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EBR Auction Scheduled for August 5th

A new date for the auction of the remaining Erik Buell Racing assets was announced for August 5th, so the moment of truth was delayed a bit. Still, the fate of EBR remains a hot topic, as the new auction is, hopefully, going to tell us more about what may become of the iconic North American manufacturer.
EBR auction set for August 5th, 2015 1 photo
Photo: Erik Buell Racing
We remind you that in the first auction, the main interest was focused on a certain amount of intellectual property assets. Hero Motocorp bought a part of EBR related to the motorcycles the R&D department was working on for the Indian giant.

According to official EBR sources, "Hero has separately made a deal with the receiver to purchase just those assets specific to the consulting projects EBR was doing for Hero." The total amount of money Hero paid for these is $2.8 million (equivalent to €2.55 mil), so we can safely assume that EBR is still up for sale as a fully-operational company waiting an investor to kickstart it in business once more.

Perception of what happened with EBR is split in two main opinions

The recent bankruptcy at EBR is believed to be either the result of some nefarious practices from hero or plain mismanagement on the side of the bike maker.

It is currently impossible to determine exactly what led to the second demise of Erik Buell's company. Regardless of what supporters of either opinion may say, it looks like Erik and his close ones are the only ones who could tell the truth, if they so would want. Honestly, it would be really cool to learn one day what really happened, though we guess this will remain a secret, at least for the yeas to come.

Meanwhile, there is still a great deal of hope for the EBR/Buell fans that their favorite manufacturer will be able to continue its operations. With the Hero money going to the creditors, EBR's overall price that was initially around the $20 million (around €18.2 mil today) mark ahs gone down a bit, making it easier for a potential investor to get hold of the company.

Polaris still credited in the online environment as the future owner of EBR

Whether Polaris indeed has any interest in EBR or not, will be revealed on August 5th. Even if Polaris hasn't even mentioned a word related to EBR, there are a lot of people who strongly believe that EBR is next on Polaris' shopping list.

In the past 5 years or so Polaris made several big acquisitions, of which Indian Motorcycle and Brammo are only the biggest and most recent. Indian was put back in operation with renewed models and a presence that's growing stronger each year, while Brammo's electric motorcycle division has already produced the very first Victory electric machine.

Rumor has it that Polaris may be interested in adding yet another segment to its motorcycle roster, with EBR being a suitable platform for an all-American sport bike.

We also ran a comprehensive analysis on the potential future of EBR, centered on the possibility of development in the fastest-growing niche in the industry, the sport-adventure segment.

Based on the current 1190 platform, EBR could make a glorious move delivering the anticipated 1190AX sport-adventure bike that may replace the old Ulysses model that gained so much appreciation. You can read more on this perspective and learn why it's "Time to Build a Nice Sport-Adventure Bike."

Until August the 5th, what will become of Erik Buell Racing is anyone's guess. Stay tuned.
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