Look what followed me home today. . .
 

After a day of RC plane activities with my son, we stopped by the HD dealership today to see if they had any Super Glide Customs to ogle. They did, but were waaaay overshadowed by this bike. It's an 07 VRSCAW V-Rod with 600 miles on the clock. Worked out a deal and brought her home late this afternoon. Now I've got to find a home for my 02 BMW K1200RS. It'll be priced right if you happen to know someone...anyway, here's my new toy (engine designed by Porsche, btw). . .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211084074.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211084105.jpg

and this awesome bike needs a new home. . .SmileWavy


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211084199.jpg

Congrats.

Out of curiosity, are the bolts on the bike in standard or metric sizes? I tried asking a V-Rod owner this one time, and he kept telling me the engine was designed by BMW. Never did get an answer out of him. Not that I would have trusted it...

I don't know anything about bikes, but that sure is pretty! The color suits it very well. Have fun and be safe!

hmmm, strange day, I picked up my new 08 ZX6R today too!!!

Nice looking machines posted above!

Ride safe!

Cheers

might of meant porsche, i think

Congrats Mike!!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/beerchug.gif

Nice looking for a cruiser.

What do you want for the K12?

Joe,

Just took some pics this morning to get some ads going. Will be in So. Cal all week, but hope to get it posted before the Memorial Day weekend. The bike's only got 10k mi on it and is perfect (Electronic cruise, heated grips, ABS, etc., etc). I'd sell it to my mom without a worry...but she isn't interested....go figure. Planning to ask $8500, but will take less. . .especially from a Pelican.


From this morning:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211117922.jpg

Jeez, Mike. I was just kinda kidding in your other thread . . . . Congrats!


My neighbor has an '05 he won in a sales competition - he doesn't ride - it's got 90 miles on it so far. I put on 60 of them driving it to the dealer last year. I think they're very nice bikes, actually!

That V-Rod it a work of art. Just beautiful.

I'm not a big bike guy, but that top bike is hot.

Heard nothing but good about them. Easily the best Harley ever. Saw a guy at the track with one on a little spray. Ran 11's with it all day, like he was going to the grocery.

I've always liked the V-rod. It's probably the only Harley I could see me buying. It seems like alot of "real" harley guys don't like them though.

i had the pleasure of riding one for the weekend a few seasons back,. very different feel than most other bikes, it was very cool,..

Real Harley guys can probably appreciate them. But "REAL" Harley guys don't like them because they realize that brand new Heritage Softail they just bought

Cost $5K more,
Goes slower,
Stops slower,
turns slower,
runs hotter,
And makes them deaf in their right ear.

A friend came by my house last night with his new black ZX6R. Very nice!!!



Congrats on the V-rod. If was going to ride a Harley, it would have to be the V-rod.

[QUOTE=Chocaholic;3948874]After a day of RC plane activities with my son, we stopped by the HD dealership today to see if they had any Super Glide Customs to ogle. They did, but were waaaay overshadowed by this bike. It's an 07 VRSCAW V-Rod with 600 miles on the clock. Worked out a deal and brought her home late this afternoon. Now I've got to find a home for my 02 BMW K1200RS. It'll be priced right if you happen to know someone...anyway, here's my new toy (engine designed by Porsche, btw). . .

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211084074.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211084105.jpg
Now THAT is a bike!

GORGEOUS! Good luck with it!

The part in bold is considered a desirable feature to a "real harley guy".

Hey, Loud pipes save lives, right?

Thanks for all the kind words guys. Even my wife was struck by it's looks. Just got back from a ride. It's still in the break-in period, so I've been easy on the throttle. Red line is 9k. I've not opened it up, but have run it up to 6500 rpm's rolling through the gears a few times. Impressive torque. The bike is an interesting combination of a very well designed frame (aluminum) / engine (Porsche-style performance is evident) with a bit of that HD roughness around the edges. It handles surprisingly well considering a rear tire that's almost a foot wide. It's definately got personality. Transmission is snick-snick tight. A very crisp feel.

Still settling into it. A completely different animal than anything I've ever ridden. I think we're going to get along just fine. I removed a bolt from one of the rear footpeg brakets and it turns out...it's metric. Whod-a-thunk-it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211133254.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1211133276.jpg

The other great thing about a Vrod is you don't have to go buy greasy jeans, stupid jackets & some rags to tie around your head!:p

That's what they say. Probably some truth to it.

Same with 'safety' chrome.

Something along the lines of "real Harley's are air cooled"?
I've never heard anything so insane.

I'm just glad that Porsche owners aren't like that.


etc.

Catholic,

Ordered one of the 1st when I was able to get back to Okinawa Jan. 02 sight unseen. Figured I couldn’t go wrong.

Has some good points and not so good.

As you have found out it’s all metric. Compared to a couple of BMWs with their owners and most agreed that the V-Rod was at least their equal in quality except for the stock exhaust (poor quality), and the V-Rod shifted better.

