While American manufacturing has faced stiff international competition over the past several decades, one manufacturer in East Troy, Wis., is proving to the world that American ingenuity can compete with the best the rest of the world has to offer. Buell, a motorcycle manufacturer with a mere 200 employees, has done what no other American company has in nearly 40 years – beat the giant Japanese sport motorcycle manufacturers at the top-level of professional motorcycle road racing in the United States.
Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO rider Danny Eslick posted a win in the AMA Pro Racing Daytona Sportbike class at Road Atlanta.on April 5, the company’s third win in as many weeks. Coupled with his previous two season victories and a third place finish in the opening race of the Road Atlanta double-header, Eslick now leads the Daytona SportBike season championship standings with 109 points, a 10-point gap over the factory-sponsored Kawasaki of Jamie Hacking.
“This is a huge win, no doubt about it,” said Eslick. “But it’s more than just another win for our team; it’s also a win for American manufacturing. Together with the dedicated people at Buell, we’re showing the world what hard-working American engineering can accomplish.”
Further reinforcing the significance of Eslick’s accomplishment, every part on his Buell 1125R – the same bike he raced in each of his historic victories – is available to any other competitor or enthusiast rider.
“Some people want rules specifically made for motorcycles that are only produced by four import manufacturers. That’s not the American way. In America, we embrace diversity. AMA Pro Racing has written rules that allow fair competition among many more brands, and we had all eight top brands in the Atlanta Race. Some people say we have an unfair displacement advantage, but this class allows bikes like the BMW 1200, the Aprilia 1000, and the KTM 990 to also compete,” said Erik Buell, the founder and chairman and chief technical officer of Buell Motorcycle Company.
Buell prides itself in building great bikes without the exotic bells and whistles never seen off the track. And with consumer preference of sport bikes influenced by who’s doing well on the track, the company hopes its latest winning streak will lead to increased market share for American motorsports brands.
“The fact is, a privateer racer on a street bike beat the Japanese factories’ barely disguised race bikes, and I’m proud of that,” he said. “As an ex-privateer racer, who personally experienced dealing with never having equipment comparable to what the factory guys had, this is a great moment. It also proves that Buell’s American innovations like the ZTL front brake, underslung exhaust, and fuel in the frame work as well on the track as they do on the street.”
Like his GEICO Powersports/RMR teammate Michael Barnes, the Buell 1125R Eslick raced in the Daytona Atlanta and Fontana rounds was equipped with a stock crate engine, modified only with an aftermarket muffler and a recalibrated engine computer.
Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt and Lightning.
