Buell Super Cruiser 1190 x RSD 2025 — Specifications

Someone at Buell clearly looked at the custom segment with the eye of a track rider who is bored. The result is the Super Cruiser 1190 x RSD, a machine that only has the silhouette of a cruiser and the temperament of something much more aggressive.

The paradox is immediately apparent when you look at the numbers. While Harley-Davidson lines up its 1868 cc on the Low Rider S and Indian its 1890 cc on the Chief, Buell presents an 1190 cm3 V-twin at 72 degrees derived from the Hammerhead, the in-house sportbike that has never been seen in Europe and probably never will be. This engine has been slightly tamed for the occasion, but it retains 175 horsepower for 204 kilograms dry weight. This represents about one hundred kilograms less than a traditional American machine and a power density that makes the competition very quiet. A Ducati Diavel V4 or a Triumph Rocket III can theoretically compete, but they don't have either this power-to-weight ratio or this direct sporting origin. Harley and Indian have only their torque, probably superior, to justify their existence in the same conversation.

The chassis tells the same story as the engine. No one makes a cruiser with an inverted long-travel fork, 17-inch wheels front and rear, a hypersport geometry swingarm, and a 396 mm perimeter disc bitten by an eight-piston caliper. This is the Buell signature, this way of ignoring conventions with a consistency that is hard to fault. The tubular steel trellis frame was designed by Roland Sands himself, the Californian customizer who co-developed the entire project. His style is reflected in the details: the SC Project exhaust, the machined triple clamps, the adjustable controls, the dragster seat, and a multi-optic headlight. It's understated but precise, and it changes everything about the final perception of the machine. We would have liked Sands to devote a little of this creativity to dressing the imposing cooling radiator, which remains bare and without stylistic excuse. Two carbon fiber fairings would not have cost so much ingenuity.

The TFT dashboard indicates that Buell has followed the times, but the brand remains remarkably discreet about everything else. No official confirmation of torque, no detail on riding aids, no information on the fuel tank capacity. This opacity is either commercial strategy or a project still in the process of serious refinement. The announced top speed of 250 km/h is consistent with the power, but it will remain theoretical if the machine does not pass European homologations.

This is where the file gets complicated for readers on this side of the Atlantic. In the United States, this type of project always finds an audience, even in confidential production, and a price of around $20,000 would be defensible. In Europe, between emission standards, the current low commercial awareness of the brand in the new market, and a price that would easily exceed 20,000 euros, the path to sales is fraught with real complications. This Super Cruiser is primarily aimed at riders who want the posture of an American custom with the performance of a compact sportbike, a profile that exists but remains a niche within a niche. If Buell confirms production, it will be a fascinating machine for those who know how to read between the lines of a technical specification.