Buell Dirt Bikes Delayed Indefinitely

It looks like Buell Motorcycles will not be adding a dirt bike to their lineup anytime soon. Although the program was supposedly still in the works last month when I interviewed Erik:

Kneeslider: What about the dirt bike project? Is there anything you can say about that?

Erik Buell: It’s definitely a project underway and when we talked about it last January we said we would have a bike for the market within 2 years and that is still the plan but it’s not scheduled.

… it now looks like they have decided to concentrate their efforts on the 1125R and the rest of their street bikes. When I asked about possible plans for racing, Erik stressed that Buell is really a very small company and they have to pay the bills. I have a hunch, the resources only go so far and focusing on their primary and most profitable products may have a lot to do with this decision. The 1125R seems like it could be a real winner for the company and diverting attention to another project right now might not have been the best idea.

Buell press release:

Buell Motorcycle Company has announced it is shelving its off-road motorcycle development plans for the foreseeable future. Earlier this year, Buell announced to dealers that the Company intended to enter the closed-course, competition use off-road motorcycle market.

“Buell has made the business decision to focus resources on its street motorcycle business, including continued development of the XB line and the launch of the all new 1125R superbike platform,” said Buell President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Flickinger. “Buell customers and dealers have expressed incredible excitement for the new 1125R superbike and our entry into the mainstream sportbike market.”