The founders of Ronin Motor Works have always respected the Harley-Davidson Buell brand. The Buell featured a 1125 series liquid-cooled engine and looked to be positioned to take the industry head on. But with all of its most interesting technology hidden by the typical plastic body, the bike looked run of the mill, never took off and was eliminated in 2009.
After acquiring two of the 1125Rs, to be used in a design exercise, they created the first concept called the Magpul Ronin. Ronin is taken from the Japanese word for a Samurai whose lost his master, and thusly represents how Buell motorcycles will continue on even after the end of the company. And based on the story from Japanese folklore, 47 Ronin, they decided to build 47 of the concept bikes.
The result is the Ronin 47 Motorcycle ($38K) series of bikes that match the rawness of the concept, but are much more fined. The bikes will be releases in multiple series that feature a predetermined color scheme. The first 12 bikes will be released in the classic black & gray of the original concept bike, and will be followed by 10 all black versions. Each of the 47 bikes are named after one of the Ronin warriors form Japanese legend, with the name being engraved on the bike and the accompanying bamboo toolkit.
