Mr. Belfer,

[mrlogix]

This thread is to just provide a place to communicate from 'The Buell Faithful' to those that hold the future of Buell motorcycles in their hands.

There will plenty of ideas of new models like the AX and mid size entry level bikes and such. HD is producing (trying) mid size bikes to grow market share. Companies like Hero are making cookie cutter entry level bikes by the thousands to flood their market with to dominate the motorcycle world. From the beginning, Erik Buell has had a quest to build the ultimate Man to Machine bike to appeal to all us purists of motorcycling. They look different, they feel different, they have a 'function over form' primary directive in design. What I would like to see is a company that remembers its roots and the fan base that got them there. Erik's old motto was 'Own the Corners'. He has done that. So many of us here are testament to that. But the powerplants have left us high and dry. We do own the corners. Now lets own the straights.

I work for General Electric Aviation. Our business model is such that it makes very little money on new engines. The real money is all the business that the customer brings from owning and updating our existing engines. We do introduce new engines with more power, better fuel economy, etc., etc., but we keep our customers happy with what they have already purchased and continue to use. The problem with the over 100K existing Buells out there is the lack of support. There has been several supporting businesses started to try to continue that support as there should be. But without company support they are still a dying breed. If you came up with a power plant that can be used for new models and had retrofit capabilities to the XB models, you would provide the bridge to cover the gap between the 'Faithful' and the new fan base to grow the Marquee. The 1190 bridges the gap for us 1125 guys, but needs a little more factory involvement. If you do this for the XB owners, well, I will just leave that right there.

Erik's new motto was 'Fiercely Independent'. That he is, and that we are. Don't lose sight of this. We as Buellers, are a fiercely independent bunch of assholes. I love that I can cruise my favorite roads, come across some other sportbike riders and start to play with them, stuff it deep in the corners and use the torque to pull a lead out of the corners and then have them surround the bike down the road at a gas stop, to see what the hell is that.

I am rambling now so I will stop and let someone else here smarter than me have their say.
Thanks for listening,
John

[Gloomshadow]

I never thought of a retro-fit motor for the XB.. that's a good idea. You just order it in a crate and it bolts right in.. liquid cooled, 110-130 horse range with the same torque as we have now. There are 100,000 potential buyers out there already.

[mrlogix]

^^ this. Look at how many can be brought back from the dead. Would be worth the work if I was going to have a modern powertrain.

[heagachongoose]

I feel like a retrofit motor from EBR is out of the question for xb's.

However. In the next year or two, Harley will discontinue Buell support and may even relinquish what holds they still have on the Buell name. That being said, it makes little to no sense for EBR to acquire such assets from a business standpoint. It makes much more sense to build a new bike similar to the XB's rather than to cater to the old ones. You can't build a successful business living off the past, you have to create a successful future. Using the basis of the old Buell designs along with EBRs new assets they can create a line to supersede the old Buell lines, much like the 1190 is to the 1125. Would it be good for support for EBR to support the old Buell lines? Yes. Would it be a good financial move? Probanly not. Would it help EBR get slated among the big boys? No. Would it be nice if it were to happen? Yes.

I've noticed a lot of people have the wrong mindset about EBR. EBR is not the momma bear to all Buells from the yesteryears. It is a seperate entity with an intent to be an AMERICAN world power in the motorcycle game. Buell support will most likely have to come from elsewhere for the most part. As far as Buell goes, a new era is here.

The Buell community is a small niche, but a strong one. Look for another company to steup up and take the wheel. EBR has bigger fish to fry. They will be after the support of former Buell owners and new customers alike. They should remember their heritage but always be constantly and consistently aware of their goal and what it will take to reach it.

[thrstrmech]

Mr. Belfer, thanks for picking up the ball and running with it. You've got a great company, product, design, and engineer....now back to work and get these bikes off the assembly line, onto showroom floors and back on the road. Same for parts, factory and dealer support as well as consumer. We've had enough BS from HD and Hero...let's keep this in house, so to speak. Re-engage the original EBR moto....Fiercely Independent, thank you.

[Gloomshadow]

I don't know.. Sportsters have been "living off the past, going back to the 1950s" .. EBR wouldn't even have to really MAKE a XB crate motor, they could probably just buy something already in existence and just make motor mounts for it and sell it as a kit. Maybe a de-tuned and tweaked 1190 motor?... we can dream, cant we? haha

[Theycallmecrash]

I wouldnt be surprised if he doesnt give a **** about buellxb.com. the EBR presence here is next to none, and owners are in the ebrforum.com page. A good business man wouldnt do more than tell us to drop the trash and move on to a newer better product or be left behind.

[mrlogix]

Hey Crash, nice of you to post, was looking for your opinion. Looking at his post about what he has in his garage.

1978 Puch Maxi
1976 Motobecane V50
1970 Honda CL350
1971 Honda CL350 Sportsman Racer
1971 Triumph Bonneville
1971 Norton 750 Commando
1994 Kawasaki ZX11
1965 Vespa
1998 Harley Davidson Road King
2002 Yamaha R1
2006 Ducati SC1000

Only two of them are in the 2000's. The variety shows that he has some appreciation of what 'character' of the bike is, an intangible that can't be bought. I have a strong feeling that he is going to want to do something different than 'business as usual'.

Mr. Belfer, I know what you have posted on the other forums. We are a little different here at BuellXB.com, we have a saying, pic's or it didn't happen.

[BambamXB12r]

As much as I would like to think he is going to support all us XB guys because that would be a dream come true. I think he is going to focus on EBR and get it out of the red before he entertains the idea of support for us. Just like a few people have stated. It only makes sense from a business perspective to do it that way.

However one can dream and hope for a modern, bolt in, replacement power plant. That would be a great day. Honestly anything to keep these old beauties on the road would make me happy.

[mrlogix]

I can't stop thinking about the consultant fees Erik owed Porsche and The Japanese engine manufacturer. A new smaller displacement engine/trans? I'm just saying that if it could be adapted to the XB frame he could come out with their new models AND make a retrofit crate motor. Would increase revenue for the powerplant. When you engineer a powerplant it has a life cycle, and if you can make that engine serve multiple platforms the engineering costs a recovered much faster. It would tie the existing customer base with a new customer base. Not all XB owners would want to upgrade and would sell their old bikes to buy new ones. The new owners of the older models would have an upgrade to bring them into the monetary flow of product.

Is it what everyone else would do? No. What all of use would love to see them do. Hell Yeah.

Just saying....