Test ride the v-rod

[hank]

Thought I would give you my first impressions of the Harley V-Rod after a demo ride yesterday. First off, I think it’s a way cool looking bike!!! The seating position is typical Harley with forward mounted foot pegs and handlebars putting you in an upright position, not very comfortable for me. Give me the Jap riding position any day. Also, that little skinny gas tank made my feel like I was on a 450cc from 20 years ago, nothing for the legs to hang on to - kind of a weird feeling?

NOW, with 115 hp this Hog should get up and dance! POWER wise I was very disappointed. There is hardly any low-end grunt (under 5,000 rpm’s) and it sounds more like a mini-bike than the potato, potato Harley’s we all know. Whack the throttle open in the lower rpm’s and the bike just bogs down and stumbles a bit (WTF). After 5,000 to the 9,000 rpm red line the bike goes pretty good, but at 9,000 rpm the engine shuts down (NOW), this bike has a narrow usable power band in my opinion!

This bike is the KING of the power cruisers? BORING – what do those other cruisers run like? The bike did seem quite nimble and fun around corners, but you need the R’s up to get any kind of acceleration out of a turn. I find it hard to believe the V-Rod is putting out 115 hp, cause my old Connie with 108 hp felt way faster. In a nut shell the V-Rod is light years behind the Busa in POWER, SPEED and HANDLING. Make it a normal looking bike with typical Harley styling, add some (a lot of) low-end grunt to match the higher rpm’s power, cut the price in half, then maybe I’ll buy one!

The power of the Busa is from, turn the key on till Holy Sh&^ I can’t stand it any more; I’m shutting it down.

 

[win43win]

I dont know if you rode a defective one or what. lol I have had the opertunity to ride one 2 times. The bike seems to have pretty good low end power and it does handle like a dream for a cruzier. My buddy and I that has one switched bikes about 2 weeks ago for a 20 mile ride because he wanted to ride my Big Dog. Im pushing about 110HP on the Big Dog and it will take the V-Rod off the line but the V-Rod runs better after you get up in the RPM's. The bike handles and rides way better than my Titan did or my Big Dog does, it is hands down the best cruzier I have riden.

 

[hank]

I think it's slow, I can’t believe it has 115 hp. My old Connie would blow it away. There was no power under 4,000 rpm's, I mean it sucked. I've heard they had problems with the early ones and have detuned them now? I did like the handling, but $16,000 retail = $20,000+ at the store, no way!

 

[Gaprider]

I got to see a V-Rod go down the 1/8th mile here in TN this weekend. The BEST time it could muster was an 8.50 something. It had aftermarket pipes and the guy was getting decent launches and shifting well. I was expecting a lot more hearing all the hype surrounding the bike.

 

[win43win]

My friends has run a 11.05 1/4mile, that kicks alot of sportsbikes asses. I dont call anything that will run an 11.05 slow.

 

[hank]

How can a V-Rod do 8.5 in the 1/8 mile and 11 in the 1/4 mile?
I got a budy with a 22 year old Honda CB750F that wants to race a V-Rod, will he win or lose?

 

[Max Speed]

Well ya got to give HD some credit they are trying to make something for people that want a little performance. For the longest time all they could make is an air cooled motor that was stuck in the 1950s. I say its about time they started to smell the coffee! But now the HD purists are calling the V Rod the bastard child just because it had major engine development in Germany. All my brothers ride HD and they bust my nuts all the time for riding the Jap crap as they say. Funny thing I took my tool kit out of my bike. They need a tool kit and a truck to follow them to haul them home when their HDs quit. So its about time HD did something, I say thumbs up to them! They have a #### of a way to go to catch up to all of us with our Busas. By the way the next time a HD guy busts your nuts on how pure the HDs are and that they would never have anything made out side of the USA pop there little bubble like I do and tell them to drain there oil and gas and see how far they get. The world is too small to get stuck with things only made in one country!

 

[win43win]

Hank, whoever was on a V-Rod and running 8sec 1/8mile was a no riding SOB. My friend has done some mods to his, but when it was stock it turned an 11.60 1/4mile. Now with a few mods hes hitting low 11's. Its not gonna run with a Busa, but that is still a dam good time.

 

[hank]

OK, you win. I must be spoiled by the Busa's power. Don't get me wrong, I think the V-Rod is really cool. If money was no problem I would have both bikes.