Since Harley-Davidson cut him loose, Erik Buell’s motorcycles (now sold under the Erik Buell Racing brand, a.k.a. EBR) haven’t been readily available in dealerships. That may be about to change.
According to a news release, EBR has got their hands on inventory financing from GE Capital, although they aren’t saying how much cash they can access. GE’s news release says “The funds will support the expansion of EBR’s dealer network in the U.S. Inventory financing, also known as floorplan financing, allows dealers to stock, market and sell a wide variety of motorcycles and related products from manufacturers. It is an important element of a successful manufacturer-dealer business model.”
Basically, this financing will give Buell the money needed to build the bikes for showroom floors – they’ve got to borrow the dough necessary before they can actually manufacture the machines, since all that labour and material costs quite a bit.
Now, couple that news with all the recent collaboration between Hero and Buell, and you can see the manufacturer setting up the pieces to make a major play in the market in the near future. If you’re interested, start bugging your local dealer.
Awesome, hope to one in the showroom soon