This Buell Thunderbolt touring variant was introduced for the 1997 model year as the more luggage-friendly companion to the standard S3. It was part of Buell’s late-1990s effort to blend Harley-Davidson-based V-twin character with a lighter, more aggressive chassis and an American sport-touring identity. From the start, the model stood out for its integrated hard saddlebags and more road-oriented touring equipment, while still sharing the same basic Thunderbolt family design language.
The nameplate appears in Buell parts and service literature beginning with the 1997-1998 catalog, and later documentation shows it continuing through the 2000-2001 and 2002 model years. That makes it a single continuous production run rather than a revived nameplate. The model was gradually updated over its life, but it remained the brand’s touring-focused Thunderbolt until the line ended after 2002.
Among enthusiasts, it is remembered as one of the most distinctive Buell tube-frame machines of the era: less stripped-down than the naked Buell models, but still far more compact and unconventional than most traditional sport-tourers of its day. It represents an important part of Buell’s early identity before the later XB series changed the brand’s direction.