And Now Something Different: 1990 Buell RS1200/5 Westwind
They don’t always have to be handmade in a small Italian workshop to be considered rare. I’m on a roll this week of posting bikes I have very limited knowledge of and the Buell RS1200/5 continues that. The seller is a little unsure of the actual year of the bike; debating between a 1989 or 1990. The numbers I saw claimed only 7 produced in 1998 and 95 produced in 1990. What savvy RSBFS reader can solve the model year mystery? Now you may notice the /5. That is the designation for the two seat model. I can’t seem to find production numbers on the two seat version and they may be included in the numbers above. It’s never simple.
Yes, if you are used to Ducati’s and Bimota’s it is a little funky looking. Owners sure seem to love them though.
Because of its’ somewhat funky looks you might overlook the fact the RS1200 had some nice features. The frame was a unique design to help eliminate vibration. The bodywork was all designed in house. The brakes were of Buell’s own design. The wheels are Performance Machine, the exhuast is from Super Trapp and the forks are Marzocchi units. The Harley Sportster engine put out approximately 60hp and was untouched internally.
The auction details:
This is a very early production Buell from what ive read one of the 1st 100 this could be a 1989 model but titled as a 1990 its hard to get specific info ive found a couple 1990s and this bike was an earlier production Its not a 1991 they have a diff front fender. It is very original inc paint,chrome,fiberglass,tyres and original wheels. we put a battery in it and fresh gas last year it started and ran good. I brought it home started it and rode it about a mile it ran great shifted nice it was very responsive and everything worked motor sounded good shifted the same and I will guarantee this mechanically no trans problems motor noises smooth! From there on its the buyers. Dont bid or buy this if you dont know anything about bikes and just want to ride.It will need complete servicing and going over as its been sitting a long time.A great addition to a collection. These are very rare and hard to come by you may never see another
The seller doesn’t go into any detail in the information he provided but in the auction title he claims the bike was owned by Arlen Ness. Not sure if that is a selling point but good for some trivia and talking point over a beer.
The photos make it out to be an awfully clean bike. The auction has drawn some interest already but there is a reserve on the bike which hasn’t been reached, as of this writing. I did see some talk on a forum of a RS1200/5 selling in the $5,000 range. Anyone have input on a price?
By the way, have you seen what Eric Buell has been up to lately? Mighty nice!!
Ian
Hey Ian – good find with that one, wanted to clear some things up though. I’m by no means an expert, but the /5 denotes that this is a 5-speed model, where previous models only had a 4-speed trans. The single-seat variant was known as an RSS1200 and is bit more rare than the RS models. $5k would be a extrmely conservative price on this bike based on the cleanliness, though it has been sitting. I’d expect something north of $7-8k for this example, $9-10k if it hadn’t been sitting for so long.
Mark,
Thanks for setting me straight and good insight into the price range.
One thing i noticed with this buell is that the “Buell” lettering above the headlight is not there. I am interested in this bike, but it seems to have a faint aroma of repaint. Paint is gone from master cylinder etc. i need to stare at the photos some more before i pull the trigger.
I stumbled on this from a Buell enthusiasts forum – and funny enough, I knew that bike; I worked for Arlen at the time he bought the bike from a guy named Randy – Randy tried to sell it to me first (he knew I was a Buell nut) but frankly I didn’t have the money. It was definitely a 4 speed – Randy was selling it because he had bought a 5 speed model, and I think the clutch needed service on this one. I recall when I first saw it (in 1994) Randy had mounted those aftermarket turns signals on it, which really turned me off – impossible to repair and keep the original paint. This bike is an echo of what the old Buell Motor company was – a boutique builder of hand built American sport bikes. Scary expensive in it’s day, but there was nothing like it on the road – even if you did have to drop the engine just to service the clutch (a particular nasty trait of the 4 speeds).