MarkW Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 I'm at a biopesticide conference in California, and have just spent 20 minutes talking to the guy who invented the belt drive system used by Harley Davidson. Apparently they filed their first patent in 1975, which I think covered the belt, and then filed a later patent for the cog system. Just thought I'd share that with you guys since nobody else I know will give a toss, but it seemed cool to me. Quote
NeilM Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 I imagine it may have been more interesting than pesticides. Quote
Joeman Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 how was he dressed?? like an engineer or a hairy harley rider? Quote
MarkW Posted March 2, 2016 Author Posted March 2, 2016 how was he dressed?? like an engineer or a hairy harley rider?Neither: Traditional US conference attire of chinos and company logo'd polo shirt. He was a great guy to chat to! Quote
Classickid21 Posted March 2, 2016 Posted March 2, 2016 how was he dressed?? like an engineer or a hairy harley rider? did you jump on Tractor too Quote
johnc Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 That is really cool! Harley's are just beautiful! Quote
Fozzie Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Try speaking to a Buell designer without him/her cursing Harley and welling up as he talks about some of the old models they had planned. It's quite an achievement. I'm still a bit sore with Harley over them canning Buell if I'm honest so I'd have been pleased to meet him but also have a moment of "how could you!? " thrown in! Quote
Stu Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Harley never canned buell they just stopped suppling engines for them Buell are still on the go! Eric buell racing makes his own engines and you can buy the bikes if you have the money and are prepared to wait! Quote
Fozzie Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Oh right? I thought they were a bit more harsh.I remember a BIKE magazine piece ages ago saying Harley is estimated to have lost in sales as much as they invested by getting rid of Buell. It put the blame on the CEO who it claimed shut them down rather than sell the brand as they didn't want their dealer network supporting a brand that wasn't there's, and it wouldn't survive without them. It did seem iffy to me as they could have profited from the engine sales but chose to cut entirely so I think many suspected they were killing the competition. I think Buell tried to get going with rotax but I think it fell flat again. I don't know if it ever picked up from that again.Real shame, as I love some of the Harley engines. A modern V-rod engine would likely have found its way into a Buell by now if they kept them going. Would have been a proper brute! Quote
soll Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 justa quick one, how could you tell he was a Harley designer, did he have a hand full of crayons, as they cant use anything else to design a harley... i think they are horrible agricultural vehicles. overpriced and over hyped.cool fact thou. Quote
Bogof Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Harley never canned buell they just stopped suppling engines for them Buell are still on the go! Eric buell racing makes his own engines and you can buy the bikes if you have the money and are prepared to wait! HD bought Buell, and then promptly shut it down. Eric was in tears at the announcement.EBR had stopped production last I heard. Quote
Tango Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 Harley never canned buell they just stopped suppling engines for them Buell are still on the go! Eric buell racing makes his own engines and you can buy the bikes if you have the money and are prepared to wait! HD bought Buell, and then promptly shut it down. Eric was in tears at the announcement.EBR had stopped production last I heard.EBR have just announced that they're gonna be building bikes again..... Quote
Bogof Posted March 7, 2016 Posted March 7, 2016 EBR have just announced that they're gonna be building bikes again..... I really wish that were true... Erik Buell Racing was an American motorcycle sport company which produced street and racing motorcycles, based in East Troy, Wisconsin, USA. The business ceased trading in April 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Buell_RacingPress release that sounds so very encouraging, but deja vu etchttps://www.erikbuellracing.com/wp-cont ... 292016.jpgI really hope they start production again, but it's not looking any more promising now that it has at any time during their last few reincarnations. Quote
Tango Posted March 8, 2016 Posted March 8, 2016 I really hope they start production again, but it's not looking any more promising now that it has at any time during their last few reincarnations. From Visordown.....at the beginning of this month......http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-new ... 30912.html Quote
Fozzie Posted March 8, 2016 Posted March 8, 2016 Cheers for the info Bob!I love the term "aggressive pricing". They could just say "We won't be making profit for a while so you guys can buy them more easily" Quote
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