got a new one Buell motorcycle on the road. Yes, you read that right: a new Buell. And, unlike any previous Buell, this new bike is a tall, high bar cruiser.
The new Buell Super Cruiser was launched on Friday with its designer, Roland Sands, in California. The new bike has Buell’s ET-V2, 1190cc or 72.6 ci, 72 degree V-twin with liquid cooling. Buell says it makes 185 hp with 101.6 lb.-ft (138 Nm) of torque. However, according to Buell’s CEO, Sands was able to keep the sports car proportions and 17-inch wheels, so the car will likely handle similar to Buell’s current sports car line, meaning that is if you lower the bars.
“We wanted to maintain the performance of the engine, the rear swingarm and that’s why it worked so well.” Buell CEO Bill Melvin told Bike EXIF. “We also decided to keep the racing front suspension, rim brakes and sport bike wheels. We kept the entire package.”
The Super Cruiser keeps many of the components of Buell’s current 1190SX sportbike.
So far, all we’ve seen are a few glimpses on Buell’s Instagram of the new bike, where we see the front wheel, saddle, and clutch cover. However, the new bike seems to make liberal use of Sands’ aftermarket catalog for saddles, bars and other details. The bike has short club-style bibs, and traditional – and dare we say – Harley-like – lines. It breaks with tradition with a cool exposed monoshock under the saddle.
Buell sports cars are known for having fuel in the chassis to keep weight low and counter the heavy head end of tall V-twins. However, the new Super Cruiser has a traditional fuel tank. Also, unlike a Harley, it boasts a front-mounted radiator.
Much has been written about the history of the Buell company and New Buell owner. We cannot speculate on the future of the company, but we can say that it is an all-American joint venture. This is Buell’s third incarnation.
The company was founded by charismatic racer Erik Buell in the early 1980s, then Harley-Davidson bought the company in the 1990s, before divesting about a decade later. Buell then founded Erik Buell Racing, which produced a series of sports cars with 1190 engines. Then, in 2021, the company re-launched again with the Pegasus logo and several new sports car models. .
The Buell Hammerhead seems to continue the tradition of the older Buell sports cars. A few years after the last Buell or EBK brand, the new Hammerhead uses the same engine but adds a sport shield. The company plans to sell several new models, including a sport tourer and a dirt bikewhich you can order or pre-order right now.
