Erik Buell Racing in of good dealers: Exclusive QA the man himself

By Dennis Johnson

been three years Harley-Davidson pulled the plug on the motorcycle brand, and since the marque’s namesake founder has anything but quiet.

It seemed as the last Lightning XB12Scg was off the East Troy, Wis. line, Erik Buell was running full gallop his next adventure. In rapid Erik Buell Racing was in fall 2009. Its first the 1190rr, was announced the following and a street version of the race the 1190rs, debuted in February at Dealer Expo.

Erik Racing (EBR) now is a fully-fledged, premium performance sportbike in search of a dealer network.

EBR runs a factory racing in AMA Pro Racing Superbike with Danny Eslick and Geoff sponsored by Amsoil and India’s MotoCorp. EBR also has an engineering and distribution arms. For 2012, the OEM has the but there are several new designs for 2013. The company lists the RX, the SX and the AX as models.

How many in all are planned? As explains it, A lot in years ahead. interest is high.

So Buell has busy. We quizzed the design about EBR’s plans for the space.

Dealernews: What kind of are you looking for?

Erik . True sportbike enthusiasts who are as well. Folks who understand how to customer delight. These are fun to ride, have fantastic and promote community. So we want that get along with one

Positive thinkers and doers. of our current and pending dealer have come from referring another dealer to That’s how we want it to be.

How much RD has into building EBR’s of bikes, starting with the

Buell . In terms of effort and a lot! But, we have a of some of the best-of-the-best engineers and people with decades of You would be surprised at how lean we are and how we can move.

We keep our focus on listening to sportbike consumers want, and to that model.

The powersports channel is a different animal it was four, five years How will you compete?

Buell . We are to build a brand-new product which is a big advantage. We are entrepreneurs, and can relate very directly to the of the dealer. That really us understand their needs and them in a way that would be clear to a large manufacturing We need to fully partner the dealers’ entrepreneurial situation, and we are to be doing things differently for reason.

We believe in the American model working hard and smart to success. We consider our dealers to be our in delivering a great motorcycle to our riders. That means we listen to their concerns, and we develop the products and services they need.

How many do you have?

Buell . Early on in we signed a handful. Now we are signing every month. We should hit our of 70 new dealers by the end of August. Interested should contact Jim Dorman at

He is in charge of sales and marketing.

What are you looking for in a dealer and how many dealers are you looking

Buell . That’s simple: enthusiasts that believe in an sportbike, who are also astute people, and who can work together to sports bikes and culture.

in the low 100 range in the U.S. right a bit less than that

What do you want out of your network?

Buell . Honest, communication and endorsement of their for sportbikes by getting their involved. Helping us deliver bikes, great rides, and stories to our customers.

How will the with Hero MotoCorp. EBR’s distribution/dealer network

Given the development deal Hero MotoCorp. what sales plans does EBR

Where do you see the company in five

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