+ Click to Enlarge STRIKING COLOUR: This is called Impact Blue. Pictures: DAVE ABRAHAMS

June 14, 2004
By Dave Abrahams

The 2004 version of Harley-Davidson's V-Rod benefits from revised injection mapping for smoother throttle response and an upgraded shift mechanism for slicker gear-changes – but what you'll see is a range of stunning new metallic colours supplementing the original anodised aluminium.

The test bike was a deep metallic royal blue; there's also Lava Red (actually a rich burgundy) and a very mean-looking plain black. The hydro-formed frame also has a new silver-leaf powder-coating finish.

The Porsche-designed motor starts first time, every time, and idles without choke (there isn't one) straight from cold. Once warmed up (about 5km – there's no temperature gauge) its response is immediate although not as jerky as the multis.

Thanks to heavy flywheels you can open and close the throttle without any untoward jerking. It pulls, power-thudding strongly, from under 2000rpm, smoothing out at around 3000. Then it gets seriously muscular through the mid-range, with a flat, harsh intake roar very similar to a BMW boxer twin although it is mechanically very quiet.

As this quarter-ton locomotive gathers momentum above 5500revs the motor begins to vibrate quite fiercely; up in the top third of the rev-counter dial it feels a little stressed but pulls willing up to the power peak of 86kW at 8250rpm – at which point you need a lot of elbow-room.

You also need R212 000 to buy one.

The V-Rod sounds like a wet fart, as do all bikes built to run in the Nanny State – but not many stay that way for long. That's just as well because the end caps on the standard pipes were starting to rust with only 1700km on the clock, very disappointing for a Harley – they're renowned for top-quality chrome.

The clutch on the test bike juddered slightly when provoked; it felt – and sounded – as if it was running dry or had one warped plate in the multi-plate stack. Nevertheless, it hooked up firmly and predictably, even when very hot, and refused to slip.

The revised gearshift is firm, a little notchy but very positive. Surprisingly for something this heavy, upshifts are better without the clutch, other than the first-second shift which is embarrassingly vocal at all times, provoking a little judder when using the clutch but very jerky without it.

The best results are obtained by short-shifting into second and letting the torque pull the bike out of the hole – above that seamless upshifts are the norm anywhere between three and 7000 revs.

The V-Rod went up to 218km/h with the motor spinning exactly on the power peak at 8250rpm. It reached 180km/h quickly but then took nearly 3km to reach its terminal velocity.

I did that three times, using nearly a quarter of a tank of fuel (3.5litres) in the process; as near as I can work out without a trip computer it slurps a litre of unleaded about every 2.4km at full throttle.

Give your hamstrings a rest

Fuel consumption improves to about 6.25 litres/100km if you keep the needle on the legal side of 120, however, and the V-Rod averaged 7.9 during the time I had it. Nevertheless, with only 14 litres in the plastic fuel tank under the saddle, you can expect the reserve light to come on between 130 and 170km after take-off.

Just as well, because you'll need to stop and give your hamstrings a rest.

The suspension remains unchanged but the brakes have bigger pads; there's no extra bite but plenty of power. The rear brake was a little spongy but together they haul down the 275kg V-Rod in surprisingly short order.

It also has slow but remarkably precise steering; despite its 1710mm wheelbase it's capable of impressively tight U-turns, leaned way, way over, at walking pace, if you have an educated throttle hand.

It's a great party trick as long as you realise that if you lose your nerve and close the throttle or, worse still, sneeze, you are going to go down and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

Also due to its long wheelbase and disc wheels, the V-Rod is unnervingly sensitive to side winds and the wash of passing trucks; it picks up a slow weave at about 140km/h when sitting up but it's reassuringly stable (although horribly uncomfortable!) when the rider is hunkered down in go-for-it mode – this bike was not built for long runs at more than 200km/h.

It's most comfortable cruising at about 110, with a butter-smooth 4200rpm on the rev-counter and no need to hang on to the bars just to stay aboard.

Pillion small - and hard

The rider's seat is firm and deeply dished, so that you sit in one place only, without being able to move around on long rides; it's a long reach to the foot-pegs, straining my hamstrings on long rides even at cruising speeds.

The pillion seat is small and very hard while the pillion pegs are mounted on the swing-arm and move up and down with the rear wheel, which is not unpleasant, just weird.

Due to the exhaust catalysers the pipes run very, very hot - the inside of my right calf got slow-roasted by the front header. The pipes also stay hot long after you stop.

Maybe I'm just not man enough for the V-Rod - my partner Jenni Peters has a 92cm inside leg measurement and she had no problems with either hamstring strain or grilled calf muscles.

The classy instrument panel has been improved with a clearer fuel gauge plus a little button on the pod that activates a complete diagnostic function covering engine, security system (the bike comes with an immobiliser) and the display itself.

It also allows you to check the odo and trip meter without switching on the bike, which the previous version didn't.

Even more than the original 2002 model, the latest V-Rod is built to take life a quarter mile at a time. It's a straight-liner, not a sports bike, unashamedly better suited to the Ray-Ban parade and making mincemeat of howling little Japanese pocket rockets away from the lights – which it does with contemptuous ease.

Bike from Harley-Davidson Cape Town.

Specifications:

Motor: Liquid-cooled four-stroke V-twin.
Capacity: 1131cc.
Bore x stroke: 100.0 x 72.0mm.
Valvegear: DOHC with four overhead valves per cylinder.
Compression ratio: 11.3:1.
Power: 86kW at 8 250rpm.
Torque: 105Nm at 6600rpm.
Induction: Electronic sequential port fuel injection.
Ignition: Electronic.
Starting: Electric.
Clutch: Hydraulically actuated multi-plate wet clutch with diaphragm spring.
Transmission: Five speed constant-mesh gearbox with final drive by carbon fibre belt.
Suspension: 49mm conventional cartridge forks at front, twin shock absorbers adjustable for preload at rear.
Brakes: Twin 292mm discs with four-pot opposed-piston callipers at front, 292mm disc with with four-pot opposed-piston calliper at rear.
Tyres: Front: 120/70 -ZR19 tubeless radial. Rear: 180/55 - ZR18 tubeless radial.
Wheelbase: 1710mm.
Seat height: 660mm.
Dry weight: 275kg.
Fuel capacity: 14 litres.

Price: R212 000.

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