His business is scheduled to be sold at public sale Tuesday, but that hasn't extinguished Erik Buell's excitement for making yet another comeback in the motorbike industry.
Buell is the founder of Erik Buell Racing, an East Troy manufacturer of bicycles focused on performance and acceleration until it shut down all of a sudden in April, leaving about 130 employees out of work and the business seeking courtroom security from creditors.
It had been the sequel to Buell Motorbike Co., which Harley-Davidson Inc. possessed for greater than a 10 years before dropping the brand in 2009 2009 and departing Erik Buell to start over on his own.
Now, the 65-year-old entrepreneur is with out a business again as he awaits the results of the auction of the property of Erik Buell Racing, under a state statute that's much like federal bankruptcy laws.
At his home in Mukwonago, Buell works on metal sculptures in his garage and answers questions from the court-appointed receiver who's handling the auction.
What he really wants, however, is to return back to the motorbike business, where he's known for product innovation and a competitive soul that has led to racetrack victories against a few of the world's largest bike manufacturers.
If he previously his way, Buell said, his company would be building motorcycles and racing on a global stage again tomorrow.
"We could literally be shipping motorcycles, probably within a few days, as once we cut back an set up team soon. The bicycles are sitting there just, covered in plastic material, waiting around to be completed," he said.
In its six-year lifetime, Erik Buell Racing hand-built $40,000 motorcycles for racing enthusiasts, developed a mass-production version of these bikes that sold for about $18,000 each, and cultivated dealerships in the U.S. and Europe.
In 2014, Buell was concerned about not having enough room in his small factory as he ramped up production and put his engineering efforts into overdrive. He spent his own money in to the enterprise and received help from Hero MotoCorp., a motorbike producer in India that acquired a 49% stake in Erik Buell Racing for $25 million.
The ongoing company hired dozens of people, including engineers, and was doing intensive product development work for Hero. Erik Buell Racing bikes were earning accolades from motorcyclist magazines and were doing well in world-class races in america, Asia and europe.
So what sent the company tumbling into virtual personal bankruptcy?
It grew too fast, Buell said, and the expenses got ahead of his financing.
"We thought that people could balance it all...but we just couldn't. That's what got us out," he said.
Court records show that Erik Buell Race has $20.8 million in possessions and $20.4 million in liabilities. Previous employees are owed $202,000 in paid time off, and some of the biggest quantities owed to lenders include $733,000 to Mito Tech Co., a Japanese engine design firm, and $390,000 to Porsche Executive Group.
Previous employees will be at the top of the line as it pertains for you to get what they're owed, according to attorneys, while unsecured creditors could be forced to talk about what's remaining after employees, secured creditors, the court-appointed receiver, consultants and lawyers are paid from the proceeds of the asset sale.
Buell expectations the continuing business will be sold without trouble, therefore the buyer could start producing motorcycles, and he expectations he'd have a role in the new venture.
"Given the right situation, and the right people up to speed, it's what I would like to do. I still have a lot of energy for this," he said.
Some have said that Polaris Industries, the Medina, Minn., manufacturer of Triumph and Indian motorcycles, is actually a buyer. That would give Polaris a sport bicycle it doesn't have now, along with access to Buell's other product designs.
But the business also could be sold in pieces, with some buyers acquiring things such as the factory machines, tooling, EBR-owned motorcycles, bike parts and office equipment, while others might acquire the company's intellectual property.
The assets owned by Hero are not included in the auction, nor are other things such as leased equipment and employee-owned tools and personal property.
The auction will be held at the Milwaukee Athletic Club in downtown Milwaukee, and only qualified bidders shall be allowed to attend.
The court-appointed receiver, Milwaukee attorney Michael Polsky, will review the bids and determine what's in the best interest of creditors. Then Thursday, you will see a hearing in Walworth County Circuit Court to approve the results of the public sale.
Inside a court document, Polsky said he believes the "going-concern value of the assets" is greater than their liquidation value.
Buell hasn't said whether he'll be among the bidders, but he said some individuals have shown interest in buying all of the assets in one piece.
In hindsight, Buell said, it could have been better to run the continuing business at a more measured speed.
"It demanded more money than we had access to. We thought that we got the cash to protect the space, however when it dropped through at the last minute, there was nothing at all we're able to do," he said.
Competing in world-class race was expensive, but Hero and other sponsors protected those costs, so they didn't cut deeply into Erik Buell Racing's revenues, according to Buell.
"It had been good promotion for us, but it wasn't anything that arrived of our marketing budget," he said.
If the ongoing company is restarted, Buell said he's sure a few of the employees would come back.
"We'd a bunch of fantastic products. We really proved that American executive is completely world course," he said.
Some dealerships, however, said they would watch out for carrying the brand again.
They spend a lot of their own money to advertise products and support them with customer support. If bikes don't sell, or the maker doesn't honor its commitments, a dealer could be forced out of business.
"There's lots of risk for the incentive," said Kirk Topel, leader of Hal's Harley-Davidson, in New Berlin, which carried Erik Buell Racing motorcycles.
Buell's most recent bicycle, the 1190RX, was gaining traction available on the market prior to the ongoing company closed.
Within a 45-day period earlier this season, Hal's sold more 1190RX bikes than it sold in all of 2014, according to Topel. The dealership experienced some customers coming in looking designed for Buell motorcycles rather than Harleys, he said.
Dealers had hoped that a few of Buell's designs would surface in smaller, less-expensive motorcycles. They hoped to have the ability to carry the Hero brand also, but that never occurred.
Some sellers said they greatly admired Buell for his design talents but not his ability to perform a company.
"The guy has made some really cool bicycles. He's definitely got skill," said Joseph Tortora, a dealer in St. James, N.Y.
Tortora said he was disappointed when Erik Buell Racing closed, but he wasn't totally surprised because the business was struggling with retail bonuses and warranty reimbursements at his dealership.
"I had been very cautious in the number of bikes I took....I'd like to consider myself a seasoned veteran of the industry, and I've seen several brand go out of business," he said.
In racing circles, Buell has been an underdog focusing on a good budget always.
In the 1970s, as a rider, he recorded the quickest qualifying time for a rookie in the past history of the Daytona 200. It was significant for a man who journeyed from competition to competition in a vehicle with two motorcycles in the back, sleeping between your bikes while an occasional hitchhiker distributed the driving on his long-distance trips.
When a race in California was canceled because of rain, Buell borrowed money from other racers to cover his trip home to Pennsylvania. He had counted on successful in the competition, and his winnings could have covered his expenditures.
Now he desires to remain in the competition as a bike designer.
"I am an engineer at heart," Buell said, "and I wish to show that technology coming from the U.S. can compete with the best stuff in the global world."
