Names like Honda, Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, and Ducati are likely to encourage no scarcity of reverie amongst people preferring to hit the roads and racetracks of the world on autos with solely two wheels. For some within the bike world, Buell is a reputation that needs to be each bit as well-known. When you aren’t acquainted, Buell is a model that first got here into being again in 1983, with former Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell leaving his gig with the legendary bike maker to begin creating bikes on his personal.
Whereas Buell and his staff continued to make racing and road bikes, the Buell model did not go totally legit till the mid-Nineties when Harley-Davidson took over 49% of the corporate. A number of years later, Buell’s former employer basically took over the remainder of the corporate, making Buell Bikes a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson. Sadly, Buell grew to become one of many many casualties of the 2008 monetary disaster, with Harley-Davidson opting to finish the model because it struggled to maintain itself afloat.
For a lot of bike manufacturers, that might’ve been the proverbial finish of the road. Nonetheless, Buell continued creating new fashions even after the model was shuttered. In 2021, EBR Bikes bought the rights to the Buell model and its logos, marking a full-on revival within the client market. Erick Buell, nevertheless, is now not calling the pictures on the firm. As a substitute, Invoice Melvin serves as CEO.
Buell Bikes are constructed within the USA
Although the press launch saying the Buell revival made rounds in 2021, bikes branded with the title weren’t projected to hit the streets till 2024. The bikes are nonetheless comparatively uncommon to see on the highway, at the same time as older Buells proceed to be wanted on the used market. Concerning the subsequent wave of Buells, the model at the moment options just a few completely different fashions in its lineup, together with road bikes, observe bikes, and even one better-suited to the desert dunes.
As famous, the Buell model initially spun off from Harley-Davidson, some of the storied American bike factions in historical past. Like that model, the corporate that revived Buell additionally holds roots in the USA, establishing its present base of operations in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From there, the model additionally manufactures its bikes by hand.
Whereas the bikes are made in America, nevertheless, not all of their elements are. Buells bikes are additionally made with supplies sourced from Europe and Asia, though about 60% of the elements that go into Buells as we speak are from American sources, per a 2025 MLive article. On the Grand Rapids facility, about 50 techs are working to make these bikes, though Buell CEO Invoice Melvin has mentioned he needs to scale that up.
How a lot do Buell Bikes value?
In line with the MI Reside piece, Invoice Melvin is at the moment planning to broaden Buell’s operations through an virtually $20 million funding meant to, partly, convey aboard greater than 100 new techs that might push manufacturing on its bikes as much as 28,000 per yr by 2028. That vital enlargement will little doubt be dictated by how Buell bikes proceed to carry out available in the market, although it is secure to imagine that Melvin would not be contemplating it if the bikes weren’t promoting effectively sufficient.
When you’re interested in Buell’s present choices, getting one isn’t as simple as strolling right into a showroom and using one residence, as the corporate seems to nonetheless be making bikes to order. At current, there are a handful of fashions to select from on Buell’s web site, together with the speed- and performance-minded Hammerhead 1190 and 1190SX, the road-ready Tremendous Cruiser and SuperTouring, and the off-track targeted Baja 1190 Dune Racer.
The price of these builds varies, in fact, although potential consumers could also be inspired by the truth that they’re all priced effectively below $30,000. So far as per-bike pricing goes, the Hammerhead 1190 is promoting for $20,995 on the low finish and $26,995 totally loaded. The 1190SX, then again, is listed at $19,995 and $25,995. In the meantime, the worth of the Tremendous Cruiser is $25,900, with the MSRP on the SuperTouring set at $23,995. It could seem, nevertheless, that it’s nonetheless too early within the recreation to buy the Baja 1190 Dune Racer, as Buell at the moment lists it as nonetheless in idea part.