The End For Buell Motorcycles

On October 15, 2009, the Harley Davidson Corporation announced that their Buell line of sport, adventure, and street bikes would be discontinued. Harley wanted to focus on their main Harley Davidson brand. The last Buell motorcycle was manufactured on October 30, making a grand total of 136,923 Buell motorcycles made over its 17 year partnership with Harley Davidson.

While not as big in terms of sales volume as the bikes of the Harley brand, Buell’s motorcycles had a smaller but devoted following. Buell motorcycles were seen by many to be not just fast fun bikes to ride or race, but also among the more innovative of American manufactured motorcycles. They featured a patented new brake design that put the brake discs on the outer edge of the wheel rather than near the hub for improved suspension, control, and corner tracking. Other Buell innovations included the use of fuel-in-frame technology, and the use of the swing arm as an oil tank. Buell engines were also designed to be street and owner friendly, getting upwards of 70 miles per gallon, and being easy to maintain.

But the Buell motorcycle isn’t completely dead. A month after ending his affiliation with Harley Davidson, Erik Buell announced the creation of an independent race shop named Erik Buell Racing. Based in East Troy, Wisconsin, Erik Buell Racing will be staffed by a veteran team of Buell racing personnel. The goal of the new shop is to support racing of the Buell 1125R. The new Buell Racing shop will be building race-use-only Buell 1125R motorcycles under license from Harley Davidson, as well as providing parts, services, and technical support to Buell motorcycle racers. Erik Buell said of the new venture: ““I’m looking forward to helping Buell racers keep their bikes flying. We’ve got some exciting race development projects in the works and it will mean a lot to me personally to see Buell racers competing for wins and championships in the 2010 season and beyond.”

One place where Buell Motorcycles continue to live on is at Motorcycle Tees, an on-line shop featuring unique motorcycle artwork on a wide variety of fine clothing, gifts and accessories. Several Buell motorcycle models are featured at Motorcycle Tees, as well as many other brands and models including cruisers, sport bikes, and touring motorcycles. So if you’re looking for something special for yourself or someone in your life that shows the world your favorite motorcycle with style and distinction, pay a visit to Motorcycle Tees. You’ll find yourself coming back again and again.