A Bikernet Reader requested a road test on a Night Rod a new V-Rod version. I rode one of the first V-Rods in 2002 and road tested it for American Rider magazine. I didn’t care for the bike much. I didn’t like the Toyota cooling system, the high revving motor and the floppy handling off the line. Actually, in many respects, those were all benefits to the V-Rod package, but I came from the old school planet. I wanted clunky torque, simplicity without today’s technology and and a tough handling bike. I needed to adjust my thinking.

The V-rod is a major step up in Harley-Davidson’s evolutionary climb. To some this giant step into the 21st century is still 20 years behind Japanese prowess. Although the V-Rod is still a V-twin at least it’s a Porsche designed engine with serious racing and performance attributes. “The V-Rod is all about the motor,” said Gene Thomasen, a Harley-Davidson fleet technician. “Porsche understands the conversion from air-cooled to liquid cooled technology.”

I asked Gene about changes since V-Rod introduction in 2002. The power band hasn’t jumped, but they have been tried and tested truly reliable motorcycles. “There are no recalls,” Gene said. “The units have gone down in price and choices have expanded to include accessories and new models including the Street Rod and Night Rod. All the descriptions for the other models are listed below.

The major difference besides styling is the seating position and pegs for the different models. The Night rod has the aggressive, nearly sport bike position that I didn’t fit on at all, at 6’5” and arthritic. The traditional V-rod has forward controls. the Street Rod is equipped with mid controls without any forward pegs, but I’m sure they could be installed. The night rod has cruising forward pegs.

The standard V-Rod has 34 degree neck rake and 4 degrees in the trees. That’s what gave me the wobbly off the line effect in 2002. The Street Rod has a 30 degree frame rake and 2 degrees in the trees for a milder handling approach and the Night Rod has 34 degrees in the neck and only 2 degrees in the trees which may be perfect for looks, high speed and cornering abilities.

Like I said I was scrunched except when I released my sequester boots to reached the highway pegs. So I gathered a crew of seasoned and unseasoned riders to test the V-Rod under various conditions and report their impressions.

This astute team consisted of a highly educated financeer and engineer at U.S. Choppers, Rick Krost, who builds and designs bikes (see his board track feature); There was John Van Trump, a MMI motorcycle mechanic who rides a classic BMW, worked at Chosa’s Harley-Davidson in Arizona, Pacific Yamaha in Los Angeles and now as the Product Manager at Bikernet.com. He also writes music. Japanese Jay who is a consultant for Hard Core Choppers Magazine in Japan, covers the American bike scene, develops old school chopper parts and is a life long surfer. Kyle Ross, a young Pizza delivery person at night and an electrician during the day, is our young inexperienced rider. He’s been riding for about 6 months and only on a rusty Shovelhead chopper.

Finally we forced our own Nyla Olsen to straddle the Night Rod. She also works for Bikernet, has a 2004 Sportster and faced road testing duties for American Rider when we tested all of Harley’s short-person bikes. She still talks about the new, low Softail.

I’ll start with the easy recommendations from Kyle Ross, who never rode anything except a kick only Shovelhead in a rigid frame. “It’s cool,” Kyle said more than once. “Can I keep it?”

We will attempt to give you specifics on each rider. Kyle is 21-years-old, 6-foot, weighs 160 pounds and has about a 30- inch inseam.

He enjoyed the seating position and felt very comfortable. “Can I show it to my girlfriend?”

Next we moved onto 31-year old veteran rider John Van Trump. He actually wrote his impression down: My love for anything that has two wheels landed me MMI's H-D program. After bouncing through a few Harley dealerships, and even being the service manager of a Yamaha shop. I consider myself lucky to have been able to poke at a bit of everything over the years.

But, this has also made me over critical. So at first the V- Rod looked like just another boat anchor to me. But, after only one ride I had started to change my mind. It has the most consistent power band I've encountered in along time. From zero to as fast as the length of the road will allow, it's there. No spikes, no bags, just straight power. It's low center of gravity, and the more revs fills even the most novice rider with confidence. Don't get me wrong this bike still has enough punch to keep even the biggest speed freaks happy.

Overall though I was pleasantly surprised.

Moving right along I spoke to the most articulate member of the bunch, Rick Krost, who owns U.S. Choppers, owned a stock brokerage, restored motorcycles for 20 years and now designs customs with an antique flair. He is 34 years-of- age, 6 foot 2 inches, with a 34-inch inseam. Here’s what he wrote:

Starting on first impressions which always count, the looks department:

Styling seems to be oriented towards a drag bike inspired chassis. From the front end mid glide looking down the perimeter frame gives one the sense that they will be climbing aboard a toned down street legal drag bike. The lines follow consistently into the riders seat, and then transition to an ordinary road bike with the weak lines of the rear fender reminiscent of the turned around glide front fenders, popular with custom bike builders during the ‘80s and ‘90s. A more aggressive rear fender style might lend itself to creating a more pure image of the intentions of this bike.

My impression of this bike is a morphing of hardcore drag monster up front and a beaten weak dog with its tail between its legs in the rear. The fat 180 tire has no prominent force and does not seem to be noticeable due to the rear fender configuration. This leads to confusion with regards to the bike’s intent. However, the frame design is beautiful and needs to be displayed more prominently as Ducati does with their bikes. There is no shame in a perimeter frame! The rear swingarm has great contoured lines, however the shocks could have a more aggressive appearance. The front headlight cowl I fell in love with and the instrument panel was compact and effective. The speedo was easy to read at 125 mph.

Now, more importantly, how does it ride?

