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Buehl
in his personal collection. was the starter brand, and customers manufacturer BRP-Powertrain) a good
would eventually trade up to a Harley. choice, especially since Harley would
In 1993, Harley-Davidson purchased By 2008, Harley’s credit arm, Harley- have to pay Rotax “an eight-figure sum”
49% of Buell, investing $500,000 and Davidson Financial Services (HDFS), for the 1,125 cc engine contract.
taking Erik Buell’s house as was struggling, and the lower resale
security.[10][11] Erik Buell took the deal, value of Buell motorcycles meant that Erik Buell later founded Erik Buell
against strong advice from his new bike sales were significantly Racing to provide support for 1125 and
attorney.[10] Harley-Davidson CEO affected. When Harley CEO Keith XB privateer race efforts.
Jeffrey Bleustein had
bought it as a Technology
skunkworks
development. Buell ZTL front
brake
In 1998, Harley- Buell XB models
Davidson bought a also incorporated
majority stake and the industry’s first
took control of Buell Zero Torsional
Motorcycle Company, Load (ZTL)
and the company perimeter floating
became a subsidiary. front disc brake
Since then, Buell has system, a
used modified Harley- patented “inside-
Davidson engines, out” wheel/brake
primarily from the design that puts
Sportster, to power its the brake disc on
motorcycles. the outer edge of
the wheel,[12]
Buell Facility Wandell was hired, he immediately rather than at the hub. This lets the
questioned why Harley even owned suspension function better, improving
Most Buell motorcycles use four-stroke Buell. Wandell, who had never been on control and traction, through reducing
air-cooled V-twin engines, originally built a Harley before being hired, was heard unsprung weight on the front wheel,
for XR1000 Sportster. After these were talking about “Erik’s racing hobby”, and because only a single disc and caliper—
depleted, a basic 1200 Sportster engine questioned “why anyone would even with a corresponding reduction in bolts
was used. In 1995, the engines were want to ride a sportbike”. He organized a and brake fluid—is needed compared
upgraded with Buell engineered high- team to analyze “the adrenaline market”, with the conventional dual-disc brake
performance parts and further upgraded and concluded that sportbikes would setup on most modern sport bikes. In an
in 1998. encounter high competition and low exchange in the pages of Motorcyclist
profits, while cruisers had high returns. magazine between Suzuki engineer
The liquid-cooled Harley V-Rod motor, James Parker, creator of the GSX-
developed by Harley-Davidson then On October 15, 2009, Harley Davidson RADD hub-center steering system,[13]
made street legal according to the EPA Inc. announced the end of production of and Buell’s Director of Analysis, Test &
by Porsche, was originally an Erik Buell Buell Motorcycles to focus more on the Engineering Process, Abraham
project, designed for a fully faired AMA Harley Davidson brand. Selling Buell Askenazi, Parker conceded the ZTL
Superbike Buell by 1998. Harley was not legitimately considered, as system’s advantage in unsprung weight.
decided the engine should also be used Harley didn’t want their Harley But he pointed out the remaining weight
in a sport-cruiser, then took over dealerships to sell an outside brand, and is located further out on the rim where it
development, making it “too big, too Harley didn’t feel Buell had much value is most detrimental to acceleration and
heavy, too expensive and too late” for without the dealer network. Closing the braking, and that there were potential
Buell. Buell brand was estimated to cost heat transfer issues, and the need for
Harley approximately the same as their one fork leg to be stronger than the
Harley-Davidson forced Buell to follow total investment in Buell over the past 25 other. Responding, Askenazi disputed all
the rigid product planning and years. Erik Buell immediately began of Parker’s criticisms, saying the ZTL
distribution process beginning in the looking for outside buyers, finding BRP system was 30% lighter than the brakes
1990s, with the philosophy that Buell (who owns the Austrian Rotax engine on the Suzuki GSX-R1000, and that the
