Buell Discontinued & MV to be sold

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Staff Emeritus
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Well in case you haven't heard yet, Buell Motorcycles is to be "discontinued" by Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

I'm not entirely shocked news, working at Harley-Davidson's subsidiary in Australia for the past four years, the product has certainly presented it's it's challenges trying to compete in a segment heavily over represented by the Japanese manufactures. Never the less it is sad in a way, I've always been fairly heavily involved with the Buell side of the business.

The Second bit of news is the the recently acquisition of MV August by Harley-Davidson was short lived as it will now be sold off. I can't really comment on this personally as it has had no impact at all on our office as the two brand were never integrated at any point.

Google News is teaming with links on this news, select a source at your free will.
 
Saw that elsewhere a while ago. Link says that most Buell employees will be unemployed as of Dec. 18th. Merry blanking Christmas, huh?
 
Sad, but non surprising. Buell has always been in the shadow of Japanese and European(although to a lesser extent) manufacturers.
 
Thats bad news, I have always like Buell, as they were different, looked and sounded great. It will be a shame. Shame on HD!!
 
PAPPACLART
looked and sounded great.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the 1125CR? :yuck:

Seriously though, I think the timing is quite unfortunate for the staff that will lose their jobs. That's really as far as I'm willing to voice my opinion on the decisions of management as I still employed there and would like it to stay that way.

As Justin pointed out, if it’s not selling strong, then what’s the point? There has to be a line drawn somewhere at the end of the day. Personally I think it was inevitable really at some point, they just cut it loose a little earlier than watching it die and wither. The XB range was still the strongest selling of the bunch even though we are talking really old design with little to no upgrades each model year. The 1125 series was meant to be the saviour for the brand but quite frankly, it looks hideous. Both the R & CR have the ugliest air intakes ever to grace a bike and I think it turns off a lot of people from the brand. I can’t really comment on the blast as we don’t sell them in Australia.


Also don’t be fooled by the way the 12R handles and feels in Tourist Trophy. It’s far less amicable IRL.
 
I liked the looks of the Buell enough to stop and ask about a test ride at the dealer. I got as far as throwing a leg over and starting it up, but the salesman didnt understand why I decided not to take it for a spin (it was a lightening or a thunderbolt) ..I think the bike output 10% of its horsepower in the form of vibration. I liked the looks well enough but I knew instantly it wasnt the bike for me.
My regrets to the employees involved--
 
I have to admit I am shocked. Clearly, Buell has been profitable in the past. If it hadn't been, they wouldn't have purchased it from Eric Buell in the first place. But overall sales are down, and profits are down even more. It shows just how bad things are at H-D that they're going to shut it down with only a couple of weeks notice and selling MV after buying it just a year ago.

I'm really disappointed since the Buell was different from every other sportsbike on the market. That's one less option for sportsbikers.
 
The Buells have always been great bikes in search of a great engine. Why anybody would think the Harley V-twin would make a sportbike engine is beyond me. Just to keep it all "'Murrican??" Not worthwhile. The guys that ride the cruisers think all that shaking and rattling is a sign of power, raw energy!
The Rotax in the 1125R took care of most of that, but as stated earlier, who would want to be seen on one of those things?!!??!
 
Its a shame but not a big loss in my eyes. I'd take the Aprilia RSV1000 over the 1125R, Buell's best offering, any day of the week.
 

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