"POP!" Goes Buell...

amateriat

amateriat

We're all light!
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Or, Erik, we Harley knew ye. :(

That video was hard to watch, but the details weren't too easy to take, either. Harley bought Buell to cater to a market that normally wouldn't touch a Harley with a bargepole, which to me was a rather smart move. The not-so-smart move I didn't know about was their also buying MV Agusta/Cagiva, which gave me my first verbal "WTF" moment. The suits in Milwaukee must have been jealous of Ford buying up foreign car companies like rats on crack at the time and told each other, "That's the ticket!" Except that Ford got a serious case of "M&A Indigestion" and had to sell off just about everything they bought.

Now they're selling MV, but flat-out pulling the plug on Buell. No sale, just killing it.

But: Buell was a smart catch, while MV/Cagiva was one mother of a mismatch. And they've cheesed-off a lot of Buell owners and would-be owners who now see Harley-Davidson as a one-night-stand sort of outfit in regard to commitment, especially given the abruptness of the announcement.

Whew. I don't even own a motorcycle at the moment. Am I being just a bit touchy?


- Barrett
 
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Each and every Buell was a handcrafted gem, and a technical tour de force. I've always felt that Buell must have been an embarassment to the old-line Harley guys - and if they didn't feel it they should have. Maybe they did, after all. Huh. Sad.
 
Roger: Yes, the new Bullet. I've seen a few rolling through the neighborhood. Looks and sounds nice, and, if memory serves, priced just a bit north of a top-end Vespa (possibly cheaper!). All the built-for-comfort-not-speed ability of a Harley, but with little of the "baggage." (And, now, a modern tranny!)


- Barrett
 
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Ahh..yes, HD. Went through that about 10 years ago and got bored with the lifestyle after 3 years. Just wasn't real and wanted a motorcycle that I could actually tour on for up to 1000 miles/day. But, most of all, I needed a SAFE motorcycle and the HD was not safe by any means, let alone comfortable.

The brakes were not linked, nor were they ABS...almost crashed on the interstate when I had to stop suddenly and wound up with a tank slapper. Sheesh. Then, my wife and I went down on the Blue Ridge Parkway when I was turning and had to stop suddenly as a Mustang came flying by...front fork compression and that was all she wrote. Damned Ultra Classic crushed my foot and cost quite a bit for repairs.

Then, I moved on to BMW motorcycles with a K1200LT....the best. Performance, comfort, safety, style...it had everything...linked ABS brakes and a front fork that did NOT compress when the brakes were applied... except it did not have a deer detector. I enjoyed a number of years commuting 150 miles/day on that motorcycle!

I retired from riding a couple of years ago after going airborne from a night time deer strike. Kept it upright and avoided going down after a half mile but the fur and meat was difficult to clean up at night so I waited until the next morning and the only damage was a broken mirror and bent brake pedal.

So, now, I am back to a bicycle which is probably just as dangerous around here....go figure.
 
dave lackey said:
Ahh..yes, HD. Went through that about 10 years ago and got bored with the lifestyle after 3 years. Just wasn't real and wanted a motorcycle that I could actually tour on for up to 1000 miles/day. But, most of all, I needed a SAFE motorcycle and the HD was not safe by any means, let alone comfortable.

The brakes were not linked, nor were they ABS...almost crashed on the interstate when I had to stop suddenly and wound up with a tank slapper. Sheesh. Then, my wife and I went down on the Blue Ridge Parkway when I was turning and had to stop suddenly as a Mustang came flying by...front fork compression and that was all she wrote. Damned Ultra Classic crushed my foot and cost quite a bit for repairs.

Then, I moved on to BMW motorcycles with a K1200LT....the best. Performance, comfort, safety, style...it had everything...linked ABS brakes and a front fork that did NOT compress when the brakes were applied... except it did not have a deer detector. I enjoyed a number of years commuting 150 miles/day on that motorcycle!

I retired from riding a couple of years ago after going airborne from a night time deer strike. Kept it upright and avoided going down after a half mile but the fur and meat was difficult to clean up at night so I waited until the next morning and the only damage was a broken mirror and bent brake pedal.

So, now, I am back to a bicycle which is probably just as dangerous around here....go figure.
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As a biker for nearly fifty years, I followed a long held fancy - and got a Harley, a 900 sportster...opened up to 1200cc, and all the 'screamin eagle' goodies, carb, cams, exaust etc., a lovely looking, and sounding bike, just the thing for posing around town!...but that's about all!. The first outing ( sixty miles up the coast ) had my hands throbbing from the vibes!, and the wife swearing that she would never ride it again!. The Yamaha FJ 1200 that has given me many years of faithfull service ( crossed the Alps three times! ) is in a different class! and still one of the best ever sport-tourers.
Dave.
 
My experiences almost exactly as the two Daves have stated (except that I haven't struck a deer yet). Been riding since the late 60s. Rode police Harleys at work, my personal example was OK from a mechanical standpoint, but others had much worse problems. Hand and arm numbness from vibration really sucked and would actually interfere with one's handling and control of the bike, IMO.

Was loaned a BMW police bike by BMW North America and I was immediately converted within a couple of blocks of riding off from the NYC dealership. I couldn'magine riding a Harley in city traffic, but the BMW was VERY nimble. My personal (civilian) bike- BMW K1200LT was the most comfortable bike you could imagine. Rode a few 500 mile highway trips and I was as comfortable as if I was in a car, no kidding, and got 57 MPG! Alas, I sold most of my toys when we bought a second home and I now (temporarily) only have a Chinese Vespa.

Roger, as to the Enfield.... nostalgia has a certain appeal, but... not my idea of leisure time, almost constant adjusting and tinkering/repairing and spotty at best mechanical reliability, even brand new.
 
I sold my Ducati about 30yrs. ago and stick to bicycles now. I wanted to add a BMW reliability story too. This summer at Salida Colorado as my wife and I were on our way to Mesa Verde, we happened to cross paths with a national Moto Guzzi rally. We were staying at the same B&B with one of the officers in this MG club. He was from New Mexico and had ridden the rally on his BMW with his wife. He told me he had 3 MotoGuzzis in the garage at home. When I asked him why he had ridden the BMW instead he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.:D

Steve
 
George S. said:
My experiences almost exactly as the two Daves have stated (except that I haven't struck a deer yet). Been riding since the late 60s. Rode police Harleys at work, my personal example was OK from a mechanical standpoint, but others had much worse problems. Hand and arm numbness from vibration really sucked and would actually interfere with one's handling and control of the bike, IMO. . . . Roger, as to the Enfield.... nostalgia has a certain appeal, but... not my idea of leisure time, almost constant adjusting and tinkering/repairing and spotty at best mechanical reliability, even brand new.
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Dear George,

First highlight -- plus the fact that at 60 mph my eyeballs vibrated so badly in their sockets that it was hard to read road signs!

Second: more reliable than you might think, though I freely admit that in a 3000 mile ride, I wasn't wild about a speedo rebuild and a new clutch thrust bearing. It was however a well-used factory hack.

Cheers,

R.
 
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