EBR production resumes

4th March 2016

Erik Buell Racing | Liquid Assets Partners | 2016

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Someone up there must really like this firm. Or maybe it's got more to do with Erik Buell's tenacity, talent and vision, because after a long period in a financial black hole, the company is set to resume the manufacture of bikes. The new owner of EBR (Erik Buell Racing) is Michigan-based Liquid Asset Partners which paid $2 million for the Buell rights and assets. It was feared that the company would be stripped and trashed. But apparently, that's not going to happen. Not yet, anyway.

Instead, two models (the 1190RX and 1190SX) are to be built in limited numbers while Liquid Asset Partners looks to re-establish a US dealer network. Investors in the new company are now being sought.

It would be nice to think that there really is a future for EBR. But you have to remember that Harley-Davidson owned the brand for over a decade and couldn't get it off its books fast enough. True, H-D had various financial issues and intrigues of its own that needed urgent addressing. Nevertheless, the Buell Motorcycle Company (as it was known under Harley-Davidson's control) was not in direct conflict with H-D's core product, and it was a very useful way of bringing new blood into the Harley showrooms.

Then there were other potential buyers on the immediate horizon including Polaris Industries which owns Victory and Indian. Polaris has very deep pockets, and it's hungry for a larger share of the US bike market. But there wasn't any obvious indication that Polaris was interested in buying Buell which it could have got for pocket fluff.

Let's hope that Erik Buell gets the long term stability and financial underpinning needed to keep his flame burning. The new motorcycles are expected to be ready by mid-March 2016.

More on Erik Buell Racing (17th January 2016)

And even more on Erik Buell Racing (April 2015)

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