Climbing aboard the bike for the first time, you are amazed at how low the seat height really is. The weight seems low slung in the frame and the handlebar layout is comfortable although a bit too high for a road racer. This would lend itself to very comfortable long cruises down the highway without the back pain of low handlebars. The seat is incredibly comfortable and the rear bucket keeps you locked in positively when hammering the throttle on this able monster.

I could find myself riding for hours in this seat. The only styling aspect I would like to see changed would be to thin out the rear passenger section of the seat to compliment a more aggressive rear fender. After all, this is a sport bike and I would suspect that 2nd passenger hours on this bike would fall far short, versus it's touring brothers. Thus, there is no need for creature comforts for rider number two at the sacrifice of the looks and intentions of this bike.

Clicking into first gear came with ease, and as I let the throttle open I noticed how light the clutch feel is-- a real plus! The bike surges forward in an almost linear power curve. I found myself at a 70mph shift points from 2nd to 3rd gears which was impressive given that the bike is so silky smooth, the rider has no idea that he is traveling at this rate of speed.

The shifts are flawless and effortless... The motor craves to be wound up. It is a bit sluggish off the bottom however as the window opens and the bike gets out from under the sheets, it starts to pull at a great rate of speed. It craves the throttle to be held in the pinned position, wide open and shifted at least mid- range power-band or better. This lends itself to its drag racing looks and overall intent of the bike. The engine wants to scream, and seems to never sign off, it will merely keep winding out until you grab another gear.

If you find yourself in top gear and wound up looking for more..... you'd better go check yourself, "before you wreck yourself". The bike will go fast enough for most any rider and is very stable at speed.

While under speed the bikes suspension is as plush as a Cadillac and you feel nothing from the road which gives the rider increased confidence. However for a sport rider, one might consider a bit stiffer suspension. However for blasting around comfortably it was a sheer pleasure on a back that is getting more and more fragile over the years. The front end tends to dive a bit unless you’re under power, this can be remedied with springs as the valving seemed nice on both the compression and rebound. Again, keep in mind, you probably are not going to be on the track much with this bike, so I feel it is a fair compromise given the fact that this bike is oriented for the street rider and not the GP track.

Steering the bike into a deeper turn came with relative ease. The front-end geometry is such that it does not require a lot of rider input. The bike ably turns and has great lean potential from both sides, something that the other Harley siblings have always lacked. I commend Harley on their use of mid-controls to allow riders to get a bit more loose in the turns! The mid controls are somewhat hard to find at first, but once you become familiar with the layout and ergonomics of the bike, they work just fine. The only problem I noticed is that I was constantly activating the rear brake via the whole pedal and supporting arm. Attention needs to be paid to the brake arm. It needs to be closer to the frame and the tongue/pedal needs to be longer so that your foot does not rest on the entire assembly; only the tongue/pedal portion.

Slowing the bike was awesome. The brakes are on the money. Coming down from speed is handled from a very able brake set-up. I found myself slowing quicker than I expected, as I would set up for a turn. I was left with too much time before initiation of my turns. What does this mean? You can confidently wait until the last second before pounding the brakes coming into a sweeper and then dive into the turn only worrying about when you are going to hammer the throttle on the way out.

Overall, this bike inspired rider confidence. With a couple added/subtracted styling cues, and a more defined image (drag or street rod); I can imagine that this line will become more popular and prevalent as more riders climb aboard and realize just how able it is.

Harley can support the more hardcore street racers by offering upgrade kits for the suspension, and different handlebars for road racers. Harley has a great history in racing. It is my feeling that they need to leverage off of their history a bit more with this bike. Although it is a separation from the traditional V-twin, we have all admired the Harley drag bikes at the strip as well as the XR dirt trackers and TT bikes...... Perhaps its time to look in the archives and take a styling cue from their rich heritage in racing?

U.S. Choppers
2039 S. Lyon St
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-546-4699
http://www.uschopper.com/

Actually, regarding racing heritage, below we featured the Destroyer, Screamin’ Eagle drag racing version of the V-Rod that’s available to the public. Check it out. But first let’s turn to our female representative Nyla Olsen.

“As I sat on the bike, it had a good fit in the seat, not too tall for my 32-inch inseam and my reach to the grips was perfect,” Nyla said. “I stand at 5 foot 5 inches and a little lanky at the arms and legs. This bike fit my frame, however, the mid-controls proved to be a challenge in a couple of areas. I had to put my right foot in front of the peg or out to the side at a stop, which was a little annoying. I also felt my legs were a little cramped while riding.”

”Being that I am completely intimidated by the Sportster Custom 1200 that has been modified, I wondered about the power behind the 2006 V Rod Night Rod. A speed freak I am not. I was told that it had different torque and would not be as 'jumpy' as the Sporty. The V Rod Night Rod handled like a dream. Turning was easy as was acceleration. I was warned that because of the lower torque I needed pay close attention the clutch release and throttle, this was true but not a problem. Coming to a stop, or coasting in first was sort of difficult for me since it seems to wanna go fast. It did not slow motion.”

”I consider myself a VERY novice and timid rider. I really did enjoy the V Rod's lightness and ease of handling compared to other Harley-Davidsons.”

Jay has ridden everything Harley-Davidson under the sun. He’s 44 years old, 5 foot, 10 inches tall, with a 32-inch inseam. He’s a burly sort who is on a diet to cut back to a surfing figure. He left “Honda Country” at 13 years old and moved to Hawaii. At 19 he left the islands and came to the mainland. “I was the first journalist to ride a V-Rod in 2002,” Jay commented with pride.

”We complained about the forward controls, at the time,” Jays said. “They scraped, but it was fast. Harley-Davidson is listening. This one handles betters, the peg position is improved and the seat position was corrected.” That’s all I could get from Jay. Surf on the south shore was up. Below is the factory Night Rod description and specifications:

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