| Author | Message | ||
     Court |
>>>>I'm not working a day longer than I need to. That makes two of us . . . .I have the good fortune/luck to be doing something(s) I love and have the ability to pretty much come and go as I please between teaching, construction and consulting. I'm a heck of a lot less concerned with working than I was 5 years ago . . . I'm, doing it for fun now. >>>They had a bunch of spare body plastics stored inside ... Guess I should have asked for a spare set. I bet you'll have ZERO problem getting parts or body work . . . .let's be honest . . . there are 10X as many sets of body work in existence as there were bikes sold. | ||
| Steveford |
One thing sticks out - what was this anticipated funding supposed to be for and who was to supply it? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
If EBR is purchased by... say... BRP. I hope Erik takes on the roll that Willie G had/has at HD. From the outside looking in.. Willie had a pretty good gig. Going to events. Spreading the HD word and fanning the flames.  Preaching to the choir could be a LOT of fun... | ||
| 46champ |
So does anyone have an idea how many 1190's of all models were produced? I am sure one of the laid off workers would know. Maybe? There were 8941 1125's built I am sure not that many but there has to be a couple of thousand. | ||
| Patches |
(Message edited by patches on April 20, 2015) | ||
| D_adams |
Article dated 2012. "By Kathleen Gallagher of the Journal Sentinel Sept. 27, 2012" | ||
| Reepicheep |
Sept 2012 byline... | ||
| Court |
The number produced, shipped and sold are precisely known. | ||
| Buelliedan |
If all the folks who are now talking about what Erik should do next would have bought an EBR this past year, I doubt we would be having this conversation. | ||
| Midknyte |
Maybe. Maybe not. | ||
| Buelliedan |
If a company does not sell it's products said company will not stay in business for long unless the government bails them out.. That is a simple fact. | ||
| Chipper6 |
Heavy discount out at Sacramento... http://www.aspowersports.com/2014Erik-Buell-Racing 1190SX-inventory.htm?id=662924&used=1&vin=546BBAG2 7EE000168 | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
"If all the folks who are now talking about what Erik should do next would have bought an EBR this past year, I doubt we would be having this conversation." There are probably less than a hundred people in this thread - would 100 bikes really made that much of a difference between staying open and laying off over a hundred people? | ||
| Buelliedan |
100 more bikes sold could have made a big difference IMO. Probably not enough to "save" the company but who really knows what they needed to stay afloat. Its just really frustrating to have people second guessing EBR that themselves do not own an EBR. I have said my peace. (Message edited by buelliedan on April 20, 2015) | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I think you would be insane to buy an EBR now...if you intend on riding it. Maybe as a museum piece. At least, I won't be torn about not getting an EBR in a couple years. It will be a decision about European vs. Japanese. No real brand loyalty or emotion there (unlike EBR)--just give me the best sportbike under $20K. Could be fun. | ||
| Buewulf |
"Its just really frustrating to have people second guessing EBR that themselves do not own an EBR. " Respectfully, I don't see why owning an EBR makes one's guess about what happened behind the scenes at EBR any more relevant than someone who doesn't own one. It certainly makes the whole thing more tragic if one is a customer or a dealer, but it doesn't make that person a better psychic. "If all the folks who are now talking about what Erik should do next would have bought an EBR this past year, I doubt we would be having this conversation." I think it is backwards to fuss at consumers for not buying the bikes. EBR didn't offer appealing enough products for the given market and price point. If they did, then I doubt we would be having this conversation. | ||
| Whistler |
(Message edited by whistler on April 21, 2015) | ||
| Panhead_dan |
To refer to a motorcycle as an investment is a mistake. A motorcycle should never be considered an investment. Unless it's a Brough Superior. (Message edited by panhead_dan on April 20, 2015) | ||
| Hootowl |
"Unless it's a Brough Superior" When they were new, I'll bet no one thought they were an investment opportunity. EBRs are pretty rare. They may be worth quite a bit some day. | ||
| Panhead_dan |
wouldn't surprise me a bit | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
You'll be dead by then | ||
| Two_seasons |
Fvb, exactly! | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
Elon Musk Had a Deal to Sell Tesla to Google in 2013 On the verge of bankruptcy, the company sought a savior in Larry Page http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-20/ elon-musk-had-a-deal-to-sell-tesla-to-google-in-20 13 | ||
| Classax |
Its just really frustrating to have people second guessing EBR that themselves do not own an EBR. This^^^^^^ Why? Because if you don't own one or have some sort of dealership stake its kind of like me wrangling with people about the price of diamonds in Africa. Any opines would be ill informed at best and unwanted at worst, while still being equally moot in either case. Anyone who decides to buy one now strictly because of any heavy discounts in the current environment deserves whatever they get. I was among the first buyers in the US and my bike had a few show stopping yet easily fixed issues in the first few hundred miles. Over 11k later it runs like a fine watch now. Glad I got it when I did and I still love it. I may buy another when the time comes if prices are right for parts but if I didn't own one before now I certainly wouldn't vulture them either. You get what you pay for, so remember that when we're trying to figure out why we can't have nice things... | ||
| Whistler |
(Message edited by whistler on April 21, 2015) | ||
| Steveford |
I wasn't in the market for what EBR was offering as I need a reasonably comfortable two up bike with some luggage for outings with my better half. At this stage in my life I don't really care if the bike goes 186 MPH or whatever the top speed is. It's just very depressing to learn of their closing. I really wanted to see them become a major player in the marketplace. | ||
| Hybridmomentspass |
If you dont think people can voice their opinion about EBR then I hope you dont complain about anything that you dont do (music, cooking etc) | ||
| Xl_cheese |
So EBR had 126 employees. Say it cost them 40k per year per employee for salary and benefits. Probably a pessimistic guess? That's 5 million for payroll per year. For EBR to make 5 million bucks we can try to estimate how many bikes they needed to sell. MSRP was 18k. Dealer markup was about 3k. EBR probably had 20% margin too giving them about 3k profit per bike. They would need to sell about 1600 bikes per year just to make payroll. EBR had 72 dealers listed on their site. On average each dealer would need to have sold about 23 bikes. I doubt that happened. Not to mention the other expenses EBR has in addition to payroll. I would think it's safe to assume that the employees of EBR weren't surprised at all. They would have had to have seen the writing on the wall. As a business owner, I couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for all involved. I would be devastated to have to close my doors. My thoughts go out to them. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
One on the major problems with EBR was their timing. The came to market with a bike right after most Buell guys longing for more power purchased an 1125. I would have been in the target market for an EBR, but I have two 1125Rs sitting in the garage already. Those are already too much bike for me so why would I drop (alot) more coin on a bike that shares the same DNA (with 40+ HP) as what I have in the garage already? I am sure I am not the only person who MIGHT have purchased an EBR bike after my 1125 ran its course, but this is at least a couple years down the road. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Not sure the breakdown, but many of those employees were engineer consultants that had little to nothing to do with the production bike department. But your point is well taken. Employees are very expensive and usually the largest expense in any business. EBR would have to sell ALOT of bikes to make ends meet. |
