Brammo Owners Forum
General => Brammo News And Views => Topic started by: Brammofan on June 20, 2011, 08:21:26 PM
-
http://brammofan.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/seven-new-dealers-listed-on-brammo-site/ (http://brammofan.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/seven-new-dealers-listed-on-brammo-site/)
What? Yes. You heard it correctly. Seven new dealers, all seven are Harley Davidson dealers.
Thoughts?
-
Finally, some place near enough from me! I can make it to MD in about 3 hours. That will be awesome when they actually start selling the Empulse... whenever that will be.
I just don't like what some people were saying in the other thread about Harley dealerships refusing to sell Buells. I am not sure if Harley, a brand that grew on noise and smoke, will actually go out of its way to get their salespeople to sell the extreme opposite in their dealerships.
I was checking the websites and I didn't see any Buells or MV Agusta bikes to sell in any of the stores near my area. So, I am not sure how Harley is going to market that. It may end up hurting Brammo if Harley doesn't deliver a high level costumer service.
-
Harley sold of MV Augusta - back to the family. Harley liquidated Buell and there is no more Buell except that Erik Buell started up his own racing bike company. It's going to be ... an adjustment.
-
Well I've been harping for some time that Harley is a good fit...
Lots of dealerships ... No direct competition between Harley models and Brammo models...
Harley gets to expand their base, brammo gets floorspace across the US
Win win....I hope.
Gavin
-
"Well I've been harping for some time that Harley is a good fit...
Lots of dealerships ... No direct competition between Harley models and Brammo models...
Harley gets to expand their base, brammo gets floorspace across the US
Win win....I hope.
Gavin"
While I agree HD may see this as a good fit from a corporate standpoint, as a Buell owner I can tell you that the staff at HD dealers treat you like a 2nd or 3rd class biker if you're not inquiring about HD. The closest HD dealer to me refuses to even discuss Buell. When I need a part or have a question, they immediately send me to their competing HD dealer across town rather than even entertain my business. The empoyees at the dealer across town will shoot the breeze at the parts counter with a HD owner for 5 minutes while other stand and wait, but when I inquire about Buell parts, they take my order but act like I'm wasting their time.
Don't take this statement the wrong way because I regularly ride with several HD owners who accept my 13 non-HD motorcycles (sportbikes, Buell, japanese crusier, classics, dirt bikes, etc.), but I feel like I need to get some tattoos and black t-shirts to get any kind of good service at an HD dealer.
I just hope this isn't the case with Brammo. I would drive 6 hours away to buy my Brammo from a non-HD dealer rather than drive across town if the local HD dealers carry Brammos.
-
I like the idea of using an exisiting Harley Davidson dealers network. It should be a win/win under the right circumstances. HD is suffering a decline in new riders and offering Brammos could be a nice new revenue stream for them. It could increase the number of visitors to their showrooms.
It would give potential Brammo owners a chance to visit nation-wide locations and maybe have a test ride before they buy. This should lead to more Brammo sales.
Time will tell, and I hope HD does a better job than Best Buy at promoting Brammo.
-
Hmmm, that is quite worrying MYKB. In order for this dealer network to work, the customer service must be in place to provide the necessary support for such an innovative product. I shall pass this comment on to the overlords....
In terms of potential reach for Brammo enthusiasts a relationship with HD is certainly beneficial for us and them as they need to start showing some sort of 'green plan'.
-
I doubt official Motor Company policy is to belittle non H-D products. There's definitely some H-D elitism baked into the culture, though - and some franchised dealers are bad examples of the brand. Hopefully the dealers that are participating are less hostile to outsiders.
-
These is genius... Harley riders it seems are some of the biggest skeptics of electric motorcycles. Put these american made machines in Harley dealerships and the non-believers are sure to give them a try. A lot of the Harley weekend warrior types can get there wives on an easy to learn Brammo and they can ride together. Makes sense to me...
