Don’t get me wrong, the old steel-framed Buells are a surprisingly fun bike to ride at a good backroad clip and I’ve spent some quality time on a track where I did really enjoy smoothly scooting around. More than ample torque makes it fun to power out of a corner even if you’re not in the right gear and that’s what makes them pleasant and ultimately satisfying to ride. The air-cooled 45-degree V-twin architecture unfortunately did not appeal to the young fast lads, though, and that’s why Mark and I both think Harley had it wrong. Buell might have carved out its own niche if they had made a more traditional roadster utilizing classic styling cues that might appeal to a, shall we say, more mature rider that went against Erik’s innovative, but hard-to-sell mass centralization design thrown around what young metric riders felt was a hoary old V-twin.

Ramon is a perfect case in point of Mark’s theory of who he felt a Buell would and should have appealed to. After moving to Lake Elsinore and semi-retirement, he was looking for something new to get into. “I live about 65 miles out of L.A. on a lake and we have a lot of back roads of single lane asphalt and some of them are dirt roads too,” said Ramon. “I used to jet-ski, but I wanted to ride a motorcycle because you can’t jet-ski all year round, but you can ride a motorcycle here all year long. Previously I never had time, never had any money, but finally when the kids grew up, I thought motorcycling was something I wanted to do.”

With that in mind, Ramon took a look at what was available and had only one big, absolutely necessary requirement, it had to be American. “The thing is, if you want to buy something domestic, you really are up shit creek because there’s really not much out there,” he said. Ramon eventually bought a ’95 Sportster, but it wasn’t sporty enough for him so he kept searching for something light, quick and sporty. That’s when he came across a 2001 Buell Cyclone M2 that stock weighed about a 100 pounds less than his Sportster and combined with a Buell’s horsepower advantage put the sport back in Sportster. It was also a compact design with quick, good handling frame dimensions and had great suspension, brakes and a wheel/tire combo perfect for Lake Elsinore’s back roads. “Out of the Buell line, I took the M2 because it was the cheapest one,” Ramon laughed. ”I bought it in 2003 and rode it stock for awhile. It ran great and handled fine. I just wanted a different look.”

The look he was going for was exactly the elements Mark and I both felt Buell was missing. “I wanted the shocks exposed in the back and the muffler on the outside, not underneath, said Ramon. “I always liked the Ducati Monster, that’s a great looking bike. If you look at the Buell, it almost is a copy of it.” He is onto something there as Ducati’s Monster has all the styling cues that Mark was adamant about and possibly unsurprising, the Monster range is Ducati’s best selling line of bikes.

When he did decide to modify the M2, Ramon decided to do it himself as much as possible. He’s a talented guy with access to a metal shop so he dove in. “I took it all apart down to nothing. I bought a used engine from an X1 and it had fuel-injection which I took off and replaced with a 42mm Mikuni. The only thing that was required otherwise was changing the ignition cup and the manifold, no problem at all,” he said. One other major change was getting rid of the huge EPA air cleaner/scoop that covered the right side of the Buell and was about the same size as an air intake scoop on the back of a Lamborghini Countach. Good on a Lamborghini, ridiculous hanging off the side of a motorcycle. Ramon modified a S&S teardrop air cleaner turning it around 180-degrees to fit and put slots in the bottom so it could breathe.

The under-engine exhaust that looked like something more fitting for a UPS truck was replaced by a 2-into-1 Vance & Hines exhaust. “It was for a Sportster originally and I had to make some simple modifications to it although there was no cutting or welding required,” said Ramon. It definitely must sound better than that mass-centralization hit-with-an-ugly-stick stocker.

After doing a bit of measuring, Ramon bought a set of Race Tech shocks and got to work. “I cut the connecting arm that connects to the shock off the swingarm, removed the shock and front mounting brackets, reinforced the rear fender, and added sleeves to house the upper shock support shaft. Then I made special shock supports that are actually connected directly to the rear axle,” he said. With all this classic styling going down the stock Buell mags didn’t cut it as Ramon said, “I bought some aluminum hubs for a Sportster and American Wire Wheel laced them up with Excel rims and made the spacers to match the Buell wheels.”

The end result of all of this work is a bike Ramon likes to look at as well as ride. “It’s sporty, low tech, not too heavy, has decent power, easy to work on and parts are easy to get and don’t cost much. It’s the poor man’s Ducati that Harley will never build because there is very little profit in affordable bikes,” said Ramon. “I was even reluctant to send you the pictures since this is basically a simple backyard hack-and-burn job, but it looks close to some of Mark’s concept bikes. This is still a Buell and as far as I’m concerned, Erik’s best bike although I’m sure he would not appreciate me redistributing the mass.” BM

 

SPECIFICATIONS
Owner: Ramon Meier Model: 2001 Buell Cyclone M2 Fabrication/Asembly: Ramon Meier Engines: Buell X1 Lightning  Cases: Buell  Rods: Buell Pistons/Cylinders: NRHS Heads: NRHS Cam:  Buell Ignition: Buell Carb: Mikuni HR 42 Pipes: V&H modified Air Cleaner: S&S modified Transmission/Primary: Buell Clutch: Barnett Frame: Buell modified Forks: Buell		Shock: Race Tech Wheels: American Wire Wheel Tires: Metzeler Brakes: Buell Fuel Tank/Oil Tank: Buell Handlebars: Buell Hand/Foot Controls: Buell Headlight/Taillight: Buell Painter: Buell and me Color: Frame/gray, Fender/flat black, tank/Buell orange Electrical: Buell Seat: Buell S2 Special thanks to: My co-workers for making parts and doing the welding.