Erik Buell is back
- Thread starter TTTom
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Brown81
New member
Ahhhh yes, the Terblachian Nightmare. I don't care what the Ducatisti say: I think it's awesome looking.
Still nothing like the Buell though.
Still nothing like the Buell though.
Brown81
New member
Wrong Bike
whille your guy is trying to get His 1190cc lawn mower back in the the 600 class
Mike's been winning on these...
Winning what? Meaningless one-lap parades?
Brown81
New member
BTW: Exactly who is who's "guy"?
Ozymandias
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Yawp, thanks.
What exactly is it about Erik Buell that you can not stand??
BTW, the 916 (and 996 that came later), looks nothing like this bike. Not does it look like any bike from Aprilia or MV Augusta.
I meant 999, my bad. You don't see the same exhaust of an Ape RS125 or 250? You don't see the table top fuel tank of an MV? Hell, I even see some of the hard lines similar to the RC8. And yes, I know there's only so much you can do with the small canvas that is a modern sport bike, but still.
It's not that I dislike EB so much as I expect some stability in my expensive product purchases and I simply don't see the potential there with anything Erik Buell is the head of at this point. His goal is to not be a boutique bike builder but that's all he really has been by virtue of business, design and marketing decisions. Where would I be in 8 years if I owned a Buell HD and Pre-HD when I need parts? He's has some really innovative and interesting design and ideas but... meh. I would probably have bought an 1125r after a few more years of development work to fix the issues I had with it. I would most certainly have bought this Pheonix design... but when HD killed Buell it totally killed my trust in the stability brand or anyone/anything associated with it. How will I know that if I buy an EBR (ug NAME!!) that I'll have parts support in 10 years?
Don't get me wrong, I hope for the best and I would LOVE it if he would prove me wrong. I just don't see it at this point. It's really a shame as well. I mean, I do like the looks and the designs he comes up with it's ... there's just things that don't sit right. And... to be honest, I'm a pretty vocal person when I both like and dislike something.
More so than the average person so anything I say can be taken with a huge grain of salt. It's simply my opinion and like most ... they don't suit everyone. 
JO EBRMC
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- Aug 27, 2008
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- West Oakland
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- XR650, Buell 1125CR and F3/RC51/Hawk/CBR929/VFR - that's one bike
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- Jerry
Wrong Bike
whille your guy is trying to get His 1190cc lawn mower back in the the 600 class
Mike's been winning on these...
Winning because the other guys didn't make it to the finish line?
I'm not completely sure what your issue was but you've got to at least get your facts straight. EBR is running in Superbike now and the 1190 was designed for that and that only.
I'm not seeing Czysz running in the top class.
icemilkcoffee
New member
No Mercedes Benz for you then?
Brown81
New member
I meant 999, my bad. You don't see the same exhaust of an Ape RS125 or 250? You don't see the table top fuel tank of an MV? Hell, I even see some of the hard lines similar to the RC8. And yes, I know there's only so much you can do with the small canvas that is a modern sport bike, but still.
It's not that I dislike EB so much as I expect some stability in my expensive product purchases and I simply don't see the potential there with anything Erik Buell is the head of at this point. His goal is to not be a boutique bike builder but that's all he really has been by virtue of business, design and marketing decisions. Where would I be in 8 years if I owned a Buell HD and Pre-HD when I need parts? He's has some really innovative and interesting design and ideas but... meh. I would probably have bought an 1125r after a few more years of development work to fix the issues I had with it. I would most certainly have bought this Pheonix design... but when HD killed Buell it totally killed my trust in the stability brand or anyone/anything associated with it. How will I know that if I buy an EBR (ug NAME!!) that I'll have parts support in 10 years?
Don't get me wrong, I hope for the best and I would LOVE it if he would prove me wrong. I just don't see it at this point. It's really a shame as well. I mean, I do like the looks and the designs he comes up with it's ... there's just things that don't sit right. And... to be honest, I'm a pretty vocal person when I both like and dislike something.
I actually see a vague similarity in the exhaust to many, many two stroke exhausts, including many from Japan, if only because of it's small diameter tubing.
As to the rest, we can agree to disagree. I don't think it resembles any of the bikes you listed.
I don't hold him (Erik) personally responsible for everything Harley Davidson did and did not do. At that point, it was out of his hands. I blame them for driving Buell into the ground. Erik wasn't the "head" of Buell as a company, the CEO of HD was, imo.
Archimedes
Fire Watcher
Wrong Bike
whille your guy is trying to get His 1190cc lawn mower back in the the 600 class
Mike's been winning on these...
Winning......he said...winning....The only thing Michael Czyz will ever win at is a money burning contest.
Brown81
New member
JO EBRMC
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- Aug 27, 2008
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- West Oakland
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- XR650, Buell 1125CR and F3/RC51/Hawk/CBR929/VFR - that's one bike
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- Jerry
I'm not in a rush! But I mean really, the planning could've been taking place a long time before now. I'm just saying.
I think the plan is reasonably sound. They are trying not to extend themselves beyond their resources. For a company of less than 20 people (I believe it is actually 10), I think they are doing alright.
