Buell’s Thunderbolt nameplate began with the S2, which arrived as a 1995 model and established the brand’s road-oriented sport-touring direction. It was Buell’s first Thunderbolt and was positioned as a distinctive, performance-minded machine with full-size street use in mind rather than a stripped-down sportbike profile. For the following model year, Buell expanded the concept with the S2T, a touring variant that added luggage and other comfort-focused equipment. The original S2/S2T run was short-lived, and the Thunderbolt line evolved into the S3 and S3T for 1996, carrying the same general idea forward in a revised form. The S2 remains notable as an early Buell production model and one of the motorcycles that helped define the company’s identity in the mid-1990s.
MODEL HISTORY