The Rise and Fall of Buell Motorcycles - Part 3 

www.erikbuellracing.com/single-post/2018/12/06/EBR-Motorcycles-are-back-in-limited-production

It's 2021 and, in February, EBR announced that they're now Buell as they've gotten the rights to the name(albeit, with no Erik Buell on board ironically enough), and have announced yet more new models based on the 1190, which is based on the 1125, which is now over a decade old... ...but, hey, I'm a sucker, my dumb ass still wants one!!! [even though I'm sure they'll go bankrupt again and parts will dry up even more... ...but, but, it's a Buell...] www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/buell-motorcycles-is-back/

Conner Fox yea it was.

Dude not gonna lie, i teared up.

I teared up also..... I have way more respect for the guy now

All that he said was pre-written, and he was reading it off of something. Yeah, not so sad after you realize the reality.

@@driffbro3380and your point? He more than likely wrote it down himself because his mind was scrambled from what Harley just did to him and didn't want to forget anything. They just ended his career, something he worked on his whole life (or so they thought). But please explain what you mean, maybe I'm missing something.

Lol, when I saw that bike I was like "Oh really??"...but yeah even with that said, that's why I just kind off hoped the best for this bike despite the removal of Buell

Anything for green

Yeah, it's about damn time H-D made a "sporty" Sportster. Been waiting 20 years for one. After this debacle, I'll just go foreign for my versatile, good handling bikes. And the Street Fighter is still 2-3 years away. Used MT-09, please!

Different CEO, Joe generic hedge fund whatever dude is gone and the guy in his place is someone who A. Actually rides and B. has worked at Harley since 94. Hopefully he realizes the potential opportunity in reaching out to Erik Buell and apologizing

@@hvymtal8566 If they did pick Erik Buell back up, i would be ecstatic. They really did him dirty.

Bruce you were not only pushing hard to save EBR and continue Erik's legacy, but you also kept punters like us informed as much as you could. A scholar and a gentleman. The outcome wasn't what we all wanted, but you, sir, were the beacon us armchair critics needed but didn't deserve. Almost mate, almost. Thank you!

@@octopusenvy Thank you, sir.

OMG !!! Now the very same Hero doesn't even have any Performance Bikes in the market. Hero-EBR Partnership could've been like Bajaj-KTM but Hero themselves ruined it. Now they are reaping the results.

Also Now Hero is in partnership with Harley (who killed EBR before Hero did).

I was really skeptical when Hero bought them: In my experience with Indian businesses, they frequently operate in that way as what happened there.

Harley lost me too, for the same reason.

Fortunately the guy now in charge of Harley has been working there since 1994 and is a rider first and foremost. Putting Joe generic white haired hedge fund manager in charge of Harley was never going to do anything but slowly sink it.

HARLEY NEVER, EVER HAD ME. Being a Cherokee American whose grandfather rode an Indian back in the 1950s, if I was going to buy an American motorcycle, I was going to buy the same brand as my Cherokee grandfather rode, an Indian. 🪶🪖

Amazing indeed! Your IG post directed me to part 3...well-done finale! (Even with post notifications on, I still don't always see every new video)

That whole three-parter hurt to watch, the shout of injustice was so loud. I don't know what you do during your ass-not-in-the-saddle time, Illest', but you've got lions lined up to be tamed if you choose.

What is that intro music?!

After I uploaded I actually watched this stage show on the craftsman channel where Buell was highlighting his history and the comeback with the 1190RS. The sad part is that he was super hyped and kept hyping the future of the brand....little did he know.

- The illestrator - the way he's been going on for years one drawback after another, I can bet my left nut he'll be back in some way, shape, or form. We'll just keep watching this space, the man's no quitter from what I've seen thus far.

@@P1015532oni everybody's got their limits tho. He rest should have tapped into the 600 market. Most riders aren't looking up are the top, the real money's downstairs. 695sx? Yes, please!

One of the funniest bikes you'll ride. Love Xb12s.

Has it been reliable for you so far?

@@Theillestrator1050 yeah, no problems at all. Im at 3500 miles and there's other guys out there with 20K+ on them with little to no problems. Mines a 17, The 14s had some Gremlins but as long as you send the dash out for solder repair, replace the fuel pump with an updated one, and make sure the important bolts are tourqued right even a 14 will last just fine.

I very very strongly considered getting a 2017 1190RX months before the last shut down... But I bought a Corvette instead. Still have a Buell 1125R though. No regrets!

Thanks for watching....and waiting XD

How was the reliability?

I had a 2008 Buell 1125R that I bought new and put almost 70,000 miles on until an ass hat in a minivan cut me off making a lane change on the freeway without checking his mirror and caused me to wreck. Replaced it with a used 2009 Buell 1125R. Best bikes I've ever owned. I heard of a guy with over 130,000 miles on his.

