Any Rumors?

[han]

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.

I think these are key barriers
▪needed funds for abs
▪couldnt sell in europe without abs in meantime
▪Needed funds for R&D for more electronics
▪Lack of electronics for pantywaist riders hurts sales these days in meantime
▪2017 stacked in heavy competition
▪Lack of funds for Advertising
▪Lack of dealers willing to bite

[Hughlysses]

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.

It really seems as if LAP couldn't make up their mind if they wanted to make a go of EBR or not. Last year they announced they'd have bikes at 4 major motorcycle shows, and would reveal new 2017-1/2 and 2018 models. They show up at only 3, reveal the Black Lightning (the 2017-1/2 model), and then pull they the plug. Even then it seems like they weren't certain they were giving up, as a promised sale of factory equipment originally announced for March was delayed until June.

I'm with Scott; if they'd just ridden this out until now, things might have looked much better, especially if that 2018 model was the promised revolutionary sub-$10k bike Erik teased during the first EBR shutdown.

[Scott]

I think these are key barriers
▪needed funds for abs
▪couldnt sell in europe without abs in meantime
▪Needed funds for R&D for more electronics
▪Lack of electronics for pantywaist riders hurts sales these days in meantime
▪2017 stacked in heavy competition
▪Lack of funds for Advertising
▪Lack of dealers willing to bite

Those are things they'd need eventually, and those are things they could have been working on over the space of a solid 3 year plan, but except for dealers, none of those things needed to happen urgently.

For EBR to have been viable, they should have been looking at a 3 year plan something like this:

2016 - Sell 120 bikes in the United States
2017 - Sell 240 bikes in the United States
2018 - Sell 360 bikes in the United States
2019 - Start expanding to Non-US markets

If they could get roughly $10,000 per bike, that would have been revenue of $1.2 million in 2016, $2.4 million in 2017 and $3.6 million in 2018. Not crazy amounts of cash, but enough to keep a very small operation running (particularly when they already had enough parts in house to build through 2018 without buying a single component).

By 2019, they'd be on their feet and ready to become a more serious contender, but somebody would have to be willing to keep them going until that point. LAP said they would, but they didn't.

There are approximately 15 million bikes sold in the US every year. 120 bikes is (are you ready for this) 0.0008% of the US market. There's no reason that the only sport-bike maker in the US led by somebody who most motorcycle enthusiasts know couldn't have sold that tiny, tiny number of bikes on their way to becoming a more serious manufacturer. You don't need a world-beater to sell 0.0008 % of the US market. You just need a fun, interesting, unique bike that knows its place. Harley Davidson doesn't build world-beaters, but they do okay for themselves.

But LAP pushed. They didn't go slow and wait for consumers to ask for the bikes. They made bikes that people weren't ready for and they flooded the market. They didn't make a long-term commitment and follow a real plan. They pretty much continued where Hero left off and then quit after 10 months.

[han]

Those are things they'd need eventually, and those are things they could have been working on over the space of a solid 3 year plan, but except for dealers, none of those things needed to happen urgently.

For EBR to have been viable, they should have been looking at a 3 year plan something like this:

2016 - Sell 120 bikes in the United States
2017 - Sell 240 bikes in the United States
2018 - Sell 360 bikes in the United States
2019 - Start expanding to Non-US markets

If they could get roughly $10,000 per bike, that would have been revenue of $1.2 million in 2016, $2.4 million in 2017 and $3.6 million in 2018. Not crazy amounts of cash, but enough to keep a very small operation running (particularly when they already had enough parts in house to build through 2018 without buying a single component).

By 2019, they'd be on their feet and ready to become a more serious contender, but somebody would have to be willing to keep them going until that point. LAP said they would, but they didn't.

There are approximately 15 million bikes sold in the US every year. 120 bikes is (are you ready for this) 0.0008% of the US market. There's no reason that the only sport-bike maker in the US led by somebody who most motorcycle enthusiasts know couldn't have sold that tiny, tiny number of bikes on their way to becoming a more serious manufacturer. You don't need a world-beater to sell 0.0008 % of the US market. You just need a fun, interesting, unique bike that knows its place. Harley Davidson doesn't build world-beaters, but they do okay for themselves.

But LAP pushed. They didn't go slow and wait for consumers to ask for the bikes. They made bikes that people weren't ready for and they flooded the market. They didn't make a long-term commitment and follow a real plan. They pretty much continued where Hero left off and then quit after 10 months.

Its very clear they needed all things yesterday Thats why we are here.To sell bikes you need Advertising and exposure...Money.Then you need r&d to keep pace with competitors....money.
LAP NEVER had any intention of making bikes anymore than a chop shop has to be a car Dealership.Getting an investor wouldve been just a luck of the draw.

[1190SX]

Bottom line is LAP is a business and the Melvin's are business people as well as enthusiasts. Only a fool would put their business at risk if it doesn't make business sense. Unfortunately EBR doesn't make sound business sense. Simple as that, LAP is not the bad guy, circumstance dictated this outcome. Maybe it could have gone a different way, but we're here now, and it is what it is.

[zviadi]

And where now to buy spare parts?

[EBRRider]

And where now to buy spare parts?

E Bay ! How many in all units have been produced ??

http://www.liquidap.com/
http://www.liquidap.com/portfolio/ebr-factory-liquidation/
https://www.proxibid.com/aspr/Liquid....asp?ahid=4305

[han]

Bottom line is LAP is a business and the Melvin's are business people as well as enthusiasts. Only a fool would put their business at risk if it doesn't make business sense. Unfortunately EBR doesn't make sound business sense. Simple as that, LAP is not the bad guy, circumstance dictated this outcome. Maybe it could have gone a different way, but we're here now, and it is what it is.

Yup exactly

[Hughlysses]

And where now to buy spare parts?

LAP says they have $15M (retail) worth of spare parts on hand.

[d_adams]

Bottom line is LAP is a business and the Melvin's are business people as well as enthusiasts. Only a fool would put their business at risk if it doesn't make business sense. Unfortunately EBR doesn't make sound business sense. Simple as that, LAP is not the bad guy, circumstance dictated this outcome. Maybe it could have gone a different way, but we're here now, and it is what it is.

I wouldn't call them enthusiasts. Sharks maybe, vultures for sure. Personally, I think it *could* have been a viable enterprise on a small scale with what they had on hand, provided that they re-invested some of the motorcycle sales back into the business rather than just pocket it and turn away. They stated that it's a soft market, I say BS. They may not be selling like hotcakes, but they're selling. Now that they've used up all the available bodywork, things are going to get ugly unless someone steps up and makes small runs of it for a decent price. Even if they'd only offered one color of bodywork, it would have been better than nothing at all.

Yes, I was an early adopter (March 2014) and paid a price for mine. I'm on my 4th one now, just hoping this one will last a while for me.

It's just my opinion, but I think they planned it out like this from the beginning, regardless of what story they told the court & receivership steward. Sure sounded good with their "5 year plan". Just wish Bruce would have won like it was originally announced but then the winning bid was pulled out from under him to the detriment of us all.