If ever there were a philosophical mis-match in the moto world, it had to be the marriage of Erik Buell and Harley-Davidson Motor Company. An avowed motorcycle racer and sport bike enthusiast, Buell built his first competition motorcycle in 1983 and went on to design and build Sportster-engine based street bikes. Harley began acquiring Buell’s company in 1993 and had full ownership by 2003. The player’s visions could not have been more diverse. Buell’s was one of world-class sport bikes while Harley saw the brand as an entry-level model to bring riders into the fold. It could never work and the whole thing imploded in 2009.
But this marriage produced many successful offspring, one of which we feature here. The Cyclone model was offered from 1997-2002 and used the 1203cc Sportster-based engine. Erik Buell is a forward-thinking engineer and combined the concepts of mass centralization, low unsprung weight and chassis rigidity through his use of many innovative features. Here’s a good summary of the Cyclone line.
This bike is a great-looking survivor showing only 4446 miles with a few popular modifications. For those riders looking for an alternative to the Ducati Monster or Triumph Speed Triple, this may be the ticket. Offered at a collector-level price of $5000, find it in Hebron, Illinois here on Craigslist.