Erik Buell Racing was once again sold at auction yesterday. This time the winner was Liquid Asset Partners, and once again, the winning bidder says they think the brand can be resurrected.
In the past 12 months, EBR has been sold three times at auction after declaring bankruptcy last spring. The first time, a New Jersey-based businessman bought the company and promised to revive it; however, the deal fell apart when his financing vanished, due to complications over EBR’s previous partnership with Hero. Then there was another auction last fall that was overturned, resulting in this week’s sale.
Blogger Cyril Huze said he called Liquid Asset Partners to inquire about EBR’s future, and was told this:
Liquid Asset Partners has a long history in the motorcycle industry working with major manufacturers & distributors to sell assets and intellectual property. They plan to run a simple two part sale process. Part one is working to secure a new buyer who has the proper experience, financial ability, and desire to continue manufacturing EBR’s motorcycles for many years to come. Part two will be a sale of excess assets to help streamline the operations.
That sounds as if they’re planning to sell both the marque and the company’s equipment, to maximize their profit. We’ll see how it goes, but we may be running another story in a short time telling you about yet another EBR sale.
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It could happen, for one thing LAP are not like the rip off merchants that played with Norton
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Just shoot that horse! It ain’t got no legs..
My conspiracy theory is that hd’s silent partner Portia put the knife in the brp deal. They didn’t want Austrian rival Rotax to benefit from hd’s investment. If it were done when it’s done…
Wished BRP would have considered it .
I agree. I wished they would have bought them from Harley and saved all those XB models from going into the dumpster. It made sense seeing that they already provided engines and the bikes are not competing with BRPs other products.
What’s left to salvage out of the mess that was Buell or EBR? Start it up again really? An utter waste of time and money . . .
EBR only need two things to be a success : a compelling all-new motorcycle and humble expectations.
…..And money. Lots and LOTS of money. Then when that pile is gone, more money.
As for a compelling motorcycle, what segment of the market should they focus on? Their attempt to compete with the established manufacturers in the high performance superbike arena sure didn’t work.
I think all segments are pretty well populated with a variety of machine options for a multitude of tastes at a good assortment of price points. It seems to me that designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing an appropriately priced, competitive (within the segment) machine would be a monumental task for an established manufacturer let alone for a name with such baggage. In terms of risk the likelihood of failure far outweighs the chance of success especially when combined with economic uncertainties.
But hey, as long as they’re not spending my money; have at it.
As I have said many many times, EBR is dead because of mismanagement. However, there is always a market for seriously exotic, very expensive motorcycles in many segments, if you are content to sell <100 machines a year. The sad thing is, EBR sold 65 of the original, track-only bikes which were priced above $65k. The kind of person who spends Porsche money on a limited use motorcycle doesn't care about dealers, features or after sales. They want something exotic to feel good about.
If only Erik had stuck with that plan. Bimota made millions and stayed in the black for decades by selling waky looking, poorly developed, hand made motorcycles for the super wealthy. Like EBR, they went bust as soon as they thought it was time to go international racing and offer "an expanded line up".
I do not believe there is any point in trying to resurrect EBR or any version thereof, but it *could* be done, if the scale was small and execution brilliant.
As you say, if the money gets found, have at it. i love boutique brands.