The Buell name is all set to make a resurgence after the manufacturer announced that it would be launching its own supersport, the Buell Hammerhead 1190, on November 1, 2021.
For those of you who may be unaware, the Buell Motorcycle Co. is an American motorcycle manufacturer started in 1983 by an ex-Harley-Davidson engineer named Erik Buell. Over the next decade and a half, Harley-Davidson acquired Buell, with the latter owning 98% of the company by the turn of the millennium. The Buell brand came to life intending to succeed at the racetrack – the AMA, in particular – and won the AMA Daytona Sportbike Championship in 2009. However, Harley faced an economic downturn in the same year and decided to end production of the Buell.
A few years later, the moniker resurfaced under new owners, and an Erik Buell Racing (EBR) vertical also received backing from multiple private investors and the Hero Motocorp. This second inning was short-lived, too, and Buell filed for bankruptcy in 2015.
The brand is back under new ownership and set to add a new chapter to what is already a rather illustrious journey. Now, called ‘Buell’, the company has a range of liter-class (and above) supersports, street-nakeds, and a sport-tourer in the pipeline. It all begins a month from now, with the launch of the Buell Hammerhead 1190.
The Hammerhead 1190 is an upgraded iteration of the 2016 Erik Buell Racing 1190 RX. It receives a significant overhaul to its design with a unique vertically-aligned headlight and large fairings that feature shark-fin-like vents. Powering the motorcycle is a 1190cc, liquid-cooled V-twin that produces peak output figures of 185hp at 10,600rpm and 101.6ft-lb of torque at 8200rpm – plenty enough to make any grown man smile. Buell has also revealed that the Hammerhead weighs 419lbs (190kg) without fuel, making it a few pounds lighter than rivals like the Suzuki GSX-R1000R, Kawasaki ZX-10R, and Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade.
Steve Laham, Chief Products, Development & Strategy Officer at Buell Motorcycle Co., said, “I knew Buell was a beloved brand, and now riders are pulling for us! With the Hammerhead going into production, innovative technology and products in our pipeline, and our online reservation system changing the industry, we’re lean, mean, and on the move!”
We’re only a month away from the official launch and are incredibly excited to see what else the brand has in store.
Oh boy 🙁 The bike seems impressive but selling a supersport in today’s U.S. market is very, very tough without a distinctive pedigree to back it up.
I fear Buell will be fighting an uphill battle. Yet again.
Buell … Bueller … Bueller … anyone seen Bueller?
Announced the same week that China announced they have a V-Twin with almost the same HP & torque……coincidence ?
Must be a secrete motor since no mention of who the manf. is????How does this guy keep getting money to build M/C….?
Finally!
I’m no longer into supersports, but am looking forward to seeing the new models Buell has in their future plans. I wish them every success.
If you mean Erik Buell as “this guy”…I don’t see anything that indicates that? However, if is in any way still related to H-D…I’ll stay away. I think they did him no favors at the end.
It was Harley that dropped the ball with Buell. They failed to take advantage of the bike when it won the championship. They dropped it immediately afterwards. That is piss poor marketing at best. They had failures with sales of Harleys and wanted to focus on that instead of the winner they had in their hand. Harley has made many insane marketing moves through history and this was one of their worse. They simply were not ready for any focus to be taken off of their precious Harleys. Don’t get me wrong I have always loved Harleys but never their strategy for sales. Always seemed like Harley had blinders on and could not see what was in front of them. I also believe they wanted to focus on more specifically the V-Rod. Finally Harley got their shit together and called it what it should have been from the start, Sportster S. You can deny all you like about it being the same bike but it absolutely is. Just what would have been different if the V-Rod would have continued production to date. The exact same Sportster S you see today. This is no new bike. Just a proper placement of the Sportster logo. The Sportster has long needed modernization. It has basically been the same bike for well over 50 years, nigga please. That’s is way to long without a complete overhaul in every aspect. Not that it was ever a bad bike but people expect change. That’s like an old carpenter using a folding wood rule versus a tape measure. Again, nigga please and that is by no means meant disrespectful to any race. All people I know have always phrased things in such a way. Anyone can make all the accusations they want and it will never change. Politicians plot race against race to keep up tensions and your mind off what they truly do. Anyway the Buell is a great bike no matter how you feel like it stands. It holds its own and always has. Nothing wrong with the bike. Only with marketing. If you can’t afford good marketing you can’t sell a hot dog. On the other hand if you have capital you can sell anything that is a worthy advisary and this bike is fantastic.
Exactly. We’ll said.
YOU USE A HISTORICAL RACIST EPITHET SEVERAL TIMES BUT CLAIM YOU MEAN NO DISRESPECT TO ANY RACE? ARE YOU REALLY THAT IGNORANT? (don’t bother to answer , youve already answered it) perhaps you lack the vernacular to express yourself with any level of eloquence. Perhaps your point would be better heard if you were able to express yourself. ijs
Harley Davidson has literally shot itself in the foot several times. with its lack of marketing and its infatuation with building’ heritage’ bikes. its 2 major competitors, Indian and Triumph, are increasing their market share, while HD is swirling around the toilet before making its inevitable plunge into the abyss.
If I’m not mistaken this bike is going to be mostly assembled from leftover parts that this company aquired from the bankruptcy settlement , I read an open letter from Erik Buell online telling the whole story of how he has been treated by HD & this company , they have sued him over the right to use his own name (he is no longer allowed to use it on a motorcycle , nice huh ?) and he wants everyone to know he is in no way with involved with the production of these mostly “leftover” motorcycles , I wish I knew how to post a link to his letter , if you care to you can probably do some searching & find it . the way he has been treated by these two companys is a crime & tragedy , he was the best thing the “Motor Company” had going for it and their new CEO that came from Johnson Controls ( what the hell did he know about running a motorcycle company ? ) shafted him & the future of Harley-Davidson , that’s why they are where they are today , Jackasses
Well said Dan Carroll, I still have one of Eriks 2015 SX1190s, HD HERO and others really have dumped on Erik, I see the NEW bike is 7kg heavier but the same 185hp as my detuned street bike (and back then we could chip them up to 200hp) Sadly Im seeing it as a chinese knock off that without Erik and his dedicated team wont rise from the ashes this time either…only good news might be that the original 750? made by Erik could be worth a bit more!
Flogging a dead horse
Its A Rotax motor with Buell changes I was told by a Buell employee. That means NO Chinese links and reliability too. Why do people in this country ALWAYS find fault instead of looking at the positives. Its a suckass way to go through life, IN MY OPINION.