HD vrod??

[rebeltaz83]

Thinking about getting a vrod....... Thinking lol. Has anybody rode one? How do they handle? I find used ones for around 5Gs. Just wondering if they are more bark than bite. Not buying a new one. If I'm dumping over 17k its gonna be on a 2nd gen. I'm not a Harley guy or close to being one. But I heard a v rod at a Honda dealer, they are distinct like the v max.

 

[davesax36]

I rode one. It's smooth, but nothing special. Super uncomfortable if you have short legs unless you find one with mid controls. That front pipe was way too close to my leg.

 

[Traumahawk]

I think the 06-07's were the only ones with mid pegs. Thats the only one that i would get......IF I decided to get one.

 

[davesax36]

It was called the street rod or something, I think.

 

[rebeltaz83]

I think the 06-07's were the only ones with mid pegs. Thats the only one that i would get......IF I decided to get one.

I'm not a fan of forward controls at all. I want my legs somewhat under me. Like the v max, lol. The blacked out ones caught my eye. They really don't look all that bad, my opinion. I just don't like paying for a name. Harleys are nice bikes, but I think they lost their way someplace along the way. They migrated from their racing roots, And got into overpriced chromed out vibrators. They need to offer more than Sunday cruisers.

 

[Fire-medic]

The VRods are being discontinued.

H-D used to own flattrack racing, at Daytona, the first race of 2017 (it was a TT!) Indian came-in 1-2, I think it's gonna be a long season for Harley.

 

[liptoss]

Test rode a V-Rod the year they came out, I think 2001. Then again maybe later since I recall the mid-controls too. I don't like forward sets either. ONLY considered the V-Rod IF I couldn't get my hands on a Gen 1.
The V-Rod has "some" jam for sure. I smoked the leader or the highway part to see what it had. I left the Twin cams standing still basically. Then again, that's not too hard.
I as well wouldn't shell out the coin they ask for it myself, although it is very well put together, welds, finish, etc. Buddy of mine wrenching at an HD dealership tells me they don't see many Porsche engines having issues. AND if they do, HD ships them a palette to send back the motor, stamps an new unit with serial in Milwaukee and ships them that. Tells me HD/Porsche wants the motor to look over. He tells me that it's more or less oil filter plugs air etc maintenance on this engine.
Still, I found my 2006, and it leaving the finish behind the Max still rules IMHO.

 

[CaptainKyle]

I have rode tons of them they are good bikes & the motors hold up really well. I only like the 06-07s with mid controls the others I could not wait to get off of. I think they handle way better than a Max they just are not as fast . I would own one.

 

[caseyjones955]

The VRods are being discontinued.

H-D used to own flattrack racing, at Daytona, the first race of 2017 (it was a TT!) Indian came-in 1-2, I think it's gonna be a long season for Harley.

I know when it came out it fell somewhere on the other side of "real Harley". When I threw a leg over I knew it wasnt for me. Still it's a twin with current tech and adequate performance, perhaps it was the hand Porsche played in engine development that led to poor reception among the HD crowd. I would think input from a manufacturer of world-class sports cars would be a good thing, but apparently not so much when your basking in obsolescence.

I sure hope the Vrod engine finds it's way into HDs ambitious plan to create 50 (fifty) new models in only 5 years. After a promise like this it would be really odd not see some further use of the Vrod engine.

If it's comfortable for someone and it can be picked up for a good price then why not? $5k probably not a bad price for a nice one.

 

[Traumahawk]

On the upside, Ive heard that you can get decent HP out of them. A guy that i worked with showed me a pic of his sons, and after some tuning.....116 at the rear wheel.

 

[firebolt]

The only Harleys I've every really liked a lot were the Buells and the V Rod. I test rode a new one 8 or so years ago. I agree - I can't stand forward controls, and the windsheild distorted everything in front of me, was a weird height and was a safety issue IMO. Rode nice, looked and sounded good, and was a good amount of power though. Also - gotta love Harley for the loads of easily accessible mods / accessories!

 

[dj52l]

It seems to me, they go down in value very quickly, more than any any other Harley.
If a person likes one, it seems Ebay always has some low priced ones, not very old.
I asked a Harley guy why and he said the water-cooled engine wasn't well received.??

 

[rebeltaz83]

Water cooled?? Naaaaa it's still air cooled, after all the air cools the water, that in turn cools the engine, lol. Well I guess the air really doesn't cool the water, the radiator just helps to dissipate the heat I guess, lol.

 

[caseyjones955]

It seems to me, they go down in value very quickly, more than any any other Harley.
If a person likes one, it seems Ebay always has some low priced ones, not very old.
I asked a Harley guy why and he said the water-cooled engine wasn't well received.??

Yes, true. I remember a day not that long ago where if you only had $5k, you could get a Sportster and that was about it. Now you can buy Sportsters all day long for $2500-3000, less for an 883, and $5k can get you into many other models. $8-10k you have plenty of choices. While the Vrod drops in value quickly the rest of the crowd seem to be at an all time low also. On CL they just sit there for sale for months or literally years.

Point being I think the market is saturated and a lot of folks out there are stepping up to Polaris or straight up Japanese bikes. I think the biggest problem with the Vrod was it sounded ricey. Even with that there arent many Vrods out there for under $6k.

 

[Fire-medic]

Asking prices for Twin-Cams are well-above $5K here. Even the 1999 models. Plenty of Sportys for <$5K. A nice-looking 2005 Harley Davidson Sportster 1200 R, asking $3750 (showing 25K mi): https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/mcy/6049051191.html

Cheapest VRod I saw is a mid-control model 2006 for $5750 w/14K mi. https://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/mcy/6037355304.html

Yes, true. I remember a day not that long ago where if you only had $5k, you could get a Sportster and that was about it. Now you can buy Sportsters all day long for $2500-3000, less for an 883, and $5k can get you into many other models. $8-10k you have plenty of choices. While the Vrod drops in value quickly the rest of the crowd seem to be at an all time low also. On CL they just sit there for sale for months or literally years.

Point being I think the market is saturated and a lot of folks out there are stepping up to Polaris or straight up Japanese bikes. I think the biggest problem with the Vrod was it sounded ricey. Even with that there arent many Vrods out there for under $6k.

 

[Barry barker]

I rode one when they first came out. I was bike-less at the time and Edie gave me a motorcycle rental for my birthday. Rented a Vrod, I liked it! It was everything a Harley wasn't, fast, smooth, quiet, and handled pretty darn good. i put about 500 miles on it that weekend, loved everyone of them. Ended up buying my 03 Vmax. Got it in 04 with 1200 miles on it for $8,000. That was a deal!
I would like to own the street rod above in Fire-medic's post.
Buy it.