That doesn't make my point wrong. It just means my point is highly unlikely, if not impossible (my point being he might be better off using conventional/proven parts and designs, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. He is/was trying to compete with the Japs, by using his own unconventional ideas/designs...rather than using known and proven designs. The R&D is out there (already done by the Japs). No need to reinvent the wheel. I don't see what is "dead wrong" about what I said. He is trying to compete with the Japs and target the same demographic, by "going against the grain" and trying to use his own ideas, rather than what works. If he doesn't want to use a typical V-Twin or I4 motor, and he doesn't want to use a convention braking setup, and he likes belts rather than chains, and he wants to store fuel in the frame, and all the other stuff he wants to do/use...then stick to street/naked bikes and go after the "Harley type" crowd rather than continuing trying to compete with the Jap Sportbikes.
That engine is great on the street. But how many DNF's did it get in WSBK? Or when it did finish, how much off pace was it? To answer your last question, yes I've ridden several of the different models several different times (only on the track, I've never ridden one on the street).
Look how far off the pace any privateer ZX10 is compared to Rea and Sykes. It's not just the platform, riders and resources count. The business model obviously doesn't work, but there's nothing wrong with the motorcycle. It's actually mind boggling what they've been able to do with a little shop in East Troy, WI.
His different design is probably what helps him secure investors. If he showed the investors a design like the Japanese have, they would probably just walk away. No way anyone wants to take them on in motorcycle development.
When they tried to get more out of the motor, it blew up. Over and over. I'm not saying it is a bad bike. I'm just saying it is not competitive in the market he is trying to target. For the same money somebody can get a lot more bike. I fully agree with your last comment. I have always appreciated his efforts and his passion for the sport. I've always wished him success.
Unique motorcycles with a lot of heart, character and ingenuity. Charismatic founder. Went WSBK racing on a budget. Lots of kudos coming from me. Wish I could do something as amazing.
A undercapitalized company fails ( again ) Not too shocking. The motor issues and things Broome brings up are/ would be fixable with cubic$ to throw at the problems.
If the cubic$ aren't there, then perhaps go with a conventional/proven setup to establish yourself/brand until you can generate the cubic$ yourself....THEN try incorporating some of your new and different ideas. Like somebody said earlier, the time to bring out unconventional ideas and try new stuff is after you have established yourself as a brand/company. I just hate to see EBR continue to fail. It is obvious he has a lot of passion for motorcycles and is a very smart guy with a great engineering mind. I hate seeing the constant failures and wish we had a kickass American Sportbike.
Gem of the day: I just had a guy tell me that just because these bikes aren't good at racing, doesn't mean they're bad bikes. The word "Racing" is in the company name.
motor is good frame is good brakes were shit and the bodywork was but ass ugly. Put normal brakes and reasonable bodywork on it and it would have bee a darn good bike!!!! The fact that they were FUGLY didn't help things.. more street bike are bought because of looks than actual performance. If performance mattered that much Honda would be out of business.
That's what was said on another forum. Not my words. I wouldn't say they were particularly good either.
One thing I learned and will yell at the wailing wall is, I will never do business with or support anything that Hero does or sells.
This. Cool bikes but good lord they are terrible to look at it. And let's be completely honest here, in the American market, racing doesn't actually mean that much. This isn't Europe. Most sportbike owners have no clue how good their bike has done in racing. It's all about the crumpet, I suppose. What looks cool and has a nifty name like ninja, fire blade, or gixxer and is sure to pull some tail. And those things had zero appeal on the American market as a whole. An EBR 1190rx? Sounds like a Chinese off brand bike and looks the part to anyone who's not an actual enthusiast (again, most of our market). Sad, in my opinion. He kinda reminds me of Britten. But going that far outside the norm is like banking your whole golfing carer on a single hole in one. Not impossible but you better hit it perfect and simply blow everyone's mind. Let's just say it was every bit as good as every other bike on the market. When in history has an upstart broken into the big leagues by simply being just as good as it's much bigger competitors? It just doesn't happen, at least not without a hell of a marketing campaign and a lot of luck. You have to offer something better than what's already available.
