I have an 03 Vrod, it's a GREAT bike, however I call it the "purgatory bike", not in heaven- not in hell.  The Harley group doesn't except you cause your on a "liquid cooled bike designed by Porsche" the Jap group doesn't except you cause your on a "Harley"...  Therefore not in heaven or hell...kinda stuck in the middle.  Like I've said here earlier, don't care.  It is a GREAT bike though, and I just love pissing off all those narrow minded dolts.

The V-Rods and the now-departed Buell were the ONLY Hardleys I ever considered owning in 40 years of riding. And yes, I've ridden the "real" HDs, so I know what I'm "missing."

so....  did i miss something?  like what they're doing about there horrid suspension performance, or weight issues?  or are they only introducing 1970's water cooling technology for now?

I would like to see a vrod engine in a touring bike.

Wasn't that V-Rod engine was supposed to go into some sort of Buell super sport, right up until harley "enjuneering" got involved?  I seem to remember reading something about that in Cycle World just after they axed the Buell division.

Wasn't that V-Rod engine was supposed to go into some sort of Buell super sport, right up until harley "enjuneering" got involved?  I seem to remember reading something about that in Cycle World just after they axed the Buell division.

I didn't see that, but the engine was developed for superbike racing. They ran a couple of seasons IIRC, got no results to speak of. Rather than further develop the engine, H-D dropped out. Later showed up in the V-Rod.

Wasn't that V-Rod engine was supposed to go into some sort of Buell super sport, right up until harley "enjuneering" got involved?  I seem to remember reading something about that in Cycle World just after they axed the Buell division.

I remember reading that more than once as well when the VRod first showed up. They were quoting various HD brass. It was supposed to eventually end up in a Buell.

I didn't see that, but the engine was developed for superbike racing. They ran a couple of seasons IIRC, got no results to speak of. Rather than further develop the engine, H-D dropped out. Later showed up in the V-Rod.

The VR1000 superbike engine and the V-Rod engine are completely different engines. The superbike engine was patterened after the sportster engine.
If I remember right the V-Rod engine was designed in the lat 80's early 90's as the Nova project and was shelved as being too radical and not the "traditional" Harley that everyone wanted.
A lot of the testing for the VR1000 was done at Gratton raceway, The bike was ridden by Pacal Picotte and another fast Canadian rider( don't remember his name) in the AMA superbike series and never did very well.

The VR1000 superbike engine and the V-Rod engine are completely different engines. The superbike engine was patterened after the sportster engine.
If I remember right the V-Rod engine was designed in the lat 80's early 90's as the Nova project and was shelved as being too radical and not the "traditional" Harley that everyone wanted.
A lot of the testing for the VR1000 was done at Gratton raceway, The bike was ridden by Pacal Picotte and another fast Canadian rider( don't remember his name) in the AMA superbike series and never did very well.

The Nova project was a 4 cylinder that never got off the ground. The VR1000 was designed/built by H-D and Rousch racing. It had water cooling and overhead cams, so don't know how much sportster could be in it. The V-Rod engine was developed by Porsche, "loosely based" on the VR1000.

I gotta say, that bike on EBR's front page looks very sweet!

http://www.erikbuellracing.com/

I personally think it is pretty brilliant.......and HD has plenty of tech and engineering behind them, they just build "exactly" what their buyers tend to want. My neighbor just bought a new 2011 Street Glide, and it is a seriously seriously nice bike!

I personally think it is pretty brilliant.......and HD has plenty of tech and engineering behind them, they just build "exactly" what their buyers tend to want. My neighbor just bought a new 2011 Street Glide, and it is a seriously seriously nice bike!

They are beautiful bikes. And like Pokey said, it's what the people want. Most Harley riders don't care about going 200 miles per hour, or how fast you can get through the turns. For most Harley riders, it's a slower riding where you enjoy the scenery and smells of nature. (and of course "the lifestyle") The bikes are way more solidly built than what we ride. So they hold up very well when they don't make the turn! 

I remember when the Evo engine came out the Faithful said it wasn't a real Harley. Now you can't even get them to look at a Shovel-they are considered to be junk. heck, most HD dealers won't even work on a Shovel engined HD.

Yup local yuppie HD dealer won't even change my oil- not that I would let them. I asked the question to their service manager in front of a bunch of their lemmings just to show their"history" and "legend" crap is BS.  She's comming up on 325K

I had a Harley guy that I work with say to me "I would never buy a water cooled bike, what if you blow a hose when you are miles from home?".

I think with most Harley riders, that's still walking distance.   

Good one Jon.  Here in yuppieville you should see all the 1-6 y/o HD's for sale w/less than 3k.  I think most never got warmed up. I did a trans fluid change on my neighbors 08 HD, the oil had a lot of condensation/ water in it because the trans never got to operating temp. 

I think with most Harley riders, that's still walking distance.   

50/50 riders

I always liked the V-Rod myself. I almost pulled the trigger couple times. But I am glad I did not. Else I would not have a C14. At one time, I almost traded in my 1999 Fatboy for a V-Rod. But wife liked the Fatboy better because of its seat/sitting position. Well, gotta keep her happy.

But yes, the V-Rod is an awesome bike coming out from HD factory. Shame some of the die hard folks just do not realize that.

Yup local yuppie HD dealer won't even change my oil- not that I would let them. I asked the question to their service manager in front of a bunch of their lemmings just to show their"history" and "legend" crap is BS.  She's comming up on 325K

I like your bike......looks like new.

Before the VROD was introduced, there were lots of prototype "mystery" pictures that were "accidently" leaked.   It looked like they were actually going to use a frame, suspension and brakes thay were more race inspired, or at least muscle bike designed.  My interest was somewhat peaked.  Then the cartoon designer wille g got his hands on it and made the chopper styled version with forward mounted controls and took cornering capability out of it.  That lost my interest.  With todays far more technical generation, can that many new buyers be interested in their grandpa's motorbike?  People quit buying their "fathers oldsmobile" years ago. 

I like your bike......looks like new.

Its taken a few dollars to keep it that way. Gotta give props to S+S -most things inside motor have been replaced w/their excellent products. Whatever wore out I always tried to replace w/something better.

Its taken a few dollars to keep it that way. Gotta give props to S+S -most things inside motor have been replaced w/their excellent products. Whatever wore out I always tried to replace w/something better.

Technically, it's hardly a HD anymore!