Erik Buell
| Erik F. Buell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 2, 1950 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Motorcycle racer, engineer, designer, executive |
| Known for | Founder, Buell Motorcycle Company and Erik Buell Racing |
| Awards |
Motorcycle Hall of Fame (2002) Motorcyclist Motorcyclist Of The Year (2011) |
Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson Corp. Buell is a pioneer of modern race motorcycle technology. Buell is also the founder of Erik Buell Racing.
Buell was raised on a farm in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and thus learned to work on machinery at a young age.
In his teen years, Buell began motorcycling, his first ride was an Italian Parilla 90cc moped.
He later attended the University of Pittsburgh.
Buell raced before becoming interested in road racing in his early 20s. He became an avid part-time road racer and did his racing with a Ducati in the AMA 'Superbike' class and a Yamaha TZ750 in 'Formula One', despite the aging race program at Yamaha.
During this period, Buell was employed as a motorcycle mechanic during the day and engineering student taking night classes at the University of Pittsburgh.
After receiving his degree in engineering in 1979, Buell landed a job at Harley-Davidson after he flew himself to Milwaukee, WI to get an interview and "beat my way in the door," as Buell put it.
While at Harley, he was involved with concept motorcycles, Porsche-designed "Nova" V-four program, and was responsible for considerable stability and refinements to the chassis design of the FXR series of cruisers, noted for their rubber-mounted engines.
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Wikipedia