Steel perimeter upper frame w/ hydroformed main
rails and bolt-on lower frame rails
Swing Arm One piece cast aluminum polished
Front Suspension
Huge 49mm telescopic forks
Front Wheel Travel
100 mm / 3.9 in
Rear Suspension
Dual coil over adjustable shock
Rear Wheel Travel
70 mm / 2.7 in
Front Brakes
2x 292mm discs 4 piston calipers
Rear Brakes
Single 292mm disc 4 piston caliper
Front Tyre
D207 120/70ZR-19
Rear Tyre
D207 180/55ZR-18
Rake
34°
Fork Angle
38°
Trail
100 mm / 3.9 in
Dimensions
Length 2375.6 mm / 93.6 in
Wheelbase
1713 mm / 67.5 in
Seat Height
659.9 mm / 26.0 in - 687.8 mm / 27.1 in
Ground Clearance
142 mm / 5.6 in
Dry Weight
270.4 kg / 595 lbs
Wet Weight
280 kg / 615.5 lbs
Fuel Capacity
15 Litres
/ 4.0 US gal
Consumption Average
17.0 km/lit
Standing
¼ Mile
11.7 sec
Top Speed
218.6 km/h
Launched in 2001, the Harley Davidson V-Rod marked a
radical departure for the American firm, in terms of styling, design and
performance. It is based around a 86kW (115bhp) engine derived from the
firm's VR1000 racebike. The engine -Harley's first production liquid-cooled
V-twin - is thoroughly modern, with twin camshafts and four valves for each
cylinder, fed by a powerful fuel-injection system. But it is the chassis
which most impresses - a new, innovative take on the cruiser concept which
at once looks modern and classic. The sinouous steel-tube frame is formed by
pressurized water, while the body panels are made of brushed aluminium, and
a ducted shroud guides cooling air to the hidden radiator.
The original VRSCA V-Rod® has caused more than its fair share of jaws to
drop. Just try to peel your eyes off the aluminum bodywork, sweeping
exhaust, and Machined Aluminum Disc wheels now fitted with high performance
Brembo® brakes. Check out the dragster-style 49mm 38° raked fork. 180mm rear
tire. Silver-leaf-coated hydroformed frame. And though there’s a …
spectrum of glittering paint colors, all anyone may ever see is a shiny
blur. That’s because the liquid-cooled, fuel-injected 60° V-Twin Revolution®
engine supplies a full 115 horses and torque from here to eternity. All
that’s left is to get your boots out to the forward foot controls and enjoy
the cruise.
The VRSCA V-Rod redefined the power-cruiser category, offering an
award-winning marriage of custom styling and liquid-cooled performance.
Raked way out there, with a 38-degree fork angle, forward controls and pull
back welded handlebars, drag-style aluminum disc wheels and chrome slash-cut
exhaust, the V-Rod is one unmistakable motorcycle. The scooped-out seat is
just 26 inches off the ground. Dual slash-cut chrome exhaust pipes deliver
the wound-out song of a high-performance Revolution V-Twin. Triple-disc,
four-piston Brembo brakes and black hand controls are new for 2006.
Staggered 10-Spoke Cast Aluminum wheels are an option. A security system is
standard. Choose from 13 color options plus the deep silver Anodized
Aluminum finish that made V-Rod famous.
Liquid-cooled, 1130cc Revolution V-Twin engine
115 hp at 8500 rpm/74 ft. lbs. torque @ 7000 rpm
Two-tone silver and charcoal powder-coated cylinders with chrome covers
Dual slash-cut chrome exhaust pipes
38-degree fork angle
49 mm forks
New Brembo triple-disc brakes
Braided brake lines
Low 26-inch seat height
Forward controls
New black hand controls
Silver-leafed aluminum powdercoat on hydroformed frame
Welded pull back handlebars
Clamshell instrument pod
Teardrop reflector-optic headlight
18-inch disc rear wheel, 19-inch disc front wheel
Aluminum radiator shroud with twin vortex air scoops
Custom mirrors
Standard security system
New clock and dual tripmeter
Improved side stand
Review
Torrance, California, 12 July 2001 -- It's time to
stow those chromed German helmet thingies and don a proper lid for proper
protection on this most proper of motorcycles. Just how proper? Try 140 miles
per hour capable with enough horsepower to spin up the rear wheel like a genuine
sport bike.
