| Author | Message | ||
     Easyrider |
New owner of Erik Buell Racing says the firm could make a comeback http://www.twinmotorcycles.nl/artikelen.asp?cid=12 &aid=818 | ||
| Jaimec |
There is still some hope. | ||
| Buelliedan |
My feeling is if there was someone who really wanted to, and had the means to bring EBR back, they would have been bidding yesterday (Message edited by buelliedan on January 14, 2016) (Message edited by buelliedan on January 14, 2016) | ||
| Rick_fears |
"Liquid Asset Partners will be seeking investors, or a buyer, for Erik Buell Racing." "Their (EBR) bikes, out of the box, can go head-to-head with the top Italian race bikes. Our sale process will enable the proper exposure of the company and price flexibility that may better fit a new owner," "The next step for Buell could involve crowd-funding, a private investor or another motorcycle manufacturer. Melvin said he hopes that company founder Erik Buell and the rest of the Buell management team will remain part of the process." "Our hope is that someone will continue to make these amazing motorcycles," Melvin said This is a good thing. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
all hail Melvin? lol | ||
| Kls |
Let's hope they're successful, but I'm doubtful. They're liquidators--the first thing liquidators always do is to look for someone else to take over. When that's not successful, they liquidate. If Bruce (who's been paying EBR employees out of his pocket) walked away, who will pay more? | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
What EBR employees has he been paying Kls? | ||
| Lake_bueller |
Here's my take....nobody except Bruce wanted the whole enchilada. And in some ways, that makes sense. Why would BRP/Victory/etc want to purchase manufacturing equipment? But the IP may be of great interest to them. Liquid Asset Partners may already have interested parties. They "liquidate" the equipment and sell off the IP to a manufacturing company. | ||
| Court |
What ...... If collectively driven by convention and mental momentum ...... We were not even the ballpark with regards the where the various parties are headed. We know ..... With certainty..... That past business models are unsustainable. | ||
| Ljm |
It is difficult to imagine that Erik wouldn't want to keep creating bikes. Whatever your age (and I can say that because I am in the ballpark) just going out to pasture is not going to work if you have been working all your life. That being said, a small, grassroots approach that is sustainable seems like the ticket... | ||
| Kls |
Hybridmomentspass: What EBR employees has he been paying Kls? One of the published articles from November said it was 8 or 9 of the former employees. Court: That past business models are unsustainable. Hmmm. Internet orders only...shipped by Amazon? Kevin | ||
| Rex |
Victory and Indian are flirting with sports bikes, sports touring, but they are still cruisers. Would be cool, if they brought Erik on to advise and help them with a true sports touring standard bike. | ||
| Rick_fears |
I'm actually more excited about the recent transaction than I ever was during the receivership. LAP is the same company that revived Indian. Look at Indian now. I'm not saying that WILL happen. But it's a possibility. After doing some research on LAP, they have some serious connections, if they pull the right strings in the right places they could get things going again. Also now that the receivership is over, Buell can get back in the game and can interact freely. Imo EBR is better off being absorbed by a separate established company and letting the EBR name and the current stigma and tension fade through the transfer. That being said, what's left in the factory will probably be liquidated and this will be the last of EBR in this form. But that's a good thing. Gives easy cheap access to factory assets for the current owners. Rids EBR of the public scrutiny (most of it) all in one swoop allowing the IP to carry on in another form. .02. | ||
| Pmjolly |
Press release just issued by Liquid Asset Partners http://www.liquidap.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01 /Press-Release-01.15.16-Final.pdf | ||
| Steveford |
Little bit of hyperbole in that press release but I guess it's a sales pitch so that's to be expected. The fat lady has returned to the all u can eat dessert table. | ||
| Buelliedan |
My worry is that if there really was someone who wanted to re-start EBR then I think they would have been at the auction this week. 2 million is chump change if you are serious about doing it and it would be a bargain even at 4 million. | ||
| Buellerxt |
I'm reading on Indian Motorcycle forums that this Bill Melvin is the same Bill Melvin who bought Indian Motorcycle in Gilroy, Calif. back in 2001/2002ish time frame when they had financial troubles, said he was going to make it a going concern again, and liquidated it. Hey, he's a liquidator. He DID NOT revive Indian. My bet, and I'm not a betting man, is that EBR is dead and the game is over. As Dan has said, if someone with the wherewithal was interested, they would have been there. (Message edited by BuellerXT on January 15, 2016) | ||
| Buelliedan |
They have already said they have no interest in them being the ones to revive it but if someone comes along with the right amount of money who wants to buy it to start it up again then they will sell it. Simple economics IMO. | ||
