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Harley-Davidson Drops Buell, Will Sell Stake in MV Agusta

Harley-Davidson has just announced its third-quarter results, and things aren't quite as bad as they could have been... but we'll get to that in a moment. The big bombshell is that the Buell brand will be discontinued and the American motorcycle manufacturer will sell off its share in MV Agusta.

Head on over to Buell's official website to watch a video of an obviously emotional Erik Buell, who explains that HD will continue to honor the full factory warranty on Buell motorcycles and thanks his dealership body and loyal customers for their support for over 20 years of producing offbeat American sportbikes. Roughly 180 jobs will be lost from the Buell organization. HD will immediately begin the work of selling its recently-acquired stake in MV Agusta.

So, back to Harley's third-quarter performance. Revenue from motorcycle sales came to $803.3 million, down 22.1 percent compared to the the third quarter of '08. A total of 54,236 Harley-Davidson motorcycles were shipped worldwide, down 27.4 percent. Another $300 or so million was made off apparel and merchandise sales. Full details can be found in the ridiculously long press release after the break.

Goodbye Buell, we'll miss you.

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