Forget everything you ever knew about Harley-Davidson as a motor company. This
is like nothing you were expecting. Harley have just done the improbable, nay,
impossible by producing a (gasp) water-cooled motor that safely revs to 9,000
rpm and pumps out class-leading power across the boar
d. Then, to ensure the heads of Japanese manufacturers stay spinning long and
hard, the Motor Company saw fit to wrap the thing in a thoroughly modern chassis
before dressing it in the sort of good looks that even die-hard Harley haters in
the media have been seen drooling over.
According to Harley, the V-Rod is "the first member of a new family of
performance custom motorcycles." The motor that powers this first of a new
generation is the much rumored water-cooled engine that was inspired by the
factory's VR 1000 Superbike racing effort and received assistance from a little
Stuttgart company named Porsche. Displacing 1130 cubic centimeters (69 cubic
inches) via its over-square 100 x 72 millimeter (3.94 x 2.83 inch) bore and
stroke, the new motor manages to make 115 horsepower (claimed, at the crank) at
8,250 rpm before moving on to a 9,000 rpm red line. There's even a lofty 11.3:1
compression ratio helping things along within the confines of the cast iron
cylinder liners. Again, this is not the Harley you expected.
Situated atop the new motor you'll find dual overhead cams driven by
hydraulically tensioned chains. Each cam operates two valves, giving the obvious
total of four with the intakes checking in at 40 millimeters, the exhausts at
34.5 millimeters. The valve train features a shim under bucket design, a 23.5
degree included angle and a maintenance interval of 10,000 miles (after the
first service at 1,000 miles) of open road between trips to your local dealer.
The Twin-Cam 88B motor didn't count. The V-Rod's water-cooled motor is Harley's
first significant leap of faith in modern times.
Fuel and air meet in the cylinders thanks to dual downdraft intakes that feed
into 53 mm throttle bodies. A Sequential Port EFI system ensures that
appropriate amounts of fuel come to the combustion party at the correct time. A
number of sensors take into account manifold pressure, crank position, incoming
air temperature, throttle position and engine coolant temperature before things
are lit off by a single 12 millimeter spark plug that resides atop each
cylinder.
Each piston pushes down on a connecting rod that's located next to its neighbor,
spinning the one-piece forged crankshaft. Automotive-style full pressure bearing
journals keep things steady while a single crank driven forged steel counter
weight balances out the vibes. Power makes its way to the ground through a five
speed transmission that features a hydraulically operated nine plate wet clutch
before it feeds out to the fat rear tire through the familiar belt drive.
The Revolution motor is rubber mounted in Harley's first steel perimeter frame.
It features hydro-formed main rails, bolt-on lower
frame rails and hangs a polished cast aluminum swing arm off the back. The 49 mm
forks poke off the front of the V-Rod at a 38 degree angle, contributing to the
bike's long 67.5 inch wheelbase.
Hanging off the front of this newest Harley is what some might consider another
minor miracle among Harley cruisers -- dual 292 mm disc brakes, each grabbed by
a four-piston caliper. One of the rotors and one caliper reside out back and,
thankfully, nothing is linked.
Enough of all this silly technical detail stuff already, then, the point of
which all leads up to the plain and simple fact that Harley has built a cruiser
for people who hate cruisers. Hell, it's even a Harley for people who hate
Harleys.
It should come as no surprise that Harley's first truly modern sport bike is a
cruiser. Well, it may not have a fairing or a face down, bum up riding position,
but the V-Rod is sportier than quite a few sport bikes think they are. Though we
couldn't run it on our dyno, we can tell you that, seat of the pants, this thing
is making over 100 horses at the rear wheel and will trounce even the mighty
Honda VTX. No question. Done.
Things are kept quiet thanks to a 2-into-1-into-2 exhaust system. The lower
muffler is the only thing to really limit your fun in the canyons when it
touches down.
Things are kept quiet thanks to a 2-into-1-into-2 exhaust system. The lower
muffler is the only thing to really limit your fun in the canyons when it
touches down.
The styling may appear questionable at first, but it grows on you faster than
the quarter mile disappears behind it as you as you grab gears, shifting up
through the Getrag-designed gearbox. We shouldn't be this excited about a Harley
of any sort, let alone "just another cruiser," but since we rode the bike it's
all we can talk about. Those of you lucky enough to own one will see what we
mean.
