Originally Posted by
Hughlysses
Interesting subject for discussion. I've also been interested in all of these bikes to some degree.
It turns out the new kid on the block, 47moto, has actual Buell DNA. Mike Samarzja, company principal, is one of the original "Elves" from Buell with his name at least 3-Buell-related patents. Then again, it's a pricey 250. It could be a very fun bike but I'm not sure many of us would be willing to buy one.
I had hoped that Victory would move towards building sportier motorcycles after Polaris started Indian. The Octane was a huge disappointment in that regard, and now they're dead anyway.
Harley has one model that fits the bill, the Sportster Roadster, but I have no idea how well it's selling and if it will stick around. I actually prefer its appearance over the XR1200 which I thought looked ungainly with that Superglide-like boat tail and huge mufflers. The XR had a better engine and suspension components, but the Roadster's not bad. OTOH it's got ~30 less HP and weighs 100 lbs more than a Buell XB12S that hasn't been built for 8 years.
Indian seems like our best short-term hope for a decent standard. I read they're promising a new model release later this month and then another (maybe several) this summer), but those may just turn out to be more disappointments.
Zero is pretty interesting, and it also has some Buell DNA. Former Buell engineer (head of testing IIRC) Abe Askanazi moved to Zero when Buell shut down. I noticed that Zero switched to belt drives shortly after Abe's arrival. These bikes seem to be steadily improving year-by-year, but I'm not quite ready to move over from IC engines.
I keep thinking that between EBR, Cleveland, and 47moto, you could have a great design team, a decent range of models, and a decent dealer network. That might be just enough to make a sustainable American non-cruiser motorcycle company.