Idiosyncratic streetbike that made its way to the showroom floor.
Outlandish Bike
Erik Buell only worked at Harley-Davidson for four years but the strained partnership that followed is still evident today. If there is one motorcycle that captures that awkward relationship, it would be the Buell Battletwin—an excellent, yet outlandish bike, that even made its way to the showroom floor at some Harley-Davidson dealerships.
Streetbike Variations
Released as a prototype in 1986, the RR 1000 Battletwin was the first production bike built by the Buell Motorcycle Company. Fifty units of the RR 1000 were produced from 1987-88. It was replaced by the RR 1200 in 1988, of which fifty examples were manufactured. Both versions of the effective, but idiosyncratic streetbike, were powered by variations of the Harley-Davidson Sportster engine.
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Positive Production
Approached by Rex Marsee from Vetter Fairings, Buell built the first Battletwin prototype for the Great American Motorcycle Show in 1986. Press and public reaction to the RR 1000 was overwhelmingly positive—enough to convince Buell to start production. By the following year, he had raised enough capital to begin manufacturing out of a small facility in East Troy, Wisconsin.
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Motor Connection
In total, three race-only prototypes were created including the infamous 'Lucifer's Hammer II,' a bike commissioned by the Harley Owners Group in 1986. The prototypes and the subsequent road-legal machines were all powered by the one-year-only XR1000 motor. Through his connections, Buell managed to convince Harley-Davidson to sell fifty of the motors that had once been slated for the 1983-84 XLX.
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Performance Image
For 1988, the RR received Harley-Davidson's new 1200XL engine, making it the RR 1200. The year prior, Devin Battley had smuggled Erik Buell onto a cruise ship for the Harley-Davidson annual dealers' meeting. Battley told then CEO, Vaughn Beals, that Buell could give the Motor Company a performance image at no risk. Buell debarked with twenty-five orders—all paid in advance.
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Majority Shareholder
Buell's endeavor was massive, as he was the first American motorcycle manufacturer since 1920 to successfully develop and put a new motorcycle into production. In 1993, Harley-Davidson bought 49% of the Buell Motorcycle Company. The RR-series set the direction for the fledgling company, but also put it onto a rollercoaster of success and failure, of which Harley-Davidson eventually became a majority shareholder.
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Race Twins
The RR 1200 was Buell’s vision of a 1990s Superbike. It also gave Harley-Davidson a machine that could compete with European and Japanese rivals on the road or track. The RR 1200 set land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and was successfully campaigned in the prestigious Battle of the Twins race series, held annually in Daytona Beach, Florida.
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Buell Fuell
Buell was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2002. Despite his success, Harley-Davidson ceased production of Buell motorcycles in 2009, citing the global recession as a leading factor. Despite creating innovative forward-thinking machines that could compete with the best, the company was also misunderstood and sometimes maligned. Buell currently heads Fuell, an ebike and electric motorcycle company.
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