Twisting the not-very-loud handle, the V-Rod produces the type of acceleration
that keeps us looking down at the faux gas tank (the fuel resides under the
seat) to remind ourselves that, yes, this is a Harley. Lifting our gaze from the
tank, attempting to focus on the road again, we find ourselves glancing at the
tach located on the left side of the minimalist gauge cluster. Chugging along at
3,000 rpm suits this bike just fine. So all you pukka pukka riders out there
don't have to worry about all the power that's yet to come. Ignorance is bliss,
and if you chose to ignore this bike's potential, you'll still find yourself
pleased with the engine's low speed sense and sensibilities.
At low rpm, the sound emanating from the twisty bits of plumbing that make up
the mufflers is pure Harley-Davidson, just with a slightly more precise sound
and the volume turned down a notch or two. The vibes coming through the bars at
this point are pretty classic Harley as well. You can feel the bike's soul,
right there in your hands, and at no time do the vibes become either a pulsing
nuisance or an annoying buzz. The riding position puts your feet out in front of
you similar to what you'd feel on the Deuce, but the bars are narrower and
situated a bit closer to you.
After you've spent enough time lingering around the idle speed, it's time to get
a move on with things. Accelerating upwards into the revs, it is an
understatement to say that the Revolution motor accelerates briskly. It pulls
through 6,000 rpm like nobody's business. But then you look back down at the
tach and realize you're not done, as there are still another 3,000 revs to be
had if you've got the balls (and enough open road in front of you) to hold it
open a while longer.
Oh, and don't think for even a second that this motor is unhappy when it's
called upon to sing a sweet high-rpm V-twin song. It was jointly developed by
Porsche, after all. They know a thing or (GT)2 about building motors.
But motor alone will not sell bikes. Well, actually it will, but what kind of
segue would we have, then?
After looking at the specifications, one of the things that stuck in our
collective minds was the fact that this new Harley is supposed to be able to
attain 32 degrees of lean angle -- this, from a company whose bikes rarely get
past upright without something dragging.
Solid wheel discs, belt drive and loads of chrome let you know it's still a
Harley. The motor will make you wonder why you ever hated these things.
Running the motor up between corners means those four-pot calipers get a workout
at the end of every straight stretch of road. They do a good job though, and get
things slowed enough with a decent two-finger squeeze of the lever to allow you
to safely toss the bike on its side and rail towards an apex. You have to work
(ride quite hard) to get the V-Rod to drag any hard parts on left handers. Right
handers, however, will drop the bottom of the lower muffler to the pavement,
though this happens far later than we thought it would having grown used to
comparatively poor clearance on a number of other bikes.
Rapid changes of direction are easy thanks to the low-slung chassis, and things
remain stable over irregularities thanks to the long wheelbase and low center of
gravity. Of course, good suspension helps iron out most of the irregularities.
And (another minor miracle) this Harley has the best suspension we've ever
experienced on a cruiser. It's well-balanced and keeps things feeling sporty
without being harsh. The up and down movement of both wheels is actually
controlled as opposed to just being softened before they impact the rider as is
usually the case on most cruisers.
Long and low, smooth and fast. It's truly amazing how well the V-Rod manages to
get through the twisties.
So what does that make this V-Rod, then? Cruisers don't handle this well, so it
can't really be one of them. It's not a sport bike, of course, even if it does
do a good imitation of one from time to time. About the only thing left is the
recently over-used term "power cruiser" which manufacturers and journalists the
world over seem to love slapping on anything they can't place a proper tag on.
We won't do that, though. Right now the new Harley V-Rod is in a class of one.
The V-Rod is like nothing we ever expected Harley to produce, but we're sure
glad they did.
The suggested retail price for all this goodness is $16,995 and Harley's
planning a production run of 11,000 units. The bikes will be available in a
myriad of colors - that is, as long as you know a myriad of different ways of
saying "silver."
This is about as good as it gets. The new Harley will get under your skin from
the first twist of the throttle and stay there until you get back on and go for
another ride. It's like nothing you were expecting.
This is about as good as it gets. The new Harley will get under your skin from
the first twist of the throttle and stay there until you get back on and go for
another ride. It's like nothing you were expecting.