Tomorrow, I speak to him. taking question requests. We don’t pull punches on the pod so give me some juicy dirt or just good questions! I’m thinking this might be a top 3 of my interviews.
At what point do you need to sacrifice ego and adherence to an idea when the practical application of that idea just doesn't work.
So yes I’m going to ask him about some of the designs that did or didn’t work. Im gonna press him, just not disrespect him.
It’s a known that that braking system was designed tested and literally thrown in the dumpster at one of the big brake companies…. Ask him about how it came to be on his bikes… then of course why he refused to concede that it sucked along with the proven power losses from heating the fuel in the hot frame as being directly bolted to the engine just cooked fuel. but compliment him on something first… like the underbelly exhaust or the Blast or his guitar playing… or how cool of a kick ass guy he bought his semi from is…
Ask him if was his idea or a mandate from Harley, to only sell Buell's through Harley Dealerships and not other stores more geared towards Boutique sportsbikes
I would expand on this idea in a different way: In his experience how did the interaction between these factors weigh on the decisions made: -Commercial need to differentiate their product from the market -Need to innovate in a way that gives the new comer an advantage to play with when jumping in the deep end of the pool -Pragmatic/practical considerations when an aspect of the first two considerations ends up conflicting example: The WSBK team ran into a crap load of problems with the perimeter brakes and very much wanted to bolt on a set of Ohlins forks, but it seems that the idea had become a core part of the Buell design language. Was the decision to not allow the switch born of determination to figure out how to make a theoretical advantage work or commercial differentiation needs? Other examples: KTM has stuck with tubular steel for commercial reasons. Ducati started with tubular steel then went crazy with exotics, perhaps starting with commercial design language then jumping into the innovation bucket with both feet.
I think that XB12R is one of the coolest fucking motorcycles ever. I've ridden one quite a few times that a friend owns and still has it today.. That bike is SOooo much fun, it puts a grin on my face every time I ride it same as the RG500 Gamma .all.. wheelies wheelies wheelies!!! BIG TIME FUN. It is what it is but it's not raised driven on the road never had a problem with brakes or reliability it's a solid machine yes it's hot but who hasn't written an RC51 or oil cooled GSXR and cooked their legs... Who cares. I always roll my eyes when people compare it to the Japanese breed of sport bikes I don't give a crap what the displacement is.. I don't think it was ever intended as a bike to be on an even playing field with any of the Japanese sports bikes. It's a machine for somebody who wants completely different and it delivers. Anything can be raced, obviously "we all know that", but in my opinion it is a street bike that delivers.. Miles of smilesa she looks totally awesome. Would easily take that Buell XB12R, seven ways to next Sunday over any GSXR ZX R1 etc... in the last 20 years. Every one of the Japanese bikes looks the same.. The bike is for a motorcycle enthusiast I believe someone who can swing a leg over just about anything and have fun on it on. People whining and gripe about Harley-Davidson I always find that fairly ignorant.. but Eric Buell was employed as an engineer for them they gave him the opportunity like 40% ownership and needed capital to pursue his dream and an opportunity for them to Branch out into a new market, why the hell not. If I remember correctly they then bought the company outright and whole. What's a guy to do when somebody is writing you your checks? I certainly wouldn't walk away.. as far as a racing campaign just about everybody knows that's the best way to generate some sales for sport minded individuals. It's a fun bike plain and simple I'd buy one in a heartbeat if the opportunity came up with my budget which isn't very much these days...lol It's still one of my friend's favorite bikes and he has over 60 machines.... But then again you got a really motorcyclesgotta be the type who loves "all" motorcycles, not just a narrow aspect. I totally get it ,i that there are many guys and girls who just grabbed a cake towards one genre of bike riding or style, and the type who wants to buzz around at 13,000 RPM the Buell, certainly isn't that kind of machine. You can tell the man thank you for building something that has character doesn't follow the common road and puts a big smile on some people's faces still to this day . I like things that are different, and that bike punches all the tickets.