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An inside look at Buell, plus an interview with Erik about the company’s history

The Buell Motor Company has a unique status in the pantheon of motorcycle companies, harking back to the early 20th century when clever people with mechanical skills would develop innovative machines out of their own garages.

Buell was founded by Erik Buell, and his now-legendary drive and determination has grown the company from a small farmhouse operation near Mukwonago, Wisconsin, to…  Video, Pictures & Details

 

A Tour of Erik Buell’s Barn

On a beautiful spring day not long ago, I was near Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on a tiny old abandoned farm. On the property is the small shed where a racer and former Harley-Davidson engineer named Erik Buell started the company known today as the Buell Motorcycle Company. The shed, also known as “the barn” (even though it’s next to an actual barn) has been recently restored by Harley-Davidson’s heritage people to the condition it was in during the 1980s, when Buell was developing his RW750 and RR1000 roadracers. As recently as a couple years ago, Buell had not been in the building for many years and it was literally falling apart, filled with debris and deteriorating parts and relics.

Erik Buell himself was on hand to give the assembled journalists a tour of the facility, which is really just a three-car garage with a little extra workspace. Three plywood workstands held three interesting bikes.

The first was the RW750. Developed by a very young Erik Buell in the early ’80s, the RW used a tube-steel chassis (of Erik’s design) and the fearsome Barton two-stroke Four…  Details & Pictures

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Zero Motorcycles today announced the expansion of its European sales and marketing operations. All three models (Zero S, Zero X and Zero MX) will now be available throughout the region. As part of the official launch, Zero Motorcycles has opened its new European headquarters in Amsterdam and hired Edwin Belonje, an experienced motorcycle industry executive. He will oversee European operations and manage newly signed Independent Representatives in the UK, Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Spain. As part of the European expansion, Zero has also aligned with three European PR agencies to build localized brand awareness.

“After the incredible response Zero received in Europe, we realized the importance of making our motorcycles easily accessible to the European market,” said Neal Saiki, inventor and founder of Zero Motorcycles. “We offer the perfect solution to all the Europeans who love motorcycles, innovation, and the environment.”

Zero Motorcycles began selling into Europe in 2006 and subsequently experienced a rapid growth in demand. Starting immediately, they are offering their full product line in Europe with marketing and sales support. Customers can now contact local representatives for test rides in their area on any of Zero Motorcycles’ high performance products.

“Edwin is a seasoned executive with over ten years of experience at Triumph. As their previous General Manager, he understands the European motorcycle market exceptionally well. We look forward to watching him lead our European expansion,” said John Lloyd, Vice President of Worldwide Sales, Zero Motorcycles.

You can find out more about the Zero S, Zero X and Zero MX motorcycles at Zero Motorcycles’ website: http://www.zeromotorcycles.com.

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It looks like you local Best Buy is about to make the jump form big-screen HDTV’s for the living room and computer stuff for the office to electric motorcycles for the commute.

According to the Portland Business Journal, shoppers at at least one Portland Best Buy store will find zero-emission electric motorcycles by Ashland e-bike manufactuer Brammo in the aisles as early as next month.

Powered bicycles made by Currie Technologies and Ultra Motors also are planned, according to a report in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

Unlike the power-assisted E-Bike bicycles sold for under $3,000 of the at Ron Tonkin dealerships around the Portland, $12,000 motorcycles are full-fledged motorcycles with electric motors…  Details

Jay Leno had a look at the Zero S electric motorcycle and had Zero’s founder, Neal Saiki by to explain the bike.  Saiki gives some good commentary on the new motorcycle and some great information on several factors that are misunderstood regarding EVs versus regular machines.

For instance, the 32hp motorcycle is equivalent to a 50hp gasoline bike and weighs about 1/3 less than a comparable bike.  He also explains why the Zero S has a top speed of only 60mph and why they didn’t ad gearing to make it go faster.

This explanation is important, so pay attention…   Details, Pictures & Video

Design of the Zero Bike