Wish I could get my wife to ride, the Enertia would be perfect for her. We could ride together on the weekends, then I could commute on the Enertia until my Empulse ships. Shes not having any part of it though :(
-
The other advantage of selling at a Harley shop is less EV bike price sticker shock. :)
-
The other advantage of selling at a Harley shop is less EV bike price sticker shock. :)
Now that is a good point. Even better would be to sign up BMW dealers. They have just as high prices, sophisticated customers and know how to work on complicated electronics. Unfortunately, BMWNA would never let that happen. They hate dealers who sell multiple brands of anything - much less a product that BMW will be selling in a few years. Too bad. It would have been a good fit.
-
BMW being a better fit is what I expressed in an earlier post. I think that they may have an attitude change about multi-product dealerships while trying to muddle through a sluggish GLOBAL economy scene. I doubt their money numbers are that hot so they can turn their noses up at new ventures.
Harley is also a good fit as Brammo is 'Made in U.S.A.' and already has stomped the global scene for product approval and have bonafied race cred on both local and euro tracks. Bonus for them is Brammo brings cool off-road products to widen the horizon for store sales, a fuller menu to feast on. Harley brings elite street and tour and little else to the table.
For me, there happens to be a successful Harley dealer about 2 miles from my house. Not bad. Not bad at all......... ;D
-
I agree that Harley has a very good network and they need the update that Brammo will bring. I actually have a very good HD dealership 20 minutes from me and I am pretty sure they would do a great job selling Brammo. But, it's a very big dealership that focused on costumer service and had no problem selling Buell.
I just hope the other HD dealerships, especially the MD ones, will be able to offer the same care and respect for Brammo.
It would be awesome if the Eagle Riders program, which used to have Buell Blasts to teach new riders, starts using Enertias and Empulses... ;D
-
Going to a Harley dealership for service on my Brammo motorcycle is a deal breaker for me. I won't step foot into any H-D dealership. They have nothing that I want to see and nothing that I would own. I've had enough bad dealings with more than one dealership to not trust any of them to touch a bike of mine. Why, you ask? For years, I owned and rode only Buell motorcycles. Buying parts was a hassle, getting the bikes serviced was a hassle and the superior attitudes were totally uncalled for. The last straw was when they actually tried to kill me and destroyed my bike.
SamM
-
The last straw was when they actually tried to kill me and destroyed my bike.
SamM
That was not nice. Do you mean by killing Buell they did this?
I see a dealership near Orlando. I should be out there before the end of the year to check it out. Have family near there.
-
Hopefully, for me, Brammo adds the Albuquerque dealer
http://www.thunderbirdhd.com/ (http://www.thunderbirdhd.com/)
about 5 miles from my house...
as for service, eh, the Plus shouldn't need much other than tires and chain and brakes...I could likely do all that myself.
Gavin
-
Gavin -
You should fill out the "Dealer Referral" form on Brammo's website for that HD dealer:
http://www.brammo.com/dealer_referral/ (http://www.brammo.com/dealer_referral/)
-
will do...though I feel a little guilty...
i don't know if they are a good dealer or not, never dealt with them...but I would love a Brammo dealership here in Albuquerque and they seem like a likely candidate...
Gavin
-
I see a dealership near Orlando. I should be out there before the end of the year to check it out. Have family near there.
Woohoo! That's only a 45 minute drive from where I live. ;D I've been to that dealership once, just to try out a couple of HD bikes out, since I had never ridden a Harley before. It's a nice place, and the staff were friendly enough. I just didn't care for the bikes at all. If they are going to be selling Brammo bikes, I'm going back there as soon as I have a free weekend! (Perhaps I should call ahead first, to make sure that they have something to test ride... :P)
-
Ok...so we know Polaris is working with Brammo...and vice versa...
So does Brammo keep these Harley dealerships? Or does Brammo go all Polaris?
Lots and Lots of Polaris dealers (one is 2.4 miles from my house...sweet)...
But just wondering...
Gavin
-
It seems obvious to me that it's part of Brammo's long term plan to dominate the heavy cruiser market.
