Honda Rune Vs. Harley Screamin' Eagle V-Rod

Honda Rune vs. Harley Screamin' Eagle V-Rod

Style and performance in two high-roller cruisers

STEVE ANDERSON

YOU CAN MAKE AN ARGUMENT THAT BOTH THE HONDA Rune and the Harley V-Rod represent the motorcycle most alien to their respective companies' traditions. The Rune is perhaps the first Honda motorcycle styled before it was engineered and one of the few where the stylists held the highest ground throughout its development. In fact, the design process for the Rune was very similar to how Harley-Davidson developed the V-Rod-except at Harley it was Willie G. Davidson holding the engineers’ feet to the fire.

But the V-Rod breaks other traditions. It’s the first Harley Twin in recent memory to embrace the latest trends in engine design. Harley hired Porsche to create its engine using Harley’s 60-degree VR race mill as a rough template, and the Germans equipped it with liquid-cooling, short strokes, big bores, four valves per cylinder and a downdraft intake system. It’s about as far as you can get from Harley’s conventional long-stroke, air-cooled, pushrod Big Twin.

For 2005, the V-Rod has become more so, with the introduction of the VRSCSE 1250cc Screamin’ Eagle VRod, a product of Harley’s Custom Vehicle Operations department. As well as all the glitter added (more on that later) by CVO, the engine was thoroughly hot-rodded. It’s not easy to get more power out of a V-Rod, because the engineers have already grabbed all the

HARLEY-DAVIDSON CVO V-ROD

$24,495

Ups

One fast Harley Narrow and light compared to new mega-cruisers Smooth and refined

Downs

Over the top with P&A accessories You have to rev it to use all the power Steering feels as if it wants to fall into corners

low-hanging fruit. But the new Screamin’ Eagle model increases power and torque both by 10 percent-and no wonder. The new 105mm pistons it uses increase displacement from 113()cc to 1250. Each and every cylinder head is ported by a CNC-milling machine to provide enough flow to support the bigger displacement, and the cases are bored for bigger cylinder liners. According to Mike Kuil, CVO team manager of the VRSCSE project, the larger engine went through the same durability testing as the 1130cc V-Rod engine, and meets all Motor Company durability requirements for a standard production V-Rod. That’s not true of all CVO Screamin’ Eagle models; the 103-cubicinch Twin Cam strokers, for example, don’t have to pass the entire extended durability test gamut.

The Rune, in contrast, borrows its 1800cc, flat-Six engine from the Gold Wing. The retuning is mild, with an exhaust tern designed for a more pleasing note, and six individual throttle bodies replacing the one-per-bank used on the Wing. The result is a smooth, low-revving powerplant with the fat low-end and midrange torque curve of a classic American V-Eight car engine. Despite its 1800cc, the Rune is no match for the V-Rod in the peak power department, measuring 97 horsepower on our dyno, compared to the 106 of the CVO V-Rod.

No, it’s not in the power department that Honda went wild with the Rune. Instead, it’s in the styling. Stretching out on a 68.9-inch wheelbase (the longest in regular production motorcycling), the Rune looks longer yet, with a headlight assembly that reaches far forward of the front axle line and a fender that wraps low over the back wheel. The unusual trailing-link front suspension adds to the stretched look, with a beam designed to (unnecessarily) mirror telescopic forks in appearance angled forward at a much shallower angle than the steering head, and again reaching forward of the axle. The overall style of the Rune might best be described as “ZZ Top Modeme,” the smooth rendering of Thirties automotive shapes into almost Bauhaus-simple forms, a style popularized by American hot-rod artists such as Boyd Coddington with his “Cadzilla.” The Rune combines these Oakland Roadster Show forms with subtle high-tech, such as the illuminated instrument panel buried in the tank or the flush LED brake lights buried in the back fender.

Despite the Honda’s emphasis on style, though, it remains a surprisingly functional motorcycle. When you first lift it from its sidestand, you immediately notice its bulk-at 841 pounds, this single-seat motorcycle is neither for the short-legged nor the weak. A push on the start button has its engine humming to life instantly and smoothly. Acceleration is strong, with the feeling of effortless power available everywhere, from 1500 rpm to redline. Despite what appears to be a ridiculously raked-out front end (an illusion provided by the trailing-link front suspension), steering geometry is actually cruiser conventional, and steering is linear and reassuring. Indeed, if you’re the least bit aggressive, you'll soon have the long pavement feelers on the ends of the footpegs scraping, a sign in this case of limited cornering clearance instead of hero status. But the big machine will carve solidly and reassuringly around a turn while its peg throws sparks. On the highway, the Rune is a comfortable ride, at least up to illegal speeds where the lack of wind protection and the upright riding position turns rider into sail.

Get off the huge Rune and onto the V-Rod and you feel you’re entering another universe, a universe where motorcycle riders are slightly smaller than Shaq. The V-Rod, with its 67.5-inch wheelbase and 629 pounds, is far from a small motorcycle, but it feels bicycle-like in comparison to the

Rune. With only two cylinders, its engine doesn’t have the Honda’s turbine smoothness, either, though its idle and general refinement place it in a different league than machines powered by other Harley engines. The V-Rod pulls adequately from low rpm, but if you short-shifted it like a Big Twin, you’d never realize it has performance to bum. It starts pulling hard at about 4500 to 5000 rpm, and then sings to its redline. The gearbox shifts precisely, but with higher effort and more mechanical feel than that of most Japanese machines. The clutch in the Screamin’ Eagle has had its capacity increased via stiffer springs, and the lever requires a moderate pull, more than that of the 1800cc Rune.

HONDA RUNE

$26,999

Ups

Unmistakable style Smooth, torquey power Slick detailing Still hard to believe this is production

Downs

Unmistakable style Undeniable weight Lots to polish

Handling of the V-Rod requires some adjustment. Willie G. wanted the V-Rod to look like a drag racer, machines that have their front ends raked out for high-speed stability without concern for other handling virtues. Harley engineers made that work, more or less, with offset tripleclamps that hold the forks at an extreme 38 degrees while the steering angle is only (!) 34 degrees. But when you first take a slow-speed comer on the V-Rod, this steering geometry produces the somewhat unnerving feeling that the front end wants to fall into the comer. Once you’ve gotten used to this, you’ll find the V-Rod capable of cornering harder than the Rune or most other cmisers. And the suspension of the V-Rod absorbs bumps noticeably better than that of the relatively short-travel Honda.

The CVO V-Rod has stepped away from the elemental look of the original aluminum-clad VRSC. The frame is now powder-coated to match the bodywork, and the surfaces that were once clearcoated aluminum are now covered with busy paint schemes. And, in CVO tradition, parts from Harley’s P&A catalog have been shoveled on. There’s the fuel gauge that always glows at you brightly from the top of the airbox cover (the apparent fuel tank), the bright chrome belt cover and wheels, and then there’s that ignition key. Gold in color, inlaid with black and imitation mother of pearl, with an end that looks like it was copied from a Victorian skeleton key, the CVO key is bling-bling that deserves to be dangling from a chain around Tony Soprano’s neck, nestling down into his chest hairs. Can you say “over the top?”

In almost every other way, the V-Rod is an admirable motorcycle, a Harley for those who demand more refinement and more performance than provided by the Motor Company’s traditional models. Similarly, the Rune delivers more showbike style than any previous Honda. But is one better than the other? Not really. These are two essentially incomparable motorcycles, each so unique in the world of motorcycling that you probably already know if either is for you-or not.