Buell Motorcycles founder and former Harley-Davidson engineer Erik Buell has announced performance details for his new electric FUELL Fllow motorcycle.
The 73-year-old East Troy motorcycle engineer’s latest creation is an all-electric motorcycle aimed at urban and suburban riders with more torque — or tire twisting power — than a new Ford F-350 and a 150-mile range. Buell is known for including innovative technologies on his designs, such as putting fuel inside a motorcycle frame and bolting brake rotors to the wheel rim instead of the hub. He hasn’t stopped with the Fllow.
“We broke away from the classic motorcycle architecture — with radical new ideas and materials — to give you the acceleration of a superbike with the nimbleness of a light middleweight motorcycle,” Buell said in a release.
While it’s capable of accelerating from a stop to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds, riders still have enough storage in the 10 gallons of space to keep a full face helmet and a bag on board.
Buell was a former Harley engineer and the head of former Wisconsin-based motorcycle companies, Buell Motorcycles and Erik Buell Racing, which collectively produced over 130,000 bikes. He founded Buell Motorcycles in 1983, starting in a barn in East Troy.
FUELL is headquartered in New York. Buell, current Ferrari Formula 1 team Principal Frédéric Vasseur, and executive and investor Francois-Xavier Terny founded the company.
The Fllow will also heavily rely on U.S. manufacturing, with assembly slated for America, according to the press release.
Buell argues two wheels are the way to the future.
“Worldwide, the movement to change our habits is accelerating,” he said. “Urban transportation should be a comfortable personal tool empowering us to better live our multitasking lives. A well-designed two-wheeler becomes one with the rider, with speed and range far beyond the rider’s ability. Those great two-wheelers make you feel like you have superpowers!”
The new motorcycle’s motor integrated into the rear wheel is one of the biggest electrical innovations, providing 47 horsepower. The lithium battery pack that’s a structural piece of the chassis provides the ability to update battery packs for future upgrades too.
The rear wheel motor and fast charging socket can also be upgraded as new tech becomes available.
“I will myself be striving to develop those close and personal rides into the future, so every FUELL product not only feels familiar, like part of you, but also pushes out of the past and flies you to the future,” he said.
A 15 horsepower version of the bike will also be available for markets with varying licensing requirements.
Recharging the bike at a Type 2 fast charger will take about 30 minutes while recharging at home could take between 1.25 and 10 hours, depending on the rate of charge, and costs about $2, according to a press release.
That’s about $10 cheaper than it costs to fill up most of Buell’s previous two-wheeled creations.
But the new bike is not designed to be a replacement for a gas-powered touring motorcycle, according to the release. It’s designed specifically for urban use with highway capabilities, as the 85 mph top speed is not much higher than the legal limit on most interstates. The 150-mile range would also decrease if riders only use highways and freeways.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/fuell-fllow-ride-into-the-future/
Watch a video on the FUELL Fllow here: https://www.wisbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Erik-Buell-Presentation.mp4
— Adam Kelnhofer
