First Ride: 2002 Harley-Davidson VRSCA V-Rod review

Massive, in fact, as Harley-Davidson hope this motorcycle will open up new markets and new owners to the legendary marque. They say this bike combines the heart of a superbike, the style of a custom and the soul of a drag bike. In the words of Bill Davidson, director of motorcycle development at the launch, "today is an historic chapter in the history of Harley-Davidson. We are very proud of this day. To pull the covers off this motorcycle is a great moment for us."

When the covers finally came off, nothing could prepare me for the bike I saw.

This is the boldest move for Harley-Davidson in recent history and this is the VRSCA V-Rod.

V is for V-twin, R is for racing, S is for street, C is for custom and A means this is the first of a new breed of Harley, complimenting the existing Sportsters, Dyna Glides, Softails and Tourers. Shame there's not a cross over between the Dyna Glides and V-Rod, as I'm sure there will be a lot of demand for the Dyna Rod in the UK...

But to hell with jokes, what an attractive beast the V-Rod is. Looking like she's been machined from solid aloominum (this is America, remember) the V-Rod is the most gorgeous hunk of metal to come from Milwaukee in a century. And the story goes that the great Willie G Davidson wanted various parts of V-Rod to be fabricated from aluminium so much, that after protestations from his design staff, he simply sent them daily emails with one word in them: "Aluminium," until they finally got the message and backed down.

Thank God they did, 'cos the V-Rod is one horny Harley - half drag bike and half Terminator 2, with a look of liquid metal.

The perimeter frame is hydroformed (formed under high pressure water) into those complex curves, lovingly cradling the motor. On top, is a powder-coated aluminium tank, under which sits the airbox, not the fuel tank (that's under the seat.)

The headlight looks as if it's formed by brute, straightline speed itself, jutting outwards and finished with a Reflective Optic Headlight, above which nestles the classy-looking clam-shell instrument cluster. The standard exhausts are painstakingly crafted using elastoforming, (similar to hydroforming) to get that subtle blend of curves. Dual floating discs with four piston calipers and braided hoses grasp the solid ally front wheel, above which the highly stylized radiator and oil cooler sits...
Oh sod it.

I'm trying to do the thing justice with words, but I suggest you all just look at the pictures of the bike (preferably minus my bloated form) as this is the only way you can really take it all in. If she isn't gorgeous enough for you in standard trim then there are already 75 items in the pipeline in time for V-Rod's launch, including luggage, windshields, and Screaming Eagle performance parts which should see another five or so bee aitch pees without too much effort.

That big, polished vee-shaped lump of metal in the middle is called the Revolution engine. Strange, as how an engine derived from something designed a decade ago can be described as a 'Revolution' I will never know, but for Harley, a company that reflects on the past more than the Antiques Roadshow, I guess this is a very bold and very forward move.

A move that should bring H-D bang up to date (for them) to the 20th Century, at least. Working with Porsche Engineering Services, Harley technicians developed the 60¡ V-twin from the VR1000, making a street-legal, big-bored 1,130cc version of the motor. In its original form, it's been powering their bold, if not completely successful, AMA Superbike challenger for the last seven years.

While the engine may not deliver the goods consistently on the track, on the road it translates into the highest-performing Harley-Davidson ever - like 115bhp at the crank at 8,250rpm and 74ft-lb 7000rpm. Confident in how strong the motor is, Harley took us to Irwindale Speedway in California and sent us up the eighth-mile dragstrip to give us an impression of how grunty it is.

Even on this short course, the V-Rod was impressive, turning in best terminal speeds of around 90-95mph and elapsed times of around seven to seven and a half seconds. With that in mind, quarter-mile times of around 12-13 seconds should be possible.

It was a bizarre thing to do, launching a Harley on a dragstrip, burnouts, going through the staging lights, 6,500 revs, clutch out. Good God! The rear is spinning up! Not unusual in this day and age, but on a Harley? And the rev-limiter comes up faster than it should on something out of Milwaukee. It's all quite extraordinary, Ron.

Drag racing proved to be top fun and more difficult than you might imagine. It also showed that this motor is something special and different for Harley. It has more power than most of its rivals such as the Honda F6C Valkyrie and BMW R1200C. Plenty of sound, too. It's a different sound to all the other Harleys I've ridden. Gone is the "potato-potato" noise out of the slash mufflers, but it's still throaty and glorious and much smoother than older Hogs.

Performance-wise, you can do the old Harley thang of short-shifting and leave the beast in top (fifth) and trickle through town, but the racing heritage also shows through as you can really rev the motor if you want to.

One thing the drag racing did show up was the gearbox. It's typically Harley, which up the strip meant an assortment of doomed changes, while on the road you'd also go through the normal five second hunt for neutral at the lights. The Harley technicians claim that the production bikes will have much smoother gearboxes, as it is a problem that they have already identified. Hm.

