The line, ‘never judge a book by its cover’ applies to a lot of things. It can be about books, people, and sometimes even motorcycles. A few motorcycles don’t reveal their innermost secrets just in their design. They look calm, capable, and rider-friendly, almost like they’re okay just blending into the background.But beneath that exterior lie engines with performance that can compete with superbikes. Their suspensions have been tuned not for lazy, laid-back cruising, but for tearing up the highways. They respond instantly, accelerate with purpose, and are capable of surprising anyone who doesn’t know what they’re dealing with. These bikes, unsurprisingly, sit in the cruiser segment, and there is one cruiser that, although just launched, promises a world of fun. When Cruisers Learned To Bite The Fusion Of Comfort And Aggression Harley-Davidson Within the cruiser category of motorcycles lie the power cruisers. These bikes sit at an odd intersection of relaxed ergonomics and performance-focused engineering. While cruisers usually prioritize low-end torque and long-distance comfort, sport bikes are built around agility, cornering precision, and high-revving engines. Combining these two philosophies is not really the holy grail of motorcycling culture, but they do make for very interesting machines.Indian Motorcycle These bikes, such as the Harley-Davidson Sportster S, the Indian Sport Scout, or even the middleweight Kawasaki Vulcan S, all come with typical cruiser styling but are capable of performance bike riding styles with sharp handling and better acceleration. Now, these bikes are designed like they are built. They have cruiser engineering, but it has been tailored to look sporty. You can judge this book by its cover. What we are about to focus on is something that can walk the walk, but it doesn’t really talk… the talk. Rewriting the Formula with the Buell Super Cruiser Buell Few manufacturers have explored unconventional motorcycle engineering like Buell. The company has built its identity on rethinking traditional layouts, and instead of following established norms, they experimented with mass centralization, unique frame designs, and braking systems that differed from industry standards.Buell MotorcycleAs a result, the Super Cruiser enters this space with a clearer focus, but not one you will notice right off the bat. It retains all the essential cruiser proportions, but it's only when you sit and thumb the starter that you start to realize that there’s something off about this bike. It will be perfectly normal sitting outside a café or a biker bar, but hit the highway, and you’re probably going to leave your biker bros behind. The Buell Super Cruiser Is No Ordinary Cruiser Its Design Is Understated, But Intentional Buell From afar, the Super Cruiser looks like any other cruiser. It’s got that classic cruiser design with a teardrop-shaped tank and large, cruiser-esque windscreen. The only striking thing from this distance is the upswept exhaust. Now get closer, and you start to figure out that the low-riding stance, tall handlebars, and seemingly laid-back riding posture aren’t really what they seem. The handlebars are tall, but they’re narrower; the seat height rivals most other sport bikes, and the foot pegs are positioned below the rider rather than set forward. Liquid-cooled Engine With Superbike Roots Buell Powering the Super Cruiser is the company’s iconic 1,190 cc liquid-cooled V-twin. Out of the factory, this engine is capable of producing 175 horsepower and 94 pound-feet of torque. That is a lot of grunt for an engine inside a cruiser, and that makes sense when you realize that it is a byproduct of the Hammerhead super bike. On the Super Cruiser, according to some early pre-production reviews, there is plenty of torque across the rev band, but it's only when you’re nearing the redline that you feel the surge of power. A Chassis Is Built For Composure Buell The Super Cruiser uses a steel tube frame and an “optimized stiffness” swingarm. That’s what the company’s spec sheet says, but we gather it just means better rigidity for spirited riding. Suspension comprises a set of FOX inverted forks at the front and a monoshock with linkage at the back. Braking duties are handled by a dual 320 mm disc setup in the front, bit down on by 4-piston calipers and a 220 mm disc with a 2-piston caliper at the rear. 17-inch wheels on both sides add to the bike’s sporty nature. Lacking Technology In Favor Of A Raw Ride Buell Surprisingly, the Buell Super Cruiser comes almost completely bare bones. There are a couple of levels of traction control, and that’s all the safety you seem to get from the bike. Yes, no ride modes, engine brake control, or a six-axis IMU. The full-colour Dash also offers a lot of information, but again, very, very little technology to actually compete with some of the other bikes in the Super Cruiser’s price range. It Also Has This Garage Built Vibe Buell Circling back to design a little bit, the Super Cruiser has a lot of exposed cables and mechanicals. It almost has this backyard-built design aesthetic going for it. Part of the reason for that is probably because when Roland Sands was asked to design the bike, he was told to use available Buell parts for the bike. Obviously, there are some changes from the original script, but the result is this put-together machine that anyone who doesn’t know Buell would think this bike isn’t capable of much. The Super Cruiser's Price Is Set At Under $26,000 Buell There is some chatter on the internet about why this bike is priced at what it is. I mean, for the tech it offers and the build quality it showcases, that $25,900 mark seems a little much. But you have to remember that this is a Buell. It comes with decades of legacy and refined engineering. Plus, that 1,190 cc beast at its heart alone is worth the consideration. For whatever it is, though, the Buell Super Cruiser is one of those enthusiast bikes. It looks like it rolled out of someone’s garage, but it is capable of competing with the superbikes that hit the mountain passes every weekend.