104 MOTORCYCLETRADER
LIGHTNINGSTRIKES
Stepping back to reality, the ticket price of
around $16,000 for a brand newie wasn’t
affordable for a struggling racer, so it
remained on my ‘one-day’ shortlist.
I kept an eye on the model as it evolved
into the XB12S and read how, after buying
49 per cent of Buell in 1993, Harley-
Davidson had completely taken over the
brand in 2006.
With Harley fully in control, I figured
Buell would have a bright future. I predicted
Harley would leverage the Buell brand
to push into more sport/extreme designs
thus distancing the bikes from Harley’s
traditional cruiser models.
Buell continued to develop new bikes
including more sportbike-oriented offerings,
but it steered away from the 1200cc
Sportster-based Harley-Davidson engine
in favour of a 1125cc 72-degree V-twin by
Rotax with liquid-cooling. I’ve sampled
these bikes, and although the Rotax engine
is more powerful than the 1200cc Harley
donk, it has none of the character.
The XB models were still being sold so
I wasn’t stressed about missing out. That
was until October 2009 when Harley
announced that it would euthanise the
Buell brand and cease production to focus
solely on Harley-Davidson models.
Theremainingbikesonshowroomfloors
were quickly discounted – it was now or
never.
I specifically wanted the XB12SS, all
black if possible, but I was happy to take
any colour to secure a bike before they
disappeared.
It appeared there were none left in
the country, so I began searching the
second-hand market when I received a
call. My mate Kirby Lee at Peter Stevens
Motorcycles in Melbourne had some
positive news for me: they had another
shipment of Buells on the way.
After Buell’s closure was announced,
Australia was one of the few countries
with a continuing demand for the brand.
A container of unsold Buells was en route
from Brazil, so I quickly put my name on
an all-black XB12Ss.
It was mid-2010 when the shipment
arrived. Due to an issue with the dodgy
petrol used in Brazil, however, the bikes
needed some fuel system components
replaced before delivery. This dragged on
for weeks until I finally got the bike I’d
dreamt of owning for years.
Its build date was March 2009, and it
rolled off the assembly line just six months
before production would cease forever. At
that time, genuine parts were still easy toOur
BikesOUR BIKES
A container of unsold Buells was en route
from Brazil, so I quickly put my name on
an all-black XB12SSRIGHT The Sportster engine
featured some upgrades to
make it breathe better but
Erik still wasn’t happy.
MIDDLE RIGHT Weight saving of
the single perimeter disc
was offset somewhat by the
eight-piston caliper needed
to slow the thing down.