It is kind of in between bike. Not really a sport bike nor a cruiser. It needs a larger gas just for range issues. The seat isn’t bad at all solo or if you want your passenger to hang on tight, but it gets old being small and angled to the rear.

I gotta disagree on the handling. My Night Train out handles the V-Rod and has the same horsepower plus lots more torque. The air cooled motors are cheaper to mod. I wonder about the guy at the track on spray on in the 11s, there is CWO at Cherry point who was getting his into the low 11s with just better tire and exhaust.

The reason I don’t ride mine much is it plain beats me worse than any bike, to include rigids, at freeway speeds or higher. Basically it really wants to pull me off plus I have to drive my knees hard into the side of the tank to keep them in place. I thought it was just me but I’ve talked to others and they had the same experiences. The only people that kept riding them long distance had to do some experimenting with various windshield combinations plus tires and shocks.

Just riding around town for short distances it’s a good bike.

S/F, FOG

Sweet bike congrats.

Hmm, how wide is the tank area where you knees go and how tight are the pegs for your legs on the BMW?

Not that I'm pondering a distance bike or anything... ;)

Fog...I'm guessing there's been some changes since 02. My 07 has a 5 gallon tank...earlier versions were 3.4. I believe earlier Vrods can be retrofitted with the larger tank though. I understand your comment about it falling somewhere between a sport bike and a cruiser. Perhaps I'm still wearing the rose-colored glasses, but that balance seems to suit me. The BMW is a sport-tourer with a bit more weight on the sport side of things. With any bike, there's an adjustment period regarding ergos...so it's really too early for me to comment.

I don't really understand your comment about how it beats you up and wants to pull you off. Mine came with a windshield which was ditched as soon as I got home. It is a large horrendous thing that blocks view and creates annoying buffeting. Without the shield, the bike is rock solid and confidence inspiring. Like any sport machine, the suspension is firm but certainly not punishing and in no way can it be compared to a rigid frame bike, for heaven's sake.

Todd. . .the tank area is probably 12" wide, give or take. Although you can't see it in the pictures, I installed a set of static vinyl tank-slappers (clear vinyl pieces that protect the tank from scratching if you like to hug it with your knees....which I do occasionally in the twisties). I believe it's a 3M material and is removable...by why?

The pegs aren't as tight as a pure sport bike, and I never felt the need to add bar-backs or peg lowering brackets...some guys do. As a sport-tourer, they relaxed the ergos for long-distance riding. I'm about 6' tall with a 33" inseam and the setup is about right. The bars (clip-ons) are adjustable and I use them in the most upright position. I've done some 400 mile days in reasonable comfort.

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Harley-Davidson_Birth_of_the_V-Rod/70053229?mqso=60178549

great show on the design and building of the bike. talks alot about porsche's infuence in the process. they also show how harley tried to down play porsche's design involvement. according to the doc there was plenty of failures and in fighting within harley early on in the project.

cool bike, congrates, be safe.

T$

Beautiful machine. They don't seem to have caught-on w/ the HD crowd for obvious reasons, but their slow sales is a plus to me- I don't like to see myself coming and going on the road if possible.

Todd, that BMW has about the best riding position of any MC ever made, IMO. It's a beauty.

Looks good.

At 6-4, I just wasn't comfortable on the Vrod, I like them though.

Bill

The tank on the V-Rod is between the engine and rear wheel. It is black plastic and you can kind of make it out in the pictures.

You're right. The normal location for the gas tank is an air-box cover. There's some electronics and the battery all packed in there too. The idea with the tank was to make it as low in the chassis as possible, or so I'm told.

Thanks for the tip on the video...will check it out.

My first act of defiance will be to ignore the HOG membership application. The nearest shop to my house is in SC, where there's no helmet laws. It makes it all the more enjoyable to pull up to the dealership in full gear (full face, armored jacket, pants [textile, of course]...heck, I might even wear my bright orange visibility vest next time...well, maybe not..rarely wore it on the beemer during the day either).

Well I'll admit for a HD that bike looks pretty nice. Ride safe and enjoy.

Not a motorcycle guy, but that's a great looking bike!

Chocaholic,

Beating me in that it pulls me off (i.e. more pressure on the chest) at 60 MPH+ than any other bike I’ve ridden along with spreading my knees like a two bit hooker so I have to actively press my knees into the “tank” hard.

By handling I don’t mean it is stiff at all. Just doesn’t seem to track well, especially over anything but very smooth roads.

If you’re going to park for a bit get a trickle charger. Evidently they drain batteries faster than normal bikes. Replacement of the battery is not fun plus the cost of the battery.

I bought mine knowing there would be improvements. I was able to get back to Okinawa and talked to overseas sales rep. He told me Harley wasn’t releasing any V-Rods. I told him that they had to as that was part of the contract and related what happened when the vipers were released and the civilians running the program sucked them up. Short version I went West again and was informed I could get a new V-Rod, supposedly the 245th one made. I figured why not under the circumstances.

Good riding.

S/F, FOG