Please find a way to get that message to him Maz. If there's one man he should listen to....

I'm really saddened by this news. I have faith he'll be back and meantime I'll keep riding and loving my Ulys.

_________________
'08 X / '16 SX

Erik has just turned 65 years old......I know he's a fighter but having put his name on the tanks of over 250k bikes sold worldwide and had a great life doing it, maybe it's time for him to quit and just reflect on the good times he made

_________________
Mithered ta death.
92 MB
96 S2T
98 S1W
00 M2
01 X1
03 P3
10 CR

Gutted to see the latest development but not all together surprised. I haven't gone public on the forum (or Facebook) about it but I was laid off from EBR six weeks ago because the funds weren't there to continue employing me.

I hope we haven't seen the last of EBR because the 1190RX and 1190SX are awesome machines and I'm sure there are more exciting products being developed.

I'm not privy to what has been going on at a higher level but I suspect that the whole budget went into designing and building motorcycles just like it did under H-D ownership. Back then the mothership took care of sales and marketing but I fear that EBR felt that, if the product was right, the public would just line up to buy them.

From a sales point of view WSB racing was probably counter productive but racing is what drives Erik and Hero obviously funded it heavily to get their own name in front of the world's motorcycling public.

As for me, being the Don Quixote that I am, last night I was plotting how I would open my own EBR dealership Better get back to the drawing board but short term I'll be buying and selling bikes on my own account, working from home and watching developments at EBR. I would go back in a heartbeat if the opportunity presented itself because I want to see more of these phenomenal motorcycles on the street

Steve

_________________
Back on the road again!

I really do hope that you get that opportunity Steve, Maybe EBR couldn't run at the front of WSB BUT they also weren't the slowest out there, I was really gutted for you Steve when you told us your news and was hoping they could just hang in there long enough to avoid what has happened today.
Erik seems to have very loyal workers so I can imagine both Buell and EBR have been fantastic people to work for.

_________________
2001 X1 2009 1125CR 2006 Uly X3 2010 Uly a fully Maz'd S1 and a 1991 RS1200 Westwind.

Wishing you all the very best Steve. X

_________________
Valencia Orange XB12Scg - serviced by Maz 2018
Black P3 Blast - serviced by Maz and fixed by Maz in 2019

An updated Blast could of been the modern commuter of choice and sold in the millions $$$$
Race replica / bespoke bikes are only going to appeal to a limited market

_________________
Buell Ulysses XB12X 06/08

Good look with the future steve
just a pity you and aren’t geographically closer
, cos with you in sales and Maz in the workshop would make a good team/dealership

_________________
Buell Ulysses XB12X 06/08

What Maz said - Erik is a shite businessman. Will this latest escapade destroy his credibility with his loyal supporters and any new purchasers? People buy Buells, no matter what type, with their hearts more than their heads. I know we did. Not everyone wants the same as all the rest - riding something different is a big part of the pleasure.

I'm hoping that Hero or someone will step in to pick it up and continue to support the brand. As Maz pointed out, he can do the spanning but if he's go no parts, he's goosed. In fairness once the first oil change was done, he was always going to spanner it - Magz will only take her bikes to Maz.

We're hoping for a good outcome or Magz will have a bike that she can enjoy, until it needs parts

It's not the most perfectly turned out bike and in truth the finish is typical Buell, no real attention to detail (MIHO). It looks like they're done all that with the running gear, no bad thing I guess. But the mainstream bikes have everything right and are a much safer bet. Which is why there's loads of the things on the road - very common one might say

Anyhoo...fingers crossed

_________________
Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away

In the garage -

2001 X1
KTM390 Duke
Ducati 950 Monster +
CCM Spitfire Scrambler

I agree Barney

I love the Tubers, that was what Buell were all about to me.
I even quite liked the XBs, but once they started making 'sports bikes' my interest petered out.

Maybe they should have looked at going back to basics with the new engine (nakeds - that's a growth sector), before trying to compete in the sports sector (which is shrinking) and which is dominated by big manufacturers who have spent years perfecting their products.

I expect Zero will have done well out of the union though!

_________________
Adventure before dementia.

I find this all a bit odd from HERO as you would think after investing $25 million they would be the biggest losers financially. Maybe it was a drip, drip arrangement and they are planning to pick up the pieces at a knock down price, or will a Chinese manufacturer step in, after all it would not be the first time as they have a track record for doing this in the automotive industry.

_________________
xxxx

What would be the point if they were losing money? At some point one has to cut their losses, just as I suspect Harley did...

_________________
08 Specialized Langster

As I previously said, I'm gutted for all concerned, especially for Steve. However, I wouldn't worry too much about riding an obsolete bike, the Helicon platform and it's EBR derivatives have shown themselves to be as mechanically robust as anything else and servicing consumables are available. If the bike is kept as a weekend thrasher, then it'll be on the road for quite a few years yet
I bought my Nuda knowing it was out of production and no one was making spares (the only thing in common with it's BMW derived motor are the crankcases and rocker cover ) and do I care?......do I f......

_________________
If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

That's pretty much the approach we're taking, Adam. This happening is annoying, but it's not the end of the world - if this is the only challenge we face, I'll consider us very lucky

Meanwhile, it'll be ridden as often as there is dry weather

_________________
Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away

In the garage -

2001 X1
KTM390 Duke
Ducati 950 Monster +
CCM Spitfire Scrambler

Its not the first time we've heard stories like this.
Very sad news
Gutted for Steve...I had more belief in EBR as a company than when the MoFuCo were involved
Something doesn't sound quite right though. ..A bit like one of those "thieving tax scam" fiddles, I wouldn't know as I'm not an expert in such dealings (no doubt one will be along shortly)
If it's the end...then it's the end!
If it's not the end...then all we can do is support whatever comes along
I now know where some of my Euromillions win will go (fingers crossed eh)

_________________
I hate being strapped for cash....but it pays the bills

_________________
2001 X1 2009 1125CR 2006 Uly X3 2010 Uly a fully Maz'd S1 and a 1991 RS1200 Westwind.