Erik Buell, whose sport bike company was recently shut down by former owner Harley-Davidson Inc., has started his own company, Erik Buell Racing.

Although the liquidation sale of the old Buell Motorcycle Co. hasn't even finished, the company's founder is deep into a new venture: Erik Buell Racing.

Working out of a small shop in East Troy, where his factory was located, Buell is building racing motorcycles one at a time.

Last fall, Harley-Davidson Inc. announced it was shutting down the sport bike manufacturer it had owned for more than a decade.

Harley executives said Buell Motorcycle Co. was not profitable and had simply run out of time.

Now, 59-year-old Erik Buell is on his own.

Gone is the Harley corporate staff that had supported his company's marketing and manufacturing.

Gone is the factory, along with the company headquarters, resulting in the loss of nearly 200 jobs.

"I really can't describe how awful that was," Buell said. "With every piece of equipment that was sold, I knew the guy who ran it, and I knew he was out of a job. That, to me, was extraordinarily painful."

Erik Buell Racing, on the other hand, has a staff of eight people. Buell quips that there are three main investors: "Me, myself and I."

He answers his own telephone calls now and does his own marketing.

He helps build the race bikes that bear his name, and he would not hesitate to sweep the shop floor or do any other job in the fledgling company.

Harley had offered Buell a job as an adviser in its engineering department. But it probably wouldn't have been a good fit, since Buell's passion is for racing-style bikes rather than Harley cruisers and touring motorcycles.

In the motorcycle industry, Buell has always been an underdog working on a tight budget. Although Harley supported the company financially, Buell's operating budget was minuscule compared with its foreign competitors Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki.

The Harley and Buell corporate cultures sometimes clashed, since Harley was so much bigger than Buell.

Harley shipped 187,085 motorcycles in 2009, compared with 8,753 for Buell and a sister company, Italy-based MV Agusta.

"It was like dancing with an elephant, and the elephant was doing a different dance," Buell said. "That part was always very difficult and was absolutely exhausting."

Now, Buell can make his own decisions.
Lean, fast machines

Harley-Davidson has granted him a license to continue building Buell motorcycles, but for racing use only rather than street riding.

The timing is good, given that a Buell 1125R bike won the coveted American Motorcycle Association sport bike championship last fall. It was the first pro championship for an American motorcycle manufacturer since 1986.

Racing fuels the sport-bike community, where the lean, fast machines are something like Porsche and Ferrari sports cars.

A win at the racetrack can result in millions of dollars in sales for motorcycle manufacturers that use racing as a marketing tool for their street-legal bikes.

"In my mind, we had finally brought Buell Motorcycle Co. to a high level of racing," Buell said.

With limited resources, Buell hopes to build about 25 race bikes this year. He will sell them to race teams and individuals wanting to be successful at the track with something other than Japanese-made motorcycles.

"I still believe that an American-made sport bike has a lot of potential," Buell said.

There will be Buell motorcycles in the Daytona 200 race in March and other races in 2010.

While Erik Buell Racing won't have the resources to sponsor a team this year, it will support other riders on Buell motorcycles.

The company has sold two racing bikes to an Italian race team. It also will sell bike parts to racers.
Competitive urge alive

Buell has a loyal, intense following in the sport-bike world, including riders from other countries.

"In my opinion, Buell was really starting to hit its stride" when Harley-Davidson dropped it, said Graham Mansill, a Buell rider from Brisbane, Australia.

"Harley seemed to be hellbent on crushing Buell just as they were achieving the road racing success that Harley never could," he said. "It's a step in the right direction that Erik Buell has been able to start Erik Buell Racing. What I would really like to see, however, is for Harley-Davidson to do the right thing and release or sell the design and manufacturing rights so that Erik Buell and his elves can develop and manufacture both race and street motorcycles."

Buell, however, says he understands that Harley had to make the choice it made. "We understood that they needed to focus on their core business in these tough times, and it wasn't us."

His new company could be a bridge to something else, or it could remain a small, niche business.

A few key suppliers chose not to make parts for the new, smaller company. That was a temporary setback.

"I don't expect to show a profit this year," Buell said. "If we are a little sluggish coming into the racing season, that's OK considering what we have been through."

