| Author | Message | ||
     12r |
"Racing is extremely important to everyone at Buell and the company actually originated around racing. After I went to work for Harley-Davidson I really missed racing as a privateer. I had worked for Harley for four years doing advanced handling stuff, and even though the bikes were what they were - big cruisers - I was really learning a lot about chassis set-up. I was just a little foolish and I thought I could build a racebike myself. So that's what started everything. What frustrated me was that Yamaha quit building the TZ750, which was the great privateer bike up to that time in AMA Formula One, the premier American class in the early '80s. The only new things you could buy were Honda RS500s or a Suzuki 500 square four, both extremely expensive bikes to run. Not knowing about the looming shift to Superbikes, I just saw this big gap and thought I could fill it by building a bike for privateers to run in AMA Formula One. That was the beginning of Buell motorcycles. We've recently come full circle with the introduction of the XBRR based on the same concept as the original Buell, and that's to provide a competitive package to privateer racers. Actually, it's just the latest step in our racing involvement. Even when I had the tiny little company early on we were still trying to stay involved in racing as much as we could. One of the very first RR1000s won a national twins championship with Scott Zampach. That year we probably built twenty motorcycles and one of them was his racebike. Since then we've gone from the Lightning spec-class to AMA Pro Thunder and ASRA Thunderbike racing. And then the AMA Formula Xtreme rules were changed for 2004. Once we got a look at them we said, 'Wow, this is pretty cool.' It looked like it could be the next step for the dealer teams and the privateers who had been racing our bikes. First we made sure the AMA planned on keeping these new rules around for a while. After losing the Formula One class at the very beginning and then more recently seeing Pro Thunder dropped after we had already started doing work on a bike to sell to racers for that class, we didn't want to get caught out like that again. These things don't pop out overnight. It takes a couple of years to get a bike into production and competitive. If you do that just in time for the class to go away, what's the point? I thought it would be a good plan to modify the bikes at the factory because the bottom line is if someone buys a new XB12 and then they have to throwaway a whole pile of parts, which is what they'd have to do, that's not very cost-effective. We checked with the AMA and they said that was exactly the type of thing they were looking for. So we said, 'Let's do it. Let's take a run at it.' The XBRR is the result. It took us a little longer to get the product out in the field than we had expected because some of our suppliers gave us problems with getting us parts. That really set us back, which was disappointing, but I'm pretty happy with where the bikes are now. They still need to be refined. They need time for the teams to learn them and get to know them. There are a lot of different classes around the world for it to compete in and I think it will prove to be a very good racebike. Our standard XBs modified have wound up being very good rides for a lot of people, they are quite popular in ASRA. I think the XBRR will branch that out a little further. People will run them in Super Twins classes and championships like that. The first bike just got to France and it finished fifth in its first race against Milles and 999s. That's what it's meant to be. It's not meant to be a world-beater. It's not meant to be the bike that dominates racing. It's meant to be a good, solid bike that can win races and give privateers a bike that's fun to ride, reliable, and easy to get parts for. Looking further down the line, we're often asked if Buell will someday compete in Superbike. Racing is definitely in our blood in a big way. Where we're going to go from here, I don't know, but it's been a steady progression following that initial setback. But whatever we do must be done in a way that makes business sense. We don't have any outside sponsors pouring money in and we don't have a massive budget. Historically speaking, every year we get better and I think that will continue to be the case. We'll see where we wind up in eventually." | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
That's very cool. | ||
| Rasmonis |
I don't know about the lot of you but, owning a Buell has literally changed my life. I got one for Christmas last year and I liked it so much I bought another by Memorial Day weekend. Yup, don't have much money now, but if I did, you know where we I'd spend it. Prior to owning my Buells I had a Honda VT 750 Shadow which I rode occasionally and it was fun. Had it for about 8 years and I put roughly 10K miles on it. Since December '05 I've put about 7k miles on my bikes in about 8 months and if I commuted with them to work I would have blown past that 10K mark a long time ago. That's nothing compared to the mileage some of you put on your Buells. I can't wait to get on and go - anywhere, to the store down the street, with the our Brag group, downtown it really doesn't matter where. Behind the shield is this (like many of you I'm sure):  Next year we'll be on the track - no doubt about it (with a Buell XB12R if possible). That's what it's meant to be. It's not meant to be a world-beater. It's not meant to be the bike that dominates racing. It's meant to be a good, solid bike that can win races and give privateers a bike that's fun to ride, reliable, and easy to get parts for. IMO, I believe Buell has succeeded here - call me brain-washed if you like, I'm a Buell-zombie.  -Ras | ||
| 12r |
That's what it's meant to be. It's not meant to be a world-beater. It's not meant to be the bike that dominates racing. It's meant to be a good, solid bike that can win races and give privateers a bike that's fun to ride, reliable, and easy to get parts for. The orange-robed fundamentalists would probably interpret this as a cop-out but the same philosophy applies to the road-going XB. World-beating ? Dominating ? Who cares - Buells rock !  | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
I don't know about the lot of you but, owning a Buell has literally changed my life. What Ras said.  GO ERIK!!! FB | ||
| Diablobrian |
Buell- Come for the bikes, stay for the people! Oh yeah, pass the Kool-aid  | ||
| Rocketman |
Where we're going to go from here, I don't know, but it's been a steady progression following that initial setback. But whatever we do must be done in a way that makes business sense. We don't have any outside sponsors pouring money in and we don't have a massive budget. Ever heard of Harley Davidson?...............................and along came Honda. Rocket | ||
| M2nc |
That's what it's meant to be. It's not meant to be a world-beater. It's not meant to be the bike that dominates racing. It's meant to be a good, solid bike that can win races and give privateers a bike that's fun to ride, reliable, and easy to get parts for. I think I said this at one time or another. It is pretty obvious that the bike is meant to be a Privateer bike and it is a good one. The Twin-series race in France prove that. Fresh out of the box and a top-five and win in a pre-lim race. Against some of the best twins in the world. Go Buell!!!! | ||
| Teddagreek |
I'd love to see buell in superbike.. Not going to happen until buell gets a water cooled power plant.. | ||
| Blake |
Put a supercharger on the XBRR and you have competitive power for Superbike racing, no? | ||
| Rocketman |
No one's disputing that M2, but it disappoints many who wanted more from Buell. Rocket |
