The Ronin Motor Works is a unique and poetic story in the automotive universe. Its name comes from the Japanese ‘’47 ronin’’ tale, in which a band of rōnin, leaderless samurai, gloriously avenged the death of their master. It all began in 2009 when their daimyō, Buell, was compelled to perform seppuku, the ritual suicide, by the shōgun, her majesty Harley-Davidson, shutting down the company.
The year after the discontinuation of the company, the last model Buell Motorcycle Company produced, the 1125 R, inspired a concept, designed by Mike Mayberry, founder and manager of Magpul Industries Corp., American manufacturer of high-tech firearms.
Since then, Ronin Motor Works, became a separate company and begin a production run set at 47 bikes, each one of them named after one of the tale’s samurai, released in seven sets, each with a different color or design scheme. Deliveries only started in 2014 and continued at an even slower pace: the last set of 5 bikes, each one with a different pattern designed by remarkable artists, such as Jason Thielke or Samuel Lee Turner, was only completed last year.
The bike religiously features the characteristic technological traits of late Buells: the Zero Torsional Load (ZTL) perimeter floating front disc brake system, the visionary "fuel in frame" technology and the company dogma of the bike compactness and torsional stiffness. The engine is the same 1125 R’s 146 BHP V2 Rotax with an improved cooling system, provided by the huge front single radiator.
