What is EBR's biggest reason for not gaining traction in US market?

Let's hear em. The reason I am asking is curiosity as well as Voice of the Customer.

The bike is absolutely fun to ride.......after I fixed the front end. What would you change?

Thanks

 

Maybe American consumers aren't as stupid as everyone gives them credit for being. Decades of orphan Buells don't make a very compelling argument for spending 3x the dough to get a bike you may or may not be able to get parts for in 5 years.

 

A shrinking market for sportbikes, not marketed right, too small of a company to play in that market, not enough money to prop them up, they got f@cked by Hero, they went racing when they should have been spending that $$$ on R&D. . . pick your reason.

 

Up until the very last bike, they were ugly as shit.

 

The dealer network. While some Harley dealers actually stepped up and represented the Buell product quite well, for others it was a huge after thought. It simply wasn't the right environment for the average sport bike rider to feel welcomed. And when they did go into Harley dealerships, alot of dealers simply didn't engage with these customers and the salesman didn't take the time to educated and inform themselves about Buell, features and benefits, sales comparisons etc.

It can be difficult to get a salesperson engaged and motivated to sell a product line that requires them to adapt to different selling techniques, educate themselves on new products, get familar with the sport bike scene and customer base and then when they do make a sale, earn less $. Most just stayed in their comfort zone while the managers didn't seem to care either.

Also, during this time most dealerships were making very good margins on the Harley line and became very content with doing just this. As a result, some didn't even bother to even carry the Buell line. And who could blame them.

 

The fugly factor has to be a big part

 

Why I never even thought of buying one. Should have dropped that Zero Bias Super Perimeter Rotor braking thing decades ago.

 

Engineering for the sake of being different rather than for the sake of being better was part of it for me. Also I think their marketing and dealership network sucked.

 

Price. If that latest EBR 1190rx would have retailed for 10,999.00 They would have sold a pile of them.

 

This.

You can't put a unproven product on the market (EBR) and expect to sell at the price a well established company (Ducati) is selling it at.

 

- They tired to sell Corvettes for Ferrari money. Might as well buy a Ferrari.

- Shitty Dealer Network

- Low Customer Confidence.

 

Putting a good engine in the last one they produced.... That's what killed them....

 

The preconception that it's still just a Buell and therefore sucks.
The lack of dealerships.
Price/value.
People still buy motorcycles?

 

I would like to have a Harley engine Buell for the collection though. The very last ones were nice looking and that naked one made my pants tingle a bit even though it was probably poop slow compared to a Tuono or Monster or other nakeds.

 

Parts are a dime a dozen. Dealerships, price and partisanship over established brands didn't help. So. How long before they're back?

-jim

 

....and that is unreliable, and uncompetitive.

I know we all have a sense of "'Murica", but that has its limits. People just aren't willing to spend a lot of money on technology that is either drastically dated and inefficient, or is too far out of the box and unproven.

BMW has always had all kinds of weird shit in their lineup. But when they decided to break in to the Superbike market, they modeled their new bike after one of the best bikes of all-time, the 2005 GSX-R1000. They went with the proven I-4 motor, and used a traditional frame, swingarm, suspension, gas tank, and braking system. Sure, they put their fuckedupass headlights on it to give it their own "style", but they went with what works.

And the bikes sold like hot cakes (not to mention have been and still are competitive at every level).

I think EB is very intelligent and has a great engineering mind. Not to mention his passion for motorcycles is second to none. However, I have always felt like his desire to make his own/different ideas work, rather than using what has been proven to work, was the downfall of his bikes.

Had he not tried to be SO different, just for the sake of being different so he could say "MY ideas worked", he might still be in business. He could have used a traditional motor, frame, gas tank, suspension, and braking system...but still given the bike his own "style". Then once you have proven yourself and your machines, SLOWLY start to introduce new ideas.

 

This too. Had they had independent, Buell-only dealerships, with trained salesmen who are passionate about selling Buells, it would have helped.

And of course, there is always this.

 

All of the above.

 

i always thought the Lightning looked cool as a teen when it first came out. that's neither here nor there though. saw one leaking oil out of the cases on the showroom floor, the throttle was sticking open when you went to twist it, and the stupid brakes... then the new one was so expensive, why would you do that beyond just blind support for something America (which is also stupid when it comes to money). you can love America for free if that's your shtick, you don't need to prove it on inferior product by opening up your checkbook. somehow MV Agustas and Bimotas and Nortons still sell units... Buell was missing something there that others smaller operations have managed to capture.

 

This is good feedback.