Breaking News. Saxon Motorcycles Is For Sale.

Mark Borodkin, Chief Executive Officer of Saxon Motorcycles is looking for a buyer for his small production custom motorcycle business.  Saxon was originally founded in 2004 at the top of the custom choppers craze, trying to offer production motorcycles at a more reasonable price point than the competition. A lack of originality, multiple warranty issues, a very deficient customer service and of course rapidly deteriorating economic conditions obliged the original owners to sell the company.

On september 24, 2009 Saxon Motorcycles was acquired by Mark Borodkin and Tim Gueltzow,with the intention to revamp the company. The plan included first a survey of all current and potential Saxon owners and dealers to find out areas that needed immediate attention to build a positive Saxon experience . Second, the release of several new models built in a new 40,000 sq.ft facility located in Gilbert, Arizona and equipped to build up to 1200 motorcycles a year.

Due to the severity of the recession in the US, Saxon’s management tried to turn to exportation in Canada & Europe but was never very successful at it. In 2010, a tentative to launch a Bagger model designed by Jim Nasi was also aborted. In 2011, despite rumors of financial difficulties, in a letter to my readers  CEO Mark Borodkin continued to state that his company was still doing fine despite the fragile economy and made a point to announce his fuel injection options offered on most of his 8 models. Today, discreetly, the management is looking for a buyer. Saxon Motorcycles.

32 Responses to “Breaking News. Saxon Motorcycles Is For Sale.”


  1. 1 Brandon Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    One more to bite the dust. Their bikes have never been more than cheap catalog bolt-on bikes.

  2. 2 Rodent Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

    Another one bites the dust!

  3. 3 Drake Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:07 pm

    Know the name but never saw a Saxon in the street!

  4. 4 Kemper Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:13 pm

    To sell Saxon in 2009 at the worst of the recession was a pretty good deal. Buying it was a terrible mistake. Here is the proof.

  5. 5 Greg Van Dine Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    “Today, discreetly, the management is looking for a buyer”. Discreetly? No more…If they find a buyer they should give a 15% commission to Cyril. Ha, ha.

  6. 6 Knucklehead Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    Thats just too bad.

  7. 7 Seymour Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    No offense, but who would be buying that bike?

  8. 8 Brutus Apr 10th, 2012 at 5:49 pm

    We didn’t them….since 2004.

  9. 9 Ozyape Apr 10th, 2012 at 11:44 pm

    One of the indys in Perth, Western Australia (my hometown) has been trying to seel them for the last few years. I have been in their shop a few times since they commenced and I am pretty certain that they have the same bikes they started with. I have seen a couple on the road and they sure don’t look as special as their $50-60K price tag should make them. By my reckoning, for that kind of dough I could have bought something from the local HD dealer and made a already good bike very special…

  10. 10 The Supreme Team Apr 11th, 2012 at 1:02 am

    Sadly,
    Saxon was never run right from the start, especially being “launched” in 2004. Never much flair, never much consistency, definitely nothing “new” or special.
    Sorry to see Mr. Borodkin having got stuck with a stinker. People who have $30K are spending $15K on a used bagger and throwing a paint job on it. People who are spending $50k are getting much more bike than these models.
    Tough call on this one…hope they can pull off some magic, but a buyer??? Not gonna happen.
    Ridley/Big Bear/ Big Dog…shall I keep going? Much bigger market share and better (to some extent) offerings.

    Good luck though…I really do wish all the best to anybody trying to keep a buck in their wallet in this economy.

  11. 11 Steve Kelly Apr 11th, 2012 at 6:40 am

    I have always had a problem with the words ‘Production’ and ‘Custom’ in the same sentence, and ultimately, I believe that this is what scuppers all of this ilk of companies. Why would customers wish to drop their hard earned $$$ on a faux custom ride when they could go to a bespoke custom bike builder?

  12. 12 Jason Hallman Apr 11th, 2012 at 7:31 am

    Not a bad bike but certainly a bad idea from the start. I have a good friend with a Saxon and they were (are) made with quality parts but there isn’t a soul present at all. My advice: let it go. There are only so many people even interested in choppers (if that is what you even want to call them) and there are so many used ones out there that it is hardly worth buying a new one. I am uncertain as to whether it is true or not (I am even too lazy to Google it) but I was told that Pulte homes started Saxon or at least owned them at one time or another. I don’t wish anyone bad luck but I don’t see this as even a blip on the radar. I think custom bikes need to go back to being “custom” bikes and we should get them from “custom builders” like Eric Gorges, Fabricator Kevin, Gard Hollinger and/or build them in our own garages.

  13. 13 Rick Lossner Apr 11th, 2012 at 8:13 am

    Only model that looks ‘popullar’ today is the REAPER. “tentative to launch a Bagger model designed by Jim Nasi was also aborted.” .. .. seeing how baggers are the rage, we can assume this was a bad business decision? I bet BDM was wishing they’d come out with their bagger sooner… and a model that looked like the REAPER here…..

  14. 14 burnout Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:06 am

    Jason you are absolutely correct about the original owners and the bikes’ lack of soul. I was involved (from a dealer standpoint) from the beginning and met resistance every time I recommended improvements for problems. The first Crown frames were not even built the way Gard designed them! Overall the 30 or so bikes in my immediate area are holding up well, after I got the “bugs” out of them. peace

  15. 15 Jason Hallman Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:09 am

    Rick…not argue your point, but I think the key here is that the impracticability of a chopper in general carried a short shelf life. Perhaps the aftermarket companies should have attacked the “bagger” market with more rigor than they did? The BBC and BDM baggers were laughable at best. Take a largely (or at best marginally) ill-handling machine and add more ballast is a poor idea on the outset. They were ugly (my completely subjective opinion) and all of the production motorcycles were plagued with idiosyncrasies of their own coupled with the intrinsic idiosyncrasies of the copied Harley components they were using. They were like an AMC Hornet or Pacer. They used a bunch of parts intended for another purpose originally. Not a good mix and proof that pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered. If the aftermarket was to take on the bagger industry there needs to be a complete “ethnic cleansing” of all the lame half-engineering that happened during the chopper craze and someone can build a successful non Harley bagger that has the ability to serve a low volume niche market.

