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Erik Buell Racing of East Troy has restarted its motorcycle production and says the first bikes will be finished March 17.

The company's new owner also said Tuesday it has named managers, including Steve Smith, a former automotive industry engineer, as president and Erik Buell as chief technical officer.

Erik Buell Racing is the sequel to Buell Motorcycle Co. that Harley-Davidson Inc. owned for more than a decade before Milwaukee-based Harley dropped the brand in 2009.

The East Troy plant employed about 130 people until it ceased operations 11 months ago. Bikes were left unfinished on the assembly line when the company filed for Chapter 128 receivership, a state court procedure similar to bankruptcy.

Now, under the new ownership — Liquid Asset Partners of Grand Rapids, Mich. — production is expected to ramp up slowly, with a few employees, and spending will be modest.

"We have to be cautious. This time next year I don't want to be looking back and saying, 'Oops, we spent too much money,'" said Smith, who was with the company as chief of operations for less than three years before it shut down last April.

The first bikes to be produced will be 1190RX and 1190SX models, similar to the ones made before the company closed. Prices and other information are expected to be released next week.

Liquid Asset Partners has scheduled an auction to sell machinery, tools and motorcycle parts that are not part of the current production. The auction will take place over 30 to 45 days, beginning March 18.

The company acquired Erik Buell Racing in a January auction. The goal is to produce 2016 model-year motorcycles while, at the same time, the company seeks a new buyer or investors for Erik Buell Racing.

"We still feel there is room for new partnerships or investment, but it is not critical. I think the main point is that we have a solid base, financial stability and a great plan in place to be profitable. We have goals for a five-year plan and a 10-year plan as well," said Bill Melvin Jr., Liquid Asset Partners owner and chief financial officer of Erik Buell Racing.

The company has about a dozen employees now, compared with 170 at its peak.

"The management team is looking through production goals for coming months, and there will be some hiring," Melvin said, but the number of jobs created, at first, will be small.

Starting out small, at the high end of the sport bike market, is the strategy of the new company.

"We don't have to match the production levels of the Japanese or Italian motorcycle manufacturers ... our focus is to have a great quality product, which has already been proven," Melvin said.

Getting dealerships to carry the brand again could be a challenge, however, since some dealers were stuck with unsold bikes when the company closed.

Erik Buell Racing is shipping parts now for the earlier motorcycles, but some customers have complained about not having a warranty.

"I don't know if this company can directly offer a warranty (for the previous bikes) because the old company is not associated with the new one. But we are looking at the possibility of offering an extended warranty through a third party, or something like that, to give people a sense of confidence. If we can find the financial wherewithal to do it, it's in our wheelhouse," Smith said.

The new company doesn't have a large advertising budget.

"A lot of folks are knocking on our door, saying, 'Give us $1 million and we will get a marketing plan going.' But that's probably not in the cards for us now. We are going to do a lot of grass-roots marketing," Smith said.

"We have plans and budgets that look pretty darn good ... and we are the only American sport bike company," he added.

Smith's career has included positions in engineering, finance, production, marketing and product development at automakers Toyota and Ford. He has a graduate degree in business from Pepperdine University.

At Erik Buell Racing, "I am kind of like the gatekeeper, as far as the money coming in and the money going out," Smith said.