Any Rumors?

[Scott]

Having met him, I'll say that Bill Melvin Jr is one of the best liars I've ever met in my life. I know he and his company are just in it for the money, but near as I can tell he's got no honor or dignity. I watched him lie to buyers, dealers, and Erik himself. This is an unfortunate if not unexpected turn of events. And to start the liquidation during homecoming is just adding insult to injury. The only good thing I can say is that at least he lied long enough for me to get a 2016 RX. I don't care what misleading he did, this is a great bike.

From Harley to Hero to LAP. Three awful companies that have sucked everything they could out of a company that could have been amazing with better partners.

The big question now seems to be: "What will happen to the Intellectual property?" Will Hero buy it? Will Harley Buy it? Will Bruce Belfer and Cleveland Cyclewerks buy it? Somebody else? If nobody makes a serious bid, will Erik be able to buy it himself and hang on to it until the right person comes along?

If only I can win the Powerball in the next couple weeks.

[muleman]

Its a shame that this is the only american sports bike and it cant make it in america. SAD

[oddball]

He danced around to the tune they wanted at the auction knowing he wouldn't do much. He probably met all requirements so he can strip it and sell it for parts as he does with everything. You knew no one was going to buy from them for more than they could have bought it at the auction to begin with. Might have been better if EBR had just been a Buell speed shop. Ah well.

[Scott]

In hindsight, building the bikes they did was probably all about picking as much off the carcass as possible, and it was never really about making the company viable. If they had parts to make 300 bikes and if they could get $6000 per bike, that's $1.8 million revenue. Plus what they'll get for the equipment etc., they'll probably end up making money on the deal.

Melvin probably never cared if he could sell the company or not as long as he knew he could get his investment back. And he probably never had any real intention of keeping the company running himself. That was probably all complete BS to help them sell as many bikes as possible.

[han]

In hindsight, building the bikes they did was probably all about picking as much off the carcass as possible, and it was never really about making the company viable. If they had parts to make 300 bikes and if they could get $6000 per bike, that's $1.8 million revenue. Plus what they'll get for the equipment etc., they'll probably end up making money on the deal.

Melvin probably never cared if he could sell the company or not as long as he knew he could get his investment back. And he probably never had any real intention of keeping the company running himself. That was probably all complete BS to help them sell as many bikes as possible.

Honestly i never believed any of the "Five year plan" bs.It was obvious they were selling bikes and if an investor came along cool but the main goal was always to strip it.The amount of funds needed to make EBR viable were astronomic.From a business standpoint LAP made the right moves.From an emotional standpoint it sucks.The only thing surprising about this is that they didnt strip it sooner.

[Scott]

Honestly i never believed any of the "Five year plan" bs.It was obvious they were selling bikes and if an investor came along cool but the main goal was always to strip it.The amount of funds needed to make EBR viable were astronomic.From a business standpoint LAP made the right moves.From an emotional standpoint it sucks.The only thing surprising about this is that they didnt strip it sooner.

You had more foresight than me. It was probably wishful thinking, but I believed their BS. And I noticed over on Badweb they're organizing a homecoming that just happens to coincide with LAP's auction.

So it seems LAP is trying to profit from the Erik Buell fans who will be in the area. I guess it makes sense, but it just adds to the skeevy feeling I'm having about all this at the moment.

[toxicf16]

I couldn't agree more Scott...they wait until Erik is in Europe at a Buell enthusiast event and announce the auction for the week of homecoming? In retrospect, it makes perfect sense.

[han]

You had more foresight than me. It was probably wishful thinking, but I believed their BS. And I noticed over on Badweb they're organizing a homecoming that just happens to coincide with LAP's auction.

So it seems LAP is trying to profit from the Erik Buell fans who will be in the area. I guess it makes sense, but it just adds to the skeevy feeling I'm having about all this at the moment.

I mean dang... there are STILL new 2014s unsold on dealer floors.These bikes dont sell.And the Sportbike segment is the most competitive ive ever seen.
And without abs they couldnt legally sell in europe anymore.Not to mention nobody even knows what an EBR is.All these factors made for an insurmountable road block to healthy sales and profit.

[muleman]

The bike is a good bike but not at 17,000, he should have started at 9,999 and get them out there first.

[Scott]

I mean dang... there are STILL new 2014s unsold on dealer floors.These bikes dont sell.And the Sportbike segment is the most competitive ive ever seen.
And without abs they couldnt legally sell in europe anymore.Not to mention nobody even knows what an EBR is.All these factors made for an insurmountable road block to healthy sales and profit.

Difficult? Yes. Insurmountable? I don't believe so. Not when you have a bike that is so unique and can be marketed quite simply as "The Only American Sportbike in the World".

There were three key barriers they had to surmount:

1. Few people knew the bikes existed.
2. The people who did know the bikes existed were nervous about their long-term viability.
3. They didn't have enough dealers.

But all of those barriers could have been eroded away over time, and if LAP had gone into this willing to invest enough to simply keep them running for three years, I honestly believe they would have emerged at the end of that 3 years as a solid, sustainable (though still very small) motorcycle manufacturer. They didn't get 3 years under Hero (of actual bike production and sales) and they didn't get three years under LAP and nobody could realistically expect any motorcycle company to get on its feet in less than that time.

Right now, at this moment, if they had pushed through and not made the announcement in January, we would be getting into warm weather and Buell owners and other motorcycle enthusiasts would be looking at them and thinking they really were here to stay, and those people would be considering coming off the sidelines. And with each passing month, that trend would only grow stronger.

If they had stuck it out, I would have fully expected May of 2017 to be the best sales month ever for a company that never had enough time to even begin, let alone thrive.