Midnight Rider

Greg thanks. What is the date on the article?

lowblow

V-Twins are the only way to go but not your average Harley 88 CI, I'm talkin 120" and up. The torque on these things is incredible.

I've seen a properly set up big bore twin absolutely spank a Hyabusa from 0-120. After that the aerodynamics of the busa take over.

FisterD

That Matt Hotch bike is Bad-A$$. I saw that episode where he built that bike.S-W-E-E-T!

Midnight Rider

Ok, more info-"The sound of the new Revolution engine is much like that of the VR Racer. This powerplant was the project of Harley-Davidson and Porsche that started in '97 with an initial investment of $10 million by each partner. Porsche took care of the cooling and emissions problems and achieved the goal of passing US emissions regulations without sacrificing performance. What they came up with is a performance tuned "Two into One into Two" exhaust system that looks great and sounds righteous!"
Review of Harley Davidson V-Rod

Harley is famous for it's 45° V-Twin Engine. With the V-Rod, it is now sporting a 60° V-Twin. The V-Rod is the first Harley Davidson "Cruiser" that is not air cooled, marking a strong departure from an engine with a design that can be traced to the 1930's when Harley debuted it's Knucklehead engine. Harley calls this engine the Revolution®.

-Engine designed with Porsche, it can be traced back to Harley's failed attempt at breaking into racing with the VR1000 racer, also a 60° liquid cooled motor. The Revolution is both rubber mounted and counterbalanced.

SoloRacer

I bought a brand new 03 V-Rod (Two Tone Black and Silver) with 35 miles on it. I've only put 135 miles on it so far but I already like it. I actually learned about the bike at a Porsche Club meeting. I find it interesting that when Harley looked at building their first water cooled bike they went to Porsche. *lol*

I haven't really tapped the power yet because I'm still breaking the bike in and not supposed to take it higher than 5000 rpm. I've been told that the V-Rod makes very little power below 5000 rpm so I can't wait to find out what the powerband is like. The only real downside I found so far is that the gas tank is really small. I believe you only get around 100-125 miles per tank which means in parts of the country you really have to plan your fuel stops.

As for the sound, it definately isn't as robust as the standard Harley nor as F1 sounding as a crotch rocket. I just purchased another set of stock mufflers (off e-bay for $40 !!!) and had them "V-Moded" by the guys at www.v-mod.com They basically cut out the baffles and repack them. I haven't installed them yet but am told it's the best sounding exhaust out there and it keeps the stock look that I like. I will have to get the ecu reflashed at the dealer afterwards to keep the mixtures right. It's also supposed to give you another 5 hp.

agdamis

Kind of funny that the classic air cooled bike went to the classic air cooled sports car company to get a water cooled motor. And damn good one at that.

Randy M

Those Vrods look like a big bike but when you sit on one (at least for me) it felt pretty small. Kinda felt like I was riding on top of the bike. The Deuce was perfect for me. I had a deposit on one but chose to get a Ducati Monster instead. Kinda felt like I'd be a sitting duck on a cruiser. Besides I have a sport bike background and don't go on long trips, mostly a couple hour ride on twisty backroads. I'll get a long distance bike in the future when I've got more time to go on trips and can enjoy traveling through several states over the course of a few weeks. To have both types of bikes would be perfect.

mrhude

I have an '02 V-rod and absolutely love it!!! I have had three other late model Harleys before this and this one is clearly the best, however, not traditional Harley. It is extremely smooth and pulls very strong from take off. It's like driving a 928, smooth as silk and absolutley no sensation of speed. The brakes are incredible and pull down predictably. This is the best Harley if you're going to carry a passenger. My other Harleys always felt awkward two up and it wasn't pleasant. I can't even tell my wife is behind me and her visiblilty is excellent. My only critism is the small fuel tank. You have to fill it under the seat and it only has a range of about 90 miles before you hit the reserve.

The VR1000 was this bikes predessesor and it was a grenade. You pull the pin and hope it makes it to the end of the race. Typically it didn't. Harley tried to street this engine and called in Porsche to perfect it and boy did they!! Not only is this engine a work of art, the transmission(integral, not seperate) is smooth and quiet when you shift. No more "Clunk". Don't forget guys that Porsche is an engineering firm first and a car builder second. They consult to just about everybody from military vehicle makers to GM. The auto nomenclature (IE:356, 911 ..) originally started out as a sequential engineering project number.

Here's a picture of my beast with my ever faithful companion who is really ticked because he can't ride with me!!


If you like the V-Rod, check out the new VRSCR Street Rod variant from Harley. It is a V-Rod with a crotch rocket sole. I'm saving up to place one of these next to my 993

Midnight Rider

Very cool, guys. Solo, if you havent gotten it above 5k yet, you aint even scratched the surface on the bad boy!! Here is an initial pic of the bike with a not so good digital camera. The bike has very subtle grey ghost flames in the black paint and has the "screamin eagle" engine and exhaust upgrades.

Toga

Very nice bike Midnight Rider!

OldGuy

Harley? dinette set? harley? dinette set? For me I dont get the whole harley thing. This is my perception and my perception only- We got a bunch of old guys dressing in leathers that dont really fit well. Then they will have get togethers where they will park 100 bikes in front of the eatery so that it takes a Cirque perfomer to get through. Then while the other patrons are eating they will Start their bikes to warm em up? So that no human being can hear in that eatery and they just let em run for like 10 minutes before they leave. Not going out of their way to help others understand their way of life.
But thats just here in SoCal. I also understand the VRod guys are a different Klan.
But thats just me.

Flying Finn

O.G. Often you can see many of those eatery Harley riders really have basically no experience with bikes.
When they leave, thay look like Swan taking off because they need to balance the bike for the first 100 by "running" on top of it!
I'm sure you've seen this on some of those eatery bikers as well.

Then there are those who trailer their bikes up from Miami to Daytona for bikeweek... I mean WTF?! They have 10 year old Harleys with 1500 miles on them, literally.

I do like Harleys and especially custom choppers and the people who really are bikers (this means all sort of bikes, not just customs and choppers), not just those who in their old days bought a Harley and never ride it.

P.S. Midnight Rider, lowblow etc. I know you are not one of those eatery riders so this certainly doesn't apply to you.

OldGuy

Finn can you even jump a harley over a 40 foot double??

gordo993

From what I understand, HD came to Porsche looking for assistance in the water-cooled aspect and the V-Rod engine was the end result.

FisterD

Evil Knievel used to jump Harley's,didn't he? Albeit, not a Fatboy or a Roadking, but a Harley non-the-less.