The Harley-Davidson Motor Company announced today that it was shutting down the Buell product line to further focus on the Harley-Davidson brand. In doing so they issued a press release that thanked Buell customers, its employees and dealers. In addition, Harley says it will "divest its MV Agusta unit as part of this strategy."

"I want to personally thank all our past and present Buell employees, dealers and suppliers for their efforts. I also want to thank Buell motorcycle owners for their support and passion for the brand," said Buell Motorcycle Company President Jon Flickinger in the release.

Dealers still have Buells on their floors and those will continue to be sold, Flickinger said. Production will wind down on the Buells by the end of October, but Harley-Davidson will continue to provide replacement parts and service through its dealerships. Warranties on existing Buell models will also be honored, according to Flickinger.

Buell has been building motorcycles since 1983 with chairman and chief technical officer Erik Buell at the helm of his company.

"We proved that a small group of passionate people can compete against industry giants," Buell said today in a video on the Buell website that can be found at http://www.buell.com/en_us/

The highlight for Buell as a racing entity came this year with Danny Eslick winning the AMA Daytona SportBike Championship on a Bruce Rosemeyer/Geico Powersports-backed Buell 1125R.

"I will always be proud of what we have accomplished. It is a testimony to what a small group of passionate and inspired people can do, and with brilliant innovations, we've produced some of the best-handling bikes of all time," said Buell (pictured) in the Harley release. "I personally look forward to exploring how I can continue to work with Harley-Davidson to bring advanced product technology to riders.

"I have also had the great fortune to meet and get to know many Buell riders over the years, and they are an amazing and interesting group of free thinkers," Buell added. "May you ride with pride into the future. And may your roads ahead be as adventuresome and rewarding as mine have been for the last 26 years."

A wholly owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc. since 1998, Buell Motorcycle Company was founded in 1983 by Erik Buell and produced more than 135,000 motorcycles. Over the past 26 years, Buell motorcycles won numerous design accolades and awards, and countless races and championships around the world, including the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike championship in 2009.

Harley also announced decreased revenue, net income and earnings per share for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, while reporting a moderation in the decline of retail new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales compared to the second quarter in a release today.

According to the release, worldwide retail sales of new Harley-Davidson motorcycles declined 21.3 percent in the third quarter compared to last year's third quarter, an improvement from the 30.1 percent decline in this year's second quarter. An 84.1 percent decline in net income and an 84.5 percent decline in diluted earnings per share from the year-ago quarter reflected lower motorcycle shipments and the effects of the economy on retail and wholesale loan performance at Harley-Davidson Financial Services.

In addition to dropping the Buell line, Harley will "divest its MV Agusta unit as part of this strategy."

"While the environment remains challenging for us, we are mildly encouraged by the moderation in the decline of dealer retail Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales," said Keith Wandell, Chief Executive Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. "And moving forward, our strategy is designed to strengthen Harley-Davidson for long-term growth and deliver results through increased focus.

"As our announcement regarding Buell and MV Agusta indicates, we are moving with the speed and decisiveness required to bring our business strategy to life," said Wandell. "The fact is we must focus both our effort and our investment on the Harley-Davidson brand, as we believe this provides an optimal path to sustained, meaningful, long-term growth."

The following release regarding the MV Agusta sale just came through from Harley...

Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) today announced its third quarter financial results and unveiled key elements of its go-forward business strategy to drive growth through a single-minded focus on the unique strengths of the Harley-Davidson® brand. As part of this strategy, the Company will divest its MV Agusta unit and also discontinue the Buell® product line.

"Our objective in acquiring MV Agusta last year was primarily to expand our presence in Europe, and was a recognition of MV Agusta's proud legacy. While growth in Europe and other global markets remains highly important to us, we believe that focusing our efforts on the Harley-Davidson brand is the optimal path to sustainable growth," said Matt Levatich, President and Chief Operating Officer of Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

"This decision was not made lightly. MV Agusta is a great company with a proud heritage and brand, high-quality exciting products, and a passionate team with whom we have achieved a great deal over the past 14 months," Mr Levatich added.

Harley-Davidson acquired the privately held Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta in August 2008 and key achievements since then have included the reinstating of production at the Company's Varese factory and the re-starting of product development - leading to the recent unveiling of the re-engineered Brutale to great accolades from dealers and customers alike.

"With a streamlined business and such an exciting product pipeline we sincerely believe that MV Agusta is well positioned for the future," said Mr Levatich.

Harley-Davidson will now begin actively looking for a buyer for MV Agusta to continue along the development of the brand as an outstanding manufacturer of premium, Italian performance motorcycles.