Buell Motorcycle Company
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The Buell Motorcycle Company is a motorcycle manufacturer located in the United Statesin East Troy Wisconsin. It was founded by Erik Buell in 1983 Harley-Davidson Motor Company held a small share of the company in 1995, Harley-Davidson later purchased the remainig 49% interest in 1998. The company is the only significant manufacturer of "sport motorcycles" in the United States.
Models
Most Buell motorcycles use four-stroke V-twin engines. These engines were originally built from Harley-Davidson XR750 Sportster engines, after the 750's were depleted Erik Buell used a basic 1200 Harley-Davidson Sportster engine. In 1996 the engines were upgraded with Buell engineered parts and further upgraded in 1998. In 2003 Buell introduced a whole new engine so efficient it passed emmision tests well into 2006. What makes Buells stand apart from their Harley-Davidson origins are what Buell refers to as the "Trilogy of Tech": mass centralization, low unstrung weight, and frame rigidity. Two of the notable innovations are the use of the hollow frame as a gas tank and the hollow rear swing-arm to hold the engine oil. These features help create a leaner and more agile sport motorcyle.
Current production models, as of Februrary 2005, are the Blast, Firebolt, Lightning, and Lightning CityX. Earlier models included the RR1000, RR1200, RS1200 West wind, RSS West wind, S2 & S2T Thunderbolt, S1 Lighting, M2 Cyclone S3 & S3T Thunderbolt and the X1 Lighting. The Blast is the only model to use a 500cc single-cylinder engine. The highest performance bike is the Firebolt XB12R and Lighting XB12S with an 1203 cc engine which develops 103 horsepower (77 kW).
External links
- Official Corporate Site (http://www.buell.com/)
- Fan site (http://www.ukbeg.com/frameset.htm)
- Fan site (http://www.americanthunderbike.org)