Has anyone bought the new V-Rod Muscle that is coming from a previously-owned V-Rod? Any comments - pluses (e.g. ride), minuses (e.g. engine), etc.?

 

I am curious about the same thing. Not much action in this area of the board.

 

Alot of the diehard v rod guys don't like the Muscle.I think it looks great,just did't care for the riding position.Was stretching for the bars too much

 

I like the looks, however; the prevailing opinion on 1300cc.com and even the dealers that Ive been to is that the muscle=fail.

 

There are a couple of guys on 1130cc.com that bought the muscle but only one that i know of doesn't regret his decision. Most of us v-rod guys think it is an ugly bike.

 

All the VRSC models are now more or less the same... the handle bar, and thus the seating positions are slightly different, but a VRSCF, VRSCAW and VRSCDX will all ride more or less the same. Muscle has slightly lower peak power at a slightly lower RPM, and slightly more torque... but other than that... they are really the same. The fat tire would be the biggest difference between that and a pre-2007 model.

 

I'll tell you what, I wasn't crazy about it when I first saw it in a showroom, thought it looked better in pictures with fancy photog lighting. But then the demo fleet was in town for Daytona Bike Week, and I got to ride one. In a word...

DAY-YUM.

Last year when the demo fleet was in town, I fell in love with the Night Rod Special. Well, if I had actually been able to buy one, I probably would have divorced it for the Muscle. I was duly and truly impressed. Power to spare, like the Night Rod, but even more savage-yet-smooth. The seat that I initially thought was uncomfortable due to being really frickin' wide in the crotch was amazingly comfy on the road. Definitely ain't for the shorties in the room. My instructor from my MSF course is all of 5-foot-nothin' tall; she took it out on the last ride of the day as I was waiting for the shuttle back to my cage (boo hoo), and she screamed at me as they passed by:

"These pipes are f***in' hot!!"

But other than that, I gotta say the Muscle blew me away. Like the rest of the VRODs, it's perfectly balanced and sports an amazing engine (yeah, I know it's not air-cooled, but it's still impressive), but with an extra dose of kick-@$$. Gonna keep my eyes on their used prices over the next couple years as I work through the rest of my college debt and start saving up for a sled.

*EDIT: I gotta admit, the faux-tank takes getting used to, but after sitting behind it on the road, it looks really sweet. I always loved the rear fender work.

 

I test rode the Muscle @ Harley's 105th and liked it very much. I've test rode two other V-Rod's at demo days, but the one in Milwaukee we were able to at least rip it a little bit. I liked the Muscle and will probably also look at the bike over the next couple of years. I thought on the looks department - Harley hit a home run. Love the rear fender and LED taillight with integrated turn signals. Handling appeared to be good even with the wider rear tire.

 

My son is 20 and loves the looks of the F. Currently he is riding an 82 Honda GL500 he rescued and rebuilt. One thing he really likes is the chunkiness of the airbox. I can see his point. The gas tank on his Honda is freakin' huge! The F airbox has some of the same feel to it from the rider's seat. At 6'4"+ (Yah, JetGod, he put on a little more altitude!), he is really comfortable on the F. Then again, with his long arms he would probably be comfortable on a DX! On long rides he sits on the passenger seat on his GL. He's pretty much decided the F will be his next, and first new, bike.

 

Don't let him do it! LOL I walked into the Fullerton HD stealership yesterday and asked if they sell very many. He said no and when I said it was ugly he said he hears that about 10/1 saying the same thing.