Erik Buell Racing (EBR) Motorcycles, an East Troy bike manufacturer that, a year ago, went through a restructuring similar to bankruptcy, is shutting down…again.
The company, which is the sequel to the Buell Motorcycle Co. that Harley-Davidson Inc. owned for more than a decade, says it will begin a wind down of production operations next week.
EBR says it will continue to review strategic alternatives with interested investors.
The East Troy plant once employed about 130 people until it ceased operations in 2015. Bikes were left unfinished on the assembly line when the company filed for Chapter 128 receivership, a state court procedure similar to bankruptcy.
Then EBR was acquired by Liquid Asset Partners of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Production was restarted, and the company introduced a new bike for 2016.
In a statement, EBR said it will continue to honor warranties and provide parts support to current dealers and riders who bought the company’s motorcycles. Otherwise, production is ending.
“This difficult decision was based primarily on EBR facing significant headwinds with signing new dealers, which is key to sales and growth for a new company. In addition, EBR has had limited production in 2016 and 2017 that was under goal. The combination of slow sales and industry announcements of other major OEM brands closing or cutting production only magnified the challenges faced by EBR,” the company said in a statement.
Erik Buell Racing (EBR) Motorcycles will continue to provide warranty coverage for all their motorcycle models currently on the road through their existing dealer network as it winds down production of new bikes at its factory.
