Harley Street Rod
HARLEY STREET ROD
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Is the 2006 VRSCR the world's longest sportbike or a cruiser with rearsets?
STEVE ANDERSON
WHAT EXACTLY IS A VRSCR Street Rod? When confronted with that question, Harley-Davidson spokesman Paul James starts his answer with a clear statement: “It’s not a sportbike.”
And, no, the Street Rod doesn’t look like a sportbike. It shares its frame, twin-shock suspension design (if not components), speed-look headlight, airbox cover, 19/18-inch front/rear tire combination and many other components with Harley’s VRSC V-Rod powercruiser. But, still, there are plenty of sportbike cues.
The fork is a new 43mm inverted Showa carrying twin four-piston Brembo calipers-though they have a Harley-Davidson bar-and-shield logo cast in. The handlebar is low and narrow, and the footpegs are aft. The seat rises 4 inches higher than that of the V-Rod, and in sideview you can actually see the top of the rear tire below the bottom of the rear fender-one of style-keeper Willie G. Davidson’s pet peeves about other people’s motorcycles, as he clearly prefers the slammed look.
Still confused? According to James, the Street Rod is a “roadster.” He goes on to explain the category as including naked musclebikes such as Yamaha’s XJR1300 and Honda’s CB 1300-note that these are not sold in the American market. But they have proved popular in Europe, and that’s the key to the Street Rod’s existence. As James described the reasoning behind the Street Rod, it rapidly became clear that its features were specified by Harley’s European managers.
“It’s fair to say that this bike was driven by European needs,” concludes James. Its target customer, he indicates, is “an aging sportbike rider who wants something more comfortable, perhaps another bike for his stable of motorcycles.” Mechanically, the transition from “V” to “Street” involved fairly extensive chassis changes. The steering head sits at a new angle, 30 instead of 34 degrees. New triple-clamps mimic the speed lines of the headlight, and still carry the fork tubes at an angle greater than the steering axis-32 degrees instead of the 38 degrees of the dragster-like V-Rod. Trail of 4.3 inches is the result, greater than the 3.9 inches of the older machine. It also means the front tire is carried a little closer to the engine, shortening the wheelbase from a grossly long 67.5 inches to a grossly long 66.7 inches. At the rear, a new subframe carries the seat higher, straightens the shock angle and makes room for a larger, 5.0-gallon fuel cell under the seat. With the ignition switch relocated away from the seat, the seat no longer locks, leaving one CW test rider frantically looking for a seat release at his first gas stop, finally yanking on the seat in desperation-and finding out that’s how you’re supposed to open it. Harley might want to include a locking gas cap in the future, as there’s nothing to prevent tampering.
Suspension travel has been increased at both ends, and a new exhaust system allows increased lean angle, the best of any Harley. The VRSCR can lean 40 degrees by the SAE standard, 8 degrees more than the V-Rod. That’s still short of serious sportbikes; in comparison, the Buell XBs can lean 55 degrees.
When you first sit on the VRSCR, you find the transformation from the V-Rod complete. The riding position is gentle sportbike, with relatively narrow and not-too-low bars leaning you forward slightly, and pegs under you, if a couple of inches forward of a true sportbike position. “Close your eyes,” says Road Test Editor Don Canet, “and you might believe you were on a Sixties Bonneville.” Which, as he points out, is not at all a bad thing. The Street Rod feels fatter than a V-Rod because the rearset pegs place your knees alongside the frame and airbox cover, rather than under it as with forward-mounted pegs.
To start, reach down under the right front of the “gas tank” and turn the repositioned ignition switch on. The Revolution engine spins quickly to life with a thumb push, and idles just above 1000 rpm with an unexpected lope. The clutch requires a fairly heavy pull, but the transmission clicks into gear with a new easiness, the result of numerous detail improvements.
According to Harley, internal engine tune is exactly the same as a standard V-Rod, while peak power is improved by 5 horsepower because of the new, freer-flowing exhaust system. In any case, the engine remains the best part of the experience, and the Street Rod moves smoothly and quickly through its broad powerband, pulling harder and happier the higher you rev it.
Performance, though, is moderated by the 600-plus pounds of VRSCR that the engine is burdened with-light perhaps by cruiser standards, but rivaled only by relatively antique Japanese sportbikes. With an 11.8 quarter-mile time, the Street Rod isn’t in the Yamaha FZl/Suzuki Bandit 1200 class. Indeed, other than a quicker launch allowed by its greater length, it’s barely quicker than the wheelie-happybut-150-pound-lighter Buell XB12. Then again, perhaps aging sportbike riders will prefer a machine that requires extreme measures to get the front wheel up, rather than the Buell’s more exuberant behavior.
On the freeway, the Street Rod is largely a delight. The riding position is extremely livable, the engine smooth and torquey, and the range allowed by the expanded gas tank reasonable, a good thing as at 30 mpg, the Rod’s fuel economy is noticeably worse than for Harley’s and Buell’s air-cooled models. Throttle response is generally good except at small openings, where the EFI calibration feels excessively lean, leading to a slight stumble. The Rod tracks straight and true, requiring almost no steering attention from its rider. The slight forward lean is adequate to combat a 70-mph windblast, though push speed to a limit-smashing 90 and you’ll start wishing for lower bars or a small windscreen.