This

It's been long enough XD

It probably will come down to whether or not the bikes can sell well. I didn't see a projected price or a spec sheet yet but those two things will be highly important for sales. We all know HD marks up their prices pretty hard, but they seem to ACTUALLY want to target the young and cheap crowd looking forward. If these models fail... I hope HD doesn't just give up

@@Theillestrator1050 I think they are going to have to in effort to seal the Indian scout models

The way hd was with buell idk if I'll ever buy one. I am looking at cruisers rn n hd is at the bottom of the list. They charge too much for what you get n if i meet a rider with a stick up his ass hes prolly on an hd

Do a search for the American V4 and you might be surprised on what you see.

I like where Indian is now heading with its Dark Horse/Chieftain/Chief bagger-cruisers/in-house made 111s and their 116 Big-Bore kit. But its not a sports bike, unlike what the Scout sorta almost-was. Too bad Eric Buell couldn't continue with evolving a V-twin sport-cruiser with the water-cooled HD-platform development that turned into the V-rod, which to my eye still has awful styling ~ Maybe one needs to really ride the bike hard-and-long before the beauty of style-follows-function emerges. But I'm stuck on the innovative novelty and performance of the '06-09 XB12 X Ulysses. Sheer inept drop-the-ball and fumble on Corporate HD's part when they were a yard from the goal-line. The Ulysses XB12's were a brilliant synthesis of American V-twin grunt and flattrack/enduro finesse, torquey muscle with competent can-do style. The essence of American have-fun and get-R-done ingenuity. What's not to love? Excellent platform for sport-cruising, adventure-touring, slinging mud & gravel, dirt-roading, highway gliding, canyon-carving & corner-slicing/dicing, and all-around Hell-YEAHING!, infinitely upgradable and modable to suit almost any flavor. NOBODY on an XB has to feel outgunned or underclassed in whatever 2/3-wheel mixed-company they're in. Cuz they know they got the smile-per-miles game BEAT! Used good-condition XB12s STILL offer tremendous value at $3-4k. And the Buell pushrod V-twin thunder-grunt coming-strong and hard out of corners is to die for. ~ Cheers!

That's a good idea. Or maybe a video about electric bikes in general

@@Theillestrator1050 if you do one, check out Mission Motors and also the MotoCzysz E1pc. That last one is a very sad story like with Erik Buell tho.

@@Theillestrator1050 IIRC Honda and Yamaha are working on electric bikes too.

I mean triumph and ktm are neck on neck competitive with the japanese bikes when it comes to price. (Atleast in europe.)

Lmao

Thanks for waiting lol

I saw a video by cyclecruza that said a better step would be just to drop the ridiculous prices of their bikes, as opposed to all new models. Its a fair point because I sincerely hope that they dont mark up the hell out of these new models

High price is due to a lot of factors, but it's still terrible value for the money. I'd much rather but a Motus (even though they just went out of business) than any H-D product. I bought a 2007 V-Rod new and learned with that bike that Harley-Davidson does not make their products well enough to justify the high prices.

I would have liked to see what was next after the 1190 platform

I know it. Really though, I would have been more than happy with an 1190. They're still out there on the used market...maybe someday.

www.cycleworld.com/story/bikes/buell-motorcycles-is-back/

I did see that from people commenting on part 2. But I didn't wanna spend anymore time on the XB for part 3 so I just skipped it because it was killed so early on

Glad I finally wrapped it up lol. Thanks for watching.

It was $20 million, but you have the right idea.

Thank you

Lol, thanks.

I was gonna say lol, I thought they killed victory

@@Theillestrator1050😂 they did. That's why their seriousness is questionable at best.

Agreed, They killed victory when it was a direct competitor to Indian.. But purchasing a turnkey business like EBR for a sport bike segment would have been perfect... instead it seems they are sitting on the Indian name without looking at Hardley's example of how bad that can go.

everoblivion2005 the thing that irks me the most is that they could have kept both brands. Let Indian go after Harley. And let Victory be innovative. Add EBR to that and you could rival any of the Japanese makers. It seemed they only wanted to go after Harley though. Harley could have done that too had they kept Buell around. I guess shortsightedness is an American thing. 🤦🏾‍♂️

Just imagine what could have evolved if Polaris had been able to purchase Buell.

Lol, sorry. If you have an IG follow me there too cause I'm active even when busy

@@Theillestrator1050 Word just did

Lmfao, I am sorry bruv

Feel better bud, thank you for watching

@@Theillestrator1050 thank you Mr.illestrator

Interesting point. Liter bikes tend to do good in the U.S. where they can be opened up though. There might be more to it

Just a little food for thought. Imagine if they made an actually GOOD Buell Blast. :D

Lmao. Good blast... alot of ppl seem afraid of liter bikes n stick to the 600s

@@nickabel8279 there are other things you need to consider, like cost and insurance.

Invidious Ignoramus i guess.. my 1125r is cheap to insure lol

Thanks for watching through it

LMAO

Well said. Also no, that's not me that's DJ Khaled. Look up "Another one meme"

My face has been revealed for a while on Instagram honestly lol

BTW Ian, it's "Erik" with a fucking K.

I look at it like this...I don't make anything my ADHD ass wouldn't wanna watch myself lol