This is what I'm talking about, the Vrod & its kiss'in cousins are a variant / aberration. Simply put they aren't a Harley and to me (I'm not trying to be difficult) the fact that it takes 5000RPM to get it moving (on the pipe?) shows that a Sabre or Shadow or Kawasaki whatever is about the same.

So to me Harley actually did a down grade, IE:to make Vrods similar all other wanna-bikes. Vrod does not run like a good V8 (or HARLEY), just hit the gas and hang on, no waiting.

Esthetically it looks different than a Harley, flatter, trying to look long and cool, no problem external frames look different yet if Honda or Kawasaki does this its a wannabe, am I wrong?

Its a different strokes thing.

.

 

David, this 125 Harley Hummer, 3.3hp, is the first Harley I rode at age 10 and was hooked for life, then I owned about 4 of these 165 STs and in 1962 bought my first new harley a 1962 175 Pacer. If one could say that the V-rod is not a Harley then neither were any of my early bikes. However they ingrained in me the Harley name forever.

 

Ducati's cruiser

 

That's personal opinion. The Rocket III looks a lot better then the Vrod, is a more capable tourer and has more power. Sorry I'm not buying into the whole VROD thing just because it says harley davidson on it.

 

The only negative for me on the rocket III is the ugly, and if there were an uglier word for ugly I'd use it to describe the exhaust system.

 

IMO the VRod looks way better than a Rocket III.

Besides, they got the name wrong. A Rocket 3 is supposed to be a BSA, the 3 cyl Triumph was a Trident.
Back in the old days, a friend had a Rocket 3, was a cool bike.

 

I was always a fan of the night rod but than I sat on one of them and they just aren't for me, especially the muscle edition the " gas tank " is just too big nd looks awful from the riding position IMO. To each their own but if I want a fast bike I'll get a Ducati 848 Evo for a grand less lol

 

My first Harley. Sold it 7 years ago, stayed in touch with the new owner since the exchange and going to get her back at the end of the month. This is VROD perfection. Can’t wait.

 

And if you can't afford a real one you can get an imitation one ! 😁

 

I had a '03 VROD. It was nice as far as fit and finish and, I think, a good looking bike. But it handled poorly. The thing did not like to turn, and I come from a Hyabusa and ZX14. The riding position was not conducive to any kind of hard, curvy riding. It was a straight line bike.

I traded the VROD in for an '03 Road King.

I, like Mr. Wallace, am a bit larger than normal at 5'10" and 275lbs. In fact, we may have run across one another. I lifted with NASA and USPF in the early 80s through the late 90s.