Harley Davidson V-ROD Review at RevZilla.com
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00:00Howdy, this is Lenny with RevZilla TV, here to talk to you today about the 2014 Harley
00:21V-Rod Muscle you can see that I'm on right now.
00:23I was interested in taking this bike out for a spin to find out if a new fangled bike like
00:27the V-Rod can be good for a Harley traditionalist like me.
00:30Come on, let's find out.
00:51I like my Harleys old timey.
00:52I like them air cooled, I like them single cam, simple with no horsepower.
00:57It's just what a Harley is to me.
00:59This bike is not that bike.
01:01This thing's liquid cooled, 11.5 to 1 compression, big power, big brakes, big tires, big everything
01:07on this motorcycle.
01:08I would categorize the V-Rod very loosely as a Sunday roadster.
01:13This is the bike made for a fellow who wants to get out there, do 100 miles of riding in
01:17great weather, and wants to be throttle happy.
01:19Every time you hammer this throttle, this thing is going to put a grin on your face.
01:23That's really what the roadster style or the muscle cruiser format is, and this thing
01:27delivers in space.
01:35The V-Rod slots in with some other similar competition.
01:38Suzuki has the M109R, Yamaha has a V-Max, the Ducati Diavel is arguably the closest
01:44competitor to the V-Rod, and this thing also loosely competes against the Triumph Rocket
01:493.
01:50All of those bikes offer something special.
01:52Does the V-Rod stack up against them?
01:54Well, there are some things I noticed about it, both good and bad.
01:57Some of the good things that jumped out at me as soon as I swung a leg over this, I really
02:00appreciated this seat.
02:02This thing has no business feeling as good as it does, and this shelf back here really
02:05helps with the hard acceleration the V-Rod is able to provide.
02:09One of the other things that jumped out to me after a very short time of riding this
02:12was the traction.
02:13That's a little bit more ethereal than something concrete like the seat, but the traction was
02:17excellent on this bike in all facets.
02:19It was great under braking, it was great under acceleration, and it was great through the
02:23corners.
02:24Now, there's a couple things I think might contribute to that.
02:26One of them is the set of Michelin Scorcher tires on there.
02:29Out back, we have a 240 section tire.
02:31This thing is super, super wide.
02:33I don't have a huge experience with wide tire bikes, but I can't help but feel that this
02:37has something to do with the fact that this bike is what I describe as gluey.
02:41It simply holds the road.
02:43As I said too, though, traction is more than just going, it's also stopping.
02:48This bike's equipped with ABS, and the ABS works flawlessly as far as I am concerned.
02:52I couldn't get the ABS to engage unless I was using what I would call an oh-shit stop.
02:58As much as I'd like to think I'm better than a computer, the ABS on this bike modulates
03:02way better than my hand pressure ever, ever could.
03:05It really would be easy to get in a bad situation and simply lock up the brakes on this bike
03:09and know that you're not actually locking them up.
03:11You're just jamming down on the pedal and the lever, and the bike's computer is going
03:14to do the rest of the work for you.
03:16As I said earlier, it just sticks to the road.
03:19The high point of this bike for me was the mill.
03:23This thing cranks out 123 horsepower from a mill that is the same size as your average
03:28shovel head.
03:29Twice the horsepower out of the same size engine.
03:32But you don't want to ride this thing like you're riding your old Dresser FL.
03:36This engine's not even awake at 2,500 RPMs.
03:39However, from 4,000 clear up to its 9,000 RPM redline, this thing pulls like a freight
03:45train.
03:46The brakes are everywhere.
03:47I treated this throttle like a light switch.
03:48It was either on, or it was off, and I was jamming on the brakes.
03:52This thing is so much fun to just twist the throttle on and just see what this thing's
03:55going to do.
03:56This is the first Harley I've ever unintentionally wheelied.
03:59I had a ball with this strictly because of the engine, and on a roadster-style bike like
04:03this, that needs to be the case.
04:06That's why people buy this motorcycle.
04:08There are also some things about this thing that I didn't love, though.
04:18Let's go back to that seat.
04:19As much as I loved my section on here, I felt bad for my wife before I even put her on this
04:23motorcycle, and I didn't feel better after that happened.
04:27The other thing I hate about the passenger setup are these terrible foot pegs.
04:30These are stock Sportster items.
04:32They're garbage.
