When the reconstituted Buell Motorcycle Company informed us again in 2021 that they might be launching 10 new fashions by 2024, we had been curious to see which designs would come down the pipeline first. The Hammerhead 1190RX and SX road fashions had been confirmed on the time—no shock there—as was a touring bike and a hillclimber, however now the model has simply revealed it’s teaming up with Roland Sands to develop a cruiser. Yep, you heard that proper.
Buell’s newest mannequin might be a high-performance streetbike referred to as the Buell Super Cruiser, and it’s being designed and inbuilt collaboration with Roland Sands Design. In truth, Sands himself revealed the bodily proof of idea machine at his RSD warehouse late final week to an assorted press corps. The bike is being billed as “450 lbs of supersport power [merged] with easy-going ergonomics for an iconic throw-back to stylin’ Sunday afternoons.”
There had been a number of numbers thrown out within the launch, however as a result of it is a idea bike, a lot of the specifics are imprecise. We do know that Sands was tasked with “using as much of the standard Buell rolling kit,” on the design, in line with each Sands and Buell Motorcycle CEO Bill Melvin. That means all the pieces from the fork to the light-weight 17-inch alloy wheels (with signature perimeter braking system up entrance), right down to the grasp cylinders and switchgear discovered its manner onto the Super Cruiser idea; in fact, you even have that 175 hp, 1190cc liquid-cooled Buell V-twin (an evolution of the Rotax Helicon mill) shoehorned into Sands’ one-off metal tube body and taking middle stage.
Given the Super Cruiser’s claimed 450 lb weight and prodigious energy, Sands needed to engineer his chassis design to work with the swingarm, fork, authentic wheels, and brake system. “Ground clearance, bar position, and comfortable seating and foot positions are key to getting the cruiser look with sportbike handling,” mentioned Sands.
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If among the different particulars are intentionally fuzzy, what’s not up for debate is the bike’s styling and inspiration; from the tank to the mini fairing to the tall bars, the silhouette screams Harley-Davidson FXR, and Sands for his half, makes no bones about that. He says, “I was deeply inspired by Harley’s FXR…and the handling of it. Erik Buell was involved with…getting the FXR to be what it was. Which turned it into…potentially one of the best handling Harley-Davidsons that’s ever been built (from a cruiser perspective). We wanted to take advantage of that heritage and connection with Buell.”
“I’ve been working on projects like this for 20-plus years, and this is the first time we’ve been able to build a performance cruiser without the typical V-twin performance compromises of weight and motor width and length,” mentioned Sands.
“When Bill first approached us about building a cruiser using the Buell motor, it was as if the bike designed itself. Considering the history of Buell and the market’s need for a truly high-performance cruiser, the project was a natural fit. “It’s a superbike-power high-performance club bike.”
For its half, Buell is relying on the Super Cruiser to draw a youthful crowd to its merchandise as effectively. The launch states, “Buell is Back and building more than sportbikes. Out of the gate, this cruiser will lead performance in the category. It’s light, nimble, and high torque, incorporating all the main points that connect the rider to the ground, and it’s cracking open another part of the market–a younger crowd craving speed and performance in a cruiser.”
No pricing has but been introduced for the Super Cruiser, however we’d count on it to be someplace effectively north of $20,000; extra particulars and pre-order information might be discovered on buellmotorcycle.com for now. The new cruiser will be a part of the already-announced sport, bare, touring, and racing fashions within the Buell lineup, and we’re curious to see what different new designs the corporate will give you over the subsequent two years.
Source: www.cycleworld.com