KIWI RIDER 03 2019 VOL.2 | Page 99

BUELL IS BACK (AGAIN…) Y es, you read correctly, the bad penny genius of the motorcycling world - Erik Buell - has returned with yet another motorcycling venture. Teaming up with entrepreneur Frederic Vasseur (of F1 and Formula E fame) the new venture will operate under the Fuell brand name. But fuel itself will be a thing of the past as this new breed of Buell bikes will be charging along on electrons! Yep, Buell has joined the wave of emerging electric motorcycle brands (remember Cake from the last issue?) which are solely focussing on producing the next generation of mass produced motorcycle. The first motorcycle model out of the Fuell factory will be called the ‘Flow’ which features an 11kW motor (roughly the equivalent of a 125cc conventional motor) and boasts a claimed range of 200km on a single charge. The company are also dipping their toes into the electric-assist push bike market with the ‘Fluid’, which also boasts a claimed range on electric charge only of 200km. Interestingly, it is the e-bike which Fuell will be launching later this year and not the motorcycle – which, if you’re a die-hard Buell fan – you’ll have to wait until 2021. Buell’s last attempt to head his own motorcycle company ended after a rocky ride with Erik Buell Racing (AKA EBR) which ended with the company bankrupt and sold off in 2016. KIWI RIDER 99