Harley-Davidson Blast® Engine

Harley-Davidson, an American icon and parent company of The Buell Company, selected Design Concepts to develop an engine that would fit into a smaller, entry-level sport bike, the Buell Blast®. The Blast® was intended to attract new riders to the sport of motorcycling.

The team designed an innovative, integrated chassis mounting. In addition, a low-cost, lightweight, noise-reducing polymer pushrod tube system was developed to be aesthetically distinct from Harley-Davidson products. All-new oiling and primary drive systems were developed by the team. The solution featured a lightweight, optimally balanced crankshaft system, later adopted for other Harley-Davidson crankshafts. A single-cylinder crankcase, top cover, primary cover and gear cover, cost reduction initiatives, and the utilization of existing components and manufacturing processes were all key elements of the design solution.