Right, now if they'd only sell the f'ing thing here in the States rather than only in Europe!!!!!
Grrr...
I'm all for American motorcycles. I like supporting American businesses! However, when the Yanks make an obviously inferior and overpriced product... NO. Just no. The irony here is that Buell was making interesting, functional, and street-able bikes unlike anything else on the market... and Harley canned them out of what appears to be nothing but hubris.
Yes, I understand the cold hard reality of business -- BELIEVE ME -- but I also know that HD did precious little to help Buell out, as evidenced by the support available from the dealers (and the general lack thereof). HD buried Buell, and never thought of them as anything other than a red-headed stepchild.
Wanna know how far they've come from being a "motorcycle company"? Check this out:
The new CEO of Harley DOESN'T EVEN RIDE MOTORCYCLES. He's a corporate raider. He could care less whether his company makes motorbikes, ball-peen hammers, or dildos -- it's all about the dollars and the marketing to him. Yes, I understand that it's a business, but their hypocritical marketing campaign B.S. combined with the weak-****** performance of their bikes and the general disdain with which most of their riders view the rest of the world? No thank you, I'll spend my money elsewhere.
Buell was one of the few redeeming parts of HD, and they were axed out of hand without, apparently, any real consideration of the consequences (positive or negative). They were canned out of convenience, and that's a helluva way to treat the last bastion of performance American motorcycles.
What we do here is NOT all just about "practicality" or "business sense." If we were such practical folks we'd all be driving Honda Civics and wouldn't have bikes. At least we'd all be riding Honda bikes, which are "better" in the sense of performance and reliability. Instead, we have quirky machines with character and history. As such, it pains me to see like-minded folks pursuing what should have been a viable business model get the shaft because HD is too lazy to actually market the only bikes in their lineup that follow HD's original goal of performance.
