Fischer bike at Indy Show

[Nate R]

Did anyone take a look at it? (Yellow with CF and such.)

Thoughts? Comments?

[KBOlsen]

I thought it was very nice looking, but would expect a much larger motor for that price.

[Nate R]

What price did they tell you?


We cant get a bigger motor. Rotax wont sell the 1000 V-twin because aprilia told them not to.

Besides, the 650 will eventually be supercharged. So, that should help.

[KBOlsen]

$10,000. :o

[OmniGLH]

I can't remember if Dan stated 10 or 13k.

Supercharged or not... 10k+ is a lot of cash for a 650cc bike.  He's going to have a hard time selling it IMO.  

It IS a cool looking bike.  I would definitely consider buying one before I'd buy some other exotic bike like an Aprilia or Ducati.  But then again... I'd never buy an Aprilia or Ducati cuz I can get better performance and reliability for less money in a Japanese bike.  So... I don't know if I would realistically ever consider buying a Fischer.

Then again, the Fischer probably isn't aimed at someone like me - it's probably targeted for the Aprilia/Ducati/Buell group.  In which case, he might do OK.  I still think that motor size is going to scare off a LOT of people.  Heck I know people who didn't want to buy a GSX-R750 because they were afraid they might outgrow it....

[motomadness]

Nate,

I saw it and thought it had great potential.  The styling is unique for that price point and the components are definitely high end, another plus.

I do think a 700cc - 750cc twin would be better for that price point.

I don't know this, just pondering, but if an SV650 can be, then sales will tank for sure.  Oh and don't forget that the Ducati Monster/Supersport range lie in this price point as well.  Then you fight reputation over uniqueness.  Look at the Harley brand.  Harley has record sales every year because people want Harleys, not for their quality, but for their name and prestige.  The same can be said of Mercedes and BMW.

Brand development is definitely complex.

[bweber]

I saw the bike in Indy and it looked pretty nice.
Since companies like Excelsior Henderson and Indian went bankrupt even though they seemed financially strong, I think you will have an impossible time selling those bikes.  What kind of dealer network do you offer?  How about spare parts availability and service/warranty work?
Buell Motorcycle Company has been around for over 10 years and for the last 5 has been associated with the H-D dealer network.  They are still struggling to sell enough bikes to cover their manufacturing costs, advertising and new product engineering.
People are going to be very leery about buying a $10,000 vehicle of any type from a new manufacturer who may not be around 3 years from now.  Resale is nearly impossible and aftermarket parts availability is non-existent.  Ask yourself this question:  If you were not closely associated with this project, would you spend 10K on that bike with all the other options out there?
You guys have a tough row to hoe, but I hope it works out for you.  Good luck.

[tzracer]

Buell has been around since 1983. Started selling street bikes in 1986. The day I strated working, I helped load #6 into a truck. Buell street bikes have always been sold through Harley Dealers.

Dan will have a more difficult time than many can imagine. Designing parts and having them mostly outsourced sounds much easier than it is to do. We did exactly that when I worked at Buell. Getting high quality parts on time is very difficult. Many places will not even give you the time of day due to the low volume. $10,000 sounds to cheap.  In 1987 a Buell cost between $9300 and $9800 as a pile of parts, unassembled.

[Super Dave]

Mystic is important too.

Bimota.

They actually had a good run.  Using other peoples engines with their unique chassis.  But they "fit" into the main stream.  Hey, they competed and won many times in World Superbike over the years.  They set out to have a performance image.

And, as a small market manufacturer, that's where you HAVE to make a name...if you're gonna make any kind of a performance oriented bike.  

MZ...performance bike, but not much of an image.  They did have decent sales when there was the MZ cup series...now they are drying up.

Recently, Laverda...at least they sold some for their cup series.

Does Buell do ok because they support racing with their bike?  It has Harley mystic, but certainly the performance image helps.

[tzracer]

Harleyc come with a mystic :D

Think you meant mystique. If anything, Buell (at least when I was there) suffered in the eyes of the HD crowd because it had a sportster engine. I don't think any HD mystique has rubbed off onto the Buells. Thing they had going for them was they were made in the US. (Made in America applies to all of North and South America).

[Nate R]

Dan is in for a lot, but he has more done than I think meets the eye.

As far as spending that kind of cash on a new bike: I can see some doing that as it's relatively fresh and new as far as design. It looks pretty darn good. Is that going to be enough though? Ehh, dunno.  :-/

[motomadness]

Nate/Dan,

Don't take our comments personally.  I've been in the auto business for over 9 years, and there are countless times that our concepts have shown well, but the final product get blasted by the public and the media.  

Critics will always criticize.