According to several news sites, India-based motorcycle manufacturer Hero has bought almost half of Erik Buell Racing.
Ever since Harley-Davidson pulled the plug on their Buell division a few years ago, Erik Buell has been working on building innovative superbikes through his Erik Buell Racing company (sometimes known as EBR). Recently, he’d started to build ties to Hero, a manufacturer in search of superbike technology after they ended their longtime partnership with Honda; they sponsored his racing efforts, and reportedly he was working with them on other projects.
Now, reports say Buell has sold 49.2 per cent of his company to Hero, for $25 million; he retains the remaining stake.
Hero has big plans for the years ahead; EBR sold only 65 motorcycles last year, but by 2017, Hero is hoping EBR will sell 20,000 bikes a year. Obviously, to do that, they’re going to have to introduce new models.
Along with the EBR purchase announcement, Hero also announced other plans to expand production into Africa and South America. This is a company that’s very anxious to go global, as quick as they can
[…] rumblings about the business being in trouble. Furthermore, Indian motorcycle manufacturing giant Hero had purchased a huge chunk of the company a couple years ago, in an arrangement that saw EBR sending technology east to India in exchange for funding. […]
[…] For years, Hero had a tie with Honda, and used the Japanese manufacturer’s technology to dominate the Indian market. But that tie ended a couple years ago, and Hero instead announced a deal to somehow share tech info with Erik Buell Racing. They actually bought 49 per cent of EBR. […]
[…] since Erik Buell Racing signed a deal with Indian manufacturer Hero, everyone knew their co-operation was going to go beyond simply faxing a few blueprints back and […]
Maybe they can convince Mr. Buell to ditch the perimeter brake setup ? Just an idea…