:D
-
I can see the tshirts now:
Large Batteries
Save Lives
Gavin
-
I'd still like to see a heavy cruiser electric bike. It'd be heavy and expensive ... so basically the same as every other Harley : P The difference would be you could stick a very powerful motor in there with that large a pack..
http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=640.msg3768#msg3768 (http://brammoforum.com/index.php?topic=640.msg3768#msg3768)
Think similar specs to Chip Yate's bike, but double up the battery pack and really feed that motor.
-
You're looking for something like this?
http://www.blueshiftmotorcycles.com/ (http://www.blueshiftmotorcycles.com/)
-
You're looking for something like this?
http://www.blueshiftmotorcycles.com/ (http://www.blueshiftmotorcycles.com/)
http://www.orphiro.nl/?hl=en_US (http://www.orphiro.nl/?hl=en_US)
-
I'm not really thinking a cruiser style bike for the styling.
I'm thinking a bike that's stuffed so full of batteries it has no choice but to emulate the silhouette of a tourer or a cruiser bike. And with that large a pack, it may as well have a ridiculously huge motor.
Something like a Gold Wing.. 24kwh pack, 150-200kw motor at 6-8C discharge, 800ish lbs. Enough range (150-200 miles) and speed to make ICE bikes stand up and pay attention. 4 hour level 2 charge 6kw, 30 minute 80% level 3 charge.
Yeah, it would be a halo bike. Sort of like the Tesla Roadster. But doable for under $30k almost certainly, possibly well under.
-
Going to a Harley dealership for service on my Brammo motorcycle is a deal breaker for me. I won't step foot into any H-D dealership. They have nothing that I want to see and nothing that I would own. I've had enough bad dealings with more than one dealership to not trust any of them to touch a bike of mine. Why, you ask? For years, I owned and rode only Buell motorcycles. Buying parts was a hassle, getting the bikes serviced was a hassle and the superior attitudes were totally uncalled for. The last straw was when they actually tried to kill me and destroyed my bike.
SamM
That was not nice. Do you mean by killing Buell they did this?
I see a dealership near Orlando. I should be out there before the end of the year to check it out. Have family near there.
No, they were working on my bike... a Buell S1W, and failed to put it back together correctly. All of the primary bolts were left just finger tight. They gave me the bike back in this condition. Many of the bolts fell out on my ride home and oil leaked from the primary case all over the rear tire. The rear tire slipped when I was in a tight turn but thankfully I didn't loose it. When I pulled over and found the bolts missed and the oil on the rear tire and couldn't believe it. What were they doing! I tightened the bolts the best I could, cleaned off the tire and babied the bike home.
When I called the dealership, they actually had the nerve to tell me to bring it back to them and they would take a look at it. I said you did it! The primary bolts had to be replaced, the primary sprocket was cocked sideways and had to be rebuilt... all on my dime. Plus, I had to purchase a primary bolt kit. They never even offered to give me the parts. This was supposed to be a fairly easy job for them. The tech was an idiot and it was a Buell, so why would he care to fix it properly. If they couldn't handle a simple install, then why would I think they'd be able to fix the mess they made. More importantly why would I trust them with my bike again? Fool me once, but not twice! Not happening!
This is the worse thing that Brammo could possibly do. Stay far away from Harley-Davidson! They treated me like a second class citizen everytime I was in the place. The last straw was the destroyed primary. Before that I had grown very tired of the treatment and them trying to sell me a real bike... a Harley! What a joke! Everytime I was in the place these tatooed girls were trying to sell me t-shirts. Nobody ever mentioned bikes, unless I did. I kept thinking what's wrong with these people. Harley sells a lifestyle. I like my lifestyle. I don't need or want to date a 19 year old stripper, or get all tatted up and ride a paint shaker! I still have the wife of my youth and I think I'll keep her. They can keep their Harleys. Not interested and yes, I'll never step foot in the place again!
SamM