| Author | Message | ||
     Hughlysses |
According to several news sources including Reuter's: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/01/hero-erb -idUSL3N0F714V20130701 Apparently EBR will work with them to sell Hero motorcycles in N America and Europe as well. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
so the same path as HD....nice | ||
| Trojan |
oh dear...I hope this one works out better. Apparently EBR will work with them to sell Hero motorcycles in N America and Europe as well. hero had better develop somehting better than their current range of cr*p before they try that. The Taliban may buy them by the truckload but a cheap Honda CG125 copy is hardly Euro sales material. (Message edited by trojan on July 01, 2013) | ||
| Hughlysses |
so the same path as HD....nice No, Erik still holds the controlling interest (50.8%) and I don't see him giving that up- ever. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
hugh - i wonder if anyone said the same thing before... | ||
| Hughlysses |
I just feel like Erik learned that lesson the VERY hard way with Harley and there is no way he's repeating previous mistakes. He's a smart guy. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Hugh - didnt he state that his lawyers advised against it and he still did it anyway? Yes, hes a dang genius, that we know. But sometimes people make bad decisions when money comes into play. And Hero has LOADS of money | ||
| Trojan |
I only hope that EBR improves the quality of the Hero product and that it doesn't go the other way  The last thing EBR needs to be plagued by is quality control issues. If it means EBR have the money to go into full production and are still operationally independant from Hero then it can opnly be good thing....I think. | ||
| Hughlysses |
More info in this article, including some quotes from Erik: http://www.jsonline.com/business/indias-hero-motor corp-takes-492-stake-in-erik-buell-racing-b9945389 z1-213842871.html | ||
| Bgbrd |
I'm sure Erik has learned from past experiences and this joint venture will be most successful. What this large investment from Hero hopefully means is that future EBRs will be affrodable to most of us , not just some. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"We won't be selling any more equity in the near future," Buell said." | ||
| Reepicheep |
The fact that Buell existed in the first place was nothing short of a miracle... it had a solid 25 year run, and was probably killed because of a blown deal by Harley to buy MV Agusta, not because of fundamentals with Buell. Buell wasn't making people rich, but I expect it was (at the point it was murdered) financially solid. All these people armchair quarterbacking about what kinds of deals were made and how people were stupid for making them... How many businesses have you built and had bought by major corporations like Harley Davidson or Hero Motorcorp? Tell us what kind of deal you were able to stick those guys with *after* you made one. Geesh. Hero has knowledge of the industry, and some incredible experience with volume production. They also have a lot of cash. They recognized talent and potential with EBR, and invested. EBR, from what we can tell, still maintains controlling interest. And most importantly, EBR survives another day to take another breath during one of the worst motorcycle industry crashes of the century. | ||
| Coxster |
a link to the cyril huze blog piece. http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2013/07/01/breaking-news- erik-buell-sells-49-2-of-erik-buell-racing-inc-for -25-million/ I hope to see the Hero line expand EBR's influence in North America | ||
| Blake |
Bill, loads of defaulted loans at HD Financial is what threatened to sink HDI. MV was nothing in comparison. It was then the excuse used by the Buell haters/antagonists/saboteurs at HDMC to achieve their desired vendetta against BMC. I don't see the same type of arrogant intentional mismanagement/sabotage arising within Hero. With the fantastic new Indian motorcycles coming out, Harley is fixin' to lose a massive chunk of market share. Backwards thinking businesses don't prosper for long. | ||
| M2typhoon |
I read this and instantly got a little sick but, now that I think about it, it's a good thing for everyone. Hero becomes a US supplier (hopefully with better equipment than what is available now) and EBR gets what it needs to become a real mass quantity motorcycle manufacturer again. I just hope that Hero can propel EBR to new heights like WSBK or something like that. EBR already has an India fan club which it may have never been exposed to before and the 20 million that Hero bought that 49.2% for is a drop in the bucket for them. | ||
| Steveford |
Not to derail this thread but HarLee made a big production about taking on the market in India. How did that work out? Has anyone been keeping an eye on that? Ironic, isn't it, H-D tries to take over India, Hero buys into Buell... | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
thats what irony is? | ||
| Steveford |
Getting the answer wasn't too difficult: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012- 05-11/news/31669270_1_harley-davidson-india-anoop- prakash-harley-davidson-motor I'm looking forward to the new EBRs! | ||
| Sir_wadsalot |
40% of sales outside the US by 2014? How long do they expect 50's nostalgia and your grandfather to keep them in business in countries where they have no nostalgia? | ||
| Clutchreaper |
People overseas LOVE Hardleys. They think they are the epitome of motorcycles and want to ride them while wearing leather hats, tassels, and chains. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
yeah HD is big world wide including asian cultures that really love it. There was a thread here recently of a huge Chinese HOG rally, for example besides, people like retro stuff (look at current muscle cars), HD makes a quality product, so its going to sell | ||
| Xb1125r |
the chopper has a good marketing engine with movies. guys who ride choppers are either old or cool, bullies etc. but movies with sportbikes always make the characters young and irresponsible and then they crash,lol. picture this which i did. on a long highway turn. abotu 20 HD rednecks cruising at top speed of 65 with their confederate flags, out of nowhere a buell on their left passes them leaning at 150. rednecks speachless not knowing what just happened,lol | ||
| Advoutlander |
A fine selection of terrible looking motorcycles. http://www.heromotocorp.com/en-in/two-wheeler-moto rcycles | ||
| Glitch |
LMAO "LIVE OFF THE EDGE!" | ||
| Reepicheep |
Horses for courses. If I was overseas, or had a beach house, I'd pick up one of those cheap Hero's in a heartbeat for local running around. | ||
| Ulyranger |
"A fine selection of terrible looking motorcycles. " Oh, I don't know about that. That little Impulse looks decent, the Ignitor not bad either. We have a serious lack of good sub-500 cc DS/Adv bikes in America. I personally would like to see more choices in this category..... | ||
| Patches |
http://www.clevelandcyclewerks.com/   | ||
| Xb1125r |
this bikes remind me of the orange bikes guys show. all they do is see parts in the catalog, have the idea of what a bike is supposed to lok like and then place parts on it. you need a designer, someone that knows design. this why the italians are so good at it. they actually understand design. this is why ducati is so succesfull. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I liked them. Kinda like the KZ-400 cafe bike I am trying to build, but with a lot less work. | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Agreed Bill. It was a lot of work, changing the frame, adding all street accessories and getting it passed for inspection on my Suzuki DR500 Victor. (pictured below) Love the smaller bikes for all the fun they are. Much easier to just buy something nice.  |
