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Agreed, I'm surprised he put that much up.
I dunno about that.
Every generation has their time, their memories, their way. It's not exclusive to this venue.
I remember my dad hated bell bottoms, ridiculed me when I got a pair, just could not get his head around them. The fact that hey, it's what our generation is doing to be different, to do it our way, is not really uncommon imo.
Your kids will do the same to you. And you to them.
Again, it's a shame Alta finds itself in this position.
But, like a student that takes a bunch of loans to get a degree in theature, or a guy that inherits a ton of money,
or that winner of the latest powerball, credit, can be a dangerous thing, It's easy to kinda look at it like play money, or Monopoly money.
Apparently, they got in over their head. It all looked good. Only they know where they spent too much, and what didn't
work to actually get people to give them money for the work they did.
All they know now is, they are in a jam.
Unless the top execs have taken really big salaries for the last few years, and have it squirreled away.
The company can go belly up, but hey, salary is overhead. If their pay was kinda in the norm for a ceo, or engineer, whatever.....
In that case, they win.
I'm still so damn bummed about this I can't get over it. Most of you guys probably saw the hillclimb project we did with them just weeks before they shut their doors. They were extremely happy with what we did and it generated a ton of media attention for them, and that week I was supposed to have a phone conversation with them about the bike and what we could do with it to make it better for hillclimb. I have no idea what that would have led to or what their plans were for next year, but now I pretty much get to sit and wonder about it forever since I never got the call and they closed down that very week. That pretty much went from an incredible high to an incredible low real quick. The thought of having an OEM interested in racing was such a big deal and people were really excited about it, I don't know that an OEM has ever been involved in hillclimb so to potentially have that on the table was uncharted territory. Plus, the bike was phenomenal even in bone stock form, so with a little bit more juice added I think it could have been competitive in pretty much any class. I'm kind of conflicted on buying one now, on one hand there really isn't a lot to go wrong that isn't compatible with a KTM, but if something did you'd be in trouble.
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I dunnoguy, but after seeing what kind of cash they were burning thru, a ton of em.
I mean, those numbers, no wonder HD jumped off that boat real quick.
It sounds like they were trying, they were doing different things. The Red Bull Straight Rythum thing was great for them imo.
But, like most of them, the upper management never lets on to what's really happening. If they told the company at large, "Hey, we are in dire straights, hopefully you guys will have a job next month, but we really don't know........",
shoot, half the workforce would be looking to walk. Morale would plummet. Stuff would leak out, buyers would get second thoughts on buying. You can't blame them. Especially if they're optimistic minded. It's hard to admit you were wrong sometimes.
That the Guys involved, get together and try again
With a new Name
, THE New Balta , like an Alta But Better .
Maybe so. But what is gonna happen now? The jobs are gone. If they don't pay the creditors off, they will lose the tech in court too.
I hope they make deals with creditors, move everything to some place like Detroit, get a bunch of tax breaks from that city, hire a workforce at minimum cost, and start from scratch with the tech they own.
Maybe start a National Motocross series of their own, along with a Straight Rhythm series, held on the same weekend at the same tracks. Camping with a band or 2. Go outlaw a bit, make them The happening thing.
Are still alive so hopefully they still have the dream
And desire , ive seen plenty of companies fold and later
Try again, usually with a new name.
I will say that after the dust settles, we will be able to help Alta owners with what we supply.
Just wanted to share some real info amid all the speculation,
Like @motogrady says, get into a place that pays you to set up a business, learn from your mistakes and work out the money that is owed. Once you have achieved that, new investors will be interested again if they even need them.
Starting an electric series held on the same weekend and tracks as the AMA is a great idea too and other sports like hill climbing and road racing may be other avenues. Many of the non title contenders would probably stay and race.
I will still end up buying one as it is perfect for my needs. I hope they get this sorted as the genie is out of the bottle now.
If it was Alta balking at the terms, and not HD's due diligence that ended the deal, they are more delusional than I can comprehend.
The shame is that their cap table is clearly so bloated that they aren't even attractive as a purchase.
