It's funny....nobody would ever DREAM of trying to build an ICE motorcycle and startup against the likes of Honda, Kawi, HD and those guys, but everybody assumes it would be a snap to make a good electric motorcycle.
Actually LOTS of people have tried and most of them have failed. Doesn't mean people shouldn't keep trying, though. During the Chopper craze, look at how many "Boutique Brands" popped up to challenge Harley Davidson: American Quantum, Bourget, Big Dog, Confederate, etc. etc. etc. Only Confederate is still in business to the best of my knowledge, but they've rebranded as "Curtiss" and have now entered the electric arena as well (I understand someone else bought the rights to the Confederate name and is attempting to keep it going).
Probably the most successful was Polaris who first came out with the Victory line, and when they acquired the rights to the Indian name they (unfortunately) dropped Victory. Polaris, however, was a huge motorsports corporation to begin with, not exactly a little "start-up" company like the others.
I (naturally) had a soft spot for Buell but unfortunately Erik was a far better engineer than he was a businessman. Buell was also incredibly misunderstood and poorly marketed by their corporate parent Harley Davidson, and the nail in the coffin was when Harley appointed a NON-MOTORCYCLIST as their CEO and that idiot cut Buell off to concentrate on their "core brand." That decision is still biting them in the butt as the market for over-priced, vintage-looking heavy cruisers is tanking whereas the interest in the kinds of bikes Buell had under development is only increasing.
The bright light for Erik is that his engineering talents are now involved in a new electric motorcycle start-up. Unfortunately, other than the initial announcement, I haven't heard anything more about this. His last company, EBR, is being held on life-support by its current owner Liquid Assets Partners. They plan on releasing updated versions of the existing product line in limited quantities. Not sure how that is going to work out. Great bikes with no dealership network isn't exactly a recipe for success (just ask Motus).
Author
Topic: Druid Tries To Cast A Spell With New Sorcerer Motorcycles (Read 469 times)