Harley's iconic V-Rod, out since 2002, has been improved yet more, reports Geoff Hill
When the V-Rod came out in 2002, everyone fell over. Harley aficionados did because it was liquid-cooled and looked like something from outer space rather than Milwaukee, and bikers who wouldn't normally touch Harleys with an extra-long dipstick did, because it did the things they thought Harleys couldn't do.
You know - accelerate, brake and go around corners, those sorts of things.
Well, now they've gone and made it even better, with a bigger engine, six gears, a better clutch and gearbox and a look that will have small boys drooling, and large ones reaching for their chequebooks.
The funny thing is, though, I didn't like it first, until I realised I'd felt that way about the original V-Rod. It's an incredibly long bike, with a wheelbase of 171cm. It also has a fork angle of 38 degrees, and a back tyre which is 24cm wide. For those of you still unused to metric, that's about as wide as the M1 in old money, and since anything over 20cm on a bike is a complete waste of time, it's there for no other reason than Harley thought it looked good.
Add all that together, and you get a bike that looks absolutely stunning, yet takes a bit of getting used to.
Sitting on it, you can't help feel how small it is: the low seat height, the length, the slenderness and the lack of all the bits and bobs like saddlebags, running boards and windscreens normally draped around Harleys, makes it feel like a greyhound.
On the road, the first thing you notice is acceleration that will have you away from the lights faster than almost anything except Ducatis and Ferraris, but with a smoothness which gets you from nought to illegal without any fuss.
Then you come to a corner, and it all goes pear-shaped: the length, the rake, the fatness of that back tyre and the contrasting lightness of the skinny front one, all mean that any attempt to lean and cruise as you would on a Road King or Dynaglide will make you go more wobbly than a stranded jellyfish in an earthquake.
But persevere, my boy, for patience is a virtue, and you have to realise that this beast is built like a dragster, and dragsters need a little technique to seduce them around bends. And that technique is this: lean hard, countersteer even harder, and use that nice smooth throttle to keep everything at just the right angle. Before you know it, you'll be going back to the same roundabout time and again just to enjoy the pleasure of going all the way around with your right heel scraping the tarmac.
I know: I was that hero, until Ricky at Provincewide, the dealers, said a few people had complained to him that the footpegs were set so low that they couldn't get the V-Rod down in corners as much as they wanted to. Oh well. Looks like I'll just have to haul out my old Royal Enfield and go back to speedway.
The only other problem with that relatively thin front tyre is its desire to surgically attach itself to any grooves in the road and tramline like - well, like a tram, funny enough - but then again, you get used to to looking out for that, and it's a small price to pay for a bike which the more I rode, the more I liked.
What would you use it for? Not for cruising coast to coast across the States, that's for sure. Nope, this is a bike for raking about and having fun on. It goes fast, it looks fantastic, and it makes a great sound, and in that sense it is a pure icon of the very essence of motorcycling.
Factfile
ENGINE:In-line V-twin liquid-cooled four-stroke, twin Cam 96™, 1130cc, bore x stroke 100 x 72mm, compression ratio 11.3:1, fuel system electronic sequential port injection, five-speed gearbox with nine-plate wet clutch
CHASSIS:Frame mild steel, tank aluminium, exhaust system chrome, straight cut or slash cut, tyres Dunlop Harley-Davidson, radial, front D208F 120/70ZR-19, rear D419 240/40R-18
DIMENSIONS:Length 2460mm. Overall height 1120mm, seat height laden 660mm, ground clearance 127mm, rake (steering head) 34 degrees, fork angle 38 degrees, trail 115mm. wheelbase 1715mm, fuel capacity 18.9 litres, oil capacity w/filter 4.3 litres, dry weight 287kg
PRICE: €20,995:
2008 ABS version €22,045
Test bike supplied by Provincewide Harley-Davidson of Antrim
Dublin dealers Dublin Harley-Davidson, Red Cow House, Naas Road, Dublin 12.