Hi Guys,

Just ran 2000 miles from London to Paris to Florence to San Marino through the alps Geneva and then back to London via Reims and Dijon on the 2003 A model.

A couple of 6 hour riding days, did the longest stint between Paris and Nice by autotrain... Lot's of varied roads, rain wind sun you name it...

Had my wife on the back, soft panniers, and a soft rack bag - Probably carried 80 -100 lbs of luggage (mostly freakin shoes!) and the wife won't forgive me if I mention her weight, but luckily she's petit.

I've done this kinda trip on my Road King, here's how the V-Rod compares

IMHO

Good.


Able to cruize with the fastest traffic in Italy.
Windblast sustainable at 90MPH with Speed-Point Faring
150 Miles between stops (5 gal u.e.)
Excellent Highway stability
No reliability woes
Low tire wear.


Bad


Doesnt like weight over the rear wheel. Handles like a drunk hippo under ~20 MPH
Lot's more detonation - even at speed
Grounded out the frame rails in corners
Some wobble if bags arent tied down real tight
whine from rear seat... to be fair, even with peg extenders, the rear pegs are too high. Even pretty small passengers are punished on the back of the Vrod. Had to make an impromptu seat pad for her out of a backpack stuffed with clothes, that on top of the "Official HD Touring Pillion".



Ugly


Almost impossible to filter in traffic!
No clearence - even with preload maxed. Grounded out the frame rails in corners
Some wobble if bags aren't tied down real real tight
Scary off road gravel moment on a wet mountain curve... she realy digs into the sand when she's all heavy. Thought I was going over the side of the mountain for a sec there!
Why is there a giant oil/shit slick at every toll both ferchristssake!?!!
Packing and unpacking at every hotel stop....Locking bags would be nice but weight is an important factor.....


V-Rod Touring bike mod wish list


More clearance, or less sag with weight
Better front end characteristics at low speed. This is one point where the RK wins. Too much rake...
Another 50 ponies :angeldev:
keep the v-rod look - it's a winner over here!

:thumb: sounds like a nice trip!

It was a great trip! Thanks! I'm lucky to have such an understanding wife!

It made me think of the details that would make the V-rod into a great 2-up touring machine...

#1 issue is frame geometry... the front needs to be less "floppy", having a fairing on the front would make it even worse.... It get's much more pronounced when there is a ton of weight on the back of the bike.

boy, what a dream trip. imagine having that just as an option. i mean its great here in the us too but that sounds even dreamier. ps pics would be nice.

Em, this might have had a lot of extra things on it, but my R is perfectly good for filtering, which I have to do every day. On wider motorway type lanes filtering is a doddle, but even in city centre traffic, I have no real problems.

Em, this might have had a lot of extra things on it, but my R is perfectly good for filtering, which I have to do every day. On wider motorway type lanes filtering is a doddle, but even in city centre traffic, I have no real problems.

The R's Geometry is plainly better for handling. There is more of a front weight bias with the R. Jacking up the back of the A model would help...

I also filter daily, down the Marlybone/Euston road in London...so I was surprised by how much harder it was with the luggage and passenger. It was honestly unpredictable at times...

However, no matter how much I protested, she just wouldnt concede any extra stuff. I tried to put my foot down whilst loading the bike, sending her back in the house with stuff that just would not fit. She went in the house and came out trying to conceal a new backpack stuffed with all of the rejected clothes...
:banghead:



boy, what a dream trip. imagine having that just as an option. i mean its great here in the us too but that sounds even dreamier. ps pics would be nice.


I used to do long trips when I lived in N.America. The difference is the cultural change, food, attitudes, speed of traffic (much higher over here) and the high popularity of bikes. Oh and you can filter between traffic in Jams and people get out of your way!

Come on over, I've run into plenty of North American bikers on big trips...

It was a great trip! Thanks! I'm lucky to have such an understanding wife!

That my friend, is all that really matters on such a trip!

That my friend, is all that really matters on such a trip!


Your absolutley right! It was so cool to be there with her, cruzin down the road with a fabulous bike, and nothing ahead but adventure...


I forgot anothern important mod for the V-rod in this situation, a comfortable perch for the passenger.

We had to fashion a higher higher pillion position... the pegs cant be lowered much without hitting the exhaust. It kinda sucks because a higher pillion contributes to the top heaviness of the bike.

Jacking up the back of the A model would help...
or lowering the front and adding air ride to the rear.

Just wondering...
what do you mean by "filtering"? Call me a dork, bit I'm not familiar with the term, made even more curious since VRod Pat finds filtering to be a doddle.

Sounds like a fabulous trip across the alps. Did the autotrain carry your bike too?

Just wondering...
what do you mean by "filtering"? Call me a dork, bit I'm not familiar with the term, made even more curious since VRod Pat finds filtering to be a doddle.

Sounds like a fabulous trip across the alps. Did the autotrain carry your bike too?

Sorry, I've been living in Europe so long that I call a highway a motorway and a tomato a tomahto...

Filtering is lane-splitting. It's legal, or widely practiced over here. How Vrod Pat doddle's at the same time is beyond me. I can't even hold a pen and filter, much less doddle! I wonder what he's doddling on, maybe he carries a notepad for doddling... OK that wasnt really funny!

or lowering the front and adding air ride to the rear.

Have you tried this? Interested in the result...

Have you tried this? Interested in the result...
I do have air ride and I am going to lower the front end. I just took a long trip fully loaded down to the KC Rally. As long as I kept the air ride full she rode great! If I lower the front 1" I suspect it will even be better.

I do have air ride and I am going to lower the front end. I just took a long trip fully loaded down to the KC Rally. As long as I kept the air ride full she rode great! If I lower the front 1" I suspect it will even be better.


The air ride ajusts the rear shock length right? Does it start at stock length, or can it go longer?

The air ride ajusts the rear shock length right? Does it start at stock length, or can it go longer?
I have mine set up at stock height but you can get them for any length you want. I also had a extra bump stop installed so I have travel from 13" down to 11 1/2". You can put enough air into the shock to make it so it is very stiff and adjust it down for a nice soft ride. I originally bought the air ride because I couldn't adjust the preload on the right shock with the Corbin bags and V-Modded stock exhaust.