American Biker: In Conversation with Erik Buell

Erik Buell, genius engineer and builder of some truly unique motorcycles

The United States doesn’t have much of a domestic sportsbike industry. European and Japanese sportsbikes and superbikes are popular in the US, but American manufacturers like Harley-Davidson and Indian stick to making cruisers and touring bikes. For the last four decades, however, one American has been trying his damnedest to change that. He has taken some pretty hardknocks along the way and his company has gone bust more than once. But like an extra-resilient phoenix, he rises from the ashes again, again and again. Most would have given up a long time ago. Not Erik Buell though. The man is indomitable.

Talk about innovation and engineering brilliance in motorcycling and the one name that immediately comes to mind is that of Erik Buell. Erik has been building some really exciting and genuinely innovative sportsbikes for close to 40 years now, starting with the early-1980s RW750 Road Warrior and RR1200BattleTwin, all the way to the current Hammerhead 1190 and 1190SX. Set up in 1983, Buell Motorcycles operated under Harley-Davidson ownership from 1993 onwards. However, Harley chose to shut Buell down in 2009, saying it wasn’t financially viable for them to continue with the brand. Since then, Buell motorcycles have been revived, gone bust again and been revived yet again. Today, the company continues to exist. It’s a small player and only has a tiny presence in the market, but Erik Buell is resolute in sticking to his guns and continues to build motorcycle that do not conform.

Back in 2012, I had an opportunity to do a brief interview with Erik Buell for one of my other websites, Faster and Faster, which I had to shut down at the end of 2016. However, I thought it might be useful to preserve this interview for posterity, hence posting it here, where I hope it will live on forever. For those who love motorcycles and are, hopefully, a fan of Buell bikes, I hope you find this interesting.

How was it to work with Harley-Davidson in your early days of building Buell motorcycles?

In the late 1970s and early ’80s, Harley-Davidson was much smaller and stressed to survive, making less than 30,000 bikes per year. Working with Harley was cool because you could get a lot done, with no bureaucracy. We moved H-D a long way in technology and quality in those few years. The Evo motor instead of Shovelhead, rubber mount engines, tube frames instead of big cast lugs, dramatically improved handling.

Why is America unable to build a sportsbike [with the exception of Buell’s own machines] that can compete with Japanese and European bikes in terms of performance?

Well, the US was distracted by the cruiser market boom for a while. But beyond that, it's not at all easy to build a bike that can compete with the performance technology from major sport bike manufacturers. Decades of learning at high cost have gotten us to where we can produce a bike like the EBR 1190RS. You have to never give up.

Which bikes did you like when you were a kid?
 
I fell in love with motorcycles when I was about 12. The bikes I loved back then were the Kawasaki H1, Velocette Thruxton and Maico MX.

Do you approve of the ever-increasing use of electronics on modern sportsbikes?

Electronics on a performance sport bike need to really work seamlessly and actually enhance the rider's control. Some systems solve extreme problems but take away a lot of performance. Interestingly, at the last two AMA Superbike races where we finished on the podium with the 1190RS, the expert analysts were saying the bikes with traction control had a disadvantage to our bikes without. And that was a $40K aftermarket system with a full time engineer to tune. So the systems are getting there, but there is still a little work to do to make affordable quality. We have worked on lots of systems for years, and when we deliver them, they will be a mix of supplier and EBR internal engineering.

What do you think are the primary differences between Europe, Japanese and American motorcycle brands?

Certainly, European brands are different from the Japanese ones and America is inherently different from both. Because of our extreme diversity and a tradition of pioneering, we simply do things well. We also are very open to working with all other countries and cultures, since they are all blended in America.

Do you think electric power will replace the internal combustion on motorcycles in the foreseeable future?

It will not replace but will become more available. We were deeply involved in the Hero Leap concept displayed at the Delhi Auto Expo in January this year, so you can be certain we have expertise in that area.

Tell us a bit about your favourite music?

Erik Buell and the Thunderbolts (ha ha!). Well, I like playing a lot, so does that count as a favorite? To listen, well, music is a big passion and I listen to so many, in many styles. Some new, some revisiting old. Recently? Muse, Chris Cornell, Alice in Chains, Black Keys, Chris Whitley, Lucinda Williams, George Lynch, Daytrader, Tremonti. I like intense music.

Who are your favourite riders in MotoGP?

There are many, and I have huge respect for all at that level. But in MotoGP, Valentino Rossi of course for all the spectacular years, Casey Stoner who is just amazing right now, Nicky Hayden for riding so well and never whining, Colin Edwards because he may not have been a GP champ, but must have more total points than anyone ever!

Short Shift

Erik Buell’s ‘rapid fire’ round

The bikes you currently ride: EBR 1190RS, Buell Ulysses, all kinds of dirt bikes

The cars your currently drive: Mitsubishi Evo IX, Ford F-250 Diesel

The motorcycle you wanted most when you were a teenager: Kawasaki H1. I had three. Worked a lot of jobs!

The car you wanted most when you were a teenager: 1957 Chevy Corvette

Your favourite cuisine: Whatever my wife makes for dinner. She is an amazing cook

Your favourite drink: Ice water or, once in a while, Laphroaig

Your favourite place to go on a holiday: Family vacation at the beach

Your other interests outside of motorcycles: Writing, recording and playing loud rock music live, hanging out with my family

Note: Please remember, I did this interview with Erik Buell back in 2012