CycleVisions Dresser is a Hit!
I opened my big yap a few issues ago and suggested in my Letter from
the Editor that the Motor Company should consider dressing up a V-Rod
to compete with the Goldwing and BMW LT series full dressers.
I admit that this was an armchair idea, I didn’t really know how the V-Rod would handle with a big fairing and bags, but I thought it would be a good combination. I had seen ads for San Diego based CycleVisions’ accessories to put a Road Glide fairing and bags on a V-Rod and the whole thing seemed like a pretty good idea. The final product looked sharp, especially the ones with custom paint. Check out www.cyclevisions.com to see for yourself or give them a call at 619-295-7800 and ask for a brochure.
We decided to put our wallet where my mouth was and we built up such a
beast here at Barnett Harley-Davidson in El Paso. We installed the fairing,
bags, rear fender extension, crash bar, floorboards, and SuperTrapp two-into-one
pipe. We finished it off with a flamed paint job and before you know it,
it was time to test the final product and see how it worked.
I don’t believe this bike should be compared to Harley-Davidson’s
other dressers. The target customer for this bike is a foreign bike owner
who likes high tech, water-cooled bikes. For comparison, I spent time
riding a Yamaha Venture (what I hoped was a V-Max with bags but really
wasn’t, they de-tuned it too much), a Yamaha FJ1300 Sport Tourer,
a BMW K1200RS, and a late model, aluminum-framed Goldwing.
I can report with a little surprise that this kitted up V-Rod was more
fun and performed better than all of the above bikes. The surprise is
due to the fact that this was a kitted up bike being compared to bikes
designed from the ground up to perform a certain task. The “Road
Rod” was much slimmer, much lower and much easier to maneuver 
on
small roads than any of the others. It also handled extremely well at
high speeds, hands off the bars at 80 mph yielded no surprises, no shakes,
no weaving (my oncologist might gasp here). We are going to complete this
bike with Harley-Davidson’s new five spoke wheels to make sure it
doesn’t get blown around in crosswinds, but other than that, it is
road ready.
Part of it’s lightness was of course due to the lack of a back touring
box, a radio and a host of small electronic gadgets that most of these
other bikes have on them, but the overall feel of the Road Rod was superior
in my opinion. And most importantly, it rated higher on the “fun
factor” chart by a comfortable margin. The floorboards brought your
feet back to a perfect position and along with SuperTrapp exhaust pipe
needed to clear the saddlebags, are must haves for all V-Rod owners. The
pipe worked great, we had a race tuner installed to get the injection
set up properly, and the riding position was greatly improved by changing
the foot position rearwards several inches. I’d recommend the pipe,
race tuner, and floorboards to all
V-Rod owners, not just those thinking of setting up a tourer.
I thought that if Harley-Davidson made a model like this, they might toy
with the power curve of the motor, change the displacement or cams. But
after riding the completed bike, the engine was just fine.
The bike just ripped around during in town testing and even the gearing
was good just the way it was from the factory. On the highway, the turbine
smooth rubber balanced and counterbalanced motor combo worked like magic.
Those coming off a Goldwing won’t complain about vibration because
there isn’t any. The seat and bars are not optimal for touring but
Harley-Davidson and the aftermarket can usually help get any Harley set
up for people of all dimensions.
Overall, an enthusiastic thumbs up to this Road Rod. It tested out surprisingly
well. Until this unit is sold, anyone interested is welcome to visit us
in El Paso for a test ride. And by the way, it is time for another shameless
plug for our store, we have new V-Rods on sale starting as low as $14,999.
Should make paying for the dresser kit a little more palatable.
- Mark Barnett