Buell to be Discontinued

[Traveler]

Harley-Davidson Inc. said Thursday it will discontinue its Buell motorcycle brand and divest its recently acquired MV Agusta lineup as the company announced dismal third-quarter earnings.

 Harley said its third-quarter income fell 84% to $26.5 million, or 11 cents a share, from $166.5 million, or 71 cents a share a year ago. The company had $1.12 billion in sales in the quarter, down 21% from $1.42 billion in the third quarter of 2008.

In a news release, Harley said it would discontinue Buell, based in East Troy, and divest the Italian MV Agusta brand it acquired in 2008 . The Buell decision will result in the loss of about 80 manufacturing jobs in East Troy and about 100 salaried positions.

 "The fact is we must focus both our effort and our investment on the Harley-Davidson brand, as we believe this provides an opitmal path to sustained, meaningful long-term growth," CEO Keith Wandell said in the release.

This summer, 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 Motorcycle Co., which is owned by Harley- Davidson Inc.

The victory was especially sweet for company founder Erik Buell, given that his foreign competitors are much larger manufacturers with hundreds of people on their race teams. With a little luck, Buell said in a Sept. 20 Jourrnal Sentinel interview, the victory could fuel the company's sales, -- which are tiny compared with Harley- Davidson and its Japanese competitors.

The company, founded in a barn in Mukwonago 26 years ago, has struggled in the recession.

This summer, Harley executives dropped plans for a $10 million Buell facility in the East Troy Business Park, saying they had taken a fresh look at the plans and decided the timing was wrong.

The cancellation was a last-minute decision that caught some by surprise, including Erik Buell.

"I was surprised they waited that long, quite frankly, because I was looking at the economic conditions and wondering if we were ready for it," he said in the interview. 

[frito1]

Hear it from Erik here  http://www.buell.com/en_us/

It figures, I just bought a Uly XT.  At least I got it cheap, I'd really be sick if I had bought a new one and was under several years of payments.

[hotroadking]

too bad
Buell was a long time coming,
and helped bring younger riders in.


Wow watched the link, if you don't think "corporate" people get hit hard when things
go bad check out Erik's video man he barely held it together. 

When you put 20+ years of your life into something

That sucks, my bet is the sportbike world is in trouble anyway
can't get financing, kids can't get insurance so they can't finance new bikes.....

Market forces, maybe they'll mothball it and come back...

Maybe someone will buy it up...

maybe someday...

[ederdelyi]

Yep, it's a shame this happened. But, HD and it's mindset is running true to form. IMO they need more folks that think like Eric and fewer that think like Willie G. ... either way there's nothing in the current HD product line that interests me. The one and only HD that was in my stable is gone and I won't be replacing it. I'm sure that HD will survive, but it won't be off of my dollars.

[nidan]

Just as they were finally getting competitive , sad to see .

Hopefully Erik will be able to do something innovative in the future.

[jimrookie]

To me this is sad .always thoght that they should have let Erik have his way with the VROD engine.

[4DWUDS]

Looks like now all those extra Buell parts in my garage are worth a little more than scrap aluminum.

[1JITSU1]

Very sad what is happening in this country   
JITSU

[HarleyFranco]

The Buell decision will result in the loss of about 80 manufacturing jobs in East Troy and about 100 salaried positions.

This to me says it all.  When you have 100 managers and only 80 workers, something is wrong.

Frank

[ch308]

Yep, it's a shame this happened. But, HD and it's mindset is running true to form. IMO they need more folks that think like Eric and fewer that think like Willie G. ... either way there's nothing in the current HD product line that interests me. The one and only HD that was in my stable is gone and I won't be replacing it. I'm sure that HD will survive, but it won't be off of my dollars.

Agree 

[1JITSU1]

The Buell decision will result in the loss of about 80 manufacturing jobs in East Troy and about 100 salaried positions.

This to me says it all.  When you have 100 managers and only 80 workers, something is wrong.

Frank

Frank my friend everyone has to eat

JITSU

[Big Dan]

I hope every imported sport bike in America runs off a cliff.

[HV]

Looking at it from a Dealer side... Im surprised that the Buell lasted this long...they just do not sell......yes the 1125s are better...but what class of bike do they fit in ?? slow for a sport bike ... handle good...but still cant keep up with a 4 cyl Jap bike .... look for the V Rods to go next... if it is not selling...its gotta GO... Im also surprised that the Trikes are still around ...

[HarleyFranco]

JITSU,

I understand everyone needs to make a living, but you don't need an over abundance of managers.  