| Snacktoast |
I'm reading on Indian Motorcycle forums that this Bill Melvin is the same Bill Melvin who bought Indian Motorcycle in Gilroy, Calif. back in 2001/2002ish time frame when they had financial troubles, said he was going to make it a going concern again, and liquidated it. Hey, he's a liquidator. He DID NOT revive Indian. I'm not sure your take on that situation is entirely correct. While I don't know exact specifics, they likely seperated the assets of "Gilroy Indian" from the I.P. and the name and liquidated the remaining inventory, tooling, etc. They eventually sold the name to someone, otherwise Indian would not be currently thriving in Polaris' hands, which is most certainly is doing. They have had significant growth in the last 2 years. | ||
| Buellerxt |
They definitely sold the name, Snacktoast, as they liquidated the company. It was bought by a firm, Stellican, or some such name, a buy/develop/ and sell firm, and they resurrected it in the 2006ish time frame. That company was having a lot of financial problems after 2-3 years in trying to sell their $35-40,000 bikes and Polaris stepped in and bought them out in 2011. Polaris Indian launched with their bikes, bikes designed and built from scratch, at Sturgis in 2013. I was there at the launch, test road one, and bought one. They are great bikes. As I wrote above though, Indian Gilroy was liquidated by Melvin. Unless someone comes along who wants to buy EBR from Melvin, a someone who has already had several opportunities so don't hold your breath, it will be liquidated. And remember, the EBR name, unknown even to most motorcyclists, isn't a tiny shadow of the Indian brand. The odds are Long. | ||
| Panshovevo |
Well, I tried... I sent my take on Erik Buell's motorcycles and what I thought it might take to make it succeed to a former customer I know who has the wherewithal to make a fantasy into a reality. Unfortunately, he has no interest in motorcycles...we share common interests in guns, airplanes, and high performance cars, but his interests do not extend to motorcycles, unfortunately. I'm going through my former customer list to see who might be a possibility...not ruling out all of them yet. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
KLS: "One of the published articles from November said it was 8 or 9 of the former employees. " Link to this? I mean, Im just curious how he was paying these former employees and what for. Remember, he NEVER had the company (though he said he had acquired it for several weeks) Hell, lets say he did pay some former employees, order payroll checks, fix the phones etc etc etc.........well he's a fool then for spending the money on a company he didnt own. Money that could have went to winning a bid (and being able to actually pay for it this time) and following through with the "never quit" BS that he put in each post. Never quit is about as good and "Fiercely Independent" | ||
| Reindog |
Wow Hybrid, Your sarcasm sprinkled with near constant negativity speaks louder than anything you might be trying to say. Damn, everyone is sad, really sad right now, but c'mon. Bruce is a square guy and took action where the rest of us "action" men simply pound on a keyboard (with exception of others like Buellidan who too believed in the possibilities). I should probably not post this because it looks like I am disrespecting or putting you down. I am not. | ||
| Fmaxwell |
This is not good. Liquid Asset told the receiver what he needed to hear in order to approve the sale. Now Liquid Asset will pretend to be seeking out investors for just long enough to say that they tried. Then they will auction off the assets. Sorry for being a pessimist, but I just can't see this turning out well. Customers were not lining up to buy EBR bikes when they were new -- and now the bikes are three year old designs. That's fine if you're selling cruisers, but it's an eternity for a Superbike that had fewer WSBK points than DNFs. EBR dealers and suppliers got shafted by the bankruptcy and would be unlikely to sign up again. I realize that no one, least of all Erik Buell, wanted that to happen, but it did happen. EBR's top talent has probably been snapped up by other firms all over the country. With many of them having been through two shutdowns (Buell and then EBR), few would be likely to move back to Wisconsin to try again. Outside of the BWB bubble, no one cares about whether an EBR holds the track record at a track that hosts nothing but amateur track days and novice schools. They don't care that an EBR won races in an Asian racing series they never heard of. No disrespect meant to the riders and teams, but anything beyond AMA and World SuperBike is pretty much background noise to most motorcycle consumers. Liquid Asset Partners is a liquidator. I can find no evidence that they have ever partnered with anyone to revive any business whose assets they bought at auction. Ever. They sell the physical property, patents, and trademarks and then move on. Hoping for them to revive EBR is like hoping that a vulture circling over a dying man will fly away to summon help. I love my 1125CR and my XB12Ss and I plan to ride them until I'm too old to swing a leg over the saddles. I still think that Erik Buell is probably the most talented engineer in the motorcycle industry today. But I'm not a faith-based motorcyclist and the reality of the situation is pretty bleak. I sincerely hope that my pessimism proves totally unfounded and that EBR rises from the ashes to become a major competitor in the industry. But that's not how I would bet. | ||
