Why So Many Buell Motorcycles Are Powered By A Harley-Davidson Engine

The Buell Motorcycle Company has an interesting history with Harley-Davidson. Buell has been around since 1983, exclusively designing and manufacturing sport bikes for most of that time. Buell has made some incredibly fast street motorcycles and didn't really branch out into other form factors until it released its first dirt bike in 2020. In terms of design, this is about as different from Harley-Davidson as you can get. Harley has almost exclusively built street, cruiser, and touring bikes throughout its illustrious history and has never shown much interest in branching out into the sport or dirt bike markets.

That's why people are often surprised to learn that many of Buell's motorcycles are actually powered by Harley-Davidson engines. Developing an engine is an expensive prospect, so it's not uncommon for smaller manufacturers to procure engines developed by larger ones, rather than design and manufacture their own from scratch. Buell is an American company, but still, Harley might seem like an odd choice to the casual observer when engines from other sport bike manufacturers like Honda and Yamaha are readily available in the States. While there are numerous factors that have played into this decision, it's largely due to the fact that Buell has been working with Harley engines since the beginning, and Harley now owns the company.

The first motorcycle that Buell ever built was called the RW750, which it launched in 1984. Powered by a 750cc two-stroke, square-four engine originally designed by Barton Engineering in the UK, this was specifically designed to take part in AMA Formula 1 racing, but the class was quickly removed and only two of the RW750s were ever made. The following year, Buell started work on a range of street bikes. The company's founder, Erik Buell, made the decision to use Harley-Davidson engines in these bikes.

In an interview with Baldy of Adventure Rider, Buell explained that he got a 1952 basket-case Harley when he was fifteen that he completely rebuilt, so he already had a relationship with the engines prior to his professional career. He then went on to speak about his time working for Harley-Davidson and doing engineering test work for the company in the early parts of his career. He spent four years there before he decided to start his own company in 1983. This intimate familiarity with Harley's hardware and the economic factors involved with importing steel were both likely factors in Buell's decision to use Harley engines in that first run of street bikes.

Following the success of Buell's first run of motorcycles using these engines, Harley-Davidson purchased a minority interest in the company. This was mutually beneficial at the time, as it ensured that Buell's profitability would be in Harley's best interest and further bonded the sportsbike company with the engine manufacturer. Then in 1998, Erik Buell sold 49% of the company to Harley, cementing this bond even further. With the popularity of Buell's motorcycles already established and Harley owning such a large stake in the company, it was natural for Buell to continue implementing Harley-Davidson's engines in its motorcycles.

This consolidation came to a head in 2008. Harley-Davidson owned 100% of Buell Motorcycles by this point, but the economic crises had caused the company's sales to plummet, and there were several changes in leadership. Harley reacted to this by making severe cutbacks, eliminating 1,100 jobs over the course of two years. Harley completely discontinued all Buell motorcycle lines in 2009. In 2010, the company's founder created a new business, Erik Buell Racing. EBR made a few limited runs until 2021, when it acquired the Buell brand name and trademarks, then announced that it was returning to full production. But now the company is back in full swing and producing several motorcycles.

Now that Buell is back in action and no longer under the Harley-Davidson umbrella, you might be wondering if it's still using Harley-Davidson engines to power its bikes. The company currently has five models in production: the Hammerhead 1190, the 1190SX, the Super Cruiser, the SuperTouring, and the Baja 1190 Dune Racer. All of these motorcycles use the same V-Twin engine.

According to Buell Motorcycle's official site, "All models feature the Buell 1190cc liquid-cooled V-Twin motor that is designed and built in our factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA." This means that the company has now shifted to manufacturing its own proprietary engines, rather than using another brand's motors. A statement from the company claims that Buell will have 10 performance models finished by the end of 2024. While the current line-up is completely based on the Buell 1190cc engine, future plans "will include variants for dirt, dual-sport, touring, and cruisers while expanding the line-up to include medium and small displacement motors." So Buell fans should expect more new motors from the company in the near future, and it doesn't seem like the revitalized brand has any plans on returning to Harley-Davidson engines.