Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

" ! • By Scott Rousseau rik Buell is in the en viab le po sition o f be in g ab le to go throu g h lif e with no regrets. lt has alrea dy bee n 16 years since the former Harley-David son eng ineer began the laboriou s task of bu ild ing mo torcycles of his own unique design , and it all began with the Buell RW750 in 1983 . The 750cc, two-s tro ke , squa re -four, ro ta ry -va lved raci ng machi ne was d esigned specifically to compete in th e AMA's premier Formula One road racing se ries . Th e prototype RW750 fir st made its competitive debut in an AMA Nationa l a t Pocono Speed way in th e summer of 1983. Buell continued extens ive tes ting and development work on the bike through out tha t seas on, refin in g the bi ke in to a more co m petiti ve racer, a nd his effor ts appea red to pay off. During testing a t Talladega, Alabam a , the RW750 was clocke d at a to p speed of 178 mph. Developmen t on th e RW750 continued th rou gh 1984, and a p rod uction ver sion was released at the end of the year. Just one unit was sold befo re the AMA pu lled the plug on Formula One in 1985, a nno u nci ng tha t th e class wo u ld b e abandoned in fa vo r of Superb ikes fo r the 1986 seaso n, e ffec ti ve ly ki lli ng Buell's project. Und au nted, Buell merely se t a new goa l, th is ti m e darin g to bui ld a tr ue w orld -cla ss s por tb ike tha t wo u ld be d esigned and built in the USA. His road racing and Harley-David so n engi nee ring heritage certainly sho wed in his first attem pt , w hich wa s called th e RR1000. The rad icall y s tyled sing le-seater was powered by a Harley-Davidson XR1000 , en gine , with the stiff, lig ht cha ssis featuring a rubber engi ne-mou nting sys tem that later beca me a pa tented engineering trademark of Buell sportbikes. The RRlOOO utilized the engine as a fully stressed member of the fra me, an d also in co rpora te d a ground -breaking new rear-su spension system that saw th e rear shock absorber mounted un derneath the engi ne . The shock operated in rev erse of the conventio nal co m pres sion-rebo un d practice, extending rather th an compressing wh en und er a load . A total of 50 RRlOO m odels we re proO du ced du ring 198 7-88 . Th en H arleyDavid son 's XR1000 engi ne su pply wa s depl eted . But Buell saw the opportunity to continue developing his design by using the 12030c Harley-Da vid son Evo lutio n XL e ng ine in ste a d of th e XR, a nd thus began redesigning the chassis to accommodate the Sports ter mo tor. The res ulting RRI200 model was introd uced during 1988, and 65 were produced for sa le through 1989. Buell cons tantly conti nu ed to evolve his motorcycles, introducing the RSI 200, a two-sea t version of the RR model, in 19 89. Prod u cti on fi g ures s tea d ily increased as well. Just over 100 RSI 200s were produced throu gh 1990. Five-speed transmissions we re a new feature of the Harley-Davidson XL engine in 1991, and Buell responded by adapting new engine-mounting poi nts and fu rther impro vin g the RS chassis. Th e 1991 mod els we re the first Buells to use inverted front forks, stainless-steel braided brake lin e s and a six-pis ton Iro nt-orake caliper. As Buell motorcycles were refined, E th e co m pany's manufactu ring capa bilities w e re ex pa nded . Th e 199 1 m od el ye ar m ar ked th e fir s t in which Bu ell Motorcycle Co mpa ny not only designed bodywork , but produced it in its own new co mposit e a n d pai n t shop. The result w as g rea te r quality con trol and improved design flexib ility. Harking back to the RR, Buell in trod uced a s ingle -sea t version of th e RS1200, du bbed th e RSS1200, fo r the 1992 model yea r. Combined production of RSS a nd RS m od el s to tal ed 325 throug h 1993. His success through the years did not go un not iced, especially by hi s former e m p lo yers, an d in February of 199 3, Harley-Davi dson an nounced tha t it had acqu ired 49 per cen t of the Buell Mo torcycle Co mpany, providin g The Mo tor Com pa ny with an inro ad to the sportbike market and Bue ll with the capita l tha t he would need to ens ure th e survival of the marque. So a r med , Bu e ll res tyled a nd . renam ed his motorcycle again for 1994, launching the 5-2 Thunderbolt tha t has beco me the platform for the res t of the Buell fami ly , which has expanded to incl ude bot h a stan dard and sport-tou ring vers ion of the Th und erbolt, the hotrod sing le-sea ter SI Lightning (and lim ited-edin oo Wh ite Lig htn ing), a nd th e "spo rt standa rd" M2 Cy clone. Under the guid a nce of rece n tly na med presid en t a nd chi ef o pe ra ting officer Jerry Wilke, Buell now maintains a 171-dealer network wi thin the United (Top) The RR1000 was Erik Buell's first attempt at a single seat. XR1 DOO-powered, full-race sportblke. (Above) In 1994, Buell launched the S2 Thunderbolt that has become the platform for the rest of the Buell family. (Left) Buell took on the "hotrod" look with the single-seat S1. (Below) The Buell headquarters in Wisconsin. States, its ma rk et sh are growing fro m 8.3 percen t to 16.2 percent in the 1995-96 model year. Its 1998 production goa l is 3895 units, a far cry from the production ru n of a s ing le Japan ese s po r tb ike model, but a vast improvement ove r the o r igi na l 50 RRIOOO In addi tio n, the s. company continues to increase its recognition factor wi th the introdu ction of the Buell Riders Ad ventu re Grou p (BRAG) Buell' s ver sio n of th e Harley Owne r' s Group, if yo u will . and in moto rcycle racing w ith the Buell Lightning Series, under the sanction of No rth American Sport Bike. Through it all, Erik Buell has continued to do thi ngs his way, buildi ng American sport motorcycles tha t utilize si mple, innovative technology to enhance the riding experience. No reg rets. '" r-, 0"0"- ...... c<) ...... .... rJJ ::i 0.0 ::i

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