| Steveford |
Thank you, Reindog. These are strange times for the enthusiasts on this board. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
Rein - Im not offended by your post, I appreciate your honesty. Steveford - It is totally possible to be an enthusiast and a realist when it comes to these things. Here is how I see it, and please correct me if I am wrong (anyone): Belfer comes onto the scene out of nowhere, he makes the high bid on EBR and talks real big. People are wow'd by his enthusiasm, myself included, but soon it gets pretty dang quiet. He posts about how in the past 8-9 weeks since he acquired EBR he has been really busy doing this and that...then it comes out that there will be a second auction. We dont understand, what could have went wrong? Oh, the horrible HERO swooped in and took a bunch of stuff and that caused Bruce not to be able to buy it. But wait, he already acquired it and was working on stuff, right? Then the press starts saying that he couldnt raise the funds to complete the deal. Hmmm, so was THAT the real reason that he didnt get it the first time? Or was it that HERO screwed him (which, posted on a board like this will only get people, mostly, behind him more, a common 'enemy' is after him now)? Ok, so it goes to Auction #2. LAP gets it. He says that he was high bidder until they came in at the end and won it. Ok. But then the same press (WI business journals and the like) say that there was only one bid for the company. How can there only be one bid if he bid and then was outbid by LAP? Thats odd, right? Then all this talk about 'never quit' and we're being told about all the great things BB is/has done for EBR and he doesnt even try to beat the LAP auction, instead leaving it up to the court to decide. Ultimately the court, for whatever reason, chose LAP. Please, prove me wrong, tell me where my information is not correct. I care more about knowing the truth than letting my 'ego' (I am not an egotistical man) get in the way and making me angry if someone tries/does prove me wrong. I only care about the facts. I can provide some various links to say that he couldnt pay the first time, that only one bidder in the 2nd, and that he did say that he had acquired the company and was pumping a bunch of money into it. Are my sources 100% I can't say for sure. But nowhere else does it say differently than the 'never quit' guy. | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
Looks to me like the fat lady sang. Liquidator = chop shop. Those 1190'S just got cheaper. | ||
| Bruce_belfer |
Spectators have been shit-talking gladiators from the safety of the stands for thousands of years... Social media just lets them do it in their underwear with a bowl of chips. No news there. For the record, I had the funds and financing to close at the first auction. The HERO "claims period" was never disclosed to me until the hearing, where I argued it down from unlimited to 60 days. Once the balance sheet was compromised, my lender refused to close. That left me having to keep the company viable while I replaced the primary lender. You can Monday morning quarterback this all you like, but consider this: -the other bidders were all liquidators. All of them. -I'm not the only one who sought replacement financing during the receivership. -acquisition funding is a small percentage of the required capitalization. Acquiring EBR without a short path to capitalization is a straight road back to receivership. -a business like this cannot be "bootstrapped" -I came to that final auction with half a million more that LAP bid previously. The bid increment was 75K. So rather than concede, I matched and put the issue before the Court. Some of you seem to think that the country is crawling with investors dying to put their money into manufacturing. You are sadly mistaken. Feel free to ask Erik himself. I have put my money where my mouth is throughout this endeavor, and spent 9 months pushing this rock up the hill. Those of you who have supported me in that effort have my sincere gratitude. Those who think they know better are invited to come down from the stands and onto the playing field. Bruce | ||
| Malott442 |
The last sentence is 100% Bruce, the Bruce I love to hear. Truth be told, I'm surprised you give the idiots the satisfaction of responding to them. 95% of us were behind your efforts, and had faith you would succeed, or go down in glorious flames.... Either way, you were a great source of energy throughout the last 9 months. That all being said, what is LAP going to ask for the whole lot? Are you going to discuss options with Melvin? There are a bunch of us wondering!! Matt | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Bruce Belfer as with Malott442, been just watching all this unfold for quite a while and you have my utmost respect for what you have tried in resurrecting EBR, thanks much and wondering; IF, in fact the liquidator IS looking for an investor, would you be interested in acquiring EBR assets from them? Could that be at all feasible? |
