AMA Board Member Erik Buell

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Born: Pittsburgh, Pa., 1950

First motorcycle: Honda 50 step-thru at 13; Parilla Slughi 90 at 14; H-D Panhead at 15.

Motorcycling experience: Lots and lots on all types of motorcycles, but still never enough!

Life experience: Well, regarding work, I’ve worked too long and too hard, and I still like my job too much! Other than that, hey, I just like to keep the fire burning as much as possible. Rust never sleeps, so you shouldn’t, either.

Proudest achievement: Marrying a truly great woman! But my wife says this comment sounds like I’m sucking up because I’m probably in trouble for something, so my work-related answer is: Being able to convince a group of incredibly talented people to join me at Buell.

Why you ride: Pure joy. Joy of being alive, joy of dancing with a machine, joy of being vulnerable and not afraid, joy of wind and sound and colors.

Favorite current bike: Buell 1125R, because I wanted to build it for so long, and it is so much fun to have a really high-performance water-cooled sportbike from America at last.

Best bike ever: Ulysses, because I can use it for everything from highway touring to riding single-track trails.

AMA Member since: 1971.

Why you are an AMA Board member: Because I believe motorcycling needs one central point in the U.S., and I think the new AMA is really headed toward delivering that at last.

The biggest challenge facing motorcycling: Short-sighted infantilism. Too many motorcyclists protecting their turf at the expense of the identity of motorcycling in general.

Final Thoughts: Get your friends to join and support the AMA. United, we can make motorcycling become what it should be in the United States.