| Author | Message | ||
     Conchop |
Google up the first rides of the new Triumph Explorer and Honda Crosstourer. Both are electric smooth and torque torque torque. They are said to be extremely comfortable and able to carry heavy loads for day long tours. The ADV genre has gone "range rover" [ except in terms of reliability] This looks like a huge challenge to EBR and the Uly AX. I am expecting great things to come from AX. | ||
| Buewulf |
I am expecting great things to come from AX. Is there even going to be an AX, or is this just wishful thinking? | ||
| Hughlysses |
Is there even going to be an AX, or is this just wishful thinking? EBR's webpage lists it as a future model:  There's nothing that says it's an adventure bike, but given the success of the Uly, it seems like a certainty that it is. | ||
| Fordhotline |
Build it and they will come! | ||
| Conchop |
Whoa - finally a sign. Judging by what I'm seeing with the Explorer and the Cross, the AX had better be UBER smooth, torquey, featured farkles, and soulful. The competition is getting fierce in the ADV world. These new bikes are Cadillacs. You know it will be shootout time. | ||
| Skifastbadly |
Free beer all day tomorrow. | ||
| Schwara |
Now I'm paying attention ... free beer where? | ||
| Conchop |
A fully loaded 16K$ Uly AX and a free beer to seal the deal? | ||
| Redtail |
Is this the Bigfoot and Lochness site? | ||
| Motoroilmccall |
Yeah, not sure I trust all that. The website has said that future model stuff for a while. | ||
| Conchop |
At this pace, we'd do better spotting UFO's. | ||
| Uly_man |
Well a RS is $40,000 and can not see why any other model would be much less. At the moment EBR is a bespoke/small maker of bikes. EB tried to put his bikes onto a market dominated by the likes of Honda and such. They alone have an output of close to 2 million units a year. Given the numbers I think EB did very well but he will have a problem selling to a mass market now due to costs etc. Its a shame that HD did not go with the brand. I have never seen a bike brand that upgraded or built new models as fast as Buell did. And shame is very must what HD should have because in a few more years and better support of Buells they would have done well out of the deal. Mind you we live in a world of "two list" account books and some only see the bottom line of today. The likes of Buell will not come this way for many a year if ever again. Its not even been two years and they are starting to become a sought after as a "classic" in there own right. | ||
| Buewulf |
I would disagree that the bike would need a price tag similar to the 1190 RS. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember reading in a mag that the Rotax motor gets torn down and substantially reworked before it becomes the motor in the 1190. If EBR were to use the standard motor, ditch the carbon fiber and other unobtanium parts, and trade out the trick suspension parts for more run-of-the-mill units, they could probably produce a competitively-priced bike. I don't think there is much thought put into ERP planning around the 1190. Surely their focus was to build the best go-fast bike they could, not the easiest-to-produce bike. Of course that still depends on a lot of other things like product demand necessary for critical mass, a dealer network, sufficient capital, etc. I'd wager Erik Buell has the credibility and the right contacts to get a true motorcycle production company going if that were his goal, but does EBR even want to be anything but a boutique firm? They may be doing exactly what they want to be doing right now for all I know - quarterly reports be damned. Or they may want to take the slow road and retain complete control over the direction of the company by trying to grow it organically with few or without any outside investors. I honestly can't say whether or not I would consider a new AX, RX or SX as my next bike until I see one, but I can say I hope EBR brings them all to fruition and becomes a true success story similar to Hinckley Triumph effort. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember reading in a mag that the Rotax motor gets torn down and substantially reworked before it becomes the motor in the 1190. If EBR were to use the standard motor, ditch the carbon fiber and other unobtanium parts, and trade out the trick suspension parts for more run-of-the-mill units, they could probably produce a competitively-priced bike. You remember correctly. So for an 1190RS, you're paying for the full cost of an 1125R engine, plus: - The labor for someone to tear that engine down, throw away the rods, pistons, valves, cams, valve springs, and probably some other parts - The cost of reworking the heads substantially - The cost of reworking the crank - The cost of limited production new replacement parts including rods, pistons, valves, cams, springs, etc. - The labor for hand-reassembly of all those parts. I imagine Rotax could easily re-tool to make production line 1190 engines which would only cost slightly more than the 1125 engine. That, along with production line assembly (rather than custom hand assembly) of new EBR bikes will bring the price down substantially. | ||
| Conchop |
I figure EBR's association with the Indians will develop into something of a mass marketing effort, IF he doesn't get a HD deal out of them. | ||
| Buewulf |
That, along with production line assembly (rather than custom hand assembly) of new EBR bikes will bring the price down substantially. If production targets were to be set similar to the 1125R/CR production at the time of the demise, there is really no reason it would have to cost that much more than either of those bikes save for the addition of an advanced electronics package - pretty much required in Sportbike and ADV Bike markets now (we are so spoiled) - should that be offered and some lost economies of scale from parts sharing with the XB line. Percentage-wise, that price increase might be notable, but all in all, I wouldn't expect the price to be any scarier than competing products. I wonder what kind of demand they forecast for those "future models". That would be very interesting to know. |
