I've owned three Buells, X1 Lightning, XB12S, and XB12R. I really enjoyed them. However, I have to echo some of the earlier comments. This is a bad marketing campaign.
Buell has also generated some negative publicity recently by the way AMA Roadracing (DMG) has bent a bunch of rules to help them be dominant in their series. It has rightfully alienated a bunch of folks in the roadracing community; many of whom are already predisposed to be cry-babies.
Buell has had an uphill battle the whole way.
1) Their bikes are actually
too revolutionary. Fuel in frame, oil in swingarm, belt drive, perimeter brake, etc.
2) Mother Motor (Harley-Davidson) really doesn't know what to do with them. They're sold from dealerships that have no idea how to draw in and sell to sportbikers.
3) In my opinion, the Blast did not fit in to the Buell range. I suspect that it was forced upon Erik by Harley-Davidson so they could use it in their rider training programs.
4) The prices are way too high for the v-twin Buells.
5) Let's face it, performance is down compared to similarly priced sportbikes.... it also is down when compared to sportbikes of the same displacement.
6) Not much in the way of aftermarket goodies.
7) Not much in the way of schwag. Buell has been making motorcycles for 25+ years, but you'd still play hell trying to find a Buell coffee mug or key-fob at a dealer (but you can get Harley-Davidson branded dogfood bowls).
8 ) Not much in the way of a racing history... except when the rules are bent in their favor.
9) They have a history of niggling problems and recalls. Maybe they have it sorted by now... but the reputation is still there.
10) The Buell Riders Adventure Group was a failure.
11) ...and now they're crushing the Blast... I may be wrong, but I think it was their best selling model. That has got to disgust alot of their previous customers.... and Buell can't afford to alienate customers.
Don't get me wrong, I love Buells. Many of the things I enumerated above don't bother me at all. Unfortunately, they do bother lots of other folks.