![]() The V-Rod uses an engine derived from the VR1000 superbike that raced in the AMA Superbike championship. The forks are still soft but they seem to work and you actually have some idea of when it’s going to lock the front tyre rather than just doing it. The front calliper is more than up to it and there’s considerably less dive than on older Harleys. Like a lot of custom bikes carrying this much weight the bike works well by using a fair bit of back brake as well as front. There’s plenty of engine braking to let you roll off between corners but the brakes are fine if you need them. Pitch it in to a corner, easy now as there’s still not tons of ground clearance, and despite its long wheelbase the bike’s dead easy to flick from left to right. Despite the relaxed steering and fork angle where the forks look like they’re a few feet in front of you when you’re riding, it turns beautifully. Laid back, the bike doesn’t feel like it should be something that goes round corners but it copes with them quite well. And besides this is a performance cruiser not a sports bike or tourer. Just be careful not to burn your legs on the right hand side pipes.Ībove 70mph your legs start flapping around a bit but the bike is dead stable and pretty comfortable once you’ve got used to your feet sitting out front. The way you sit in the bike doesn’t make it feel like it’s built for speed, with the back of the seat resting against your lower back and your feet forward chopper style across the length of the narrow bike. This bike was replaced by the 2009-2018 Harley-Davidson V-Rod. 99 years old or not this is a bike for the modern age. One thing’s for certain, just as you think every year they’re going to bring out a bike with new rubber engine mounts and a restyled seat and mudguard, they’ve still got it in them. Though Harley claim they originally had the idea for this bike in 1995 so claim they’ve copied no-one but themselves. For a start it’s full of aluminium, it’s got a radiator and the styling is fresh but also fits somewhere around a V-Max and a Buell. It’s like no other Harley you’ve ever looked at before. The A because the V-Rod is the first in a new line of performance customs in this vein and the rest for V-twin Racing Street Custom. With even more power where you least expect it at the top-end.Ĭombine that with all-American hot-rod and dragster inspired styling (hence the V-Rod name) and you’ve got what Harley calls the start of their new VRSCA family. This bike is quick, like properly quick spinning its rear wheel away from the lights quick with an engine that keeps pulling right the way past where a normal Harley has nipped of for a cough and splutter. Not only did Harley install a real wow factor in the way the bike rides that extends way above the chrome, it also managed to make it look aggressive enough to throw out any feelings of leather chaps and piss-pot helmets. ![]() But in fact, the V-Rod marked a real departure from the bikes we were used to seeing come out of Milwaukee. The Harley-Davidson V-Rod may look to the uninitiated like every other chrome plated, low slung cruiser model from the American marque.
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