V-Rod Riding Impression

I was the first person at Barnett Harley-Davidson to ride the all new silver bike with the Harley-Davidson logo on its flanks. I was at the demo area at the Indian Reservation in Ignacio bitching to the Harley demo crew about how the Milwaukee brain drains let every so called journalist ride any bike they want and yours truly never is never offered a bike to test. They said that they didn’t have any test bikes for journalists but they would be glad to let me ride one of their demos. So I said I wanted to ride the water buffalo known as the V-Rod.
They said to show up at 8 AM the next day, before the demo rides started for the public, and I could ride the V-Rod under certain conditions. Ride with a leader and wear one of their helmets, not my old faithful DOT-stickered novelty helmet that worked in Florida when they had a helmet law and still works in the land of fruits and nuts.

I showed up at the appointed time and rode the silver rocket for about 18 miles over various roads near Ignacio, Colorado. I was instructed to be very careful of the brakes. I wondered why, after all I had ridden bikes with some of the best braking systems in the world with no problem. What was so different about the V-Rod’s binders? They were a lot better than the brakes on Harleys but I didn’t consider this bike a Harley- Davidson, except in name only. The brakes stop the bike like good brakes should.

It don’t look, sound, ride, or brake like the Harley FXRs which I considered the best Harleys ever built. The V-Rod might put the Buell out of business. This is a real sport bike that runs like hell, handles well, and is fun to ride. It probably will run with the Ducatis, Agustas and the like. On this type of bike, the forward controls are a waste and interfere with the rider’s control of the bike. This ain’t a cruiser and you ain’t supposed to look cool profiling up and down Main Street on it.

This bike is meant to be ridden down Spearfish Canyon, and similar roads that don’t have a big audience to watch ya. Put the pegs where they belong, maybe even a little behind of where they belong. Shield the rubber water hose that runs along side of your right leg so that if it blows, it don’t scald your leg with the V-Rods bodily fluids. How come the tach and fuel gauge are of equal size? Get rid of the gas gauge and give the bike a real visible tach. You can always check the fuel the old fashion way. Lift the seat and peer into the gas tank under the seat next to the battery.

All in all, the Porsche-designed/engined bike sold under the Harley banner is going to be a winner among the newbie biker who don’t care about tradition and heritage. Harley has built a winner and they will sell every V-Rod that they can make. As much as I hate to see it, this is the bike of the future and the Harley that we all know and love is on its way out. It will probably take years, but the handwriting is on the wall and it says V-Rod.

- Rodent
(a second Road Test with specs coming up next issue - ed.)