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Greetings from East Troy, Wisconsin...

Started by bob, March 28, 2004, 07:31:16 AM

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bob

Hey, everybody,
It's been a couple of months since I've posted to the board, but I've got an excuse.  Well, a couple, actually.  I've been really busy at my NEW JOB in EAST TROY, WISCONSIN.  Also, I've been staying at a friend's house, so I haven't had access to my computer & only occasional access to their computer.  I have tried to peek at the board a little bit while at work at my NEW JOB in EAST TROY, WISCONSIN, but that's been pretty sporatic.

So, you're probably asking yourself, "Bob, if you're in EAST TROY WISCONSIN, did this mean you got a NEW JOB or something?"

Goodness, you are so perceptive!  Why yes, I did.  Believe it or not, I left my job in Michigan & have just finished my first two months as Test Engineer at Buell Motorcycle Company, working on the XB9 & XB12 bikes.  It's a tough job - - I had to go all  the way to Mesa Arizona a month or so ago (when it was snowy & freezing in Wisconsin) to test bikes for 3 days BWWAAA-HAAA-HHHAAA (oops, sorry for the outburst...).

Yeah, so anyway, Buell is a small company, about 180 people & the test department is myself & another test engineer, two test technicians, a ride & handling specialist & two mechanics.  We also have a couple of people who support racing activities who are part of the test group.  There's lots of fun stuff going on at Buell, with some interesting new bikes coming out in the future.  My job is to co-ordinate & direct all the lab testing, bench testing & full vehicle testing that the technicians do, do a little bit of testing myself & analyze test results & report the results to the folks responsible for the parts we tested.  When the weather finally breaks there will be on-road testing & then also occasional testing at places like Blackhawk Farms & Road America.  BWAAA-HAAA-HAAAA (oops, sorry again...).

As far as playing with my own scooters goes, all my bikes & most of my tools & stuff are in storage in Wisconsin, but I have plans to drag out at least the R6 & bring it to the place I'm staying to get it ready for racing.  I have no clue how much racing I'll be able to get in this year what with relocating & all.  I'll letcha know what happens.

As far as being active on the board goes, this being a nomad is cramping my style.  I just put in another offer on a house yesterday.  If I get this one we will probably take possession around the end of April & hopefully get settled in by the end of May.  Then I'll have my own computer back so that I can get more active on the board again.  I know all of you were starting to wonder since you hadn't heard from me for a while, so I figured I better get a post in to explain my absence so you wouldn't worry.... ;)

Stay in touch, you know how your mother worries...

bob
You are only young once but you can stay immature indefinitely.
                               - Ogden Nash

Glory may be fleeting, but Obscurity lasts forever...

manofthefield

Hi Bob, you don't know me because I'm new too the forum, but I originate from Pewaukee, WI, maybe 20 minutes north of East Troy.  I am currently working in Two Rivers at Point Beach Nuclear Plant as a co-op student, but I'm home every other weekend or so.  Let me know when/if and where you are racing; I may be interested in coming to check it out.  Also, as a mechanical engineer I would be interested to know if Buell has any internship/co-op opportunities, as I will be looking for something again in a year, around spring or summer.  I hope you get settled in soon and good luck at Buell :cheers:

-Mike
motorcycleless
1998 GS500E sold 6/20/11

john

Congrats on the new job  :cheers:  :thumb:

Two things.

Get Erik to dump that dog shaZam! glorified 883 motor and go with something water cooled.  That should solve the shake and rattle problems, and at 1000cc probably turn the current 85hp into something more like 110.

Disassociate the company with HD/get a better marketing firm.  Right now HD guys think very little of Buells and sportbike people think very little of Harley's Buell.  This kinda puts Buell in a lousy marketing position.

I always have hoped for the best for Buell, but their current offerings aren't enough to convince me yet.  Keep us posted on new advances when you are allowed to speak about them.  It would be great to find out Buell is working on a water cooled motor for the xb9 ;)
There is more to this site than a message board.  Check out http://www.gstwin.com

Fear the banana hammer!

JLKasper

Bob,

A few questions for Erik and the boys:

Have you ever wheeled in a GS in the test facility and told your co-workers, "Quit wasting time on the Blast!, and build something like this"?

What's the opinion there about having the Buell get ripped by Motorcyclist in their "fun factor" comparo a couple of months back?  Granted, the mag got a lot of hate mail over that one, but still...

When will Buell get the V-Rod engine to play with?  It's too bad that the "Vincent " name has been taken; that would make an interesting spinoff--  the V-Rod engine in a Vincent guise...

Speaking of resurrecting old names, has HD considered buying the remnants of Indian?

What's the opinion of the Confederate Wraith?

Perhaps EAST TROY, WISCONSIN has a public library with internet access where you can post until you get settled.  Regardless, it's good to have you (and your Ogden Nash quote as a daily affirmation) back on the board! :cheers:
"A skittish motor-bike with a touch of blood in it is better than all the riding animals on Earth."
               --T.E. Lawrence

bob

Lemme see if I can answer a few of the comments/questions:

Every decision in engineering is a compromise.  Ducati had to make compromises when they designed the 916/996/998/999.  Honda had to make compromises when they designed the RC211V.  You can't change the laws of physics, you can't eat your cake & have it, too.  When the XB was designed there were compromises made.  The decisions were made with eyes open.  "If we use a 45deg engine it will package better than a 90deg & give us the opportunity for a very short wheelbase, but it'll shake more."  "If we use air cooling it'll have less cooling capacity but it'll be lighter, cheaper, lower maintenance & package easier."  

r.e. the shaking, I have an R6 that I race.  It has a 15,500rpm redline.  At the end of a 20 minute race my hands tingle for half an hour.  I rode a series of XBs a couple weeks ago all day long & my hands didn't tingle at all after.  The R6 makes high frequency vibration, the XB low frequency.  One puts your hands to sleep, the other you can feel as you ride.  Pick your poison.

