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Erik Buell

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Do not adjust your computer monitors. Don’t worry about the date, this is not an April Fools joke. What you are seeing is real. Buell is back.

The Buell Motorcycles name is returning back to business, as Erik Buell Racing has acquired the name from Harley-Davidson, and plans to relaunch its motorcycle business under the moniker.

With that news, Buell Motorcycles has big plans, as the American company hopes to release 10 motorcycles by the 2024 model year.

Erik Buell’s latest venture has taken another step forward, and gained a new name in the process.

What was once called the VanguardSpark motorcycle venture (a name mashing from Vanguard Motorcycles and SPARK Racing partnership) now goes by the name “Fuell” – a nod to the company’s other founding partner, Erik Buell.

The EV mobility company is still on path to create two machines on its first outing, a small-displacement equivalent electric motorcycle that is called “Flow” as well as a pedal-assist / moped bicycle named “Fluid”.

Erik Buell, we have missed thee. It has been almost a year since we last reported on the demise of Erik Buell Racing, but it has been over two years since we talked about the man himself.

What has Buell been up to? Well, from the look of things, making a pivot into the electric motorcycle arena, it seems. Teaming up with New York City boutique bike brand, Vanguard Motorcycles, as well as Formula E car supplier, SPARK Racing Technologies, Buell is part of the new VanguardSpark venture.

For its debut, VanguardSpark has two machines on offer. The first is an electric motorcycle (above), called the VanguardSpark Commuter.

EBR Motorcycles is set for another go at this liquidation thing, with its owners Liquid Asset Partners having put the company and its assets on the auctioning block once again.

Loyal readers will remember that Liquid Asset Partners bought Erik Buell Racing last year, with public plans to restart the brand. That activity never really moved beyond assembling a few motorcycles that were still languishing on the production line, while LAP looked for other investors in the company.

Now confirming what we long expected to be the final outcome, Liquid Asset Partners is chopping up EBR Motorcycles once again – looking to sell the brand’s remaining assets, including the brand itself.

The warning label for radioactive substances (technically, the warning label for ionizing radiation) was born in 1946, at the UC Berkeley Radiation Laboratory, and the now iconic symbol began life a bit different from how we know it today, originally colored with a very hip magenta "trefoil" on a blue background.

The shape of the three-bladed trefoil is quite specific and purposeful - drawn with a central circle of radius R, an internal radius of 1.5R, and an external radius of 5R for the blades, which are separated from each other by 60° of empty space.

It's shape is tightly defined because it is to noticeably and clearly warn you against the dangers of ionizing radiation, which at their very worst would cook you instantly like an egg, or in less worse conditions, still potentially cause life-changing mutations to your cells and DNA.

The yellow and black trefoil is supposed to be a literal warning (the IAEA and ISO adopted this new coloring in 2007) of course, but labeling something radioactive carries with it a metaphorical weight as well. And, it too demands a cautious interaction from the user.

In the motorcycle industry, we have our fair share of radioactive elements, though few come with a warning label. On Episode 45 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast, you may have heard me refer to a motorcycle company as being radioactive. I thought it was worth spending some words on what that means in that context.

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EBR Motorcycles is closing its doors…again. Yes, you heard that right. America’s superbike brand will be winding down its production operations, starting next week, and is looking for a strategic investor to takeover the brand.

Liquid Asset Partners (LAP) attributes its decision to shutdown EBR Motorcycles to the company’s difficulty to secure new dealerships, and thus increase sales. As a result, LAP says that its production volume for 2016 and 2017 was below expectations.

The company then finishes its explanation for closing EBR Motorcycles with the following line: “the combination of slow sales and industry announcements of other major OEM brands closing or cutting production only magnified the challenges faced by EBR.”

Whether you believe that line of reasoning or not, the result is the same, Erik Buell’s motorcycle brand once again has a dim future.

Episode 20 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast builds off the previous episode, which covered in-depth the mythos that surrounds Erik Buell, Buell Motorcycles, and Erik Buell Racing. Exploring the differences between fans and fanatics, as they exist in the motorcycling realm, we move from Buell, to other manufacturers with cult followings, before finally landing on MotoGP.

Fresh from the MotoGP round in Austin, we talk about the rise of Rossi fans as a tyrannical force in Grand Prix racing, and how that has permeated through the paddock in various forms. Naturally, a few rabbit holes of side-discussion occur along the way, per usual.

Before all that though, we talk about the Motus Motorcycles project, as I rode the American-built MST and MSTR sport-tourers while in Texas. A very unique motorcycle, the true American machine is a good segue into the topic at hand. We think you will enjoy it.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

First of all, apologies for how long it has taken us to get this episode of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast out to you. There are a few reasons why this particular show took so long to get out on the feed, but the biggest reason is that I have been slowly working through a massive backlog of stories. So, apologies for that.

That being said, Quentin and I are very stoked to bring you our third attempt at tackling the Buell/EBR story on the podcast. As such, Episode 19 covers Buell’s divestiture from Harley-Davidson, Erik Buell Racing’s launch from those ashes, and EBR’s very convoluted and complicated receivership process.

We also talk at great length about Quentin’s experience with the racing side of Buell and EBR, as well as my familiarity with EBR’s business operations and products. Whether your a fan of Erik Buell or not, we think you will find the show very interesting.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet today. Much like the spirit of its riders, Erik Buell Racing refuses to go quietly into that good night. After two failed receivership auctions, the brand has now been acquired for $2.05 million via a third auction held Wednesday, and seems set for another revival.

The winning party of this latest auction is the same winner from the second auction, Liquid Asset Partners – the same company that liquidated Buell Motorcycles when it was shutdown by Harley-Davidson, which makes for some interesting trivia.

Walworth County Circuit Judge Phillip Koss approved the winning bid today, despite a similar bid from Bruce Belfer, the first auction winner. According to a report by the EBR receiver, Belfer’s bid did not conform to the terms of the auction, and thus was not recommended to the court.

The big news this week is the Erik Buell Racing’s assets were bought, as a going concern, by Atlantic Metals Group LLC. Heading that purchase effort is Bruce Belfer, who will takeover as CEO of Erik Buell Racing, while the big news is that Erik Buell will remain as the company’s president.

Talking in an interview with the Milwaukee Business Journal, Belfer explained that he intends to restart EBR’s core business of making motorcycles, saying that “In [his] opinion, what was a viable manufacturing operation had become distracted by a single-customer consulting operation.”

It’s official, Erik Buell Racing has been sold. The East Troy company went up for auction yesterday, and the Walworth County Circuit Court today put its rubber stamp on the winning bid of $2.25 million, made by Atlantic Metals LLC.

In its bid, Atlantic Metals acquired all of EBR’s manufacturing assets (machines, parts, tools, etc), as well as the company’s intangible assets (trademarks, patents,  databases, etc). Atlantic is acquiring these items with no contingencies, per the terms of the auction.