Patriotic bike enthusiast, racer, and entrepreneur Erik Buell had a dream: to make an all-American sportbike. That would have been nearly impossible for a small-timer to do if he’d insisted on creating an engine from scratch to power the bike, so Buell took a proven, iconic American motor and stuck it into his new motorcycle.…
Relegated to the past at least until someone re-incarnates the brand, Buell Motorcycles and Erik Buell Racing built some motorcycles that required one to suspend disbelief when new models were shown. The track-only XBRR was one, the head-scratchingly big twin road racer offered here in new condition. 2006 Buell XBRR for sale on eBay Built…
Not long after Harley-Davidson purchased a 49 percent stake in Buell Motorcycles, the company introduced their more mass-produced bikes, the 1995-96 S2 Thunderbolt touring bike, and curiously afterward, the S1 Lightning sportbike in 1996-98. With total production of about 5,000 units, the S1 was a nice success for Buell as they tooled up for the…
Given a clean sheet of paper and nearly unlimited resources, it’s no surprise when major manufacturers come up with good motorcycles. In fact, when you consider those factors, it’s shocking how often they get it wrong… But Buell had neither advantage in building his motorcycles and still managed to come up with some very interesting…
From the S2 Thunderbolt of 1994-95, the Buell S1 Lightning was a decrease in model number and price, but an improvement in many ways. Developed by Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell, the Buell bikes pioneered many innovative features but never denied their desire for the brute horsepower of the 1203cc Sportster engine. 1998 Buell S1 Lightning…
Update 4.22.2015: This bike is heading to a new home. Congratulations to buyer and seller! -dc Update 10.6.2014: Now on eBay, links added. -dc Certainly not the handsomest machine, Buell’s XBRR was a factory racebike based on their XB12 streetbike that featured Buell’s customary obsession with mass-centralization and weight-reduction. Both very good ideas, considering the…
I’m really not sure what it was that made Erik Buell stick with Harley Davidson power for so long. Maybe it was patriotism? Stubbornness, a desire to do something simply because no other sane person would even attempt it, let alone succeed? Who knows, but the bikes he came up with, especially in those early…
Stunning bike, stunning hardware, stunning photography. Move quickly: there’s not much time left on this American superbike from maverick Erik Buell’s reborn EBR. It’s a tragedy that this came just a few years after Harley euthanized their sportbike division. With a ball-peen hammer. Harley has been resting on its laurels for far too long: they’ve…