1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt
Miles: 15,000
Clean California Title
Listed Price: $3,900
This 1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt is bit of a red headed stepchild in the sportbiking world, and the company always struggled to find its niche. Erik Buell’s choice to power his early bikes with Harley’s low-revving lump meant these bikes would have been largely uncompetitive in most racing classes at the time. But it also meant his machines could be proudly made in America and were excellent roadbikes, with a distinctive character and plenty of midrange grunt from the tuned 1203cc 45° Harley-Davidson v-twin Sportster engine that produced a claimed 76hp. The complete bike was reasonably light at 480lbs wet, had flickable handling, and you can get most parts to keep one running at your local Harley dealer. What’s not to like? Well, build quality was supposedly a bit spotty, parts can vibrate loose, and the bike will slowly walk itself backwards if you leave it idling on an incline, but it seems a small price to pay for a bike this cool. The same could be said of an old Norton Commando, and everybody loves those, right?
Immaculate 1995 Buell S2, first year with white frame and optional PM wheels, original condition with Super Trapp exhaust, Corbin seat, tank bra. 15k original miles, runs excellent. A full 3 ring binder of history, original documentation back to purchase papers, brochures, certificate of authenticity, service history and service bulletins, owners manual, part manual, workshop manual, etc. Includes original OEM muffler, A beautiful piece of American iron 🙂 as good as you will find. Clean CA title and current plates. $3900
These early Buell tube-frame models are still shockingly undervalued, I think. I recognize that Buell is a bit of an upstart brand, with no significant racing laurels and the usual kit-bike reputation, but the bikes are fun to ride, handle well, and the Harley engines have character in spades and virtually endless aftermarket parts support. This 1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt looks pristine, comes with the fantastically retro Performance Machine wheels, lots of history, has very reasonable miles, appears to be in excellent condition, and the asking price is basically peanuts, for what you’re getting.
-tad
How does one make an offer on this piece of history?
I owned a 2004 Buell Firebolt XB12R, the fuel-in-frame, oil-in-swingarm model, with the optional polished ceramic dual outlet race muffler. That bike handled superbly, and I loved the torquey engine, bring that my first Street bikes were a Triumph Bonneville and a Norton Commando. But I sold it after a job loss, and the riding position was becoming a bit uncomfortable for me. The S2 looks less extreme, so I’m interested…
It has already been removed from the Craigslist posting by the OP, so it must have gone by the time it showed up here. Too bad.
I knew a guy with an S1. It worked much better after he blue-locktited literally every visible bolt so they wouldn’t vibrate out. He liked the bike a lot!
@KiloCycles – This does happen sometimes. We try to get the listings out before they are gone, but luckily there is still enough passion for sportbikes that they do sometimes go quickly. I see this as a good sign for humanity.