The Kneeslider

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US Highland Closes Plant While Looking for Financing

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After the founding partners of brand new motorcycle maker US Highland were killed in a plane crash, the company struggled to get back on its feet with an interim COO but things haven’t gone so well. The plant was recently idled and Southbridge Advisory Group is looking for financing to continue operations. Not good but not unexpected.

Negotiations are in final stages for the funding,” and manufacturing will resume after a deal is closed, company representative Ron Brewer said Wednesday in an e-mailed statement.

Upon completing funding, US Highland will commence full operations in Tulsa (Mounds) again for the manufacturing and sale of their new product lines launching in 2011,” said Brewer, managing director for Southbridge Advisory Group.

It would be a boost for everyone if this works out.

Link: Tulsa World

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Business

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Comments

  2. I like the idea of a 950 vtwin dirt bike. But their price tag is a bit much, I talked to a rep about it one day. I understand it isn’t a japanese bike, but the people that buy your bikes most likely aren’t guys that have that kind of money to spend on a toy. And yes you get a custom set up for you and all the details its great, and yes it will cost you, but if they are going to be successful it will need to be a bit cheaper. Even double the cost of a japanese bike is a much better place to start than where they are at.

  3. Such a shame. It almost seems like there’s a curse hanging over the US motorcycle industry.

    On the bright side, it seems like they’re still holding it together and with Highland, Motus, Erik Buell Racing and Fischer, maybe one day we will finally see some serious, non-cruiser motorcycles made in the US.

    • “Such a shame. It almost seems like there’s a curse hanging over the US motorcycle industry.”

      That’s exactly what I was thinking too!

    • EBR is NOT an american motorcycle…its a chassis design with ROTAX engine!!! Fisher is a chassis design with Hyosung Engine!!! When will america have a real competitive high quality AMERICAN sportbike!

      • With the way things are going regarding EPA certification for a new engine in this country, I don’t look for many new mills to pop up on the horizon anytime soon. It will be great to see Motus succeed in bringing a new engine into mainstream production, but the mountain that lies ahead in the way of the EPA is bound to be costly to surrmount.

        As far as Fischer and EBR go, they are built right here in the USA, so yes, they are indeed American motorcycles. The fact that they were forced to look elsewhere for a solution to provide a lightweight competitive power train was one choice they were forced to make as the lump in the XR1200 is great, but it’s just too heavy. The bottom line is that when one of Fischer’s or EBR’s bikes is sitting on a dock to leave the country, it’s a product of the USA that’s actually being exported, and that’s a great thing to see.

      • One of the articles I read about Buell said that they (Buell) had said to Rotax “We want this, and this, and this, and this” and Rotax delivered it. Rotax also builds the Aprilia RSV motor (it does, right?). Getting all precious about where its made is fruitless in a global marketplace IMO.

      • Rotax is owned by Bombardier Recreational Products which makes them, if not true American, then at least a company with North American ownership!

  4. The engine and frames alone would give a costume bike builder a nice foundation to start a company with his own vision! This is ripe for the money and leadership to come around! Good Luck!

      • Harley Davidson are probably making more money out of T shirts than bikes here in the UK at the moment so ‘Costume’ builder sums them up quite well!

        Best of luck to Highland. I took an interest in the bikes when they were being developed in Sweden and was saddened by the news last year.

  5. This would be a great opportunity to pull together the resources of Eric Buell, Highland and maybe Victory?

    • If I were on Polaris’ board, I’d certainly be thinking about something like that. Particularly Erik Buell because it seems like he’s on the verge of having a competitive Superbike. Superbikes may seem a dime a dozen in some ways, but it’s very hard to get one going. I’d expect you could buy Erik Buell Racing (under conditions agreeable to Erik B.) for a good bit less than it cost BMW to develop their R1000SS.

      The Halo effect of having a Superbike could do a lot to put Victory on the map. Unfortunately, since Polaris and BRP compete head to head in many arenas and since BRP makes the engines for EBR, that could be a sticking point.

  6. American Big Guns need to think outside the box on this one your right! They have enough in place to build a winner!

  7. I was sad to hear of the plane crash and I am very bummed that they are having to close there doors (hopefully) temporarily. I see lots of potential and really neat bikes that I want to own. I wish them luck in a tough market and economy.

  9. Good luck to them. It was a sad day when that plane crashed. The brains of the operation died before they could even start. Let’s hope the brains weren’t limited to those three. The products look great, every single one. A 268lb 950 Street Tracker?!?!

  10. I am hoping against the odds that Highland will survive. The flattracker has been my desktop wallpaper since I first saw the picture. The 950 streettracker is the playbike of my dreams.