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Buell: Sadness, Anger and Rumors
For a motorcycle brand with such a relatively small group of owners, Buell Motorcycles evoke fierce loyalty. So, H-D’s decision to kill the brand hasn’t been well received.
As an expression of that displeasure, Hell For Leather Magazine is offering special T-shirts, for both men and women.
"Free Eric Buell" T-Shirt
That’s the anger. Now comes the sadness. Hell For Leather also has this picture, taken of a dumpster outside Buell’s East Troy factory.
Not all of the baby turtles make it to the ocean.
And now, finally, we come to the rumors.
I got a call this evening from a fellow who related a rumor that, just prior to the decision to eliminate Buell Motorcycles, Harley-Davidson had gotten an offer–or, at least, the proposal to make an offer–from Bombardier (the parent company of Victory Motorcycles and Can-Am Spyders) to purchase the Buell Division from H-D.
Now, nobody else I know has mentioned this, but I did find a mention of this rumor, or, rather, a similar one, at Motorcycle Daily:
There are of course rumors about Erik Buell traveling to Canada to meet with Bombardier (makers of the Can-Am Spyder). The font of this rumor, a guy posting on a chopper forum, claims a reliable source, but his credibility is undermined, as he lists his hometown as “Bonertown” in his profile.
So, I can definitely confirm that there is a rumor about Buell and Bombardier, for all the good that does you. Unfortunately, that’s all I can confirm about Bombardier. Unless Chopper-Boy from Bonertown has really good sources, it’s probably just an internet rumor, so you shouldn’t get your hopes up about Erik Buell applying for Landed Immigrant status in Montreal.
I can say this, however: I do know that there are a couple of people outside Milwaukee who are very interested in talking to Erik Buell about…ummm…pursuing new challenges. As soon as his 15-month non-compete agreement with H-D expires, of course.
And, for right now, that’s all I have to say about that.
UPDATE: What was I thinking? Victory’s parent company is Polaris, not Bombardier.