Frank

[1JITSU1]

I hope every imported sport bike in America runs off a cliff.

DIDO Big Dan and everywere in the world  F T W
JITSU

[tomcat64]

Looking at it from a Dealer side... Im surprised that the Buell lasted this long...they just do not sell......yes the 1125s are better...but what class of bike do they fit in ?? slow for a sport bike ... handle good...but still cant keep up with a 4 cyl Jap bike .... look for the V Rods to go next... if it is not selling...its gotta GO... Im also surprised that the Trikes are still around ...

i don't get the trike comment we are still sitting on a year wait for the tri-glide,,,

t-c

[CraigArizona85248]

JITSU,

I understand everyone needs to make a living, but you don't need an over abundance of managers.  

Frank

Salaried positions are not all "managers".  There is a lot of engineering that goes into building sport bikes.  Then there is sales and marketing, branding, legal, etc.  Those are all typically salaried positions.  The real problem is that there was only enough demand to support 80 manufacturing positions.  If they'd had more demand for product, they would of had more then 80 manufacturing jobs.

It was hard to watch Erik Buell's video message.  Obviously a tough day for him and the company he started.

-Craig

[02rk59]

Crap!!!!!!!!   I just finally made up my mind to buy a Uly!

[guitar sam]

the days of the Sports bikes are nearing an end just like the muscle cars of the 60s did.  young people could not get insurance.  pollution devices, limited the horsepower.  the young kids (like we once were) love the performance of the jap bikes.  i very rarely see a buell.  it was just a matter of time.

seen a story on martin guitars, they are going on 200 years now.  been thru every depression imaginable.  what they did was make a less expensive model, kept the quality, but did not have the fancy finishes and inlays, etc.  playes perfect.  but no gingerbread.

maybe hd could take note of this.  in the sixties they only had a few models, 2 models of sportsters, and electa glide and the super glide.  they also had some italian sprint bikes sitting around, but maybe making a touring model, a few softails, and one or two sportsters (lose the 883).  they could sell the bikes for less and more people would be working to make them.  but then again martin is a family owned company who treats their employees like family.

side bar= my son works for paul reed smith and he treats his workers like family too.  i am sure they pay him back.

[speed limit]

 

[Princess Butt]

Harley will stop production of Buell, but you can bet they're not going to let go of any of the intellectual property rights, such as patents, trademarks, and names. This stuff doesn't cost much to maintain. If and when the market picks up again, it's much easier to start up when you have all this stuff.

I often wondered about Buell. I don't think they caught on like they should because the first big selling bikes, the S- series, had problems with the rear suspension. They seemed to get that sorted out with a redesign, but they're the kind of motorcycle people appreciate when they get a little older and more experienced. They weren't competing against 600 cc sportbikes; they're competing against Ducati, BMW, Triumph, and the upper end Japanese sportbikes.

Expect to see the model lines trimmed with an ongoing recession. We're going to feel this one for a while, and it's going to affect consumer spending for a long time.

BnEUC

[hotroadking]

Also remember

Sport bikes are very very very very very expensive to insure

an 18 year old on a liter bike can pay more per month in insurance than payments on the bike.

With the dried up financial market, kids can't put 600 cc bikes on credit cards anymore to
get around insurance (in fl you are not required to insure your motorcycle)

Only lenders make you insure them...

No insurance no finance no sale...

I think Buell was always behind the curve in that market, ahead for HD but behind on product

They should have been focused on high powered water cooled touring and sport touring aka beemers vs
kiddo racing toys... 

JMO

[2glides]

Looks like MV agusta is gone too........



http://www.jsonline.com/business/64352232.html

2glides

[codyshop]

I absolutely hate to see the jobs lost.  On the other hand, this should be no surprise for while the Buell line was innovative (for HD), the dealerships hated them.  They hated them on the floor and they hated working on them.  When you are literally told, "you don't want that kiddie crap, buy this Road King instead" by your typical HD salesperson the line was doomed to fail.  What they should have done is simply allowed Buells to be sold in multi-lines (ie:  Joe's Suzuki / Buell, etc.) and not in HD dealerships.  There were simply too many potential customers who would have bought the bike but wouldn't be caught dead walking into an HD dealership.  Just my two (after the fact) bits.  Ray

[autoworker]

The dealers didn't help Buell's problems gaining matket share.I tried to buy one three different times starting in the latter 90's.Had to walk away each time due to their attitudes.
Sorry to see them go.