You’ll never wish for narrower bars, however. Get the VRSCR out in the twisties, and you discover some unusual handling qualities. That’s not too surprising, as no other modern sporting machine uses a 19-inch front tire, such raked-out steering geometry or such a long wheelbase. In lower-speed comers, say in the 30-to-50-mph range, the Street Rod steers lightly and precisely, and is very neutral. In higher-speed corners, particularly long sweepers, the steering is particularly stable-once you get the Rod heeled over and on line, it feels as if it would take an act of God to dislodge it from that course. The downside of that stability is that it’s equally adverse to any quick directional changes you might desire. One word describes its high-speed steering characteristics: heavy. It’s most pronounced in fast S-tums. There, you might wish for 6-inch handlebar extensions, though in reality another inch on each end would be almost perfect for most riding. The beauty of the Street Rod’s simple tubular handlebar, of course, is that a different width/height/bend of bar is a mere aftermarket catalog scan away.
Everybody liked the bike’s improved cornering clearance. In street riding at less than a berserk pace, the footpeg feelers were the only things that touched down. That’s a far cry from the V-Rod, which would grind hard parts at less than 0.5 g. Indeed, Canet was able to hustle the Street Rod around a skidpad at an average of just under 0.7 g without grinding anything but the peg ends. Of course, a Ducati Multistrada 1000S went around the same pad on the same day at 0.8 g with equally little drama.
When it comes to stopping, the new Brembos required greater effort than expected. Initial reaction to application of the brake lever feels very strong, perhaps even a little aggressive, but then disproportionately more pull is required for yet stronger braking. Leave the one-finger braking to hair-trigger repli-racers; at least three fingers are needed for a maximum stop here. Very controllable, though.
In its totality, the Street Rod is unique among sporting motorcycles. It’s either the best-performing power-cruiser ever, or a sportbike with some holes in its performance repertoire. Perhaps it’s best to think of it as a sport-standard designed to Willie G’s sensibilities. That is, while functionally driven design inspired from racing serves as the model for most other sportbike designs, the concern for cosmetic detail that drives Harley design controls the Street Rod’s appearance. That means the new-style cast wheels look cool, but weigh a lot. It means that while the hyroformed frame is patented, it also uses antiquated twin-shock suspension. It means that the motor puts out competitive power for its displacement, but weighs at least 50 pounds more than KTM’s similarly powerful V-Twin. Indeed, there is no evidence anywhere on the Street Rod of the concern for light weight that has motivated every other company’s recent sporting designs. Harley has always reveled in its heavyweight motorcycles, and that hasn’t changed with its VRSCR.
But our staff fast guy, Canet, liked the Street Rod more and more the more he rode it. “It’s just fun,” he concluded. In the past, Harleys that offered performance that appealed to magazine editors (remember the XR1000, the FXRT and the Dyna Sport?) failed to excite the market the way more extreme Softails and retro baggers did. It will be interesting to see if in this latest VRSCR, Harley has finally built the bike that will break that trend.
See the new Street Rod in the metal at the Harley-Davidson Indoor Show, March 8-11 at Daytona ’s Ocean Center on Highway Al A. Or better yet, sign up for a demo ride leaving from the Speedway, March 7-11.
H-D VRSCR STREET ROD
Harley-Davidson Motor Co., Inc.
$16,495
EDITORS' NOTES
WITH YET ANOTHER RECENT BIRTHDAY ending in a zero, I fit the intended demographic for the Street Rod. While I can appreciate this sport-cruiser, however, I’m not very likely to get in line. It doesn’t help that I’ve recently been riding a Buell CityX, an American alternative that offers about twice the fun for half the bucks. It’s more the unfocused nature of the beast. The Street Rod reminds me of Honda’s last CB750 Nighthawk, a machine that Honda built because everyone said it should. The Street Rod feels like a motorcycle designed by a committee, a machine that tries to be everything to everyone: cruiser, sportbike, roadster, American Classic. I’d rather have a Softail Deuce with the latest stroker kit or a Road King or a Buell XB-all are motorcycles that know exactly what they want to be, each comes from a core of passion, and each is a real American classic.-»Sieve Anderson, Contributing Editor
IT SOUNDED RATHER ODD, THE BOSS REquesting I find a twisty road to assess a Harley-Davidson’s handling performance. Back when I was a green Associate Editor fresh off the roadrace circuit, Mr. Editor Edwards had to get on my case for testing and quantifying every streetbike as though it were a sportbike.
Over the years I’ve broadened my passion for tilting the horizon, and have come to also appreciate the more relaxed riding experience less-sporting bikes can offer.
Now, Willie G’s latest creation may have just unraveled all my progress. The Street Rod may weigh as much as a cruiser, sound like a cruiser and possess certain cruiser styling cues, but once I started braking, banking and baking through a favorite set of curves, I’m afraid this reformed racer fell off the wagon. I best check myself into “Henry Ford’s” for some rehab before the boss finds out.
—.Don Canet, Road Test Editor
RIGHT ABOUT THE TIME MY ASS STOPPED aching from riding the original V-Rod to the 2001 edition of Reno’s Hot August Nights, out comes this Street Rod. And all I can say is wow! This is the bike Harley should have built in the first place.
When the V-Rod was first introduced, it was touted as the bike that would attract the next generation of Harley buyers. Did it? Uh, no. The first year’s production run sold out due to the sheer novelty of it, but it wasn’t long before dealers were discounting dust-covered floor models.
Was the problem that the V-Rod was too different? Perhaps. But I’d argue that it wasn’t different enough. Maybe the next generation doesn’t want a power-cruiser; maybe they want something racier, like this sport-cruiser. And maybe, just maybe, they want something racier yet, such as a street version of the VR1000 Superbike from which the V-Rod’s engine was derived. God knows I do.
Build it, Harley, and they will come.
-Brian Catterson, Executive Editor
