Well it looks like Erik Buell has been forced to close up shop once again and while I wish it was different I have to say that I am not overly surprised. As much as I want to one day buy and support a real American sport motorcycle manufacturer I can’t really say he ever had what I was looking for. The post-Harley EBR was the closest thing to something I would have considered buying but even then I am skeptical about his engineering. Obviously I am not a skilled engineer and I am not knocking him but some of the stuff he put on his bikes didn’t make sense to me as a rider. I don’t want a bike that has a frame so hot I can’t stand to touch it with my leg and until the 1190 RX I didn’t care much for how they looked.

At any rate, I was really hoping they could develop their WSBK bike/team under Larry Pegram and turn the company into something that Americans and foreigners alike could appreciate but I have to assume that with no factory there won’t be a team as of the next race. Sad…

http://lanesplitter.jalopnik.com/erik-buell-racing-has-shut-down-1698051637#