O/T Motorcycle Buell Thunderbolt S3

I know this is not about tractors but apparently this is the nearest thing you can get to a tractor on two wheels. Local guy has just offered me a 1998 model with 15000 miles. Has anyone any experience of these bikes or tell me where to find out about them. I know they have a HD 1200 V twin engine but thats about it. I have a Triumph T140 meantime.
Thanks
Bill

Buell was good sports motorcycle based on Harley engines and sold through Harley dealers. Buell himself was a Harley racing team director/developer before working up the street legal version of previous racing models. Problem now is they -as a brand- are out of business. The going out of business sale of factory tooling, parts inventory was started last week, much of the stuff has been sold-some to collectors, some to Harley dealers. Support in US will be drying up shortly. Harley also had gotten a Italian hot rod cycle factory a couple years back-(Cagiva?, Laverda?)- that is also up for sale. Situation will be like old Vincents and Enfields when factory closed- parts prices will double at least and working mechanics will be harder and harder to find. The good part will be engine parts that can be back fitted with Harley parts will be available awhile- bad news is if you crash and bend frame you"re going to be in trouble. RN

Buell's are based on Sportster engines...frame is propiertary but most everything else is easy to come by either aftermarket or off the shelf HD.
if you ever smack anything hard enuff to bend that frame,motor will be toast too since its a stressed member.
i know a few folks building custom choppers out of wrecked Buells...custom frames available in any configuration you want.

I agree with RN I got an e-mail awhile back about Buell's shutdown so my reco would be to buy at least one or two extras for parts.

I know nothing about motorcycles, but I suspect your situation will end up a lot like Hudson automobiles- Went out of business in 1954, and any year now, we're liable to run out of parts. Except people keep stepping up to repro them. And parts machines keep coming out of the woodwork.

If a marque is worth saving, it will be saved. As for the Yugo, well, maybe not so much.

It's definitely NOT the end of the World for the owners of the Buells. I am sure there will be more stuff available for them. I have worked on several of them. It will take a pretty good hit to render it useless. I rebuilt a wrecked '04 Buell that took a slide ast about 70 mph into a curb. Hit the curb with the rear tire sideways, and broke the case where the swingarm attaches. That was basically a complete engine rebuild. I had to send the cases in to Harley to get replacements from them. They had to copy the numbers over to the new cases, and destroy the originals. A headache to say the least, but not impossible to do. Just don't get in a wreck!! I have Sportsters, but also have had a dresser, and a Low Rider. I work on them as a side job/hobby, and have been into all of the Harely's oldest one being a 45" flat head which was my first bike. The new one's are a lot like the cars we now have. They have to be taken back to a dealer for a lot of the work now, because of the electronics on board. If the price is right, and you want it, go for it. Several folks are taking the engine out of the Buell frame, and building a custom with it. That can be done, but it can also run into a LOT of money.