For the consumer, the best hope is that they go bankrupt and Honda or someone picks up any tech or patents that help them make a CRF-E or whatever.
Any new startup is bound to suffer the same fate in this industry.
Pit Row
I give them major credit for not selling out if that's really how it went down, that would have been horrible for their employees and it would have absolutely killed everything that was so great about the company. Sounds like they pretty much had two options:
A. Sell out to Harley at the expense of their employees and the culture of the company
B. Back out of the deal, hope to secure funding from another source, and try to keep things moving along as they were.
Ultimately, what they choose may not have made any difference to the employees in the end since they all were out of jobs, but the point is it sounds like they choose the option that might give them a chance rather than take the easier route and know their fate for certain. I have a feeling they were hoping that increased sales numbers with their massive price drop would allow them to increase production and thus cut costs (by buying parts in higher quantities from suppliers), but they just couldn't hang on until that tipping point was reached.
I assume the original 15k price was well thought out. Dropping it 4k seemed like a hail mary decision made because they saw they were in trouble a year ago. The OP linked article said the 30% drop in price wasn't likely sustainable or profitable.
Do you know what the margins are for the manufacturer and or resale ? I was trying to guesstimate some numbers based on 1,000 units sold, 50 or so employees, 7 or so executives, rent, debt, insurance, etc. I think there is about 80k off road bikes sold in the US. I was trying to figure what share of that did they plan on getting.
Hell of a tough market to succeed in I guess. Even with the good response to their bikes.
Would probably make for a badass indoor kart racer. Four wheelers for the forest service, commercial mowers for state and city governments....make something they can sell a bunch of so that they can pursue their passion of building e bikes. Isn’t that what we all kind of do ourselves so we can go play with our dirt bikes in the first place?
From a rental standpoint - electric is the way to go - for sure - that would be amazing.
And add in the fact with the push of a button the motor can go from 50hp to whatever you want...
They could add wifi - and if there was a track issue or caution flag all the karts auto to 5mph limit (or 10 etc...)
What's sad is - consumers don't think much about real costs any more. It's always the "number up front" that matters.
But no air filters, air filter oil, air filter cleaning.
No engine oil (right?)
No clutch
no crank or pistons or host of bearings
no transmission
My avg racing customer at a supermini level likely spends around 30k-40k a year to keep 3 bikes going - builds, upkeep, cost of purchase of bikes. 2 equal race bikes with kit suspension over 12k easily alone, not including upkeep
My avg 250f pro type customer spends around 15-20k a bike EASILY. Now days kit suspension is more normal than ever - a good race engine will set you back 5k in parts practically...let alone the build...
and upkeep is at minimum top ends frequently - if you plan to practice on what you race - it's brutal and not worth risking a rod timing out at the wrong moment...
The E bike is far from my favorite - but it has a place and was quite a deal at 11k - 1 year cost of ownership would be hard to beat
2 strokes are simple enough
I don’t like the stealth factor
Company made of people who won’t survive because the company would never turn a profit ever
Invest in racing lots of companies invest
Most bikes are fun to ride
Little maintenance is required on most bikes oil changes filters
Most bikes can be set up to handle fine
Tuneable. Reaching for something else to add
Reasons I don’t want one
1.i like hearing engines Either in my muscle cars or my bikes both street and dirt
2. Price the Alta was way overpriced
3.maintenance isn’t that big a deal to do on bikes
4.stability a start up company that may fail and is not solid at all compared to a company with years of happy customers.
5.battery life when it runs out you may be a long push back to the truck. With a gas bike you can gas and go.
I have #0019 and will be riding it for many years. I have been riding alot of motos for a while and love this motorcycle. Those who have ridden one at length understand.
I'm here in Silicon Valley where the tech is so there will always be talent to make it work. I sure do wish the Alta guys a sucessful restart.
Any of you guys who are local to me, hit me up. I will prolly ride tomorrow.
Edit: in response to some comment here... My wife is a rocket scientist (United Technologies) and she thinks Alta rocks.
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