Quote:
Originally Posted by FT BSTRD
Look at it this way, Buell now has a 100% sportbike oriented dealership network stateside.
Now you won't have to wear your assless pants in to look at a sport bike or get weird looks when you show up at the dealership in your Power Rangers suit.
I believe this is the first step in separating the sportbike distribution from the cruiser distribution.
It will be easier to service the new generation of Buells inside a sportbike shop rather than trying to retrain Harley techs to service Rotax engines.
There will also be the ability to homogenize parts and accessories for sport bikes.
I see this as a VERY good move for HD and an even better move for Buell. Better this than HD selling Buell to MV Augusta.
I would expect the prices for MV Augustas to decline a little bit. HD has a rediculous ability to degotiate discounts on materials, components, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the components get sourced stateside. Means more American jobs.
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Overall I like the idea but to say that this will bring in American jobs is a bit optimistic. The new Buell is maybe 20% American made. They don't buy American made parts for their "American" sportbike. Why would HD cut out the current vendors,whom to my knowledge,provide MV with excellent parts and start sourcing parts here in the U.S.? How could it possibly be more cost effective for them to buy parts here instead of all the producers in Europe. Besides,MV and Cagiva produce approximately 5000 bikes a year. You'd have to be pretty hard up as a parts manufacturer to pay for all the Cad/Cam and die costs for that few parts. Plus you'd still have to sell them at a price LOWER than they are getting them currently.
The biggest positive for me is the possibility that MVs could become easier for us to purchase and maintain with a larger dealer network behind them. To be honest tho',my guess is that HD is looking to sell more bikes over there rather than bring more bikes over here.