Never Say Die: Buell Motorcycle Returns 2021

After a few years as little more than a memory, Buell Motorcycles is back in business. The brand was purchased early last year by EBR Motorcycles, and has big plans to expand the storied brand’s lineup to include dual sport, dirt, touring, and cruisers. Buell also says it’s got a high-performance electric bike in the works. The company says it plans to crank out 10 new models by 2024.

For now, Buell is building premium sport models based on the 1190 platform, the last bike Buell sold to the public. For those who don’t remember, the 1190 was a fuel-in-frame sport or naked, powered by a Rotax V-twin, and featured Buell’s signature perimeter brake setup.

Both the Buell 1190RX superbike and 1190SX naked will get the 185 hp Rotax, and are shown as current models on Buell’s website. They’ll look very familiar to anyone who followed Buell right up to the bitter end.

The brand already kicked off its dirt offerings with the 1190HCR, essentially a 185 hp dirt bike. The thing won the 2020 AMA Hillclimb National Championship with Logan Cipala at the helm.

“Buell is known as the American brand for high performance, innovation, and adventure. Fast is fun again on a Buell. We will continue and expand on that,” Buell CEO Bill Melvin said in a news release. “We have already launched a dirt bike with Cipala Racing that won an AMA championship, and Buell will be dominating at NHRA this year. The future will be fast and fun on a Buell.”

The brand plans to kick off its public appearances this year at Daytona Bike Week in March, where it’ll have a booth at the J&P Cycles Destination Daytona Megastore. According to other reports around the web, it sounds like Erik Buell himself is staying out of this reboot, focusing instead on his Fuell electric project.

We have reached out to Buell for comment, and we’ll let you know when we hear back.