Erik Buell and his bikes have a chequered history since the company was founded in 1983. They were independent, then became a subsidiary of Harley before they decided to cease production and concentrate solely on racing in the US AMA championship. Then Hero Motor Corp of India bought a big stake in the company, but this wasn't enough to save it from going into liquidation.

Now, in conjunction with the liquidators, Liquid Asset Partners (LAP), they will again be starting production of two models later this month at their factory in Troy, Wisconsin: the 1190RX and 1190SX.

Whilst it's good news when a manufacturer can begin to put bikes together, or a new motorcycle goes into production, it's not as simple as pulling all the parts into an assembly plant and wheeling bikes out the door. How do you sell them? The Buell dealer network doesn't exist any more, and there were warranty issues across the US with previously produced models.

Having said that, the liquidator partners seem confident they can make a go of it this time, by producing more "budget" end, rather than top end, bikes.

The LAP Chief Exec has said:
'EBR is on solid ground and moving forward, able to shift into gear knowing it has financial stability, a profitable multi-year plan, and a 5-10 year vision'.

I'll not be lining up to review one unless I can touch the ground!

Ever owned or ridden a Buell motorcycle before? Tell us what you thought about it at [email protected].

07/03/16         Without trying to be mean, it looks like they put a load of 'off the shelf parts' together not quite correctly. Good luck to them anyway, takes a lot to realise your dream.

07/03/16        So long as they keep Erik Buell in the engineering shop, and out of the office, they've half a chance of survival. And stop giving it the big "World beating superbikes" routine, as when they entered WorldSBK they got kicked entirely to the kerb. Be modest, be humble, make an adventure bike again (Ulysses2) and the motorcycle world might warm back up to you EBR...

07/03/16         What a mess of spindles and poles! Sometimes less is more

07/03/16         It looks like a project that needs finishing

07/03/16        There's ugly, and then there's this...

07/03/16        Yeb Happy news)

07/03/16        I wonder how much

07/03/16         It looks good

08/03/16         ........cross between a new Tuono and an MT10........I'll have it!!!!!!!

08/03/16        Make it look like 2004 Sportster powered bike, but with Rotax V twin power.

08/03/16          As long as it doesn't have a Harley motor it could be a winner.

08/03/16         I rode a 2009 buell xb9 across the Pyrenees to Barcelona and loved the cornering speed I could carry compared to the jap bikes the other lads where on, but the top end speed did let me down. Oh and it wheelies really well.

09/03/16         Hmm, each generation of Buells seem to have been worse looking than the previous. I think they need to go back to the drawing board with this one

09/03/16         Messy. Make it look like 2004 Sportster powered bike, but with Rotax V twin power.

09/03/16         Don't like it. Too busy

09/03/16         Ooohhh

09/03/16         I had a Buell XB12XT, the touring Ulysses with the luggage system. Awesome handling with or without a pillion and luggage. Great for touring through France. Power delivery was punchy with plenty of torque and could wheely off the throttle in 1st and 2nd gear. Loved the induction roar. Lumpy and vibrating at low revs but all smoothed out as revs in eeased. Reliability issues forced its departure as it couldn't be relied on when doing 11000 miles a gear. Would have been a keeper if reliable.

09/03/16         O dear what a mess, Buell needs that final shot to the head to put it out of its misery, these bikes are just spasms and involuntary knee jerks trying to survive. They need to either give it up or get a new designer on board.

09/03/16         I like the way it looks.....

09/03/16         I'm not convinced you will ever see two in the same place. I thoroughly approve of innovation, but there is innovation and different for different sake.

09/03/16        Oh shit. Am I the only one that likes it.

09/03/16         Nice!!!!

10/03/16          How does that compete with a KTM SuperDuke R??

10/03/16         Hmm. The return of a bike with an engine featuring the one true V angle. Tempting, but far too heavy and high for me these days.

10/03/16         There's a lot of "...this new bike..." comments on here. None of which seem to note that the RX and SX are 2+ year old models and the new company is re-starting production of these, not putting out brand new models. So if you think these look worse than 'the last models'/'last generation of Buell' or they're last minute lash-ups from what was lying around, well.... They *are* the last models/generation.