Yesterday, it was announced the remnants of Erik Buell Racing had been sold at auction in Wisconsin for $2.25 million. In the wake of that news, let’s take a look at what we do know, and what we don’t know.

(But first — if you’re not up to speed, here’s a quick recap: Erik Buell Racing, which rose from the ashes of shuttered Harley-Davidson subsidiary Buell Motorcycles, announced it it was going into receivership in April. Since then, part owner Hero paid $2.8 million for design and consultation work that Buell had been developing for them, and the rest of the company was sold at auction yesterday).

What we know

1). Hero wasn’t interested in buying EBR While many fanboys worried their beloved made-in-the-USA brand would entirely be bought out by the India-based manufacturer, Hero said they had no such plans before yesterday’s sale. Reportedly, only three parties made bids; Hero has said they relinquished all further claims on EBR, so theoretically, we won’t hear about them in the same sentence again, unless motojournalists insist on it.

2). The sale price sounds like a bargain Admittedly, there will be plenty of bills to pay to get the plant back in business. But, buying a turn-key motorcycle operation for $2.25 million is a steal. The sale price included all the plant’s machinery and parts inventory, EBR’s patents, and its trademarks. A savvy American marketeer could earn back that $2.25 million simply by selling motorcycle T-shirts.

3). The new owner is a motorcycle enthusiast Of course, aside from the prospect of seeing their star-spangled brand turned into a chintzy made-in-India marque, EBR fans were also worried the company would be gone forever, with no more EBR motorcycles rolling off the assembly line. It seems that won’t be the case; the company was bought by a scrap company called Atlantic Metals, owned by a bike enthusiast named Bruce Belfer, who Erik Buell told Motorcycle.com is a motorcycle enthusiast.

What we don’t know

1). Will EBR be back in business, and when? The obvious inference is that new owner Bruce  Belfer intends to bring the company back into production, especially after he posted on Facebook that “ EBR lives. It reopens. It goes on. Thank you all for keeping the faith. More good news to follow…” From the reports we’ve seen, the company could go back into business very quickly.

2). How did we get here in the first place? There are at least three version of the story floating around on the Internet. Some people say Erik Bull just blew through a lot of money, and ran his business into the ground. Other people say EBR itself wasn’t the problem, it was their World Superbike race team that pushed expenses through the roof. Another competing rumour is that Hero defaulted on the $20 million they were supposed to pay for their 49 per cent stake in the company. We’ve yet to see any real proof of any of these theories.