I don't get this one either. When I sold my 1100 Shadow, the guy said
the first thing he was going to do is change it to straight pipes. If
this was a kid I would have made allowances, but he was a middle aged
professional with a family. A Harley wannabe without muffler is still
just a Harley wannabe.
After seeing the education systems in other countries I tend to agree.
Other countries realize the world is still playing survival of the
fittest. Their schools reflect this. Kids know they need to do well if
they want to survive. Unfortunately, we try so hard with programs like
"no child left behind" that we turn our school system into survival of
the weakest. Good teachers are stuck spending time on kids who don't
get it, don't want to get it, and never will get it. Sadly, many of
their parents don't get it either, but are quick to blame the school for
their (and their kid's) failure. A basic education should be available
to every kid, but the best resources should go to those who really want
to learn.
Wrong.
Accoring to the Buell.com website, Erik Buell owns a minority
interest an H-D owns the remainer. Being majority owner oes
not mean you "own all of" a company. It means you own more than
50% of the company.
Hmmm, the information isn't in synch. Here's an excerpt from the most
recent HD financial report (2003):
"The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of
Harley-Davidson, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries (the Company),
including the accounts of the group of companies doing business as
Harley-Davidson Motor Company (hdmc), Buell Motorcycle Company (bmc) and
Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Inc. (hdfs). The Company?s
subsidiaries are wholly owned except for its joint venture with Porsche
ag, of which the Company owns a 51% share.The accounts of the joint
venture with Porsche AG are included in the Company?s consolidated
financial statements with an appropriate adjustment reflecting Porsche
AG?s interest in operating results and net assets."
Maybe Erik does own a little piece of Buell, maybe not. In the end, it
doesn't matter, the important thing is Paul was completely wrong :-)
"Paul McIntosh" wrote in
message
news:4235cec5$0$5728$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
Not true...they did it because that is where the
market is going. The VR1000 was a dismal failure..
"Sport Pilot"
SNIP
But that is the kind of bike he was talking about.
Also AAMOF I do know what one is and for a road
bike it would work quite nicely for a diabetic.
8^) Granted he'd have to get something so
pedestrian as a Harley to not look like a doofus.
You can also get a kit so that you can kick start
a Harley...granted with an FI system the benefit
of kick starting.(you know starting a bike with a
dead battery) Heck if I wanted to I'm SURE that I
could use the kick start lever from a 75' or 76'
GL1000 for my 79' the port is still there and the
engagement bolt never changed.
Yep, of course it's all quality brushless, LiPo, ESC, Charger, etc. From now
on every electric I do I'll have to do the brushless motor, ESC, and LiPo
packs. I was talking about *my* start up costs.
"Sport Pilot" wrote
To capture a larger/different market segment? I don't keep up with Harleys,
as you can tell.
A friend of mine has Harleys and he shares the experience with me. So far, I
have found that satisfying enough to keep me from buying my own.
Right now, if I had that kind of money to blow, I would buy the most fuel
efficient car that I could find that had an automatic transmission and air
conditioning. I have a feeling that gasoline is going to get very, very
expensive. I hope I am wrong.
Ed Cregger
"Ed Forsythe" wrote
You may be right, Ed. I'm just another old fart with a dream...
While it is true that many youngsters do not think as we do/did, it could be
that they are adapting to using the tools that are available to them.
Perhaps what we see as a lack of education is merely the affectations of a
different education.
Lots of the youngsters can do much better with computers than I, even though
I have been a computer hobbyist since the early eighties. Where can one go
today to get away from computers/microprocessors? They are everywhere.
One day folks will laugh at we codgers that had to manually calculate square
roots, use slide rules and tote log tables around on the job.
Ed Cregger
If that is where the market is going (for the last 20 years or so) why are
they continuing with the air-cooled engines? Those don't need watercooling
when they only produce 50hp per litre!
If you want efficiency, buy one of the VW turbo diesels while they are still
available. Extreme durability and 40-50mpg. Mine has 175,000 miles on it
and shows no sign of its age.
OK, but that also means that HD doesn't own all of HD. What matters is
that HD calls the shots at Buell. Minority shareholders can do nothing
unless the majority share holder owns less than 50% and the minority
shareholders can agree to outvote the majority shareholders.
"Paul McIntosh" wrote
Thanks for the suggestion. I am going to look into it. I have a thing for
German technology/vehicles anyway.
Are they being phased out of production? What is the replacement? Another
diesel?
Ed Cregger
"Paul McIntosh" wrote in
message
news:42369626$0$548$ snipped-for-privacy@ptn-nntp-reader03.plus.net...
They did it to inculcate the older riders to the
fact that water cooling is needed and to bring in
newer riders. Look Paul, you don't like Harley's
and have many assumptions about them...at least a
Harley is more reliable than a Ducati and holds up
better than Cagvia.
Motorcycles are like model airplanes...there's the
latest greatest, there's tried and true and you
just ought to ride/fly what makes you smile. The
fun thing is to get your stuff from the fashion
crowd that bought what the sell you because they
thought it was cool but now there is something
better(supposedly)
"Ed Forsythe" wrote in
message
news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com...
8^) Ed, cowboy up and have another cup of
espresso...skip the sugar this time m'kay? That
stuff goes straight to the gut.
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