Buell Motorcycle Company

[Melliexr]

Can anyone tell me... In what year was the Buell Motorcycle Company founded? I've Googled this to death and the best I can come up with is "the mid-eighties". References would be nice, not that I don't trust you all, I do, I just want to know where the info came from. I hate being beaten....

[ianess]

Click here for a link taken from Google.....you just weren't looking hard enough!

[Melliexr]

1994? Oh rats, that throws a spanner in the works. It says 1987 in an encyclopedia I have, although it's not specific about what exactly happened in 1987 (possibly the founding of Buell American Motorcycles). Another website I've just found says 1993. Grrrr.....

Many thanks ianess

[ianess]

No problem..........here's some more info.

The first motorcycle designed and built by Erik Buell was the RW750 in 1983. This was a 750cc, two-stroke, �square-four�, rotary-valve racing machine designed specifically to compete in the AMA Formula One road racing class. A prototype RW750 first hit the track in the AMA National at Pocono Speedway in the summer of 1983. Buell continued extensive testing and development work on the bike throughout that summer and into the fall. His success was measured during testing at Talladega, Alabama, where it was clocked at a top speed of 178 mph.

Development on the RW750 continued through 1984, a production version was released in the fall. Just one RW750 was sold to the American Machinists Racing Team before the AMA announced that 1985 would be the last year of Formula One racing. An announcement that Superbikes would occupy the premier race class in 1986 effectively eliminated any market for the RW750.

[Toureman]

You can't have Googled very much!

I put in "Buell history" and the full story came up at once, top of the list!

February 1994 first Buell

There I beat you.

Dave.

[Melliexr]

Hi Dave - I also read that site. I also suspect it's the one ianess got his info from but it appears to be incorrect. The question as printed in the paper (Saturday Telegraph) asked "In what year did Erik Buell found Buell American Motorcycles?" Well, he never did. Buell American Motorcycles was never a company, it's a trading name, a slogan on the badge. He did found Buell Motor Company (1987) and Buell Motorcycle Company (1993). Found all this out after yet more Googling, way, way down in the list of hits.

So, the question in the paper appears to be flawed. Oh well, at least I'm now an expert on the life and times of Erik Buell.....