I still have my V-Rod after 10 years of ownership and 8 years after i was asked to do this video, its still great to ride (and very loud as i have taken the baffles out !!!) but i only use it on sunny days. I still draws a crowd when i park it up and most people cant believe its 20 years old. i only wish my brakes did a better job, you do need to ride it in a certain way :))
Thats awsome .. has it been reliable ? Iam just searching for one now, as i absolutely love them, such a great looking bike. Pretty much all of the v rod community love this bike and dont have a bad word to say about it . Otherthan the latest water cooled models it has to be the best built harley ever.
Had my 06 for 4 weeks now and I love it, comfortable, torquey, stiff frame, looks and sounds great. It certainly flies for an irrigation pump too, best bike HD have made in my opinion
Been riding Harleys for over 4 decades, started a 47 knuckle, then pan, then shovelhead, a few baggers. Not for long, then riding FXRS also FXRP loved the FXR. Then I bought a V ROD, dont give a shit what others are riding! My V Rod is a fast SOB. no regrets at all. And it does every thing that I need. One thing for sure if your a Harley rider you owe to your self to throw a leg on a V Rod.
Just picked up my 2004 V ROD anodized aluminum paint finish with black frame, only 10000 miles on it. I also bought it without even riding it. My bike for life.....
I picked up my 2003 Anv edition last weekend from HD Birmingham and I love it. There was a small Gathering of Harley owners at the showroom about 150 lol. And my v rod was sitting outside waiting for me. The bike had a crowd around it and I had a number of comments. The original owner bought it new and I'm in contact with him and said he regrets PX the bike and misses it a lot. I love the ride and I think the bike is a keeper. I can see this bike will become a modern classic. The v rod did stop for no reason and an error code has shown up, not worried as the V rod comes with 12 m warranty .
Great video I have a 2003 anniversary VRSCA and I love it. I have owned quite a few air cooled traditional big twins and enjoyed them all but the v rod family was the only range that I had watched since their launch in 2002 but never had the chance to get close and personal with one. Then out of the blue one came up so I had to have it and have never looked back. When I take it on harley meetings you can see the old die hards look at it and say that's not a real harley. And ignore me but when I take a ride to the local bike park on the seafront other riders on all walks of bikes look the rod over and normally I am asked lots of questions about it and people are very complimentary.The v rod was a very brave attempt at taking a step forward and I am very glad they did.
smiffter97 yup, I grew up with Shovelheads and adore them, hated the Evo but acknowledge it had to happen for HD to survive. My last HD was a FXDWG and I just didn't connect with it so binned it, recently took a Breakout for a ride and, while it looked beautiful was an underpowered tractor with nil handling and poor braking, totally unacceptable in modern driving conditions. I then took a VRod out and was smitten. Hopefully buying a 2006 ally one this weekend
"I wanted to slow down"...this is something that you said for your wife to believe😃. A good friend of mine pulverised all the Hayabusas and ZZR's in a drag race at the airport field with one like this.😃
i bought one to add to my small collection 4 yamaha raiders.(differnt years different colors) 3 honda shadows a 1100 sabre a 1300 shadow and a 1800 shadow.and a 2016 honda gold wing. i like the v rod. only rode it 500 miles so far. lots of power had to replace the tires and brakes first month i owned it. but i expected that. hadles fine on back mountain roads. when i bought it , it only had 3500 miles on it. not a lot of range but it is fine. maybe 110 miles.. but for the money it is good
I still have some hope that Harley will do an update on the motorbike sometime in the future it's been 14 years since it was released and they've done nothing to improve it.
Derek Jonez Agreed, it seems thy are reluctant to invest in this bike and just want to plod away with the Evo engined relics. Don't get me wrong, my first proper bike was a Shovel and I'd have another if I could devote the time and money to do it
Derek Jonez same? the early ones were 1130 cc the newer ones 1250 ,older ones no abs or traction control the newer ones have bith and cruise control, when you dont know what you are talking about you should really keep your hole shut.
It is a very reliable, although quite expensive, engine suitable for a wide variety of agricultural applications, especially tillage and irrigation pumping.
I read that more money was spent on the design and testing of this bike than any other bike ever produced. The engine was tested at maximum levels for months on end to isolate the weakest points so that they could be reengineered to survive anything an average person could do with it over 30 years of regular use..
Derek Jonez no, they didn't Derek, it already was an HD unit based on the HD VR1000 race engine, HD then enlisted Porsche to help them take a racebike engine into a production roadbike environment because they had experience of evolving an aircooled engine to a watercooled one. HD played a blinder with this bike
Peter Best That's what I thought. I saw a commercial on TV where Harley was testing the bike on an oval track and the engine on a stand. The pipes were glowing red hot through weeks and months of high rpm torture...
Peter Best If you want to be pedantic HD didn't design the VR1000 race engine either. Roush did. Either way the engines were never competitive. Harley added slightly more displacement and then left it alone. The engine could be something, but it's just about the same as it was over a decade ago.
Derek Jonez 1247 cc is the lower limit of what I would consider a true bike. If I look at the price?? I will definitely say no, just as many other riders do. As a matter of practicality, I'd choose a Hayabusa over this bike. It's more comfortable, FAR easier to service and the options are limitless. A Hayabusa is one of the greatest long range touring bikes on the market. It's really NOT a sport bike. You can put bags and a larger fairing on it with a +1 front, -2 rear chain sprocket, It'll cruise at 80 like it's not even running.. Not only that, you can buy good used ones at a reasonable price and with care, in typical Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki form, will last 30 years...
Great Porsche engine, best engine ever in a Harley. Beasty drag bike, looks cool, especially the VRod Muscle (I had a silver 2012) and its the WORST handling bike on the planet. And too heavy but then, its a Harley.
I had not actually thought that myself. But when i think about it the vast majority of people i have seen on them are mid aged guys to older. I think its more that they used to be so expensive. But these days things might change as they are getting cheaper versions out. People have more money to spend also at a younger age. But the one other thing i have noticed is how many you see for sale. They used to be elite but these days they are a dime a dozen.
