Before you pull the trigger on that V-rod, take a ride on a Warrior.

I have a friend in San Diego who has a shop name Cycle Vision and he builds V Rod Baggers and they are nice, here is a link

http://www.cyclevisions.com/index.php/cvstore/by-type-of-bike/vrsc.html

here read this
http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2009/08/showdown-yamaha-v-max-vs-harley.html

go yamaha

I'm happy that Harley made the V-Rod. That way, when one of those obnoxious HD guys tries to give me a hard time for riding a 'metric', I only have to mention that the V-Rod is a metric, and also a HD! So much for the "all-American" argument!!

I have had a few and they are quick, handle decent, and are comfortable enough for an all day ride IMO. I would say test ride one first because it seems to be a love it or hate it type bike, but I think most of the haters are the diehard HD guys that can't belive a water cooled, metric fastener having bike made it in the HD line.

Mr_Shamrock wrote:
I have had a few and they are quick, handle decent, and are comfortable enough for an all day ride IMO. I would say test ride one first because it seems to be a love it or hate it type bike, but I think most of the haters are the diehard HD guys that can't belive a water cooled, metric fastener having bike made it in the HD line.

Yeah, my son's father-in-law has one (a Screamin' Eagle), and it's one MEAN bike. Very nice looking too. He's got 5 (yes, 5!!) Harleys, and his entire house is decorated in HD stuff, but has never given me one bit of grief about my R*. Gotta give credit where it's due!

That said, my brother-in-law, also a diehard HD guy, won't even claim the V-Rod as an HD. He teases me a little about the R*, but not long when I remind him that it's bigger than most of the HD's he's owned!

Friend of mine at work had one for a couple years. He is about 5'8" and could not get comfortable for an all day ride. We rode together a couple times when I had my old Wing and he had to stop often to get off and stretch the cramps out. He traded it for a Fat Bob and is much happier. And he would not even attempt to service it himself for fear of screwing something expensive up. Dealer charged about $120 every time it went in for service.

I was surptised to learn that the MSRP on the V Rod is a lot less than the Vmax. Seems like when they first came out Harley was asking a lot more than they are now. I could be wrong though.

Well gentlemen,
I took one for a spin this evening, an 'a' series. Seemed comfortable, but the bars we're way high. Any way it had guts alright and had to watch the speedo as I was in city limits. I agree that you like em or hate em. I think I like..
Very different though to the 'bradicaria' (lower heart beat) of the R* motor which I so love too.
Kev

i´ve ridden quite a few v-rods since they came out. they´re all pretty quick but some are better than others.

now i´ve got to say before i go any further that i don´t like riding bikes with tyres 240 or wider. for me it feels like the rear is dominant over the steering. what some over here have done is put the 250 metzeler (253mm real width) on the 240 rim which makes the tyre a but rounder in profile and does improve things a bit.

standard v-rod

it´s long! the stretch to the footrests is exaggerated a bit even for me (36" inside leg). there are adaptors to change this. it goes really well and is deceptively fast. a bit slow steering due to the back tyre, but all round good. as on all of them, the injection is spot on.

street rod

for me, this is the one! 180 rear tyre, rearsets and flat bars and inverted forks. lovely machine that handles well for it´s weight and is all round entertainment. for some reason they didn´t sell that well.

night rod

much the same as the standard v-rod, but in black with a couple of aestetic changes and allegedly a couple more ponies. much more attractive.

v-rod muscle

the gayest name ever to grace a motorcycle. shame, because this one is an absolute scorcher! a more monolithic style which some don´t like, but i find very attractive. the engine is the 1250 version with some different programming on the ECU. opening the taps at 3000rpm and it accelerates very strong. give it a fistful at 6000rpm, and it takes off like a raped ape! most un-harley like and IMO at this moment the difinitive v-rod. this one benefits the most from the 250 back tyre.

as far as problems with them are concerned, i´ve not come across no heard of anything major. sure, the occasional niggle as pretty much all new bikes have, but no real problems.