Friday will mark another turning of the page in a tumultuous year for Erik Buell and his motorcycle company. Now known as EBR Motorcycles, the company will welcome the public into its East Troy factory one day after the first completed bike came off the assembly line.
Erik Buell Racing filed for receivership in April 2015, shutting down operations and laying off 126 employees. India-based Hero purchased the design consulting business for $2.8 million. Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Liquid Asset Partners LLC purchased the manufacturing assets in January for $2.05 million and put a plan in place to restart production.
During a press event Thursday on the factory floor, Buell said he is excited about the situation the new company is in and believes its product can compete with any foreign brands. The first bike to come off the assembly line featured an American flag-themed paint job and will be auctioned to benefit a veteran-oriented charity.
“We had these great products and great engineering, but what we have now is we’re tied in with some great American businessmen,” Buell said.
The new business influence comes from Bill Melvin Jr., Bill Melvin Sr. and their team from Liquid Asset Partners LLC. Melvin Jr. is serving as chief financial officer. Steve Smith, who has a background in the automotive industry and joined Buell in 2013, is chief executive officer. Buell is serving as chief technical officer.
Smith said the company has roughly a dozen employees now and hopes to double that by the end of the year. The goal is to produce 500 units this year.
“We think we can deliver 1 to 2 units a day right now, that’s our short term goal,” Smith said.
Before shutting down, the company had 30 to 40 people focused on production and another 90 in engineering and consulting. Operations have been consolidated from three buildings down to one. The office space previously dedicated to engineering work looked more like a showroom Thursday with EBR bikes lining the way to the factory floor.
Melvin Jr. didn’t rule out a return to contract engineering in the future and said there has been interest since the company relaunched.
“That’s something that’s an available option for the company,” he said.
EBR Motorcycles will be producing two models to start, the 1190SX and 1190RX. The models will have an MSRP of $12,995 and $13,995 respectively. Smith said those prices are slightly lower than where Erik Buell Racing was selling them previously.
“We have reduced the prices a little bit, but it’s mostly market driven,” Smith said.
Buell said while there are possibilities of producing other models and sizes, his focus right now is on establishing a solid foundation for the business.
“I’m just a tremendous believer that American engineering brings something unique to the sport bike world,” he said.
Melvin Jr. said the company has had a lot of interest from potential dealers and is initially focused on the west coast and south where the selling season starts earlier.
Ed Laben, director of sourcing, said suppliers have been generally receptive as the company comes back to life.
“Some suppliers were left holding the bag a little bit more than others, we had to have some discussion with those,” Laben said, adding that the company has done a mass mailing to suppliers and is getting some responses back.
“None of us can fix the past,” Buell said. “But they’re all businessmen and they’ve had ups and downs and the answer is we’re ready to buy stuff.”
Smith said the company went to a motorcycle show in Chicago right after relaunching and a number of suppliers came up to the booth to say they were happy EBR was back. He credited the relationship Laben had developed for smoothing the transition.
“The fact that we’ve had those relationships is really going to help us going forward,” Smith said.
