Which new models can we expect from the revived Buell brand?
November will see the famous Buell nameplate return to production with the Hammerhead – although the sports bike is just the beginning...
BUELL Motorcycles will begin producing bikes again this November, with the fairly familiar looking Hammerhead sports bike heading up its renewed all-American effort.
Based on the EBR 1190RX from the previous Erik Buell Racing iteration of the brand, it’s a bike that seems to be little changed from before under the skin.
That said, it has been given a confident Gok Wan-style makeover for 2022 with shark fin slats on the fairing and the funky exhaust outlet, plus a quirky front-end that appears to have been inspired by the X-Men.
So while the more knowledgable will likely see beyond this, the Hammerhead is in effect a placeholder until completely fresh models join the fray.
Buell goes on an adventure!
No modern motorcycle brand’s range would be complete without an adventure bike, and Buell has their eyes on this particular muddy prize also. We first reported on the 1190 Super Touring earlier this and it’s no surprise that the news of the bike landed around the same time we heard about H-D’s Pan America adventure bike!
To those in the know about Buell’s sizable back catalogue, the theme and construction of the bike will be a familiar story. The frame, swingarm and of course, huge rim-mounted brakes paint are trademarks of the brand, although the bodywork and styling are all new.
From the adventure touring segment to the street, Buell also plans to take the sensible step of stripping the Hammerhead of its fairings and sending it out into the world in naked form.
One of the most interesting bikes that we can glean from trademark applications is the Blast nameplate. The Buell Blast was the firm’s first, and pretty much only, foray into the new rider market, and it boasted a 492cc, single-cylinder engine and 34bhp output. A starter bike, if indeed the Blast turns out to be one, is almost as important to a motorcycle manufacturer as an adventure bike.
From the interesting to the highly surprising. The chatter from across the pond is that Buell is going to take on the might of its former shareholder with a cruiser. Of all the bikes mentioned this is the one we find hardest to swallow. Buell and the cruiser segment just don’t seem like good bedfellows. The brand has always stood for innovation, performance, thinking outside of the box. These are phrases that don’t sit well in the blue collar world of V-twin cruisers. Not for me anyway!
Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
