They are excellent bikes but given Buells history, especially since 2009, why would anyone buy a bike that would have zero warranty, spares back up, dealers etc.......

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Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

Late to this news. Time to let it be.

Maz, what you said is only half of EBR's lack of success, people not buying because of those issues. They just didn't build a bike that appealed to more than 20 people and dealers knew it so they didn't buy into it either. Only a few who believed in Erik himself bought into being a dealer. Everyone else simply didn't believe in the bike. A fine bike sure, but there were 8 other players doing it better for less and offering more and every consumer knew it.

What made the old lumpy Buells so great and adored is that they were great bikes for everyday, all occasion fun. Mainly because they weren't so focused. He left it up to the owner to focus it in whatever direction they desired... more power, better handling for certain tasks, more style...

The 1125 got more focused. The 1190 way more focused. If you want a successful motorcycle company, you need more model diversity. The RX and SX are the same bike with a different face focused to do one thing. The AX hopefully would have offered more of something else but with the same drivetrain, even downtuning it to be more useful everywhere, was unlikely because the cost to certify it with the authorities would be cost prohibitive. A lower power, more approachable do it all bike was needed to fill the gap at the very least.

He killed his own company by building the bike he always wanted to build. A bike that other players make twice as well with a lot more to offer for the same price. He should have looked to the past to see a better future. Now the Buell name has gone from a name that many would like to remember fondly in their old age to one that everyone would like to forget.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

The only reason I ever wanted a Buell was because of the anachronistic motor (not because it was an HD motor, I'd have preferred a Vincent or a JAP ). No desire whatsoever to buy a rotax engined model. If I wanted something like that I'd buy a Honda.

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Wear the fox hat

The EBRs have been quite highly rated by the likes of Rutter. In this country it's a change of focus for the fast bike crew from the Hondas and Suzukis etc. Doing well in WSB would have helped tremendously as would a good rider cleaning up at the TT, win on Sunday, sell on Monday...

The 1125 was not particularly pretty compared to other superbikes and they were marketed by HD dealers where superbike customers would not visit...

The stories of shutting down, selling business and shutting down production have outweighed the good facets of the bikes...

Not the best mix in my view...

I'd like an SX though...

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08 Specialized Langster

As I've said before, IMHO the Tubers were not the bikes that Erik wanted to build ( ), merely a stepping stone to get him into a position to build the racers that he really did. The S1, nothing more than a by-product of his journey to building the 1190s?...
Trouble is, to be 'niche' you have to be expensive, and to be expensive you have to be really really good and not even have one 'bad' model (compare with eg Bimota) let alone suffer a couple of total company/ network collapses.

Actually for me, because it was an anachronistic BIKE (not just the motor), a sentiment I'd guess that is echoed by many if not most of us.

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'98 M2 Razorback, it's a keeper.

My sentiments exactly. I wanted a Firebolt as soon as I saw one for the first time. It took me 14 years but it was worth the wait. I will never sell it.

the 96 -2001 offerings ticked all my boxes, can't see Erik ever producing bikes in that vein again.

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Today my pet mouse Elvis died ..................He was caught in a trap
There are two types of people in this world, those that can extrapolate

I wonder what the 'support' will entail... Soare parts for tubers and fuelers (now the 10 years is coming to an end)?

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08 Specialized Langster

Not that there is any obligation to support the tubers as the 10 year window is up, but it would be nice if he made us all a large cache of rear isolators for our aging steeds.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

Doesn't need to be YHO. He's stated that to the press ever since his RW was not able to race in the series he built it for, as the classes had changed to 4T, and there was no way he could build another to do so with no money. Like Signor Ferrari, who used to perpetually almost run his company into bankruptcy with his racing addiction, he actually had to build stuff for people to buy and make some money.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

The drivetrain was real familiar to me and was admittedly a factor in buying into Buell since I could maintain it myself to a fair degree. But I liked the overall package. I was just drawn to it. My first was a RS1200, then the RSS1200, then the S2T. I was still young at this and these were totally non threatening to my life but still gave me lots of smiles. Non threatening was imperative because some of my friends had the GPZ and FZR rockets and I just wasn't mature enough to respect those. I had already slid a 70 hp VF500F down the road by this time. And the S2T was my first tourer that took me as far as seeing the Panama canal. That's something I would never do on those tiny XBs.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

The drivetrain was real familiar to me and was admittedly a factor in buying into Buell since I could maintain it myself to a fair degree. But I liked the overall package. I was just drawn to it. My first was a RS1200, then the RSS1200, then the S2, then the S2T. I was still young at this and these were totally non threatening to my life but still gave me lots of smiles. Non threatening was imperative because some of my friends had the GPZ and FZR rockets and I just wasn't mature enough to respect those. I had already slid a 70 hp VF500F down the road by this time. And the S2T was my first tourer that took me as far as seeing the Panama canal. That's something I would never do on those tiny XBs.

It wasn't until my 1st X1 that I joined BWB and then seemed to have met or stayed with every board member across the US in those BWB years up to 2004 or 5. Being part of that community because of the 96-2001 offerings was simply a priceless experience.

Then the XBs came out and a new breed of self-important personalities joined. They never met up like the early members did, just posted, and when they did meet, it was never in the same numbers and they never gelled the same way. Too much selfish in-fighting and posturing. That's why I like this place, you lot really stuck together all these years and it reminds me of the fun I had with BWB once upon a time. So, cheers to you all.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

No obligation at all as EBR never made them, but if he's not producing bikes and assuming this means he's supporting bikes rather than just selling the stock (as well as the assets), he could cast his net wider...

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08 Specialized Langster

Would be a nice idea and it would keep his legacy alive by his bikes being on the road longer.

Give us replacement isolators, gauges, ECMs, sensors, TBs, caliper rebuild kits, etc. Maybe even an ECM that doesn't have the dreaded EPA zone in the map. Just no chrome heel guards!!!

Even just make one large batch and let everyone know that it's available and I guarantee he'd not have a thing left over.

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Bob Krzeszkiewicz
2012 XR1200X - 2011 Kawasaki Z1000SX - 1999 Buell X1

For me it was always that anachronistic Harley that performed and handled thing. And on this site, for the long term members at least, being under no illusions, and having a sort of well gauged authority and respectability, which helps to temper over enthusiasm and hamfistedness of the uninitiated (from which a Buell would soon bite back )..........and my own occasional bursts of insanity! I started riding Buell when there were only tubers, but couldn't realise my plan to buy New until XBs were well established. Have yet to ride anything else that does it for me.

Hopefully we can continue and keep up the links of mutual support.......must make a donation soon!

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