Earlier than Harley-Davidson unceremoniously shuttered Buell, the all-American marque produced among the most attention-grabbing bikes in the marketplace. The late-2000s Buell XB sequence is a primary instance. Combining aggressive streetfighter styling with daring engineering, it featured a Sportster engine with a downdraught consumption, a sculpted fuel-in-frame chassis, and perimeter disc brakes.
David Shrader is an even bigger Buell fan than most. An plane technician by commerce, he purchased his first Buell (an M2 Cyclone) new in 1999 and has been enamored with the model since. For the previous decade, he’s additionally run Revision Moto out of Boynton Seaside, Florida, specializing in Buell tuning by way of a wi-fi interface he calls ‘Buelltooth.’
Now he’s upping the ante by providing a made-to-order Buell customized, dubbed ‘V-Velocity.’ That is the prototype, which was constructed on the bones of a 2007-model Buell XB12S Lightning. Sitting someplace between a café racer and a street tracker, it encompasses a minimalistic silhouette—however there’s rather a lot happening below the hood.
The mission began a number of years in the past when David bought a Buell XB-specific café racer body and package. Constructed by Ludwigson Motor Co. in North Carolina, the package is designed for carbureted Buells and makes use of a Honda CX500 Customized gas tank. David needed so as to add gas injection although, and that offered some challenges.
“The CX500 tank doesn’t have a lot area [for the fuel pump] because of the large tunnel required for the two” spine body,” he explains. “Additionally, a Buell XB throttle physique can’t be used, as a result of these are downdraft. My options concerned turning the body into a further gas cell that homes the gas pump, and utilizing a modified Sportster throttle physique nonetheless managed by a Buell ECM with the required settings adjustments.”
David made a couple of extra adjustments to the Ludwigson design, including a café racer-style seat and rewiring the bike round a set of Motogadget goodies. Proud of the consequence, he determined to develop the idea additional and supply it to others—however he quickly realized that extra work was required. “The seat top was a bit excessive, and cramming a gas system right into a body that wasn’t meant to have one was not viable from a manufacturing standpoint,” he provides.
Work commitments within the plane trade stored David occupied for the following couple of years, leaving the Buell mission shelved. Then he linked with Dave Cutler—an expert stunt man and fabricator who had constructed a Buell XB stunt bike. “I introduced my bike to his residence close to Atlanta to see if he may construct one thing that solved the issues,” David tells us.
“We did some brainstorming, and I ended up leaving it there and giving him artistic license. In a couple of months, he constructed the primary model of the body design used as we speak, whereas I went to work modifying a Honda CX500 gas tank, which was used to make molds for a carbon fiber model.”
Hammer Efficiency provided a full efficiency package deal, together with reworked heads, 1,275 cc cylinders and pistons, upgraded cams, and extra, whereas R&D Motorsports rebuilt the transmission. The bike was performing nicely, however it could take one other 5 years earlier than Revision Moto can be prepared to supply it to the general public.
The ultimate prototype makes use of a refined model of the Cutler body that borrows some components from the unique Ludwigson design, however with an totally distinctive consequence. The chunky cross brace on the heart of the chassis homes the gas pump, whereas the triple-tubed spine shares fuel-carrying duties with the carbon kevlar gas tank.
Different carbon particulars embody the entrance fender and the seat pan, which helps a bespoke saddle from Tuffside. The engine breathes simple because of a Okay&N filter, a Revision Moto large-bore consumption manifold and throttle physique, and a two-into-one exhaust with a basic reverse-cone muffler. There are customized particulars galore—from the entrance belt cowl and rear-set controls to the machined subframe braces.
As a nod to the bike’s originals, the V-Velocity nonetheless wears its OEM forks, wheels, and a Buell ZTL2 entrance brake caliper. The latter’s been upgraded with a cooling duct, and the rear shock’s been swapped out for an up to date unit from Okay-Tech.
An excellent-sano cockpit rounds out the package deal, constructed round a Revision Moto headlight bucket that includes an built-in Motogadget speedo. The switches, bar-end flip alerts, and mirrors are additionally Motogadget bits, and David’s revised Motogadget-centric wiring loom nonetheless lurks beneath the floor.
Now that it’s lastly finished, Revision Moto is able to supply the V-Velocity as a built-to-order customized bike (or as a conversion package), full with a producer’s certificates of origin for the body and a variety of engine efficiency choices. Are you as tempted as we’re?
Revision Moto | Facebook | Instagram | Photos by Minnerly Media
Trending Merchandise
