| Author | Message | ||
     Lemonchili_x1 |
Not sure if this has been posted already, but there's two interviews online at RoadracerX: http://www.roadracerx.com/features/between-the-rac es/between-the-races-erik-buell/ http://www.roadracerx.com/features/backmarker/agv- backmarker-erik-buell-is-back/ Quote from the second one: “I still want to build real American sport bikes,” Erik insists. “If you look at the 1125, I probably built the first prototype of that bike in 1988. I have drawers full of concepts beyond that. We got stuck in the loop of detail-execution on the XB series. But I’ve got an innovative group of people here who want to do breakthrough things, and I still meet with ex-Buell employees, and we all brainstorm new concepts. We have plenty of designs that we never got to execute; we have all these pent-up design ideas, and now the company [H-D, and its financial support] is gone, but the way the old company was, we couldn’t have done them anyway. “I’m funding what I’m doing here, and I didn’t get a huge payoff that you might imagine high-level execs get. I’m going to have to find investors or partners, but I still believe there’s a market for the kind of innovative ideas we have as an American company. I’m looking to creating all-new bikes in the long run. They won’t be Buells [H-D retains the trademark—MG], but they’ll be something else. “I’ve been looking at zero-carbon options for years. We have lots of ideas, but the reality is, I don’t know if we’ll do anything right away because I’m not sure we can follow through. A couple of my guys are really working in that area, and I tell them, “We’re free to think but not free to act. We’ve got the ideas, but can we really produce them?” So, the next bike Erik designs from scratch will likely have an internal-combustion engine. I was interested in whether or not we should expect that to be a V-twin, and whether it would be designed in-house or be a customer motor. After all, while his first bike was a square-four two-stroke, he’s been in the V-twin business for a long time, with virtually all the motors supplied by Harley-Davidson: “Every engine configuration has strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “It may depend on the market or identity, and it may depend on what’s available. When it comes to motorcycle design, there are so many cool possibilities. Since we broke free, we’ve been thinking about where we’ll go—brainstorming, looking at lots of variables that could be game-changers. We’ve looked at fours, triples, singles, V-fives—looking at how you’d package them." *Very* cool to hear, the future looks bright  . In between Geoff May riding for Erik Buell Racing in Superbike, Pegasusraceteam racing the 1190RR, and Erik looking to future bikes, there's plenty for Buell fans to be happy about  | ||
| Glitch |
I just hope the bikes can be bought by the every man, meaning me  Way cool articles! | ||
| Steveford |
You know what comes through in those articles? What a decent person Erik Buell is. | ||
| Ustorque |
+1000 Great read, What is surprising is that after all the years of wading thru HD's boardroom bullshit Erik has remained a straight forward guy. Says a lot about the man and I will never hesitate to give my money to a company with those types of principles! | ||
| Malott442 |
V-5's and triples? Have I gone to heaven? We'll see! | ||
| Court |
>>>We have plenty of designs that we never got to execute That's an accurate statement. Erik's looked over the hill to the future. | ||
| Paint_shaker |
I have seen the first article, but not the second. Thanks Lemon!!! Erik uncorked. Things are really going to get interesting in 2011!!! | ||
| Cyclonedon |
thanks for posting this! Great articles, I read them both. I just wish there was a way that Erik could get back the Buell name for his future motorcycle company, because he truly is an amazing man that has created some amazing motorcycles that should always bear his name! The more I read, the stronger my dislike is for the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company. | ||
| Lemonchili_x1 |
It seems as time goes on, Erik is a little more open with what he says. Still incredible integrity, but you start to get a peak at how much Buell, as a person and a company, had one hand tied behind their back. What is really cool is hearing that plans are being made for streetbikes and racebikes for the future. Maybe one day not too far away I'll get to see a "New Buell" in WSBK Whatever configuration they come up with it's going to be cool, innovative and different I'd guess. Maybe the first ones won't be cheap, but hopefully there are plans for mass production in the long run. I'm really looking forward to finally meeting the man at Homecoming too  | ||
| Doerman |
I think this is the first time I have seen prices. 10K for a trackday 1125R! 46K for 1190RR... hmm .. well.. a bit out of my league Erik, update the webpage with prices.. That 10K trackday package should not be kept a secret!  | ||
| B00stzx3 |
As said before, whatever he builds I'll buy and promptly have Buell logos put on it. So excited for the future | ||
| Darthane |
...very cool! | ||
| Oddball |
Is it just me or does erik look a decade younger and healthier now than last year? You could see the drain in him last summer/fall, especially on that day in oct. | ||
| Court |
>>>Is it just me or does erik look a decade younger and healthier now than last year? It's not you. We just spent 3 days with him and his family and I've never seen him happier, healthier or . . . . BUSIER. | ||
| Smoke |
good words and attitude! Keep pushing the envelope Erik! best success! tim |
