Erik Buell has broken his silence on the issue of Erik Buell Racing’s closure. Buell released a statement on his Facebook page, explaining the cause behind the company’s closing and hinting at what lies ahead for the embattled motorcycle brand.

In his statement, Buell pretty much confirmed what a lot of people had suspected: the company didn’t have enough money to sustain operations. No matter what people say, money is still the engine that makes companies run and EBR just didn’t have enough of it to remain in operation.

It’s a sad turn of events that really encapsulates the tricky and extremely competitive nature of the motorcycle industry. For a while, EBR was able to ride that wave cleanly as it built a host of impressive superbikes ranging from the 1190RS, 1190RX, and 1190SX. It also achieved a great deal with its partnership with India’s Hero Motorcycles, creating what Buell described as “revolutionary work” on the HX250R, Leap, SimplEcity, iON, and RnT models.

But in the end, EBR just couldn’t sustain all the costs that came with running a pretty expensive operation. It tried to stay above water for as long as it could, but in the end, the weight of its financial problems was just too much to overcome.

So is this the last we see of Erik Buell Racing? Its founder doesn’t think so, which is the right attitude to have in times like this. Despite the problems plaguing his company, Buell reassured everybody that he was going to make “every possible effort” to help EBR’s next incarnation get into the best business and financial shape as possible.

That’s far from a guarantee at this point so the best we can all do is hope that Buell can follow through on his promise.

Continue reading to read more about Erik Buell's statement regarding the closure of EBR.

Why it matters

Erik Buell touched on a lot of things in his statement, but the biggest takeaway is that the company was in over its head trying to do too many things with too little funding to do it.

It's a sad state of affairs but one I'm confident that Buell and the rest of his crew can overcome like they always do. Remember, this isn't the first time the company has been plagued with problems like this so if there's a silver lining to this closure, it's that the company understands what it's dealing with and knows what to do under such circumstances.

Like everybody else, I'm rooting for Erik Buell Racing to get back on its feet, better than it has ever been. Whether that happens remains to be seen, but in times like this, all of us can only hope that Buell and his team can take the right measures to ensure that whoever buys the company can get it back up and running. I can't say if that's going to happen soon, or if it's going to happen at all.

It would be a crying shame if everything EBR built and developed over the years is reduced to nothing. For all of its problems in the past, it did build a number of incredible sports bikes that will last the test of time.

Let's just hope that this isn't the last we see of Erik Buell Racing. I'm confident that we'll see the company back in some way, shape or form.

Good luck, EBR! In the spirit of racing metaphors, we're rooting for you to win this race!