  16. 16 burnout Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:13 am

    Also, a bagger was attempted in 06 but never made it past a Sceptre frame with hard bags stuck on it. Gard and I had a funny (now) conversation in 06 about the future of baggers. peace

  17. 17 Jason Hallman (Steelchoppin) Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:19 am

    I tried to post this a few moments ago and it got lost somehow so if it shows back up again I apologize:

    Rick, Not wanting to argue your point but if the aftermarket OEM’s would have proceeded to compete with HD in the bagger market with more rigor than they did it could have went differently. I believe there is a market for low volume, high quality baggers that do not rely on half-engineered principles. What I think we need is an “ethnic cleansing” of the half-baked re-engineering that went on during the chopper craze. Most of those bikes were built using parts from Harley or copies of Harley parts. It was largely like an AMC Hornet or Pacer. The BDM and BBC baggers were ugly, ill-handling and ackward looking. Putting more ballast on a chopper goes against everything a chopper is supposed to be and even the average d-bag chopper bike-weeker could sense that something was wrong.

  18. 18 Goran Apr 11th, 2012 at 9:56 am

    Hello bikers.
    We have al of us different experiences in life. And we like and dislike al the time.
    But the sad thing about Saxon Motorcycles is not Saxon, it is that the hole American industry is losing the grip. My company doing business al the time in Europe to provide bikers in Europe with Made in America, products. In the mean time you are letting the Chines take over with their battery hogs. Maybe some parts on a Saxon is made in China, if so It was you letting them do it. At least I have a nice bike in my garage, a Saxon Firestorm. Greetings from Sweden.

  19. 19 CHINGON CHOPPERS Apr 11th, 2012 at 11:07 am

    TOO MUCH TALK.. BUY A VICTORY BAGGER… BOTTOM LINE.

  20. 20 MotorcycleMarc Apr 11th, 2012 at 12:26 pm

    No surprise here. Ya gotta put out a quality product at the right price point. Period. — To survive these transitionary times. Sorry to hear about yet another economic failure in the bike biz.

  21. 21 MDK Apr 11th, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    Love their Pat Kennedy replica chopper.

  22. 22 bigitch Apr 11th, 2012 at 2:12 pm

    why don’t they just ask for a government bail-out???
    good enough for the car boys how about the cycle heads???

  23. 23 Johnny Wolf Apr 12th, 2012 at 12:47 am

    I thought they were gone with the rest. Got in the “game” late, got out late. Fugly then, fugly now. 30-40 years from now, all the kids will want one, a “period correct” 2004 Saxon. Buy them cheap and store ‘m for your grand kids.

  24. 24 big hammer Apr 12th, 2012 at 11:20 pm

    I saw a SAXON on the street (only one) and it was for sale by a private owner. I don’t know if it even ran!

  25. 25 fredp Apr 13th, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Daytec frame after 2010, primo or baker trannys, S&S engines, thunderheart electronics. Exhausts from Supertrapp. Parts list was good,

  26. 26 HDM Apr 15th, 2012 at 2:01 pm

    They got in the game when most were getting out, to date I do not believe they introduced a single new model since they bought the company… not exactly what it takes to move a company forward. Inevitable.

  27. 27 Blackmax Apr 16th, 2012 at 3:50 pm

    Is anyone really surprised by this ????
    Big Dog, Titan, etc, etc, choppers have had their day here in the US of A.
    They’ll always be somebody who wants one, \
    but either they’ll be so poor they have to build it themselves,
    or so rich that they can afford to have somebody build it for them.
    Everything old is new again so they will be back, someday …….

  28. 28 Michael Long Apr 17th, 2012 at 8:32 am

    They never left as far as i’m concerned.I would like to know when the bagger,so called,ever became the first choice of riders,or so called ,bikers?Maybe old men and girls prefer to ride them.As far as looks,a bagger?

  29. 29 GLC Jun 2nd, 2012 at 8:55 pm

    I like the Saxon Crown, It looks vintage and one day there will be a lot people wishing they had bought one. I think If the Owner will hold on, or sell to someone that will keep it going, The bikes will become a Hard to find collectable. They could use some other styles but the crown and the reaper are cool. The baggers will soon drop-off. I say keep it going

  30. 30 saxonman111 Jul 28th, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    I have owned 3 Saxons, a 2005 Sceptre, a 2006 Griffin & currently a 2006 Sceptre. The 05 was a work in progress (the 9th one off the line) and ill concieved with a fat rear tire & LSD. The Griffin was well built & always the center of attention but too big for me. My Sceptre fits me perfectly, is well built, reliable & draws looks where ever I go. 17 digit VIN to boot. Too bad Saxon is headed out as they built a good bike for fair money just weak management. Hopefully someone with some marketing saavy will pick it up and be successful with it – the competition herd has certainly been culled. Buy one now for half the build price & you will be a happy camper.

  31. 31 RD Aug 5th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
  1. 1 Saxon Motorcycles Confirming On Twitter And Facebook It Is Looking For A Buyer at Cyril Huze Post – Custom Motorcycle News Pingback on May 30th, 2012 at 8:00 am
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