Nooo!!!!

[nbvolks]

I've never once seen a person riding a Buell. Seen commercials, seen print ads, but never seen one running down the road. Can't stay in business if no one is buying your product. Must have been SOME reason nobody was buying them.

[shimric]

Originally Posted by nbvolks

I've never once seen a person riding a Buell. Seen commercials, seen print ads, but never seen one running down the road. Can't stay in business if no one is buying your product. Must have been SOME reason nobody was buying them.

You're an idiot.


Buell Motorcycle Forums, Information, Tech Support, Photos, Performance Parts, & Advice - BadWeB TONS of Buell riders.

You should stfu now...

The reason people didn't buy them is because unlike the big Japanese 4 who market their bikes a crap ton. HD controlled Buell's marketing, and they kept it to a minimum.. Soooooo No/little marketing = no/little sales. In theory.. Sure it's not as fast in a straight line as any 1k jap bike, but give it some turns and you'll see why the Buell Firebolt was crowned best handling sportbike in 05? IIRC... If you want, I'll dig up the article if I can find it.

It's ironic you say you've never seen a Buell on the street, I've never seen a buell commercial or ad, or anything out in the world. I've seen quite a few Buell's. But, it doesn't matter to me if someone likes my bike or not, I do, and that's good enough for me. It may not be the fastest in a straight line, look the coolest or have that perfect weed wacker sound pitch, but that's not why I bought a motorcycle. A lot, if not the vast majority of sport bike riders buy them because they are fast and cool. This is why insurance is so high on them, because you have asshats that can barley drive a car get on something that is faster than most 100k + sports cars, go on the street and kill themselves. This is also ok with me, as long as they die alone. One less idiot in the world does nothing but good.

I have no problem with people who go out and buy liter bikes. Just as long as they know the reason that bike was built. But, I highly doubt most people that own liter bikes actually take them to the track, instead they ride around the city doing 50 in 1st gear seeing how much attention they can get. Liter bikes aren't practical, they eat your back alive, your wrists are begging for mercy, while trying to look "cool" They serve one true purpose, track monsters. My bike is a sport bike. It's streetable, very streetable at that. Doesn't make me want to ride into on coming traffic to make the back/ wrist pain stop. Just like that one episode of top gear with the F50. Jeremy drove it around town and it was downright terrible. Not streetable at all. But it's an amazing track car. With that said, all in all. Marketing a product is it's key to success. That and people who are wiling to give it a try, Buell emerged to a scene that is dominated by loyal customers. Loyal to the big 4. So, they had an uphill battle from day 1. Not to mention they are owned by HD. A company known to cater to riders who spend more time polishing than riding.

Having rode an R1. I'd gladly take my firebolt, any day. Unless it was race day.

/rant

kthnxbye

[PETC]

Some would argue that good to excellent track presence is REQUIRED to make a great motorcycle... </devil's advocate>

[shimric]

Originally Posted by PETC

Some would argue that good to excellent track presence is REQUIRED to make a great motorcycle... </devil's advocate>

I would agree. This is where Buell was lacking IMO. They never wanted a factory sponsored team(stupid imo) but a privateer won an AMA championship against 600cc bikes, despite being what 1125cc.. I didn't really follow it so I'm not sure if it was a crushing victory or if they struggled. I do know it's not uncommon for V2's to have significantly higher displacement than their 4cyl competitors. For obvious reasons apparently.

I don't think Buell's were GREAT motorcycles, different, yes. Innovative, obviously. Great? I dunno about that. They certainly had the potential to be great within the next 10 years or so having finally gotten away from OHV.