Last edited:
TTTom
New member
He did that last time and it didn't work out so well. The investor was Harley Davidson.
Kornholio
:wave
Perhaps I should've clarified...private investors.
JO EBRMC
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- Jerry
It should be clarified that that bike is intended for racing. Selling it is just a requirement to do that.
However, I am wondering what is lowbrow about selling a product and using the revenue to fund further products. That seems to be the conservative approach to running a business. It wasn't until the internet boom of the late 90s that everyone ran out and got investors to dump money into a product that doesn't even exist.
Seems like Buell is doing things the right way.
However, I am wondering what is lowbrow about selling a product and using the revenue to fund further products. That seems to be the conservative approach to running a business. It wasn't until the internet boom of the late 90s that everyone ran out and got investors to dump money into a product that doesn't even exist.
Seems like Buell is doing things the right way.
Kornholio
:wave
I didn't mean it in a bad way per say. I just recall reading the article on Erik in Cycle World where he said he wanted to get back into the street market ASAP so he could continue to prove that American sportbikes are real and viable. Starting off with an immediate jump into racing and building expensive homologation rule-required machines as a means to raise money just seems bassackwards when it comes to what his apparent real intent was. I know the guy loves racing and wants to be successful in that field, but I can't help but think that if he can develop a successful street bike market, it will be a lot easier to fund a racing setup than just relying on people with fat pocketbooks to start writing checks for a bike that, like other's stated, will most likely sit in a museum or climate-controlled garage somewhere and never get used.
JO EBRMC
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- Jerry
The thing that this approach allows that the H-D approach didn't (paraphrasing: "racing is irrelevant to selling streetbikes") is that they can develop a competitive bike and then find ways to make it cheaper rather than building a bike and then trying to figure out how to make it competitive.
Proving themselves on the track adds significantly to the perception of the streetbike's capabilities. Ducati has taken a very similar approach and they have gone from a niche player to, at least in the Bay Area, a serious heavyweight. Very few people are going to buy a 1098R but the success of the thing on the track has sold quite a few 1198s.
Proving themselves on the track adds significantly to the perception of the streetbike's capabilities. Ducati has taken a very similar approach and they have gone from a niche player to, at least in the Bay Area, a serious heavyweight. Very few people are going to buy a 1098R but the success of the thing on the track has sold quite a few 1198s.
louemc
New member
This Buell saga has excruciating written all over it.
Just like all the other Motorcycle ventures that failed in America, leaving gullible investors sucking an empty hole in their portfolio, this one will do it too.
This one will feel more immediate, because most of us have been closer to the brand.
Just like all the other Motorcycle ventures that failed in America, leaving gullible investors sucking an empty hole in their portfolio, this one will do it too.
This one will feel more immediate, because most of us have been closer to the brand.
JO EBRMC
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- Joined
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- West Oakland
- Moto(s)
- XR650, Buell 1125CR and F3/RC51/Hawk/CBR929/VFR - that's one bike
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- Jerry
I'm not sure what you are seeing that I'm not. Most of the investment has already been done and no one stands to lose as a result of the brands failure. The engines are tooled and available, the frame is the same. Building per-order avoids heavy investment in inventory.
Moving to a more production bike is expected to be slow and based on demand so, again, there doesn't seem to be a lot of pie-in-the-sky thinking behind this. The platform is sound.
Other motorcycle resurrections or new brand projects have been way more ambitious and required massive investment in an untested product. That really doesn't appear to be the case here.
Moving to a more production bike is expected to be slow and based on demand so, again, there doesn't seem to be a lot of pie-in-the-sky thinking behind this. The platform is sound.
Other motorcycle resurrections or new brand projects have been way more ambitious and required massive investment in an untested product. That really doesn't appear to be the case here.
Ozymandias
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Nope, Never!
I will cut my own penor off before buying a Mercedes. 
I actually see a vague similarity in the exhaust to many, many two stroke exhausts, including many from Japan, if only because of it's small diameter tubing.
As to the rest, we can agree to disagree. I don't think it resembles any of the bikes you listed.
I don't hold him (Erik) personally responsible for everything Harley Davidson did and did not do. At that point, it was out of his hands. I blame them for driving Buell into the ground. Erik wasn't the "head" of Buell as a company, the CEO of HD was, imo.
Yup, we can disagree. That's the great thing about freedom.
I don't blame him for the damage done to his name/brand/company while HD was "running" things. But I do blame him for selling to HD in the first place without any recourse to get his name BACK particularly when his lawyers said don't. Just because you're looking at the world through rose colored glasses doesn't mean everything is red. But I will admit, lack of good business sense and judgment does not mean he has bad design/engineering skills. I'm not even saying that there is no way I would own something as good looking as that 1190. I REALLY like the looks of it. I'm the kind of guy that I'm all for spending a little extra for the "good stuff". But it would be an uphill fight for the company to win me over. Particularly with a price tag like that, the ego based name and an already somewhat tarnished (albeit maybe only to me) leadership.