If the dragstrip was a great place to demonstrate the engine's performance, then the mountains around Irwindale weren't the best place to show up the handling. Harley didn't want too many people seeing the new bikes, as we were stooging around on them a few weeks before the expiry of the press embargo, but the roads we were hustling the machines on were pure sportsbike roads that really didn't suit the V-Rod. Better to pose on a long strip somewhere really sunny, where eyes could linger on you that bit longer.

Talking of longer, with a 1,713.2mm wheelbase, the V-Rod is long. So long, that the front and rear wheels are in different time zones. On Day One of the test, the handling felt a bit weird. It was as if there were two parts to making it corner. Tip it in, get half way and then you'd need body weight or more force to get it over, which it would do very suddenly. Day Two saw a familiarity which made it all come naturally, so you just need to get used to it. Front forks are 49mm and unadjustable and also too soft, while the rear shocks are adjustable for preload and attach to a sexy ally swingarm.

A prospective V-Rod owner should budget for replacement footpegs at the very least. As with most Harleys, getting bits of the motorcycle down ain't difficult. On the mountain roads we were on, the pegs hit the deck first, followed by the exposed thread of a nut under the exhaust. It's easy to carry on, until the bottom of the gorgeously crafted 'zorst touches down and then the equally saucy radiator. But you really wouldn't want to scratch that bodywork.

It's a sports bike, Jim, but not as we know it. Sports in Harley's case means drag racing, not going around corners. Harley's specs say it can lean 32¡ on each side, but even so, this is an A-road cruiser, not a backroad blaster. Braking is still a leisurely affair, so where the twin front discs will haul the bike up, you'll need a dab of rear pedal as well.

During the press conference it was said that the V-Rod is the most important new Harley since the K model, 51 years ago. I'm no authority on Harleys, but I reckon this isn't only the most important bike since then but for my money the best-looking and performing Hog ever, period.

This bike will open up Harleys to a whole new audience. Looks alone will sell it, as will that motor. I'll even go out on a limb and say that aesthetically, it's as big a design leap for cruisers as the Ducati 916 was back in 1994 for sports bikes - and for that alone the Harley-Davidson team should be applauded and the bike deserve success.

Verdict


The first Harley for years that is actually very different, while still being a Harley. Confused? Don't be, it's a great-looking, superb bike.

SPECS

TYPE - CRUISER

PRODUCTION DATE - 2002

PRICE NEW - £13,995

ENGINE CAPACITY - 1130cc

POWER - 115bhp@8250rpm

TORQUE - 74lb.ft@7000rpm

WEIGHT - 270kg

SEAT HEIGHT - 659mm

FUEL CAPACITY - N/A

TOP SPEED - 135mph

0-60 - n/a

TANK RANGE - N/A

Massive, in fact, as Harley-Davidson hope this motorcycle will open up new markets and new owners to the legendary marque. They say this bike combines the heart of a superbike, the style of a custom and the soul of a drag bike. In the words of Bill Davidson, director of motorcycle development at the launch, "today is an historic chapter in the history of Harley-Davidson. We are very proud of this day.

To pull the covers off this motorcycle is a great moment for us." When the covers finally came off, nothing could prepare me for the bike I saw. This is the boldest move for Harley-Davidson in recent history and this is the VRSCA V-Rod.

V is for V-twin, R is for racing, S is for street, C is for custom and A means this is the first of a new breed of Harley, complimenting the existing Sportsters, Dyna Glides, Softails and Tourers. Shame there's not a cross over between the Dyna Glides and V-Rod, as I'm sure there will be a lot of demand for the Dyna Rod in the UK...

But to hell with jokes, what an attractive beast the V-Rod is. Looking like she's been machined from solid aloominum (this is America, remember) the V-Rod is the most gorgeous hunk of metal to come from Milwaukee in a century.  And the story goes that the great Willie G Davidson wanted various parts of V-Rod to be fabricated from aluminium so much, that after protestations from his design staff, he simply sent them daily emails with one word in them: "Aluminium," until they finally got the message and backed down.
Thank God they did, 'cos the V-Rod is one horny Harley - half drag bike and half Terminator 2, with a look of liquid metal.

The perimeter frame is hydroformed (formed under high pressure water) into those complex curves, lovingly cradling the motor. On top, is a powder-coated aluminium tank, under which sits the airbox, not the fuel tank (that's under the seat).

The headlight looks as if it's formed by brute, straightline speed itself, jutting outwards and finished with a Reflective Optic Headlight, above which nestles the classy-looking clam-shell instrument cluster. The standard exhausts are painstakingly crafted using elastoforming, (similar to hydroforming) to get that subtle blend of curves. Dual floating discs with four piston calipers and braided hoses grasp the solid ally front wheel, above which the highly stylized radiator and oil cooler sits...
Oh sod it.