Buell shut down by Harley Davidson

So Harley's board of directors has decided to shut down Buell Motorcycle Company, which it bought from Erik Buell in 1998. What does everyone think about this?  

kento1:
So Harley's board of directors has decided to shut down Buell Motorcycle Company, which it bought from Erik Buell in 1998. What does everyone think about this?

I read on a Buell forum that the factory will be closed from Nov 2nd and Jan. 4th

Will they reopen the factory, or is it closed down for good?  

It is shut down for good. The official press release from Harley can be read here

Harley-Davidson is also looking to sell off MV Agusta, which it just acquired late in '08.  

I get that Harley has to trim the fat due to the economy, however, now the Harley-Davidson brand is more about cruisers. A bit one-dimensional, Buell did give them a sense of depth in my opinion. But, they didn't produce many race-worthy bikes until recently correct?

Maybe they'll come back, it's happened before. Look at what happened to Indian Motorcycles, they shut their doors in '03 and just recently came back with a new lineup. Just a thought...  

Not to keep sounding a negative note, but the Indian motorcycles "rebirth" was more due to a court battle over the naming rights.

Like him or hate him, Erik Buell did things his own way in building his company, which has to be respected; watching his video announcement is pretty depressing. Unfortunately, as you state, H-D is very one-dimensional, and while that has allowed them to ride a wave of baby boomer belief in coolness factor that many are finding out they really couldn't afford (buried deep in Harley's third quarter financial statement is the fact that their "Financial Services" loan department went from posting a profit of $35.6 million in the same quarter last year to a loss of $31.5 million this year), that policy is why they now find themselves in somewhat dire financial straights, requiring them to sell off assets.  

Never cared for them but hate to see any motorcycle company close it's doors.  
There are worse things than death cowardice is one of them.

tclause:
There are worse things than death cowardice is one of them.

Truer words were never spoken in this case.

Just as unbelievable is the unloading of MV Agusta after just purchasing the company a little over a year ago. Needless to say, any company that looks to join H-D in the future will be looking at this scenario and thinking twice.  

^  

HD borrowed short to lend long - and got caught when its short term lenders refused to "roll over" the short term loans that HD had assumed would be paid off, after a roll over or two, by their retail buyers on 4 year + contracts.  Short term lenders wanted their money back, not caring to risk the question of whether HD's retail borrowers would actually pay.  

Having owned three Buells prior to my R6, I feel that I am qualified to comment on Buells discontinuation.  These are great motorcycles.  They are torquey, they handle pretty good, and sound awesome.  But, there must be no mistake, they possess quite a bit of H/D DNA, and as such, require you to own a complete set of tools.  For as much as I rode my Buells, I had to work on them almost as much.  There's nothing wrong with that, per se, because you become intimately familiar with it, but it does become tiring.  But that point aside, these bikes are a hoot to ride.  I always got stares and comments (mostly positive) about them, and it was nice having something that not many people did.  I sincerely hope that Mr. Buell will pull a hat trick and rise back up in spite of all of this.  Harley Davidson deserves whatever shunning and boycotting from this that they get.  Sometimes being "old school" can hurt you...  

It looked like the hd brand might have eventually built a bike i might have purchased in the Buell line. Now they are looking like there is no chance for that to happen. A company that has been in business for over 100 years and builds bikes that are over a litter in displacement that have poor handling qualities and very little power.

I have owned Hondas, Yamahas, Suzukis, and Moto Guzzi brands and believe I will stay with Honda.  

I drove a Buell only once - at test ride at a HD dealership. I found the bike to be both powerful,"torquey", and a lot of fun to drive. I ended up buying an L-twin Ducati, but I still really liked the Buell.
Harley Davidson may not be looking at the big picture and are only considering quarterly profits. The Buell motorcyle line brought people into their dealerships who may not have been looking for a traditional Harley. Maybe they did not by a Buell, but may have bought accessories or a used bike from another manufacturer in the showroom. The Buell line also showcased the fact that Harley Davidson had the capability of building more than just cruisers and baggers. Sometimes following a dream is far more rewarding in the end, rather than quiting just to keep a group of investors happy.  
Ride Proud, Ride Safe, Have Fun.

I agree that HD has been riding the wave of baby boomers belief in coolness for some time now. It's hard not to wonder what is going to happen when those baby boomers start trading in their hogs for walkers. When this does happen, Harley Davidson will be in a lot of trouble being a one-dimensional company.  

Harley D panicked.
They purchased MV what a year ago? The financial woes have been coming for at least four. They have a product in Buell that has value and they don't even attempt to sell it? They could have donated it back to Eric and let him go find some backers - not easy but at least it would have been an effort.
Things at HD were good for a long time and dealers gouged customers by selling wayyyy over retail for an equally long time.
When a bike costs more than a car you have a major problem. Now it seems that the loan department padded sales that should have never been made a la house lenders.
The made a LOT of money for 20 years and at the first sign of trouble they bail.
They have to look at the bigger picture, unfortunately as a public company all they really care about is year end profit for the shareholders and the execs are probably some of the biggest.
Buell was never a good bike under Harley ownership, it was always a kit bike and like a kit bike was a lot of work to keep on the road. Even the latest 2009 model is plagued by recalls.
Eric is a good guy and I think on his own he would have finally produced a good bike. But when your boss insists on making you use a 1950's tech motor you are basically screwed from the get go.
Why did Harley not allow Buell to develop a bike with an MV motor and avoid the expense of paying Rotax?
Also Harley should get on their knees and beg forgiveness to the American race fans. They ruined the national series with the Buell fiasco causing the loyal Japanese factories to pretty much boycott the series and then they disappear.

I hope Buell in some way re-emerges but I think having Harley as an owner was the kiss of death, they just don't understand the modern motorcycle.  

As a sportbike rider and enthusiast I've always hoped that Buell could deliver a sportbike that could compete with the Japanese bikes but unfortunately it was a little too little a little too late. While I was never a fan of the unconventional oil and gas in the frame ideas I was happy to see they finally developed it's own engine which they should have developed many years ago along with improving it's build quality. If they did do those things early they probably would have been in better shape toward the end. I agree with others that Buell should have taken back the company or at least given a shot to see if he could have found other financial partners to keep the company going. While I didn't like the advantages that AMA gave to it I'll miss hearing the booming sound of it on the track.