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View Full Version : EBR at Chicago IMS 12-14 February



Hughlysses
02-10-2016, 08:20 AM
From EBR's Facebook page yesterday:

EBR Motorcycles will be in Booth 1400 at the Chicago International Motorcycle Show this weekend, Feb 12-14th. More info to come, but please plan to stop by and see us if you are in the area.

Hughlysses
02-11-2016, 05:39 PM
Just posted to EBR's Facebook page:


Erik Buell will Meet & Greet Friday, February 12 from 3pm – 7pm at the Chicago International Motorcycle Show, Booth #1400.

Hughlysses
02-13-2016, 11:10 AM
Info from "Chicago" on the BuellXB forum. Erik was there (providing autographs like he always does). EBR folks told him production of motorcycles WILL DEFINITELY resume next month. They had an SX and an RX on display, apparently 2016 models in "bold new colors" (see below), which look pretty cool. Chicago forgot to ask if there are any other changes to the bikes. He has video that he will post when he gets a chance.


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GJB
02-13-2016, 03:58 PM
So who will be making the new bikes? Surely a liquidation company is not going to be in the motorcycle manufacturing business??

buell-fan
02-13-2016, 08:33 PM
^^^ Why not? American Machine and Foundry, commonly known as AMF, made Harley Davidson's through the Shovelhead years and developed the Blockhead Evolution engine that is the basis of the Twincam engine still used today. Without AMF Harley Davidson would be no more, because they went through a rough patch too. BTW, about the same time the Davidson family bought back H-D in 1982 Erik Buell helped them design the FXR. The best handling Harley ever made. Don't discount LAP and the Melvin families desires to do something great with the EBR brand. This is something they weren't able to do when liquidating the Buell line FOR Harley.

GJB
02-14-2016, 12:43 AM
Interesting. I guess I don't know enough to have any good reason to feel the way I do. Just seems like a liquidation company would rather turn the quick buck than take an risk in the unknown. I hope I am wrong. EBR wont last going the AMF route. AMF bikes were absolute POS. Made it through the bad times with the Harley crowd, but with all the exceptional sport bikes from Europe and Japan, not keeping up in this line is a non starter.

buell-fan
02-14-2016, 01:12 AM
^^^ LAP may be just interested in turning a quick buck, only time will tell. But from what they are doing so far, they are moving toward a profitable future and a long living brand in the EBR logo. AMF bikes had sloppy specs, that is not disputed, and they still carry a bad rap because of it, but they are still around, and still coveted. As far as the Japanese superbikes go, they are engineering marvels. They keep evolving . EBR surviving will keep on evolving as well. Good marketing and little to no competition for many years has kept the Foreign bikes on the top, until recently. It is up tp LAP and the Melvin's to guide this course in history, just as AMF did.

zviadi
02-14-2016, 04:42 AM
Good news! Let us hope for the best.

Hughlysses
02-14-2016, 10:08 AM
Here's some very interesting info posted by "Solar Flare" to the EBR 1190 Owner's Facebook group. He spoke with Ed Laben, Director of Sourcing for EBR at EBR's booth at the Chicago IMS. The following info is paraphrased from Solar Flare's posts:

- Limited production of the SX and RX will begin in March.

- EBR will not honor warranties for the existing motorcycles. He said the current parts inventory has been discounted to accommodate those affected with issues. He apologized for this and stated it was out of his control. They will offer free tech support for any owner that is having issues.

- As of now, there are no plans on the table for new models. They want to limit production to build capital, then designs for new models will begin.

- They are resuming production of modified stators for the 1125 models.

- "The next 18 to 24 months for EBR will be very exciting, and very sexy!!"

- Anyone interested in being a dealer can contact EBR. They have some dealers who won't be selling for them anymore after what happened. But, they have a bunch of new dealers interested in selling EBRs. Only about a dozen will be Harley Davidson dealerships. The others will be Ducati, BMW dealerships, and various sportbike dealerships.

- We should be very surprised by the new MSRP for the new bikes.

- Liquid Asset Partners is committed to one thing. That is investing in EBR and producing new and innovative machines. He said that LAP is excited about being a part of the revival of the company. He said that by the company being operational, functional, and making profits, will put the company into a better position financially. This will make the company more appealing to a buyer who is interested in keeping the company moving forward long term.

golfman1966
02-14-2016, 11:19 AM
- EBR will not honor warranties for the existing motorcycles.

Not surprising, although lack of warranty was certainly taken into consideration given the price I paid for my bike. I've always turned my own wrenches, so availability of parts and some tech support were my primary concerns. Hopefully we'll be able to access to such things as firmware updates and TSBs as time goes on.

Scott
02-14-2016, 11:37 AM
Interesting. I guess I don't know enough to have any good reason to feel the way I do. Just seems like a liquidation company would rather turn the quick buck than take an risk in the unknown. I hope I am wrong. EBR wont last going the AMF route. AMF bikes were absolute POS. Made it through the bad times with the Harley crowd, but with all the exceptional sport bikes from Europe and Japan, not keeping up in this line is a non starter.

I think (and Hughlysses' comments above seem to support this) LAP is interested in getting the best return on their investment, and that may not be the 'quick buck'. Sure, ultimately they're probably more interested in making money than selling motorcycles, but the path they're taking may be very wise.

Imagine you find an old Camaro rusting away in someone's garage. You pay $500 knowing you could turn around and sell it for $1000. But you also know that if you invest $5000 in it you'll be able to sell it for $20,000.

I think LAP thinks they'll get much more for a functioning motorcycle company than what they'd get for the parts.

It's even possible that in this particular case there may not be any "quick buck". Selling off the equipment and parts might not get them more than they paid, but assembling the parts into motorcycles may be worth far more than they'd get for anything else. We've heard rumors that there are parts to make 300 bikes. If they can sell those bikes for approximately $10,000 each, that's $3 million.

If they can do that for less than $1 million investment, they've broken even. Then if they can sell that operating motorcycle manufacturer for a modest $5 million, that's $5 million of pure profit.

And who knows. Maybe once they get going they'll realize it's worth running the business for the foreseeable future and they could actually become motorcycle manufacturers. I know I'd love to try doing that if I had some cash to try.

But the bottom line for us is it seems we'll be able to get parts. I've never been particularly concerned about the warranty. I figure most manufacturers calculate they won't make very many warranty repairs before they offer it. But the idea that the actual parts wouldn't be available scared me. I think a lot more people will be willing to buy some of the bargain bikes that are still out there if they have some confidence parts will be available.

GJB
02-14-2016, 12:32 PM
So who do we call for the free Tech Support?

TerryS1980
02-15-2016, 08:12 AM
So who do we call for the free Tech Support?
I think their original tech support email is working.. tech@ebracing.com

BTW the website is back up. The store links to LAP.

dmhines
02-15-2016, 10:24 AM
Since they won't be honoring warranties .. will they be offering a REAL maintenance and repair manual instead of the USB stick ?

mrlogix
02-15-2016, 01:18 PM
^^ this