Is There Any Hope for a Revived EBR?

[Scott]

Call me a pessimist but I don't think an Indian sportbike will be successful especially from a BMW designer.

I think it depends. If they try to make the FTR1200 (which is cool as its own thing ) into a sport-bike, I agree. It's too heavy, too under-powered, and the chassis will never compete with world-class superbikes. If they're willing to hire the right people and spend enough money, and start with a clean-sheet, there's no reason they can't make their own S1000RR.

But, with him even suggesting in the interview that it might be a V-Twin, I think it would be crazy to not buy the EBR designs and start with a bike that's 95% there already for far less money (based on the $500,000 minimum bid LAP seemed to be looking for) than it would take to develop from scratch.

It would be a little frustrating and baffling if they do create their own V-Twin sport bike when EBR was there for the taking as a cheap, cool starting point that has some racing experience, American heritage, built-in fan-base etc.

Who knows, maybe they'll even reconsider and and buy EBR as part of this apparent new interest in a sport-bike.

... or it could be a whole lot of nothing and they might do nothing more than continue to make the same cruisers they've always made with minor styling/performance revisions. I'll admit they've suckered me in the past and while they keep hinting thy're going to make a performance bike, they've gotten my hopes up only to unveil another cruiser on multiple occasions already.

Even the FTR 1200 isn't real yet, but the day they unveil a production bike, they'll have the best American bike on the market (by sad default).

[Nemesis]

Call me a pessimist but I don't think an Indian sportbike will be successful especially from a BMW designer.

If he had anything to do with the bmw s1000rr i beg to differ...

[MakingPAIN]

I love how Buell boys like us will just sit and imagine logic in this world.. buy EBR that’s got a rich racing history and good base bike to work off and make better. And after that with the money of Indian in the r&d coffers, take on the worlddddd hahahahahaha evil laugh... but seriously no one will buy them. It is just the way it is..

[MakingPAIN]

Oh yeah p.s. Indian, Moto-Guzzi, harley, and all those retro wanna be overpriced bikes will soon be gone. I am of the younger generation and no one wants one of those big ugly bikes. Cruisers are better made and cheaper from other companies.

They will die off...

[Scott]

Oh yeah p.s. Indian, Moto-Guzzi, harley, and all those retro wanna be overpriced bikes will soon be gone. I am of the younger generation and no one wants one of those big ugly bikes. Cruisers are better made and cheaper from other companies.

They will die off...

I'm not sure how much the younger generation has to do with it. I'm 53 and I've never had any interest in a big, heavy cruiser. I've been a fan of Erik Buell since the '80s because he was the first (and still pretty much only) one to make an American bike that was fun to ride.

At this point, with EBR gone, I think my best hope is Indian (though I'm also keeping a watch on Zero and some of the other electric upstarts to see where those go). Unfortunately Indian (and Polaris before them) seem to constantly tease without going anywhere. The FTR 1200 isn't a cruiser (if they just f***ing build it), and now hiring a BMW guy who says: “A race bike is probably the best way forward because Indian have never done a supersport bike. There’s no heritage to fall back on, no icon to refer to – but maybe it’s a V-twin and you go into that kind of territory and the engine provides the heritage.” Makes me think Indian is considering making bikes I might want.




Maybe I am just a fool because it seems I've been waiting my whole life with very little to show for it, but I believe there is a market for an American sport-bike and I'm baffled that there's not a more aggressive effort to go after that market.

[MakingPAIN]

Mr Scott, I am 30, and I agree with a lot of what you say but that Indian in that photo would be trash on the track. And even on the road. This is the whole thing with crappy American bike builders, the forks are dated way dated, the brakes are small and crap, swing arm looks like my brother made it in the dirt lot in the back 40... this bike would be a bomb right on release date. And Indian would charge Indian prices and another one bites the dust to the hands of time.

Buell was the only guy that has the balls to build a real bike to compete. Harley and Indian want to keep their heritage or whatever they want to call obsolete parts on a bike. They will never build a world class bike. It’s not in the cards. Polaris would not let mr bmw build the bike he wants. He will build the bike THEY want...

[Scott]

The FTR may not be an ideal bike. But it would be the best motorcycle Indian (or Polaris) had ever made. It would be better than anything Harley (excluding Buell) had ever made, and it would be a step in the right direction.

Will Indian take that step, and if they take that step, will they they take additional steps beyond that? That remains to be seen. You seem skeptical, but I remain optimistic that they're not as intransigent as Harley.

[Scott]

... and personally, I'd love to take that bike out to decide for myself how good of a street-bike it is. It looks fun if nothing else.

[Hughlysses]

I don't hold out much hope for a revived EBR, but Erik has NOT retired: http://ebrforum.com/showthread.php?1...rk-Motorcycles