Oh, yeah, water cooling will have no effect on shake.  Shake is driven by engine geometry.

Marketing is a problem for everybody.  If you are a small manufacturer how do you get dealerships all over the country to carry your bikes?  Well, you don't, actually.  If you had the choice of trying to talk your way into a few dealerships here & there or having your bikes in 100's (1000's?) of HD dealerships across the world, what would you do?  I'd love to see every sportbike dealership in the world carrying Buells, but that wasn't gonna happen, not at least until Buell got some cred, which came after having the HD connection.

I seriously doubt that we'll ever see a V-Rod motor in a Buell.  That motor is just too BIG (package-wise) for a sportbike-sized bike.

The design brief for the GS & the Blast are not too different.  They look very different, but they do similar duty.  The Blast is aimed at being a non-intimidating, gentle mannered bike for beginners.  It makes low power, but it's torque curve is very flat so it doesn't do anything surprising.  It has a low seat & stable handling.  The idea is to be easy to ride so the newby can concentrate on learning to ride.  the GS is definitely a higher performance bike than the Blast, but that's not what the Blast is for.  Don't get me wrong - it'll be a long time before there's a Blast in my garage, but I do understand what it's for & competing directly with the GS isn't one it.

The article in Motorcyclist was puzzling to the folks at Buell.  To flame the bike so harshly was hard to understand.  Mostly there was a shrug of the shoulders & a kinda "What can you do?" reaction.  The objective is to keep the bikes true to their design briefs & build the best bike we can & let the chips fall where they may.  I think every part of the bike can be defended from an honest engineering standpoint.  You can point to a part & say "That's not perfect."  But everything is a compromise & hopefully, an optimization of economics, performance, physics, practicality, marketing...  the list goes on.  

Well, gotta go.

Thanks for the support!

bob
You are only young once but you can stay immature indefinitely.
                               - Ogden Nash

Glory may be fleeting, but Obscurity lasts forever...

Laura

That sounds like a fun, interesting job. Plus, HD is supposed to be a great place to work, so I would guess Buell would be similar.

As long as we're giving suggestions for Buell, how about a clutch that is easier for girls to operate? I was interested in the XB9S until I squeezed the clutch.

Laura

TheGoodGuy

why girls.. i had trouble riding an HD and testing out a buell.. the damn clutch needs some work..

i like light easy clutches.. or medium weight clutches.. not rock hard ones.
'01 GS500. Mods: Katana Shock, Progessive Springs, BobB's V&H  Advancer Clone, JeffD's LED tail lights & LED licence plate bolt running lights, flanders superbike bars, magnet under the bike. Recent mods: Rejet with 20/62.5/145, 3 shims on needle, K&N Lunch box.

Turkina

Quote from: JLKasperHave you ever wheeled in a GS in the test facility and told your co-workers, "Quit wasting time on the Blast!, and build something like this"?

I know someone who works at HD.  Rumor has it, they've disassembled Gold Wings and other bikes to see what worked.  I dunno what they are learning, since it doesn't show in their products ;)

You know, Buell could work on a better V-twin engine for their cycles.  Sure, the V-Rod engine is too big, but a liquid cooled engine could be made that works.  Even without the engine, magazines have picked Buells apart for all sorts of other things.  Can't be too difficult to tweak those nagging little points! (eh, I admit, I wouldn't know how! :oops: )

By the way, good luck at Buell :)  That's a job to have  :thumb:  And make sure you park the bike you love to ride in the lot.  My friend pulls up in his CBR...
-Protection only works when you use it!-
Me: I'll kick your kitty ass!  Cat: Meow :P

john

Of course Bob, we realize Buell is just a job for you.  Don't take out opinions/suggestions/rants as being aimed at you.  Look at it more of a deep desire to see Buell copy jap bikes more.
There is more to this site than a message board.  Check out http://www.gstwin.com

Fear the banana hammer!

Gisser

Well I like the XB9 powerplant just fine.  Anyone who doesn't can't be satisfied with the GS500 for long.  Same philosophy...air-cooled, two valve per cylinder simplicity.  Real pushrods, too.  It's the racer crouch and inadequate fuel capacity that spoil the party for me.  Yeah, there's a more upright version, but you-all left the tailpiece off that one...U-G-L-Y.  

There may be a great demand for a high-performance BUELL, or maybe people like to talk like there is.  I wonder how the V-ROD sales are going...

Wrencher

Quote from: bob....a V-Rod motor in a Buell.  That motor is just too BIG (package-wise) for a sportbike-sized bike....

This always makes me chuckle. The V-Rod mill was loosely based on the VR-1000 Harley Sport Bike. In V-Rod form its WAY too big, all they have to do is undo all the changes and voila....sport bike engine....again.

I am just dieing to find out how you ended up in that job. I am not asking for your resume, just curious as to what led to what and how you got there.

I owned a 97 Buell S3 and loved every minute of it until somebody else decided they wanted it more and stole it.  :(

Best of luck and keep the bikes coming.
Initiative comes to those who wait!

Visit my homepage at http://127.0.0.1

scratch

Congradulations! Good luck! And, I'm jelous.
The motorcycle is no longer the hobby, the skill has become the hobby.

Power does not compare to skill.  What good is power without the skill to use it?

QuoteOriginally posted by Wintermute on BayAreaRidersForum.com
good judgement trumps good skills every time.

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