Bubba Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 http://www.jsonline.com/business/erik-buell-racing-closes-files-for-receivership-b99481936z1-299863281.html Damn shame. Last article I read was very positive about the future of the brand. 2nd time an orphan…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 i thought the Hero partnership was going to bring great things for them, but I've never seen one on the street. You have to sell bikes to make money. Damn shame though. Seems like they didn't see it coming either, because a lot of riders and employees were active last weekend... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 .....does this mean similar firesale as last time when i bought my CR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.504 Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 .....does this mean similar firesale as last time when i bought my CR?I wouldn't mind scooping an RX. I love the SX, but I would rather have a full faired bike at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Damn. That sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pokey Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 MOTUS is likely gonna die soon as well.....shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max power Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Is Larry Pegram without a ride then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DAIVI PAI2K5 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 No one wants to buy a Buell at Harley prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bark615 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Is Larry Pegram without a ride then? I am pretty sure that Larry Pegram and Niccolò Canepa are without a ride... The race team website has been taken down already... http://www.erikbuellracing.com/race-team/ Not FoundThe requested URL /race-team/ was not found on this server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Is Larry Pegram without a ride then? Pegram was also the "team manager" or something to that effect. I'm curious to know who actually owned those bikes, EBR the company, or Hero as the sponsor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DAIVI PAI2K5 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Nobody wants to buy a Ducati-priced bike with no dealer support.That to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 That blows. I always thought of them like the Shelby of motorcycles. Not sure how much of the business or how much of the design either Erik or Carroll did.Hope no small suppliers fall in the domino pile as big banks seem to wrangle legal preferred creditor status.It's sad how much marketing plays over product quality these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DAIVI PAI2K5 Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 Saw that EBR/Hero will still be racing in WSBK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heagachongoose Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 The race team is still being funded. Hero cough cough. There is much more going on here. Most likely a hostile business move by hero to score ebr for pennies. Getting their foot in the US in grand fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschoolsdime92 Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 The race team is still being funded. Hero cough cough. There is much more going on here. Most likely a hostile business move by hero to score ebr for pennies. Getting their foot in the US in grand fashion.I hadn't even thought of this. Id be willing to bet your correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swingset Posted April 20, 2015 Report Share Posted April 20, 2015 I hated to be right, but I called this one as soon as they started releasing pricing. I hope Erik finds a way to find a success in this business, but exotic pricing in performance bikes is an uphill battle, and he doesn't carry the panache or world-wide name recognition of Ducati. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodninja420 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 It takes courage to start an automotive company from scratch. And by all accounts they turned out a good product. The guy has my respect.Nothing about the story makes any business sense to me though. I read today EBR had over 120 employees, which would be about a $10M per year burn rate. And they lead with a product in a shrinking and highly competitive segment. Did I mention the EBR bike is inferior to its competetion, priced higher, ugly, and has no dealer network? For Hero their initial investment had to be a pure play on the intellectual property. But you'd think they could have achieved that for less than $25 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Nothing about the story makes any business sense to me though. I read today EBR had over 120 employees, which would be about a $10M per year burn rate. And they lead with a product in a shrinking and highly competitive segment. Did I mention the EBR bike is inferior to its competetion, priced higher, ugly, and has no dealer network? I agree that their motorcycles made zero business sense. They appealed to a tiny niche market that is already full of some stiff competition. I've loosely followed EB since I bought my first of 3 Buells in 2004. He is a prolific engineer, but not what I would call a shrewd business man. EBR has no business racing in WSBK. While they seem to be fine street bikes, they're just not competitive at that level of racing. The motors are way down on power and if they actually finish a race it's in or near last place. The number of grenaded motors (over stressed by race teams), DNFs, and DNSs (due to parts not being available to race teams) was absurd. It was a comedy of errors. The race efforts have damaged their reputation in Europe. While the Pegram team seems to be better managed, are they only a few crashes away from being out of parts? EBR racked up debt they could not pay themselves. They were relying on additional funding to keep the doors open, presumably from Hero. Apparently that funding was not contractually guaranteed, which is a reckless way to run a business. Business acumen should dictate that you do everything in your power to prevent yourself from getting into a situation from which the "rug can be pulled" with disastrous results. A lesson I thought was made painfully clear by Harley Davidson in 2009. EB is certainly no quitter. I expect some form of business to rise out of EBRs ashes. But his engineering determination needs to be tempered by some sound business decisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I agree that their business model (or their apparent business model) doesn't seem to make sense, but we're not privy to their actual inner workings. The Hero partnership made sense, and then I didn't see anything come from it in the US market... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 EBR was involved in engineering and design for several Hero models: HX250R, Leap, SimplEcity, iON, RnT, Hastur, etc. It's likely that engineering contract with Hero was completed and was not renewed, which led to the closure. I believe Hero was targeting 2014 to enter the US market, which obviously didn't happen. I recently read that was pushed back to 2016. If EBR was operating that close to financial ruin, dedicating engineering and financial resources to the WSBK effort makes even less sense. A EBR few dealers posted on Badweb saying they found out about the closure on the internet. As of a couple days ago they still hadn't received any communication from EBR. No direction on what to do with existing inventory, or if the business would continue. Some even had motorcycles, but never received any titles or documentation for them. Piss poor communication The fire sale has already started. One dealer was already selling new ones for $9,999 and demos for $8,999. I expect the prices to drop further unless a new owner is announced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkow97 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 I think it's a "sit tight" situation. A receiver could still purchase the business and re-open. It's more likely that they'll liquidate assets, but stranger things have happened. PIRC was in receivership from 2008 through 2013(?), and now look at the place - they've added more garages, more bathrooms, and cleared the way for the South track to be paved this spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted July 26, 2015 Report Share Posted July 26, 2015 Hero did buy the auctioned remains of EBR 7/21http://www.therideadvice.com/reports-ebr-has-been-bought-by-hero-motor-corp/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DAIVI PAI2K5 Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 surprise surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpoppa Posted July 27, 2015 Report Share Posted July 27, 2015 Some "insiders" on the Buell boards are claiming this story is false. Whoever the buyer is, they will have a tough road getting dealers and riders to trust the brand again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motocat12 Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 another story today with the price for "certain assets" by hero at 2.8 million http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hero-motocorp-to-buy-assets-of-bankrupt-us-company-115072800518_1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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