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It has been a long sad road for Norton Motorcycles lately, and we apologize for not covering the complete debacle that has unfolded from this historic British marque.

That being said, it is hard to condense what has happened to Norton in the past few months, as well as the accusations that have been levied at the company’s CEO Stuart Garner; but cutting to the point, the company has gone bankrupt, which has lead to allegations of the mishandling of funds and even of fraud.

Now after a week of rumors regarding a pending sale, on Friday we got confirmation that Norton Motorcycles has been sold to TVS Motors, the third-largest two-wheeled manufacturer in India, with a price tag of $20 million.

The Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) announced that it has successfully concluded its Chapter 11 proceedings, after the bankruptcy court accepted the company’s plan for reorganization and debt recapitalization.

As a result of the bankruptcy process, MAG is under new ownership, with creditors Monomoy Capital Partners, BlueMountain Capital, and Contrarian Partners now in control of the massive motorcycle parts, apparel, and commerce conglomerate.

For those who don’t recall, MAG entered Chapter 11 back in November 2017, with the debts of the company spreading out through the group’s many owned brands. 

The Motorsport Aftermarket Group (MAG) is not a name that motorcycle enthusiasts are usually familiar with, but the family of brands that the company owns certainly is: Performance Machine wheels, Renthal handlebars, Vance & Hines exhausts, Tucker Rocky, J&P Cycles, etc.

The network of brands has been struggling over the recent years though, and today we learn that many of them will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, while the overarching MAG Group business restructures its debt and finds new ownership.

While this is not the sexiest news story to happen in the motorcycle industry this year, it is certainly one of the most important and complicated. As such, we will try to break it down in a digestible way for you.

The story of Italian motorcycle companies falling into bankruptcy is not a new one, but Benelli’s version of the narrative is a strangely interesting departure from the norm. Let us explain.

Things apparently kicked off when Benelli failed to pay WP Suspension roughly €120,000 for suspension pieces. WP eventually took Benelli to court, despite the Italian company’s commitment to repay its debt.

An Italian court in Pesaro then declared Benelli bankrupt, and ordered the sum owed to be paid. Somewhere in this process, some of Benelli’s completed motorcycles were seized by a trustee, as collateral for payment.

This spurred Benelli’s Chinese owners, the Qianjiang Group, to release a statement after the court’s ruling, saying that the Italian brand is strong, and has ample cash on-hand to repay its debts (rumored to be in the €1 million range), and has already begun doing so.

This looks like the end of the road for motorcycle manufacturer Gas Gas, as the Spanish brand entered into liquidation today, after its bankruptcy proceedings failed to find the €30 million necessary to pay the company’s creditors.

The news is timely, as today interested parties in owning Erik Buell Racing (or parts of it) will be placing their bids on the similarly wayward company.

Back in Spain though, the news is troubling for Gas Gas fans, as the company’s assets will be liquidated, with the hope of raising enough money to pay-off the company’s creditors.

Perhaps already a reflection on the waning popularity of the brand, but the slow-to-break news this week is that Spanish motorcycle brand Gas Gas has filed for bankruptcy.

The news comes after an earlier effort by the Spanish company to try and reconcile its debt of roughly €30 million, and to restructure its business to be more profitable.

With a last-minute deal between the shareholders falling through, Gas Gas had no choice but to file with the Spanish courts.

News being broke by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says that Erik Buell Racing has ceased its operations. The East Troy company plans to also file for protection from creditors under Chapter 128 of Wisconsin’s bankruptcy code.

Under Wisconsin law, EBR will be placed into receivership (the company will be run by attorney Michael S. Polsky), and ultimately bids will be made on purchasing the bankrupt company. If no bids are made, the company’s assets will be auctioned off, with the profits going to EBR’s creditors.

From the desk of the Honorable Scott C. Clarkson of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana, American Suzuki Motor Corporation’s plan for Chapter 11 bankruptcy has been approved. Overwhelmingly supported by the company’s creditors, American Suzuki can begin restructuring its business operations in the United States, which will include shutting down the company’s automotive endeavors.

In turn, American Suzuki’s new business focuses on the company’s motorcycle, ATV, marine, automotive parts divisions, and will consist of a new wholy-owned subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation. This new company will operate under in the United States under the new name: Suzuki Motor of America.

UPDATE: Moto Morini has responded to other reports that the Italian company has shut its doors, and instead says its production line is at a greatly diminished capacity.

After going into receivership a few months ago, Moto Morini has found its financial stability withering away as time marches-on. With no end in sight for the company’s blight, Moto Morini has shutdown its production line, and will remain in that state until a new buyer or group of investors emerge and breath life back into the small Italian brand.

Well, we saw it coming. Electric scooter manufacturer Vectrix Motorcycles has finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For those that didn’t learn the intricacies of Chapter 11 filings from the recent reorganization of General Motors, Vectrix as we know it will be transfered to a new corporation (New Corp.), while the bad assets and debt of the company remain in old company (Old Corp.). In this case, New Corp. will take the form of “New Vectrix LLC” and the move will leave the brand with minimal debt obligations (at the detriment of its current creditors).

While a pretty standard announcement for a Chapter 11 filing, Vectrix isn’t out of the woods yet. This filing will give Vectrix the second chance it needs, but it does nothing to address the fundamental problems that caused the company to go bankrupt in the first place (much like GM you say??!).

Hopefully with proper management, this move will give Vectrix the second chance it needs to be successful. The Chapter 11 filing is at least a good sign for the company and creditors as a Chapter 7 filing would have meant both parties would have been S.O.L. Such is the miracle of the United States Bankruptcy Court. Press release after the jump.