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The Foolishness of Resurrecting Buell Motorcycles

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The news that the Buell Motorcycles name would return from the shadows of the motorcycle industry has certainly stirred the two-wheel world . The American brand was not without its rabid fans, but it garnered plenty of detractors as well over the course of its history, and through its various incarnations.

Never quite at home inside the Harley-Davidson family, the Buell Motorcycle Company was shuttered in October 2009. Not one to quit though, Erik Buell continued the company’s ideals in another self-branded endeavor: Erik Buell Racing.

This startup would be short-lived though, bringing only two models to market, in its roughly five-year run. Despite being unshackled from Harley-Davidson, EBR foundered in the marketplace, and floundered on the race track.

At the conclusion of both of these separate ventures, there was Liquid Asset Partners – a Michigan-based company that makes its business from buying the assets of bankrupt companies and flipping them to buyers for a profit.

But for Bill Melvin (the CEO of LAP), the motorcycle brands of Buell and EBR were not business as usual.

At the end of EBR’s road under Erik Buell’s management, LAP continued its operations, albeit in a very limited manner, assembling motorcycles from the plethora of parts LAP had acquired in the bankruptcy proceedings, and selling them to EBR’s remaining enthusiastic customers.

When the chance came to buy the Buell name from Harley-Davidson, LAP didn’t hesitate. The two estranged motorcycle companies of Erik Buell could now merge under one roof, and Buell Motorcycles was born again.

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News

Buell Motorcycles Back In Business – 10 New Models by 2024

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Do not adjust your computer monitors. Don’t worry about the date, this is not an April Fools joke. What you are seeing is real. Buell is back.

The Buell Motorcycles name is returning back to business, as Erik Buell Racing has acquired the name from Harley-Davidson, and plans to relaunch its motorcycle business under the moniker.

With that news, Buell Motorcycles has big plans, as the American company hopes to release 10 motorcycles by the 2024 model year.

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News

EBR Motorcycles on the Chopping Block, Yet Again

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EBR Motorcycles is set for another go at this liquidation thing, with its owners Liquid Asset Partners having put the company and its assets on the auctioning block once again.

Loyal readers will remember that Liquid Asset Partners bought Erik Buell Racing last year, with public plans to restart the brand. That activity never really moved beyond assembling a few motorcycles that were still languishing on the production line, while LAP looked for other investors in the company.

Now confirming what we long expected to be the final outcome, Liquid Asset Partners is chopping up EBR Motorcycles once again – looking to sell the brand’s remaining assets, including the brand itself.

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A&R Pro

Caution: Radioactive Material

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The warning label for radioactive substances (technically, the warning label for ionizing radiation) was born in 1946, at the UC Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, and the now iconic symbol began life a bit different from how we know it today, originally colored with a very hip magenta “trefoil” on a blue background.

The shape of the three-bladed trefoil is quite specific and purposeful – drawn with a central circle of radius R, an internal radius of 1.5R, and an external radius of 5R for the blades, which are separated from each other by 60° of empty space.

It’s shape is tightly defined because it is to noticeably and clearly warn you against the dangers of ionizing radiation, which at their very worst would cook you instantly like an egg, or in less worse conditions, still potentially cause life-changing mutations to your cells and DNA.

The yellow and black trefoil is supposed to be a literal warning (the IAEA and ISO adopted this new coloring in 2007) of course, but labeling something radioactive carries with it a metaphorical weight as well. And, it too demands a cautious interaction from the user.

In the motorcycle industry, we have our fair share of radioactive elements, though few come with a warning label. On Episode 45 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast, you may have heard me refer to a motorcycle company as being radioactive. I thought it was worth spending some words on what that means in that context.

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News

EBR Motorcycles Shutting Down, Yet Again

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EBR Motorcycles is closing its doors…again. Yes, you heard that right. America’s superbike brand will be winding down its production operations, starting next week, and is looking for a strategic investor to takeover the brand.

Liquid Asset Partners (LAP) attributes its decision to shutdown EBR Motorcycles to the company’s difficulty to secure new dealerships, and thus increase sales. As a result, LAP says that its production volume for 2016 and 2017 was below expectations.

The company then finishes its explanation for closing EBR Motorcycles with the following line: “the combination of slow sales and industry announcements of other major OEM brands closing or cutting production only magnified the challenges faced by EBR.”

Whether you believe that line of reasoning or not, the result is the same, Erik Buell’s motorcycle brand once again has a dim future.

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Bikes

EBR’s “Black Lightning” Is A Lowered 1190SX Street Bike

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In September of this year, EBR Motorcycles let it be known that the American brand was working on new models for the 2017 model year, in addition to a sub-$10,000 platform that would be available in 2018.

