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…Â Video, Pictures & Details
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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…Â Details & Pictures