Bike Review: Buell SuperCruiser
Words and Photos Jeff G. Holt
YouTube Link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=owC-5aWriAI
We found ourselves in Huntington Beach, California blowing up our friend Joey Bago’s phone until we strong-armed him into riding the 7th production unit of the Buell Motorcycles SuperCruiser. After a night of a few margaritas and a pile of nachos, we woke up and hit Pacific Coast Highway to test ride and review what so many people are calling the next generation of the FXR. The 2026 Super Cruiser is truly a high-performance American-made motorcycle with a 1,190cc liquid-cooled V-twin engine. This engine produces 175 horsepower and 101.6 pound-feet of torque. With a starting price of $25,900, the bike boasts a lightweight wet weight of 485 to 496 pounds, Fox suspension, Saddlemen Seating and Brembo brakes come standard.
Now that all of the weights, measures and numbers have been written about, we can tell you a few of our key takeaways from our time with the Super Cruiser. And yes, we are also going to first talk about the Super Cruiser’s frame design and how it shares similar design trace of the H-D FXR from the 1980’s and 90’s. But that’s where it stops. This is a new bike with all mod cons and not a throwback or retro type of thing. After seeing and riding many pre-production versions of this machine I am glad to say that all it has maintained 90-percent of its original design integrity. Lets talk about the ergonomics of this bike. I would say that they are spot on for my 5-foot ten-inch frame. The Saddlemen-made seat is in a great position over the adjustable foot controls and the stock handlebars and risers don’t feel like they come from the factory. And that’s a good thing. They are a good height and reach for me, and the Brembo hand controls feel great at any speed. After we threw a leg over the Super Cruiser it didn’t take long to understand just how much homework the Buell design team did when getting this bike to market. It’s fast off the line and pulls hard to redline in all gears. The Fox inverted frontend and mono shock out back give great ground clearance, feel a bit firm off the bat, and both the front and rear suspension does its job very well from the factory. With that said, I would be very intrigued to see how well this bike could feel on this bike with a couple of days of proper suspension setup. The 17-inch wheels were a great performance touch with big rotors up front, and I was impressed at how insane the brake feel is with so much modulation and the ability to stop this bike on a dime from any amount of speed you are giving it. Speaking of speed, this bike loves to live in the triple digits. It always wanted to be up around 105, and that’s where the bike’s speed sweet spot was. I found that the clutch and transmission needed a few miles to get used to, but once I got it down, launches from a dead stop and banging through all six gears were fun as hell. I was highly impressed by the combined power and overall performance of the engine, transmission, and clutch working in harmony.
Looks-wise, I would say that the “New for 2026 FXR” murdered-out look on this bike is great, but there are two things that I am thumbs down on. The first being the below-the-bar mirrors, which don’t look or work good on any lane-splitting machine I have ever ridden. This bike is no different. But, this is a super simple fix that you have already seen on the test bike. A set of simple $80 Amazon mirrors, which does the trick very well. The second is the rear brake light and turn signals. Yes, I know that Buell had to have a certain size unit to get DOT-approved, but somebody with a cnc machine needs to whittle up an aftermarket improvement asap. And while I am adding to the improvements this bike needs, the elephant in the room is the exhaust. We know that many pipe makers are already designing slip-ons and full systems, so this worry will be a thing of the past real soon.
The Super Cruiser is a damn fun bike to ride and it makes me remember (and want for) the fun days of simply mobbing stripped-down and purpose-built blacked out Dynas and FXRs all over the southland before my life was filled with bloated Baggers candy coated with anodized accents. The main questions I get asked about the Buell Super Cruiser is would I actually buy one. And the answer is simple; Yes. With the amount of fun this bike is to ride for the price, I think Buell is going to sell a lot of these bikes, therefore becoming a strong contender in this marketplace in a very short period of time.
Key Facts about the 2026 Buell Super Cruiser:
Engine & Performance: The 1,190cc 72-degree V-twin engine delivers 175 horsepower at 10,600 revolutions per minute and 101.6 pound-feet of torque.