Teasing that we would see something “quick, dark, and low” by the year’s end, we subsequently saw EBR trademark the name “Black Lightning” for use as a new motorcycle model. This certainly got our imaginations turning, wondering what the folks in East Troy had up their sleeves.

Unfortunately, it would seem we alone had our imaginations at work, since EBR Motorcycles has given us a glimpse of its Black Lightning project today, which shows a true lack of inspiration, as it turns out to be an all-black EBR 1190SX that sits about an inch lower than before.

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Bikes

Erik Buell Racing Working on New Bikes for 2017 & Sub-$10,000 Platform for 2018

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After the American company’s drawn out receivership proceedings, Erik Buell Racing seems like the brand everyone has forgotten about. Posting a press release to its Facebook page today though, EBR says it has some interesting projects in the works.

To unveil for the 2017 model year, EBR is teasing an urban street bike that is “quick, dark, and low”; meanwhile for the 2018 model year, EBR says it will debut a sub-$10,000 motorcycle platform.

There also seems to be some movement on the 1190 platform, presumably with model updates to the RX and SX sport bikes, and the 1190AX adventure bike could finally be coming to market.

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Bikes

Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 20 – Fans or Fanatics?

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Episode 20 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast builds off the previous episode, which covered in-depth the mythos that surrounds Erik Buell, Buell Motorcycles, and Erik Buell Racing. Exploring the differences between fans and fanatics, as they exist in the motorcycling realm, we move from Buell, to other manufacturers with cult followings, before finally landing on MotoGP.

Fresh from the MotoGP round in Austin, we talk about the rise of Rossi fans as a tyrannical force in Grand Prix racing, and how that has permeated through the paddock in various forms. Naturally, a few rabbit holes of side-discussion occur along the way, per usual.

Before all that though, we talk about the Motus Motorcycles project, as I rode the American-built MST and MSTR sport-tourers while in Texas. A very unique motorcycle, the true American machine is a good segue into the topic at hand. We think you will enjoy it.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Podcast

Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 19 – Debunking Buell

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First of all, apologies for how long it has taken us to get this episode of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast out to you. There are a few reasons why this particular show took so long to get out on the feed, but the biggest reason is that I have been slowly working through a massive backlog of stories. So, apologies for that.

That being said, Quentin and I are very stoked to bring you our third attempt at tackling the Buell/EBR story on the podcast. As such, Episode 19 covers Buell’s divestiture from Harley-Davidson, Erik Buell Racing’s launch from those ashes, and EBR’s very convoluted and complicated receivership process.

We also talk at great length about Quentin’s experience with the racing side of Buell and EBR, as well as my familiarity with EBR’s business operations and products. Whether your a fan of Erik Buell or not, we think you will find the show very interesting.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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EBR Slashes Prices on 2016 models, But Is It Enough?

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When Erik Buell Racing shutdown last year, the American sport bike manufacturer had bikes sitting on its assembly line, waiting to be completed and shipped to dealers. This was a point of fact that Erik Buell touted when EBR went into receivership, as a way of showing how easily EBR could restart its business quickly.

This statement of course failed to take into account that dealers were struggling to sell the bikes they already had on their showroom floors, and few (if any) were interested in receiving more units from Erik Buell Racing.

Part of the reason EBR had such a hard time selling motorcycles was because of the pricing on the EBR 1190RS, EBR 1190RX, and EBR 1190SX – all of which were priced against European models that had more features, technology, and craftsmanship.

Now under the ownership of Liquid Asset Partners (LAP), Erik Buell Racing is again selling its machines for the 2016 model year, though now the company has adopted more reasonable prices. As such, the 2016 EBR 1190SX and EBR 1190RX will cost $12,995 and $13,995, respectively.

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Erik Buell Racing Resumes Production in East Troy

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Erik Buell Racing resumed production today, with the first motorcycles from the East Troy, Wisconsin factory set to roll off the assembly line on March 17th.

Owner Liquid Asset Partners is touting that the new company – EBR Motorcycles, LLC – has a new multi-year plan, as well as financial stability, and it will begin courting dealerships to carry its line of American sport bikes.

For now though, production in East Troy is limited to the EBR 1190RX and EBR 1190SX models, picking up where Erik Buell Racing left off in the receivership process, presumably finishing the models that were left in mid-production when EBR closed its doors.

The announcement seems more symbolic than anything, as it is not clear where these newly produced EBR motorcycles will actually be going once they roll-off the assembly line. This is because EBR’s dealership network is virtually non-existent at this point in time and past EBR dealers are still trying to clear motorcycles from their showroom floors.

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