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EBR closes, files for receivership

vtrandall

New member
Joined
Apr 15, 2003
Location
NorCal
Moto(s)
Ape
Wish I could say I was surprised, but...

http://www.jsonline.com/business/er...s-for-receivership-b99481936z1-299863281.html
Erik Buell Racing, an East Troy motorcycle manufacturer previously owned by Harley-Davidson Inc., has ceased operations.

The company, with 126 employees, also is filing for court protection from creditors, Buell said Wednesday.

Erik Buell Racing is the sequel to Buell Motorcycle Co., which was owned by Harley-Davidson Inc. for more than a decade before Harley dropped the brand in 2009.

Initially, the new company produced hand-built $40,000 sport bikes for road-racing enthusiasts. More recently, it geared up to build a mass-production motorcycle that sells for about $19,000 but has a similar racing pedigree.

Company founder Erik Buell invested his own money into the new venture, followed by backing from Hero MotoCorp., the largest motorcycle manufacturer in India.

The company had been doing well on the racing circuit but struggled financially.

"The turn we recently took, after we thought we were moving forward, was unexpected. We thought we had secured funding, but in the end, we were not able to get the funding in place. Therefore we need to do the best we can under the circumstances for all parties in interest," Buell said in a statement.
<cont>
 
When the article says "The company had been doing well on the racing circuit" what exactly are they basing that on?
 
As much support as I wish I could give them...I am not surprised. Sales have been crappy, they keep putting them on random discounts (spring clearance both RX and SX for $15K), and there is a general distaste for any product with Erik's name on it.
I will always love them just because they were my first bikes, and I hope they figure out how to get back in production.
 
Why doesn't he just patent the tech and license it if it is promising.
No offense, but the biggest issue I find with his bikes is that they are ugly as sh*t.
 
Call me naive, but I don't understand how he has funding issues while so closely connected with Hero. Don't they have tremendously deep pockets? Wasn't Erik deeply involved in the R&D of other Hero product lines? Wasn't that the whole point?
This news flies in the face of absolutely everything I have heard or read about EBR recently.
Call me saddened and confused. (...and perhaps naive)
 
Very tragic... But... It's not like Eric Buell didn't know anything about how Harley did things.
 
As much support as I wish I could give them...I am not surprised. Sales have been crappy, they keep putting them on random discounts (spring clearance both RX and SX for $15K), and there is a general distaste for any product with Erik's name on it.

That's not completely true. There is appeal for a US superbike, yet they never really hit the mark. When Buell got close spec wise to comparable equipment, the price of ownership was completely unrealistic. The lackluster racing didn't help their cause.
 
When the article says "The company had been doing well on the racing circuit" what exactly are they basing that on?
They scored two points at the last WSBK race.

That's actually pretty good compared to how they've been doing.
 
There's gonna be a fire sale on the EBR Sportbikes and Nakeds that haven't sold...this is an eerie case of history repeating itself.

So Hero removed funding - would love to know the real reasons behind this... seemed like Buell has the engineering pedigree to bring their products to the US market. Maybe the Buell name carries too much baggage.
 
Wow, bummer for EBR. Guess that is what happens when you build a bike no one really wants for top of the line money.

Looks like Harley may have seen the writing on the wall as well.
 
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