Erik Buell

The wrap-around fairing design had lower aerodynamic drag than a few 21st century sportbikes.

Buell's design incorporated the engine as a fully stressed member of the frame.

Capping the engineering firsts in this design was Buell's use of a horizontally mounted suspension located beneath the engine utilizing a shock that operated in reverse of the conventional compression-rebound design.

Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson Corp. Buell is a pioneer of modern race motorcycle technology.

Buell is also the founder of Erik Buell Racing.

Buell was raised on a farm in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and learned to maintain machinery at a young age.

In his teens, Buell began motorcycling.

His first motorcycle was an Italian Parilla 90cc moped.

He later attended the University of Pittsburgh.

Buell raced motocross before becoming interested in road racing in his early 20s.

He became a part-time road racer on a Ducati in the AMA 'Superbike' class and a Yamaha TZ750 in 'Formula One', despite the aging race program at Yamaha.

During this period, Buell was employed as a motorcycle mechanic during the day and engineering student taking night classes at the University of Pittsburgh.

He raced in the 500 cc-dominated Formula One class (the Barton engine was designed prior to 1978 and was grandfathered into this class by AMA rules).

He found some success at the local club levels despite the grossly overpowered, unrefined engine.

After receiving his degree in engineering in 1979, Buell took a job at Harley-Davidson after he went to Milwaukee, WI to obtain an interview and "beat my way in the door," as Buell put it.

While at Harley-Davidson, he was involved with concept motorcycles, Porsche-designed "Nova" V-four program, and was responsible for stability and refinements to the chassis design of the FXR series of cruisers, noted for their rubber-mounted engines.

Buell used his racing experience to personally test Harley-Davidsons beyond normal riding limits, and implemented an electronic chassis testing regimen at H-D that greatly improved their handling.

(The Barton was featured prominently in the 1980 motion picture "Silver Dream Racer".) The bike was poorly manufactured and was constructed from cheap materials.

The engine was plagued with issues.

Buell felt that with his engineering background, he could improve the engine.

As parts failed he re-engineered them to increase reliability, and in many cases saw performance gains with his modifications.

The chassis was a lost cause, and Buell designed his own chassis.

The engine often failed before completing a race.

Buell learned of the small, privately held general-purpose engine maker Barton (based in Great Britain) in 1981.

He bought their limited production racer, powered by a water-cooled 750 cc Square Four two-stroke engine.

Buell first raced a prototype of his bike, using the mostly stock Barton engine, in the summer of 1982 at the AMA National on the Pocono Speedway.

He dubbed it the RW750 (RW standing for Road Warrior).

During testing at Talladega, AL, the RW750 was clocked at a top speed of 178 mi/h.

In 1982, Barton closed, and Buell was given the option to purchase the entire stock of spare engines and parts, drawings, and the rights to produce and sell the engine.

Buell did so, but the shipment was delayed, and he missed the opportunity to make use of this new equipment and knowledge for the 1983 racing season.

This delayed the development of the engine.

With the stunted development, Buell's inquiry with his employer to gain engineering and financial support was declined due to reliability problems with the Barton engine.

Buell then quit his job at Harley-Davidson to devote more time to racing.

By late 1984, Yamaha TZs were scarce (Yamaha had ceased production of the TZ series) and the competing Hondas were selling for around $30,000.

Buell offered his RW750s under the 'Buell Motor Company' marque for $15,900 to press accolades.

The American Machinist's Union Racing Team bought, tested and raced the first publicly sold RW750 ('RW750 number 2'), and gave it glowing marks.

In the Spring of 1985 the AMA announced that the Superbike class would supplant Formula One as the premier road racing class for the 1986 racing season, and the Formula One class would be discontinued, leaving Buell with no market for his creation.

Despite this setback, Buell forged ahead and designed his first entry into the sportbike market, the RR1000.

Using his connections at Harley-Davidson, he acquired a sizeable cache of unused XR1000 racing engines, the powerplant of a model he had ridden to a podium finish at the 1983 Road America Battle of the Twins National, so he had confidence in this engine's potential in the sport market.

Around this powerhouse, he designed a stiff, extremely light chassis that incorporated the unconventional rubber-mounting system known as "the Uniplanar" that became a patented engineering trademark of Buell sport bikes.