Quote:
Originally Posted by No Worries
From the article: "The decision to drop Buell comes only a month after a Buell 1125R bike beat Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki motorcycles to win the coveted American Motorcycle Association's sport bike championship Sept. 8 in New Jersey. It was the first pro championship for an American motorcycle manufacturer since 1986 and the first for Buell."
Is there anything Harley Davidson on the 1125R? What does Buell need from Harley Davidson? Dealerships for sales and service.
Too bad Eric doesn't know that this is the best thing to happen to him. He should distance himself from Harley Davidson, which caters to aging baby-boomers (but not me).
Maybe he should become the first American motorcycle company to sell motorcycles and parts directly off the internet. Or at least join with dealerships from a smaller company with a similar sporty engine, like Aprilia or Ducati.
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I suspect what Buell needs from H-D is cash. I doubt they are making a profit. What are the odds of them successfully setting up their own manufacturing and dealership network when they can't make money without having to do those things?
Additionally, with the state the motorcycle business is in right now, how many people are lining up to spend the cash necessary to start carrying Buell when H-D can't manage to sell the bikes?
Most manufacturers wouldn't want to go to direct internet sales. Dealers are great for a number of reasons, but the ability for a customer to touch and sit on a bike is lost over the internet. Also lost is dealers paying for inventory to exist. When inventory sits on a manufacturers floor nobody is paying for it. The last issue is nobody has yet figured out how to perform service and warranty work over the internet.