On the Record Dane Hoechst
ON THE RECORD DANE HOECHST
INTERVIEW
EBR Program Manager. Coming full circle with one of the Buell faithful
Brian Catterson
The entity formerly known as the Buell Motorcycle Company has been through the wringer. From its humble beginnings building racebikes in a Quonset hut in rural Wisconsin, it grew and grew and then suddenly burst as Harley-Davidson invested in it, purchased it outright, and ultimately shut it down, whereupon it was resurrected as Erik Buell Racing (EBR). Today the 150-person firm offers three models and does engineering work for India’s Hero MotoCorp. But through it all, many employees have remained faithful, departing and returning as circumstances dictated. One of these is Program Manager Dane Hoechst. After our rainy ngoSX test ride (page 12) and factory tour, we cornered him under the former AMA race team transporter’s awning to get his take on where the company is headed.
-> I SPENT OVER 13 YEARS WORKING FOR BUELL. I started in 1996 as a co-op student working as a test engineer and then was hired full time as a design engineer. Later,
I led product development for the XB platform. Then the economy took a hit and I was transferred to Harley, where I worked in product development on the Rushmore [liquid-cooled] project. Erik was growing EBR and was looking to expand his team, so in January of last year I made the decision to go back to work for him.
-> WE HAVE A SMALL TEAM OF ENGINEERS. When I came on board, there were plans in place
to do a platform of motorcycles, including the RX, SX, and someday an AX [adventure bike].
So right off the bat we were thinking about all the different models. Obviously, you choose which of the three is going to market first and more detail work gets poured into that.
With just five engineers, we can’t develop all of the bikes at the same time.
-> WITH THE SX, WE CHOSE NOT TO COMPROMISE. We’ve taken the power and performance of the RX and repackaged it in a way that provides a more relaxed seating position. It’s a straight
transfer: same motor, same fuel-injection calibration, same intake, same exhaust, same gearing, and the same exact power and torque specs. We wanted to answer the folks who complain about a streetfighter being a dumbed-down or detuned sportbike.
-> THERE ARE REACTIONARY AND ANTICIPATORY ALGORITHMS. There is no wheelie control per se, but the traction-control system, depending on which setting you’re in, does control wheelies to a degree. If you crank it above 7—say you’ve got some bad conditions like you’re riding in gravel or on wet roads— the vehicle will limit your acceleration to the point where you can’t accelerate hard enough to wheelie.
-> WE WILL HAVE ANTILOCK BRAKES SOON. ABS, for the European market, is going to be required very soon. So we will be ready in time for that requirement.
We had an ABS project going on with the Ulysses before the old company shut down, and we didn’t have any issues specific to it being a rim brake.
-> THE AX WILL BE A COMPLETELY NEW MOTORCYCLE. It won’t be a simple variance of the RX and SX. A lot of work and investment needs to go into that. We’ve got to continue to grow our dealer network, grow our brand in the field. When is it coming? Hopefully someday. I have no direct answer for that, but we get that question all the time. CTMM
BY THE NUMBERS
0
The number of Harley-Davidson engines used by EBR
2
The number of championship points earned by EBR-mounted Larry Pegram in World Superbike race one at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for his 14th-place finish
1985
First year that Erik Buell started building motorcycles under his own name. The RW750 was a four-cylinder two-stroke racer.
