like me that ride everything with wheels.
And the anger, is at the stupidity of HD management’s financial arm, who obviously kept pushing too expensive machines at people who really couldn’t afford them, and now has saturated that market, as it contracts with the recession, without the slightest idea of how to open new markets anywhere else. So their loyal employees suffer. And people like me who want to see a viable domestic manufacturing industry can see this.
Now to you, James. The bailouts are over. The economy is improving. If HD fails in that context, there is now no reason to intervene. Shop closed.
The consumer didn’t fail Buell. HD management did. It always was a niche market. That kind of machine needs a certain type of sales environment, with a certain type of sales force. It has more in common with a Ducati than with a full dress Harley cruiser, and trying to sell them in that kind of showroom, is like selling kosher meats in a wholesale fishmarket.
No, the problem isn’t the consumer; sales of cycles in Asia and SA are up huge amounts. And the problem isn’t the market; small bikes are a natural in hard economic times, because they are efficient. The problem is a management structure arrogant enough to think that they didn’t have to pay attention. And that ALWAYS leads to failure.
Unfortunately, the guys that pay for it, are the ones on the line. Not the golf club dweebs in marketing, who will just take another job for some big corporation in another city. Not the VP’s and the board. They will just go into the banking sector where the government is giving out free taxpayer money.
Get a Grip? Oh man, I’ve got a total LOCK on THIS situation.
todd says
aint that the truth.
hoyt says
RE: James 11.13.09 at 11:59 pm
I’ve ridden a Buell…liked it a lot.
I love the RoadKing & see promise in the Revolution motor and certain other models. However, disdain towards HD is justifiably growing. Their screw-up with their financial arm and unwillingness to hold dealerships accountable for not upholding standards for one of their products is unforgivable. Poor styling on the 1125R can’t be ignored, either.
Tax-payer buy-out? No way in hell. Enough do-rags would hypocritically and pathetically do it, though.
HD is worse than GM ever was in the darkest days of GM. At least GM knew they were getting their ass handed to them before the financial meltdown occured…they had begun to change.
Remember the complacency of selling profitable SUVs? There are so many parallels with the HD line-up and their aging market. What has HD been doing after consecutive years of hundreds of millions in Net Income each year?
Assume HD does come back with a sportbike? It would have to be some incredibly performing machine that looks like nothing ever before, then *maybe* some people would begin to forget the current b.s.
hoyt says
…and would the dealerships still be a problem?
Would a Ducati/Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawi, etc. dealership be allowed to only carry the HD-branded sportbike?
A Buell sportbike of the future (wearing HD branding) would still sell better along side its competition than the current HD dealership situation.
C. Ford says
I went to a Harley dealer to buy a few Buell tshirts before they were pulled off the shelves. I wouldn’t up leaving with an ’09 1125CR for less than $5k.
As my second motorcycle, I can’t really lay claims to “best bike I’ve ever ridden”. My trade was a ’01 SV650S for crying out loud.
I will say I thoroughly enjoy the bike, it sounds great, and gets looks everywhere I go. I’m sorry to see it go the way of the do-do…
James says
here’s at DoctorNine and hoyt, H-D’s sales are down. the entire American motorcycle market is suffering, that’s a fact plan and simple. But the big bad Japanese four are taking the lions share of the market fallout, making H-D the best port in the storm if you will, yet they couldn’t move there Buell’s, at least not enough of them. Do remember they are a publicly traded corporation they did own Buell, they had a lot of money in Buell, and they SPENT a lot money to close Buell down; a lot more then advertising and promoting would have cost. Again do remember that H-D is a publicly traded corporation, and by that standard they must keep profits at a certain standard. And the sale of Buell hurt those profits, so just how much money was Buell eating up? I don’t know, but it must have been in the millions for ANY corporation to spend as much as they did to close shop. Point No. two, MSRP. Now at least in America no manufacture can dictate the price that a dealer will sale them at, it’s the law. however H-D MSRP sits just right in the average yep within a few hundred dollars they are priced to the average of the Japanese cruisers and tourers. they tryed to expand in to the sportbike market, first with the VR1000 then with Buell these were there hope for the future to get a younger market. They failed with over 100 years of experience selling motorcycles and there hope to capture a younger market failed, do you honestly think that H-D just sat there and took that lying down? No they didn’t, but nobody bought. Yep rumors killed them, wide sped rumor’s rumor’s like “harley’s are so expensive” and “harley’s aren’t modern” or “harley’s hog up gas” etc etc. Honestly all of these rumors did more to kill Buell then any thing else (aside from styling but hey that is Buells fault ant now?). Think about this, if there was an perfect bike, your perfect bike, and it was only sold from a doll factory would that stop you from buying? seriously, H-D is no more a villain than any other big corporation, ya they should not have combined so many of Buell’s operation with there own (the reason H-D could not sale) but they did, they had faith that Buell would do well and for a while they did, but that is how hindsight works, nobody is psychic at least no ceo of any company and the money talks it sing’s Harley wanted Buell to succeed to flourish, how else are they going to make money off of them? they failed, they failed because the consumer did not buy owned by the oldest most successful of the motorcycle manufactures and Buell failed I can guarantee you that for the time any action by H-D was or is one of the better choices for the company, not always the consumer. who said “you can’t please all of the people all of the time” well H-D is trying to prove that wrong like everyone else in business. Get over yourselves get off your soapboxes AND SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR THOSE MEN AND WOMEN THAT LOST THERE JOB this is not some internet zine to them.
Mike L. says
26 YEARS WITHOUT PROFIT.
Andrew says
Just Bikes magazine in Australia state that Erik Buell has “been tipped for a product development role within H-D, but this has yet to be confirmedâ€
I agree with some of the other folks that I suspect that Harley will park Buell until the market improves and wheel it out later.
If you assume Harly didn’t want to loose Buell this is logical. They are obviously hurting having axed 1,000 H-D jobs earler in the year.
I am not from the USA but both Buell and HD are wonderfull American motorcycles. Are Harleys any good, I think Harley make the best Harleys in the world. But I’m biased.
There are thousands of patriotic Americans, who want to buy Made in USA, keep the jobs there. Buell will be back!
Ted hibbard says
Sad news l love the buell as a mechanic l make lots of money saleing this great motorcycle.lm shocked.thanks eric buell for building a world class bike.so whats next