04:33They don't belong on a $16,000 motorcycle.
04:36Harley repeats that mistake by giving me a set up front.
04:39I hate these foot pegs for a variety of reasons.
04:42Firstly, they're so short.
04:43My boots were scraping the ground long before the pegs ever would.
04:47The pegs are also in the wrong spot.
04:49They're way too far forward.
04:51These things need to be slid back in order to make this bike usable and allow you to
04:54use your hips to control the motorcycle.
04:57Some of the other stuff I didn't dig about it is a little less important, but it still
05:00bears mentioning.
05:01Instrumentation on here was really, really weak.
05:03This is a very small dash panel.
05:05It does offer a lot of information, but it's not in a particularly usable format.
05:10The final nit I had to pick with this bike was the headlight.
05:14This thing slowed me down way better than any of the brakes on this thing.
05:17I found myself right around 5, 6 o'clock hammering the throttle to get where I was going to because
05:22I knew as soon as I lost daylight, I was going to be slowed down to 50 or 60 mile an hour
05:26tops on this particular motorcycle, specifically because of this headlight.
05:30It's already a bad headlight, but it's particularly egregious on this bike because of how fast
05:35it is.
05:36This bike is capable of going much more quickly than the headlight is.
05:38It's a dangerous situation.
05:40I'm not really digging it too much.
05:43That having been said, as many nits as I found to pick with this bike, I had a ball on this
05:47thing.
05:48Let's go for a ride though, and I'll show you where this thing really shines and the
05:51spots where it falls on its face.
05:58So I'm all suited up.
05:59We are actually out on the bike now, and the first thing I want to do every time I'm on
06:03top of it is jam the throttle wide open.
06:06You can see that was just me romping on it one gear, and I'm well over the speed limit.
06:11This thing just has an insane amount of pickup.
06:12It's just really fun to ride this puppy.
06:15It's a completely tame and benign machine, but once you decide you want to drop a gear,
06:20give her a little bit of gas, this thing is more than happy to get up and get rolling.
06:25Again, traction isn't bad.
06:26If you look here at how I'm leaning, this thing is really biting in pretty decently.
06:31Now I'm not flogging it too bad, but I am doing 60, 70 miles an hour through the turns,
06:36and this thing doesn't really feel like it wants to move anywhere, and it's actually
06:41kind of important considering that foot position I talked about earlier.
06:44My feet, as you can see, are way too far in front of me.
06:47You guys might be able to see my toes bouncing here out of my helmet cam.
06:51I could tuck my feet all the way in, but this is super unnatural.
06:54Plus, I don't have the ability to move my hips to control this bike very much.
06:58My arms are doing a lot of the work, and I really am accustomed to controlling the
07:02bike with my lower body.
07:04I'm accustomed to making the bike countersteer really south of my belly button, and I have
07:08a hard time doing that on this particular motorcycle.
07:10So, Harley offers a kit.
07:12Direct to the mothership itself, you can get a kit to replace these foot controls with
07:16a set of legitimate mids.
07:17And when I say mids, it's kind of funny.
07:19The passenger pegs, I'm actually on the passenger pegs right now, and I feel like I can control
07:23this bike much better right now.
07:25I'm really able to move and cut and juke like I expect to be able to.
07:29The problem is, there's none of the controls up here.
07:31I don't have the ability to shift or brake.
07:33I have to move my feet back here.
07:34So, a set of mids, for me, is just a non-negotiable.
07:37So, getting back to some of the other bones to pick, you can see here, too, looking at
07:41this instrumentation, this is, it looks great.
07:45I mean, this looks like an art installation.
07:47It looks really nice.
07:48The problem is, it's not super functional.
07:49Watch, for instance, as we speed up, just how fast, what speed are we doing here?
07:53If you're looking up at the road and then down at your speedometer, up at the road,
07:56down at the speedometer, as most people tend to do when they are hitting it hard on a bike,
08:00you're going to have a rough time telling about how fast you're going.
08:02And again, if you're going 10 over, and then you also have, say, 10 miles an hour worth
08:07of error, you're getting into speeds that are going to be dangerous in terms of your
08:12license.
08:13So, that part, I don't really dig.
08:15But, realistically, it works well for what it is, but if they just made this a little
08:18bit bigger, it wouldn't be such a mess.
08:23So, riding this thing in the city sucks.
08:32Riding in the city always sucks.
