Erik Buell Racing restarts motorcycle production

If you were one of the hordes of enthusiasts, like us, who have been mourning the untimely demise of Erik Buell Racing, we’ve got some good news for you. The American company, now under the new ownership of Liquid Asset Partners, have resumed motorcycle production at its Winsconsin plant. The first models to roll off the production line this month are the 1190RX and 1190SX sportsbikes, of which the first units are expected to drop as early as 17^th March.

LAP has also named managers, including Steve Smith, a former automotive industry engineer, as president and Erik Buell himself as chief technical officer. The company has about a dozen employees now, compared with 170 at its peak.

Erik Buell Racing is the sequel to Buell Motorcycle Co. that Harley-Davidson owned for more than a decade before the Milwaukee-based cruiser manufacturer dropped the brand in 2009 in the wake of heavy losses. Indian two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp then acquired a 49.2% stake in EBR in 2013 for USD 25 million, and enlisted the American company in the development of Hero’s upcoming high-capacity motorcycles.

The first fruits of the partnership were displayed at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo in the form of the Hero Hastur and the Hero HX250R fully-faired supersports bike. Now, more than two years later, neither model has made it onto showroom floors. The deal fell through when EBR declared bankruptcy. Hero MotoCorp, however, did acquire certain technical assets as part of the deal and is now judiciously using it in setting up its own R&D centre in India.

The 1190RX and 1190SX are models that have already been developed before Erik Buell declared bankruptcy and shuttered its doors. Hence, many units are already in the factory in a half-assembled state, so it shouldn’t be too costly to get them up and running. So, LAP has scheduled an auction to sell machinery, tools and motorcycle parts that are not part of the current production. The auction will take place over 30 to 45 days, beginning March 18.

Even then, we are cautiously optimistic, as there still remains the question about Erik Buell Racing’s dealership network, clearly one of the big missing links between EBR and the customers. This network is now almost defunct, and those American dealerships that still have EBR bikes on the floor are trying their best to move them, even at huge discounted prices.