Harley-Davidson's Street-Rod: A Couple of Degrees Here and There Can Make a Big Difference

When the first V-Rod came out four years ago, I loved the new motor and transmission. The bike was turbine smooth, the motor put out tons of real world, useable horsepower and the tranny shifted great. Now in their fourth year, I think most of the country has had the same experience we have had here in El Paso with these bikes: super high durability and pretty much zero trouble. I don’t think we’ve had a V-Rod motor apart for any reason and we’ve sold at least a hundred and fifty of them. The Motor Company hit a home run in both design and assembly with its Revolution motor.

Admittedly, the traditional Harley customer hasn’t warmed that much to this high tech, watercooled wonder, but I think the Motor Company was really after new customers, trying to steal some away from other brands. Positioning the bike as a power cruiser worked great in Europe and sales were good there. Now, with the Street Rod version, Harley-Davidson is trying to take a stab at the ‘standard’ market and even the sport touring one. In fact, when I tested our V-Rod that we converted into a Road Rod, with the Cycle Visions kit that fitted a Road Glide fairing and bags, I could tell then that people who liked lighter weight touring bikes were missing out on something. Compared to a full sized touring bike, our Road Rod handled city riding much, much better and yet had perfect highway manners. With the VRSCR, Harley has repositioned the rider on the bike and tightened up the handling, making it steer more like the high end, light weight, high mileage mounts such as the BMW’s, Yamaha FJR’s and Kawasaki Concours(es).

Sitting in the showroom, the bike feels tall, the extra 1.3 gallons of gas under the seat and greater suspension travel make themselves known in the bounce up and down and push the fork test I see so many people do everyday (I swear if no one was around, most people would make motor sounds). But once the bike is under power and your feet are on the pegs, I didn’t feel the height at all. The flatter seat on this model is quite comfortable, as are the bars and to some degree the pegs. I think people will still have to play around a little with the pegs to get them to suit everyone’s needs. This bike can be ridden 30% to 40% faster than the regular V-Rod in twisting canyon roads, however. The higher turning clearance is immediately felt and the standard riding position gives a much more natural feel to the bike in faster corners. The center of gravity, with the battery and gas tank down low, is very low and the bike is easy to hold up, despite its height. The brakes are fantastic, noticeably stronger than standard Harley fare so be very careful when test riding one, they take some getting used to.

Like all V-Rods, the Street Rod runs better as it is broken in and responds very favorably to a little breathing help, the old pipe and re-map routine which I hope isn’t on the outs with the regulators. This engine loves to rev and will reward those who aren’t shy with their throttle hand with smooth, predictable power and great sound, especially after suitably adjusting the exhaust pipes for off road use (but the stockers had a decent snarl to them). Marketing this model will be a little challenging. Those comparing it to Japanese and European sports tourers will wince a little at the $15,495 price while those coming from the Harley end of the spectrum will look down on the lack of chrome and polish. The latter camp can definitely be placated though, as I just saw one at the Winter Dealer Meeting with all of the Motor Company’s chrome pieces fitted along with a windshield and bags. It really livened the bike up, bringing it up close to the flash level of the Screamin’ Eagle versions, though without the orange, red or yellow frames. The price conscious folks should really think things through, though. The VRSCR has a very high quality feel, more than the equal to the BMW without any of the quirkiness, and without any of the engine buzziness or wideness of the four cylinder Japanese competitors. Or the hard-to-deal-with stepped powerbands. It is definitely worth a test ride if you are considering a sport tourer or a standard. And if you like street fighters, all V-Rod variants look great with super wide rear tires and bobbed seats. A soldier returning from Germany to El Paso stopped in the other day with one that a local German shop had fitted a 280mm tire and short custom seat to, it was absolutely awesome looking. But that’s really something for another continent I’m afraid, unless some of the custom European V-Rods we’ve been running in our magazine recently turns some heads.

Mark Barnett

Photos by Frank Rangel

Specifications:

Year/Model:  2006 H-D VRSCR Street Rod

Engine: 1130cc, 4 valves per head, water-cooled, 120 hp in your face, 80 lbs. of torque.  Fuel-injected and 
pretty much trouble-free so far.  Compression 11.3:1

Brakes:  Bad Ass Brembos from hell.

Fuel Capacity:  5 gallons, yeah!

Mileage: 47 highway / 37 city by the EPA’s desk test

Color Options: Vivid Black, Black Cherry, Rich Sunglo Blue, Yellow Pearl, Brandy Wine Sunglo, Mirage Orange.  
Color names by Chanel.

Transmission: 5-speed, works well but where’s sixth?

Seat Height: 30” (4” higher than other V-Rods, jeepers)

Wheelbase: 66.8” whoa baby, at least those forks are tucked in.

Dry Weight: 618 lbs but it’s well distributed & down low.

Steering Rake: 30 degrees.Yeah again! Make ‘er turn.

Rear Tire: 180mm radial, 240 kit available from The Motor Company for the insecure and fashion conscious.

Price:  $15,495 & up, but you can haggle sometimes, try that on any other model of Harley.


Let The Motor Company Dress Up Your V-Rod

This decked out yellow Street Rod was on display at the Winter Harley-Davidson dealer meeting in Dallas. 
It was very, very sharp, making you do a double take when you walked by, as you didn’t remember the stocker 
in your own showroom looking that good. H-D gave this one the chrome treatment:  wheels, headlamp housing, 
turn signals, engine guard, switch housings, valve and primary covers, thermostat housing, rear sprocket, and 
more all get dipped in the shiny stuff. And since it’s from the factory, you know it fits and they’ll warranty all the 
genuine accessories you buy at the time of sale just like they do the bike (except for some racing items).  Your 
old parts can go on eBay to rebuild the Street Rod the other guy dumped when he grabbed a handful of those 
Brembo brakes without paying too much attention.