08:33It's kind of funny, working in Philly and living out in the sticks, I get sort of a
08:36fair smattering of open country roads, just wide open interstate, and then also crap like
08:41this where I'm stuck in traffic.
08:42I'm not working with a camera crew here, so, unfortunately, lane splitting is not really
08:46an option.
08:47But, this is actually, believe it or not, showcasing one of the V-Rod's strong points.
08:52Really, this thing could make a pretty decent commuter.
08:54I used it for a week commuting, and I actually really liked it.
08:57I used it all weather.
08:58So, in the rain, it was great.
09:00It did a great job stopping.
09:01It did a great job sticking to the road.
09:03I didn't have to think too much when I was riding in poor weather, and that is part of
09:06the commute.
09:07The other thing that's cool about this thing in terms of traffic and what this is showcasing
09:11is, again, this thing's ability to stay cool.
09:13It's liquid cooled.
09:14If this was one of my normal Harleys, I'd have to be pulled over on the side of the
09:16road or I'd have to be running between lanes of traffic.
09:19I have the option of waiting in traffic if I want, which is kind of nice.
09:22One of the things I thought was interesting about this is that Harley claims a 5-gallon
09:25tank on this.
09:26It might be 5 gallons, but the only thing I've been able to get in here is right around
09:303.7, 3.8.
09:32I can't get this thing to take 5 gallons, and I've run this thing right down to sailboat
09:35fuel.
09:36Mileage-wise, I'm getting 34 to 36 on this thing, and I've been flogging the tar out
09:41of it.
09:42That's actually very close to H.D.'s claimed estimate.
09:45Alright, let's throw some fuel in this thing.
09:47One of the odd parts about this motorcycle is where the fuel tank is located.
09:51Before I took off on this, I had to ask somebody who knew a little better than I do, how do
09:54I put gas in here?
09:55There's no fuel filler cap on this.
09:57That's a little confusing.
09:59The fuel filler on this bike, believe it or not, is underneath the seat.
10:02It's actually pretty convenient.
10:03It keeps the weight centralized on the motorcycle.
10:05The other nice thing about it, too, is because this fuel tank's right over here, I don't
10:08have to worry about saving my paint.
10:09It's not really a huge issue to go ahead and get fuel into this motorcycle.
10:12I don't have to worry about fuel eating up my wax job.
10:17So peep this gas price over here if you guys can.
10:19I'm trying to pan over it a little bit so you can see it.
10:21The reason this fuel's so expensive is because this baby takes high test fuel.
10:24That's again because of that 11.5 to 1 compression ratio.
10:27They're making big power out of this thing.
10:29That means, unfortunately, high test, which means high dollar.
10:36So if I were going to make one of these bikes my own, some things would have to change.
10:41The foot pegs and the controls would have to go.
10:43I can't ride this bike aggressively with forwards this far up.
10:47Happily, Harley makes a bolt-in kit for the Night Rod.
10:50So if I were going to grab a V-Rod, it probably would not be the muscle package.
10:53I would opt for the Night Rod, and I'd probably try and weasel that into my bargaining negotiation.
10:57I don't think that bike would get off the showroom floor without a set of mids on it.
11:01I couldn't deal with it on a personal level.
11:04I was able to test a couple sets of slip-ons on here.
11:06We used some Bassanis.
11:07We also used a set of Vance & Heinz on there.
11:09For my taste, the Vance & Heinz was a clear winner.
11:11It didn't sound like a classic Harley, but it was definitely an unmistakably aggressive sound.
11:16Again, the headlight, something has to happen there.
11:19I would probably upgrade the bulb in this thing to possibly a higher wattage, but definitely a premium bulb.
11:24And then I would probably add some auxiliary lighting as well.
11:26The lighting on this bike, I would say, is definitely leaving a lot to be desired.
11:32Ultimately, I wanted to try the V-Rod out because I wanted to find out if a thoroughly modern steed like the V-Rod could keep a Harley traditionalist happy.
11:40The answer to that question is yes, but in a different way than I thought.
11:43This thing is an absolute ball to ride.
11:45It is fast, it stops great, and it handles fantastically.
11:49It is the exact and polar opposite of all of my old Harleys, but it is just as much fun for me to go out and ride.
11:55In fact, it's so much fun, I'm heading out for another ride now.
11:58I'm Lemmy, and I'm outta here.