According to an announcement sent out today, Erik Buell Racing will be closing its doors again.
The press release says EBR “will begin a wind down of production operations commencing next week. EBR will continue to honor warranties and provide technical and parts support to current dealers and riders who bought motorcycles manufactured by EBR. EBR will continue to review strategic alternatives with interested investors regarding production operations.”
It goes on to say “A sale of production equipment and excess parts will start in March,” which makes us wonder how EBR will continue to honour warranties.
Erik Buell Racing opened for business in 2009, rising from the ashes of the Buell Motorcycle Company. Both companies were founded by Erik Buell; the first company was shut down when majority owner Harley-Davidson decided to cut the brand loose. The original company was founded in 1983, and from its infancy enjoyed a close relationship with the MoCo, building its motorcycles around repurposed Harley-Davidson engines. Although they’re hardly a fixture on Canadian roads, 100,000 motorcycles were sold under the original Buell brand.
When Erik Buell and Harley-Davidson parted ways, he then founded Erik Buell Racing, with an emphasis on performance sport bikes. The machines looked mean, maybe the first made-in-America machines designed from the ground up to be superbikes. However, the bikes lacked features now common on current-production superbikes, such as traction control, leaning ABS, and other similar electronic aids, and the bikes also commanded a high price. But with a high-profile deal signed with Indian manufacturer Hero, supposedly bringing in millions in capital, it looked as if EBR was headed in the right direction.
In April, 2015, the opposite turned out to be true, as EBR went into receivership. After months of rumours, the company went through three auctions before being sold to Liquid Asset Partners, who claimed to be interested in getting back in business. EBR even announced a new model this fall. But none of that was enough to keep EBR in the game.
Let it die once and for all. Wasted space and words on bikes with little or not enough appeal in the market place to keep it afloat yet again. The Dream is OVER Eric – move on . . .
Couldn’t have said it any better.
Famous last words – http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/buell/the-man-who-bought-buell-bruce-belfer.html
He is a talented individual, but no one person can defeat the mega corporations. Add to that the endless certification bureauocracy.
In fact, leaving the HD corp was career suicide, like Wayne Rodgers leaving MASH.
Um, HD cut him loose.
Which is why company men care about only one thing: backside coverage.
How many Buells did you buy?
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, ain’t gonna be fooled again!” George W Bush.
Alrighty then, can we FINALLY put an end to your fanatical coverage of this, as witnessed, fly-by-night company?
do…not…care…
Why would anyone think a group called “Liquid Asset Partners” was in it for the long haul? Sounds like they just wanted to sell the remaining inventory off without people knowing the company wouldn’t be around for product support.
I hope Eric lands somewhere solid after this.
“Liquid Asset Partners” is not a name that inspires confidence.
It’s too bad, because there was hope for this company if the right moves had been made at the right time.
The “right moves” would have involved abandoning the unconventional and dubious ideas like the huge brake disk and fuel in frame.
Eric fell into the usual trap of falling in love with his ideas to the point of being unwilling to move beyond.
As for him landing on something solid, I hope this makes him realize that his best approach is to become a boutique brand, like Confederate and so many others. Build exotic, high end objects d’art and abandon the foolish pursuit of becoming a mainstream brand.