In the 1970s, Erik Buell recorded the fastest qualifying time for a rookie in the history of the Daytona 200. It was quite an accomplishment for a guy who traveled from race to race in a van with two motorcycles in the back, sleeping with the bikes while an occasional hitchhiker shared the driving.

Buell scrounged for motorcycle parts and cash to keep his dream of being a professional racer alive.

That dream is still viable, although redirected a bit.

"I think I had better keep my competitive urge for the business," Buell said.

(reprinted from JSOnline.com)

Still no vote on Nebraska motorcycle helmet repeal

The Legislature took the motorcycle helmet law for another spin around the block on Wednesday.

After a two-hour ride, senators were back where they started with no first-round decision on whether they'll try to repeal Nebraska's law requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets.

Pending is an effort by Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont to amend his bill to require riders 21 or older who do not wear helmets to have at least $1 million in medical reimbursement coverage. Riders younger than 21 still would be required to wear helmets.

Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, an opponent of the bill, said Janssen's new language provides no penalty for lack of insurance and, in fact, makes it easy for riders younger than 21 to ride without helmets since they would be stopped by law enforcement officers only if they violated another law.

Lack of a helmet would be treated as a secondary offense in the same manner as failure to wear seat belts is not subject to penalty unless a driver is stopped for some other offense.

Janssen's effort to amend his bill to meet concerns expressed by opponents is simply window-dressing, Lathrop said.

During floor debate Wednesday, supporters of the repeal proposal framed their arguments in terms of personal freedom.

Now, state law "says to cyclists that we choose to step on your freedom," Janssen said, when it should be a rider's decision whether to wear a helmet.

"It isn't our job to try to run every step of somebody's life," said Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial.

"Whose rights do we trample on next?" asked Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh of Omaha.

Sen. Cap Dierks of Ewing said the issue involves personal responsibility as well as personal freedom.

Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln said 16 of the 19 motorcyclists who died on Nebraska roads in 2008 were not wearing helmets.

"For the sake of saving lives, we need to not repeal this law," she said.

Lathrop suggested Janssen's revised package acknowledges motorcycle-riding is "a high-risk activity" by mandating eye protection for riders, but is inconsistent in not mandating protective helmets.

The million-dollar insurance provision does not take into account the costs of long-term care, shifting the burden to taxpayers through Medicaid coverage, he said.

"Rehab and long-term care is on us," Lathrop said.

(reprinted from Lincoln Journal Star)

Nebraska Motorcycle Laws

Female Motorcycle Riders Band Together to Raise Money for MDA

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- During this year's 69th Annual Daytona Bike Week, hundreds of female motorcycle enthusiasts and Harley-Davidson Motor Company are banding together to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) and their efforts to find a cure for neuromuscular disease.  On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, the MDA and the Motor Company will host the 3rd Annual Harley-Davidson Women's Ride. 

The Harley-Davidson Women's Ride will feature hundreds of female motorcyclists who'll ride through the streets of Daytona celebrating their freedom and passion for the sport, as well as supporting the important work of the MDA.  All of the ride participants will be encouraged to secure pledges and donations from their friends and families to support MDA Summer Camp programs across the country.  The first 500 eligible riders will receive a 2010 MDA pin, Women's Ride flag and riders who raise $600 will receive a one-of-a kind charm.  Also, the top three fundraisers will receive a Harley-Davidson jacket.  Last year's ride raised more than $65,000 for MDA Summer Camps.

Ride staging will take place between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. near Gate 70 of the Daytona International Speedway.  The ride will depart at 10 a.m. and continue to Riverfront Park on Beach Street.  Female riders of any brand of motorcycle interested in participating in the ride, or those interested in pledging support for the riders can go to www.mdarides.org. 

In addition to the Women's Ride, the Motor Company is also hosting a women's area at Riverfront Park on Beach Street throughout Bike Week. Experienced women riders or those just looking for information on how to get started can learn more about the sport by participating in bike lift seminars and getting information about learning to ride. They'll also be able to enter a raffle to win a new Pink Label Collection item from Harley-Davidson MotorClothes®.

For more information and to register for the 3rd Annual Harley-Davidson Women's Ride, visit www.mdarides.org.  To learn more about Harley-Davidson and women riders, visit www.harley-davidson.com/womenriders.

Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit Harley-Davidson's Web site at http://www.harley-davidson.com.

SOURCE Harley-Davidson