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The local harley dealer had an open house last Saturday, so I went over to check it out. I really wanted to ride a Buell and get the free messenger bag. They had a Ulysses there which would have been cool to ride, but I did not have boots on so they wouldn't let me ride the Buell. They said the insurance rider is very strict for the Buells. You needed a fullface helmet, long sleeves and over the ankle boots. I had my full face helmet, BMW commuter jacket, but I just had my work shoes on and not boots, so I had to ride the harleys. they really didn't care what you wore to ride them, as long as you had a helmet. The other guys were riding in t-shirts and jeans (they did have boots though). The guy I rode with from the dealer just had one of those little black skull cap helmets full of stickers with stupid raunchy quotes on it, but anyway, I digress....

So I took out the V-Rod. WOW what an engine! If that engine was in a decent frame it would be killer. I just can't get into the feet forward seating position with all my weight on my butt. It feels like I should be sitting on the couch watching TV, not riding a bike. They should put that engine in the Buells. It would make an awesome sport tourer too. The engine is like butter and it revs like crazy. I hardly got out of third gear on the back roads I was on. it was like an electric motor reostat (spelling?) Twist and go and go and go and go and go....

Anyone else ever ride one of these things?

After that I rode a Road King which was a bit of a let down after the V-Rod. Again that arm chair seating position with floor bords and automotive style foot brake just don't do it for me on a bike.

The good news is, they gave me the messenger bag anyway!

ken k

Try the Street Rod

They had a "Street Rod" in the showroom but not outside for the demo rides. I sat on it in the showroom and while it does have a more sporting seating position, it still doesn't feel like it would be real comfortable for the long haul and the frame is still the same low, long and stretched drag bike type of geometry. It would be fun trying out though I am sure.

ken k

You're right in that it's not much of a tourer. It is however an absolute hoot to ride around town. The sound of that motor is great, and it's plenty powerful. The Street Rod also has more lean angle available compared to the V-Rod. It's the one I'd get if I wanted a bike in the VRSC family.

Yes, I have ridden a V-rod.

Some of you know that I have motorcycled on and off most of my livin' years. Dirt bikes and old Honda's mostly.
I returned to Motorcycling some 3+ years ago when I found my nest empty. My husband and I had been married about 3 years ...and he was showing interest. (that mid-life thing).
We bought Harleys. Our friends were all doing it, and well, they sell you a ticket at the door...so to speak. They make it easy to own a piece of the 'Great American Machine'. The Bikes, the gear, the jewelry, they even have a skin care line.
I got a Dyna Low and he bought a Road King. We contentedly (ignorantly) rode our loud-puttering-tanks to and from the dealerships where we met our friends. And we would buy more gear... an occassional lunch somewhere. These were 'big rides'.
We went to Arizona the next spring and Rented Harleys.
I rented a maroon V-Rod.
OMG!!! I thought 'what IS this power, what IS this gumption'...I hit 100 mph (I had never been there before.) It felt awesome. I asked my husband ride it too. He was equally impressed.

For a lot of reasons, the V-rod was not the bike for either one of us...I did not like it's long rake. It made cornering difficult in tight spaces. The foot peg forward was awkward and it forced my back in an unatural posture. Further, with the foot forward design it crammed my backside into the pillion all day...
Yet I am forever happy that I rented that maroon V-rod that day. In that one fell swoop...we realized we were owned 'Harleys' and not 'Motorcycles'.
It put in motion the realization that there is so much more to try out there. Renting that machine for the day was segway into the REAL riding that now is so much a fabric of our lives.

When I meet people who think the Harleys are 'all of that and more' I just feel sort of sad that they are stuck in that dark place.
It is my personal quest to show them the light.

Just-Beeming

The Street Rod is pretty sweet. Not enough for me to own one, but I'd definitely ride one for fun. The standard seating position helps quite a bit with cornering but the bike is long and you can't do much about that.

As far as power goes, it's massive by HD standards and amusing by everybody else's standards. Nothing wrong with Harley that Porsche engineering can't help.