Erik F. Buell (born April 2, 1950, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the founder, former Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which eventually merged with Harley-Davidson Corp. Buell is a pioneer of modern race motorcycle technology. Buell is also the founder of Erik Buell Racing. History Early years Buell was raised on a farm in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, and learned to maintain machinery at a young age. In his teens, Buell began motorcycling. His first motorcycle was an Italian Parilla 90cc moped. He later attended the University of Pittsburgh. Motorcycles and motorcycle racing Buell raced motocross before becoming interested in road racing in his early 20s. He became a part-time road racer on a Ducati in the AMA 'Superbike' class and a Yamaha TZ750 in 'Formula One', despite the aging race program at Yamaha. During this period, Buell was employed as a motorcycle mechanic during the day and engineering student taking night classes at the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving his degree in engineering in 1979, Buell took a job at Harley-Davidson after he went to Milwaukee, WI to obtain an interview and "beat my way in the door," as Buell put it. While at Harley-Davidson, he was involved with concept motorcycles, Porsche-designed "Nova" V-four program, and was responsible for stability and refinements to the chassis design of the FXR series of cruisers, noted for their rubber-mounted engines. Buell used his racing experience to personally test Harley-Davidsons beyond normal riding limits, and implemented an electronic chassis testing regimen at H-D that greatly improved their handling. The Barton Buell learned of the small, privately held general-purpose engine maker Barton (based in Great Britain) in 1981. He bought their limited production racer, powered by a water-cooled 750 cc Square Four two-stroke engine. (The Barton was featured prominently in the 1980 motion picture "Silver Dream Racer".) The bike was poorly manufactured and was constructed from cheap materials. The engine was plagued with issues. Buell felt that with his engineering background, he could improve the engine. As parts failed he re-engineered them to increase reliability, and in many cases saw performance gains with his modifications. The chassis was a lost cause, and Buell designed his own chassis. The engine often failed before completing a race. Buell first raced a prototype of his bike, using the mostly stock Barton engine, in the summer of 1982 at the AMA National on the Pocono Speedway.