Buell XB12S Lightning - something completely different
from Motorcycles (337 articles)
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Image Gallery ( 12 images )We suspect that one of the key reasons for the Buell’s poise and lack of any disappointing road manners is what we previously referred to as a compact centre-of-gravity – the average location of the mass of the motorcycle.
The compact design of the Buell is doubly clever when you consider how it has rearranged the components in order to get the heaviest items closer to the centre of gravity – the muffler, petrol and oil tanks being the obvious targets, but even the truncated rear-end styling saves valuable weight at the extremities.
The Buell is the product of 20 years of refinement under the funding of Harley Davidson motorcycles by Erik Buell. Originally Buell pursued dreams of building prototype race machinery leading-edge limited-edition sportsbikes.
Buell History
The first motorcycle designed and built by Erik Buell was the RW750 in 1983. This was a 750cc, two-stroke, “square-four”, rotary-valve racing machine designed specifically to compete in the AMA Formula One road racing class.
A prototype RW750 first hit the track in the AMA National at Pocono Speedway in the summer of 1983. Buell continued extensive testing and development work on the bike throughout that summer and into the fall. His success was measured during testing at Talladega, Alabama, where it was clocked at a top speed of 178 mph. Development on the RW750 continued through 1984, a production version was released in the fall. Just one RW750 was sold to the American Machinists Racing Team before the AMA announced that 1985 would be the last year of Formula One racing. An announcement that Superbikes would occupy the premier race class in 1986 effectively eliminated any market for the RW750. Crushing as that may have been to lesser builders, Buell viewed the rules change simply as a setback. He went back to work, this time aiming squarely at the goal of building the first world-class sportbike designed and built in the USA. Tapping his knowledge of what works on the racetrack and his experience as a Harley-Davidson engineer, Erik Buell designed his first entry into the sportbike market, the RR1000. Powered by the Harley-Davidson XR1000 engine, the stiff, light chassis was designed to allow rubber-mounting that became a patented engineering “trademark” of Buell sport bikes: the Uniplanar system. Buell’s design also utilised the engine as a fully stressed member of the frame. Capping the engineering firsts was Buell’s use of a rear suspension mounted beneath the motor and a shock that operated in reverse of the conventional compression-rebound practice. A total of 50 RR1000 models were produced during 1987-88 before the remaining XR1000 engines were depleted.
Buell saw the new 1203cc Harley-Davidson Evolution engine as an opportunity to continue tuning the performance and handling qualities of his bikes. With that in mind, he began redesigning the chassis to accommodate the 1203. The resulting RR1200 model was introduced during 1988, and 65 were produced for sale through 1989. Streamlining and bodywork had been a particular talent and passion for Erik Buell. Thus, his motorcycles continued to change at a measured pace through the years. In 1989, he introduced the RS1200, a two-seat version of the RR model for riders who demanded both world-class performance and two-up comfort. 105 of these unique models were produced through 1990.
Five-speed transmissions were a new feature of the 1203cc engine in 1991. Buell responded to revised engine mounting points with further design improvements to the RS chassis. These bikes were the first production motorcycles to use “upside-down” (inverted) front forks, stainless steel braided brake lines and a six-piston front brake calliper.
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