On Buell
Companies rise, companies fall. It is an inexorable process with only the span of time between the two events being in question. Despite the inevitability, when a company shutters, it is a shock, and in recent times we have been shocked on almost a daily basis as companies both global and neighborhood in size have disappeared from sight.
The closing of the Buell Motorcycle Company has had little effect on the world at large as bigger issues are at hand. Ironically, the one segment that did note the closing was the investment community as it had a positive influence on Harley-Davidson's stock price.
I received the news of the closing from several different sources. As I was on a motorcycle at the time, the news came via my phone as one alert after another signaled a certain urgency. Quickly scrolling through the e-mail subjects such as "Buell's gone," H-D shuts Buell," "Hey, Reg, you won't believe...", offered no surprises. That the company has been struggling for an extended period was obvious, and with the economy showing a white flag, it wasn't hard to see where only the more robust companies would get through unscathed. Unfortunately, "robust" has never been part of the Buell Motorcycle Company's curriculum vitae.
The path leading to this closure is crowded with Bad Guys. As in war, the victors will write the history, so I imagine we'll hear of all manner of things that Erik Buell and his company did wrong, precipitating their closing. And some will certainly be true. Yet Harley's boardroom, and many of its rank and file are also at fault as it was obvious that more often than not The Motor Company tolerated ‒at best‒ rather than supported Buell. It's a tough road when internal battles take time and resources away from fighting outside problems. All of which is now of moot concern, obviously.
That we've lost yet another manufacturing company aside, the most disconcerting point for me is that we've probably lost yet another of our most valuable assets; the entrepreneur that is Erik Buell.
As with many in the motojournalism business, I know Erik Buell, having met him about 14 years ago. Our paths have crossed dozens of times since then. We've been at the same events, shared a few beers, bitched about the same things, seriously locked horns, and cheered the efforts of others. We are acquaintances, not necessarily friends. Under different circumstances that might be otherwise, but our relationship is founded upon my critiquing of his efforts, never a good basis for an exchange of Christmas cards.
Many have described Erik Buell as a "genius." And he well may be, but I'm not qualified to issue that title. What I do know is that he's a very talented, mercurial, individual. At times, in polite society, you might call him irascible, in other circumstances, son of a bitch would fit. Yet he will sit for hours with virtual strangers explaining his art and his science. He will speak knowledgeably of today's race, or ones forty years ago. Watch him in such circumstance and you'll see the man-child emerge; enthusiastic, fun, and engaging. This has earned him a legion of fans, and no few sycophants. He is a bit of a rock star to many, with his autograph, attention, and cast off parts eagerly sought. He is a supremely confident engineer with a passion and enthusiasm for motorcycles that has served him well in his odyssey towards bringing his dreams to the road. It has also brought him no little personal and professional pain.
And we need him. In fact, we need many like him.
The strength of this country was built by strong, driven individuals, not committees. They built our industries and our culture. They were the architects of our successes, and the demons of our failures. They were creative, talented, passionate, and yes, many were world-class sons of bitches. But it was their drive, their single-mindedness that created huge wakes of hope and prosperity that swept this country to prominence.
But, things have changed. The committee has largely replaced the individual. Global economies have forced homogenization and, in some ways, our country has turned into a "Whack a Mole" arcade game, wherein if you propose a different thought or idea, you get whacked. And the gods know, Erik has been whacked more than a few times. And sometimes I've wielded the club. Too often, though, the whack was levied simply because his ideas were different; not because they weren't good, but because they didn't look like what everyone else was doing.
Certainly he initially built motorcycles that should never have seen the light of day. But it was not that the design was bad, just the execution. He and his company worked through those times, refining the process and improving the product. Yes, he damaged some careers, and left a coterie of disgruntled Buell owners along the way, and those results can be hard to forgive, but they also need be placed in proper context. Something that many of his critics never did. To them, every Buell produced after their bad experience was crap. Over time, the Buell Motorcycle Company began to produce very good motorcycles, but all with a fatal flaw; they were different.
This rejection is ironic to the extreme in that motorcyclists like to cast themselves as rugged individualists; people who follow the beat of their own drum, conventions be dammed. The reality is that many in our two-wheeled community have fallen into a lockstep that dictates how they need act, dress, and what is appropriate to ride.
Erik Buell made mistakes, but I'm also certain that the first wheel didn't roll true, the first Benz was faulty, and the first atom went unsmashed. The point with those seminal events is that the 'heretics' behind them continued to press forward, whereas lesser folks quit.
It would be easy to say that Erik Buell failed. That the closing of his company somehow invalidates him. When, in fact, he succeeded more than most of us ever will. Erik Buell wanted to build his motorcycle. And he did. He did it by sheer force of talent and will. There are tens of thousands of Erik's motorcycles on the road, each a testament to his passion, his creativity, and his perseverance. And each of those motorcycles reflects a singular personality unlike any other production motorcycle in the world.
It's tough times in East Troy, Wisconsin, right now, and words won't put a paycheck in anyone's hands. But those suffering through this need to know that they were part of something quite special. Something that no committee nor boardroom could accomplish. Something that is happening less and less frequently; the realization of a man's dream.
The motorcycle industry is in dire need of people like Erik Buell. Its corporate halls are filling with the dispassionate, their allegiance to the stockholders; riders are merely a means to an end. To Erik Buell, the rider is the end.
Thanks, Erik.
Reg Kittrelle
Santa Cruz, California
A Commentary On The End Of Buell Motorcycle Company News Article // RoadracingWorld.com
Great Commentary On Buell!
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