Harley-Davidson V-Rod production stops

Cloth for Harleys V-Rod. This year Harley stops producing what they saw as the Hareley-Davidson 2.0. And so they become heathen classics. But now they are just 'failed Harleys'.

15 Years ago, Harley started a fight to conquer the hearts of younger motorcyclists. Already at that time, the Harley buyer stock was aging so that customers and engines were running towards the end of their best-before date.

The V Rod block was - certainly from an American point of view - a technical tour de force and the whole V Rod looked just a little like the Harleys as we knew it.

It has been investigated

It has been researched: people born after 1972 have nothing to do with history. Don't care about classics.

So it was time for a new plan. Because no matter how you turn it: if the fan crowd does not move to Huize Avondrood, then the blow will come due to the fact that air-cooled engines will soon no longer be able to meet the emission and noise requirements ... Look, there they had at Harley -Davidson fully taken into account.

Porsche only helped a little

In the meantime, the Harley-Davidson V-Rod “VRSC” introduced in 2001 has had its impact on the market. And the people from Milwaukee still get flakes from their fingers about the rumor that 'everyone' knows that the block that Harley should have helped throughout this century was made by Porsche. That is not so bad and the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Company has just hired technological knowledge from the Porsche technical center. Because two know more than one. It would only have been wrong if they had consulted Emiel Ratelband.

"New" by American standards simply became "revolutionary" and ready to extend the Legend by another century. But mainly to lower the average age of HD drivers - a fact that Harley has been keeping under control for more than 10 years. The block was original. Harley-D had not made the mistake of competing with Japanese producers. That very new Harley was of course a shock to the Oldskool Harley-Rijders. The newest HD was named 'Jappenfiets'.

From Jappenfiets to Moffenfiets

After the veterans had thought about the link with Porsche, it became 'Moffenfiets'. So! For sheer marketing reasons, the people from Milwaukee have therefore run the VRSC - Vtwin Street Racing Custom - parallel to the air-cooled line. Then the Old Boys were not shocked and could get used to the future. Moreover, from this position the VRod was able to market the market of that new target group a bit more openly; Penetrating 'The Not Harley Riders'. All this was made even easier by the fact that the new Harley was not dozing in the shadow of a centenary past. The VRSC was - and is - a revolutionary motorcycle with a look that is still unique. And those conservative hardcore bikers are already quite used to it. They also arrange that super cunningly at Harley. They just put a few New V twins on hits. No salesmen or PR people or whatever… The men can sit and sit on it. Take a spin around the tennis court. To be amazed together about that modern thing. But in the meantime again a bit proud of what Their Brand has now made. 'She will learn that, those Japs. Recovery: Krauts! '

A beautiful block

The liquid-cooled V-twin is beautiful in its design. And we're not talking about the 60 degrees, liquid-cooled V twin with its four valves per cylinder and its double overhead camshafts. And we also had 120 hp at 8250 rpm from 1130 cc. But that couple of 108 Nm at 7.000 touring is great fun again. No, that's just stupid technology. Nice that it has proven to stay whole and that it sounds nice. The beauty is simply in the appearance of the engine. The exuberant mass of metal looks brutal, but also subtle. Unlike the matchbox plaque of many Japanese engine blocks, this looks like "Technology." An engine that, in a light spreading position, makes it very clear that it is not just a motor, but actually a 'Power source'. Autistic girls are just as impressed by it as the distraught stoker on the VSM museum steam locomotive. Poets become 'angeheizt' and adolescents spontaneously see the upper lip and wider shoulders when they see the V-twin. That, of course, applies to boys' adolescents. Oh yeah; motorcyclists want to start the block to listen to it for hours on the road and watch it endearing during terrace stops.

That engine block is like a jewel in a frame with which the Brand has shed its reputation as a traditional motorcycle maker in one fell swoop. The massive curves of the frame are reminiscent of a very adult python who is thinking about how many calories were in its last tourist. The curves are languid, but radiate strength. The whole is beautiful, but also threatening. And the pure beauty is stained by something that can only be called "obscenity." Our German neighbors call it “HOT”. All that three-dimensional bending of those thick tubes, that's not a cat's piss. Harley models those pipes using hydroforming. Or actually 'Hydraulic Forming'. Or 'hydramolding'. This branch of sport was devised sometime in the fifties to make kitchen worktops and is currently also very common in the car industry. Ah, and in the missile industry. For missile exhaust cones. At Harley, the frame tubes are filled with oil. Then they go into molds and the oil is pressurized. The hot oil blows out the pipes from the inside in the shape of the mold. Easy right? Not really. It often takes more than 12 pumping sessions before such a part is molded into shape from the inside.

The V-Rod, to call it that in general, is long, low and looks mean in a sneaky way. The workmanship of the thing is top and as a motorcyclist you are surprised that you can just sit on it. Very different from on your own bike. But it doesn't feel like something that the physiotherapist or the vice squad needs to get into. The V-twin starts like any other engine. But it sounds much nicer than most other bikes. Somewhere in the depths you hear again that Americans represent the gross things in life. Something like; this is a motoblock, and you have to experience that too. Playing with the throttle a little bit shows that the V-Rod likes a lot more revs than its older - half-brothers. That sounds sharp, but still deep. For the real streetfighter pilot it is a bit of a search with your feet, but then you are on your way. You sit like the VRSC is. Low and stretched. 'Actively relaxed' is emotionally a strange combination. But it kind of feels like this. The engine hums contentedly and the stretched beauty moves in a loose trot as if on rails.

With an hour cuddling along secondary roads you get a pretty good grasp of this good monster. The engine is in fact good-natured and course-stable. The seating position is easy to hold and in any case is much better than the fat belly slider style where all the weight is on the wrists. The V-Rod wants to go through bends. Of course it is not a supermotard, but with a little bodylan you don't immediately come to a halt sparkling. You have to drive the machine as you would a larger sailing ship or an American full sized V8. Looking far ahead and making long strides. Then you will get there and easily too.

The flavours: In the beginning there was the VRSC. In the meantime, we also have the VRSCAW, the VRSCD, the VRSCDX, the VRSCC and the VRSCR ... And yes: behind every afko there is a suitable explanation. That's nice too

And this year Haley's attempt to rejuvenate comes to an end. The production stop is planned for October. And when we get the V-Rod for a long time the list of Certification for Real Classics, it scores on all points.

When purchasing, assume that the earliest, original models may soon be your pension.

V-Rods (and Buells!) Aren't expensive right now. And probably only the really last produced copies will soon generate money to end up in an investor's safe with 0 km on the clock.