Thursday, October 15, 2009

Long Live Buell Motorcycles

Sad sad news on the American motorcycle front, Buell Motorcycles is ceasing operations on new bikes and products. I am in absolute love of my Buell and seeing the sad video from Erik Buell announcing the decision is truly heart breaking. Just as Buell was clawing its way to the top of the sport bike racing circuit the plug has been pulled. Buell motorcycles are bitchin' to ride because of all the torque and power to weight ratio. The smooth flow of racing into turns and accelerating from zero to one hundred feels as if you are taking off in a jet. Its a bucking bronco with a growl all its own. My only wish is that since Harley also acquired MV Augusta, why didn't they push Buell and MV out into their own dealerships to build the sportbike brand? The average Harley rider is not a Buell aficionado and in my mind they limited the growth as Buell could never step out into its own. Surely there have been huge discussions on this in Milwaukee and with market share dropping for Harley, I am guessing they are pulling back to focus on their core brand. At the end of the day, it probably looked best on paper to shelve Buell, but maybe a privateer type company can come in and breathe new life into the American sportbike that was on its way to the top. Also below is a random selection of gorgeous Buell models from a random "Buell" search in Google.


Buell Motorcycles