The announcement that Erik Buell is leaving Harley-Davidson to form an independent company, Erik Buell Racing, brings to mind Erik Buell’s roots in his garage a few decades ago. Stuffing big engines (air-cooled at the time) into lightweight, lithe chassis was Buell’s passion. That passion did not particularly focus on “street legal” either. Now, Buell (with a licensing relationship with H-D) will have much the same focus with the advantage of a liquid-cooled, state-of-the-art engine design for high performance. We wish him luck. Here is the release.
Milwaukee, Wis. (November 20, 2009) – Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE:HOG) announced today that following the company’s recent decision to discontinue the Buell motorcycle product line, Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company, will leave the company to establish Erik Buell Racing, an independent motorcycle race shop.
Erik Buell Racing will specialize in the supply of race-use-only Buell motorcycle parts and race preparation services for engines and motorcycles, and the building and sale of Buell® 1125R-based race-use-only motorcycles under license from Harley-Davidson, as well as providing technical support to racers of Buell motorcycles.
“I’m looking forward to helping Buell racers keep their bikes flying,” said Erik Buell. “We’ve got some exciting race development projects in the works and it will mean a lot to me personally to see Buell racers competing for wins and championships in the 2010 season and beyond.”
“I’m pleased that Harley-Davidson is assisting Erik in establishing this business to continue supporting the racing efforts he has had so much passion for over the years,” said Buell President and COO Jon Flickinger. “Harley-Davidson and the Buell Motorcycle Company will always be proud of their affiliation with Erik, and we wish him well in this new endeavor to support Buell racers.”
Erik Buell Racing will be based in East Troy, Wisconsin and will be staffed by Erik Buell and a veteran team of personnel. For more information, after December 1, 2009, contact:
Erik Buell Racing, LLC
2799 Buell Drive, Unit C
East Troy, WI 53120
www.erikbuellracing.com
info@erikbuellracing.com
