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What would you do if you were starting from scratch?

6K views 77 replies 14 participants last post by  Louis 
#1 ·
My ideal V-Rod:

Start with an 08 VRSCAW with ABS.

Get some unsprung weight off:

Muscle wheels, Galfer rotors, Metz tyres.

Get some ordinary weight off:

Lithium batteries, dump the rear fender.

Fix the suspension:

Arnotts on the rear and the cartridge emulators on the front.

Bodywork:

Make up a new short rear fender rear in steel with LED lights underneath and a plate, chrome the airbox cover, fender, new tail etc. Fit a spoiler type shroud and DX nose cone in gloss black.

Bars and controls:

Fit Burleigh bars, and chrome out controls. Slotted levers and foot conrols. Arlen ness lipstick mirrors, and around fork LED blinkers.

Exhaust / tuner:

PC Vision and autotune with Akrapovic exhaust. If I wanted to go further, TTS supercharger.

Bits I added as I thought of them:

GRC seat, V-Gauge, back stop.

What have I missed? Please don't suggest lowering it! I'm sort of half way to this with my 07, but I've taken some different routes with which I am now stuck.
 
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#3 ·
Not guilty m'lud, I was in Portugal. But my Bud Lucy, whom you see on FB a lot, was at lunch with a friend whose next door neighbour had their Triumph stolen the night before, and is supposedly one of the bikes in the video. Although of course one has to allow for the excited bullshit factor, so I'm not betting the farm on that.
 
#6 ·
Not enough power for a daily ride, sorry. Don't much like the looks either, although that's very personal, so YMMV. If I had to have something like that, I'd pick a Dyna. But if I'm going to have an aircooled, I'd have the one I've got AND something else.



and here are my two girls - excuse the stupid stick on seat, madam wanted a go:

 
#5 ·
My ideal V-Rod:

Start with an 08 VRSCAW with ABS.

Get some unsprung weight off:

Muscle wheels, Galfer rotors, Metz tyres.

Get some ordinary weight off:

Lithium batteries, dump the rear fender.

Fix the suspension:

Arnotts on the rear and the cartridge emulators on the front.

Bodywork:

Make up a new short rear fender rear in steel with LED lights underneath and a plate, chrome the airbox cover, fender, new tail etc. Fit a spoiler type shroud and DX nose cone in gloss black.

Bars and controls:

Fit Burleigh bars, and chrome out controls. Slotted levers and foot conrols. Arlen ness lipstick mirrors, and around fork LED blinkers.

Exhaust / tuner:

PC Vision and autotune with Akrapovic exhaust. If I wanted to go further, TTS supercharger.

Bits I added as I thought of them:

GRC seat, V-Gauge, back stop.

What have I missed? Please don't suggest lowering it! I'm sort of half way to this with my 07, but I've taken some different routes with which I am now stuck.

I like all the ideas highlighted above, HATE the LED blinkers that wrap the forks, look like a Glow stick at a rave and anything with the NEss name on it is usually way too gaudy for me.
 
#16 ·
Mirrors - these came (in black) on the Softie, and I was impressed enough to get some chrome one for the V-Rod, not fitted yet, waiting for the indicators:



Don't you guys have indicators lit as running lights? In that case, tes, I see what you mean. As a way of cleaning up the front end so there are, to the casual observer, no indicators, I like these. Theye would only be lit when signalling a turn:

 
#7 ·
Happy to know you dropped the idea of the Switchcrap (you did right?) your two ladies are awesome, pretty much similar to both I have and love them! :thumb:

BTW your proposal on your first post is pretty amazing :notworth: maybe CF wheels if we're going the extra mile :D
 
#8 ·
Some confusion here - can't remember who it was who wanted a Switchblade, but not me! In passing, what a daft name for a fat bike.
 
#15 ·
Where's the fun in that?

Anyway, while I love their stuff, the first thing they invariably do with a V-Rod is shove a 300 tyre in it, which you will note is, like lowering, missing from my list.

If I wanted a lawn ornament, I'd get a gnome...
 
#20 ·
My ideal V-Rod:

Start with an 08 VRSCAW with ABS.
painted gun metal blue frame and tins, with very suttle tribal design engine black and crome
big bore with turbo and cams

Get some unsprung weight off:

Muscle wheels, Galfer rotors, Metz tyres
Probably some matching Hardcore rims and rotors with PM Calipers

Get some ordinary weight off
[Single sided swing arm ]
Lithium batteries,
Fix the suspension:

Arnotts on the rear and the cartridge emulators on the front.

Bodywork:

Make up a new short rear fender rear in steel with LED lights underneath and a plate, chrome the airbox cover, fender, new tail etc. Fit a spoiler type shroud and DX nose cone in gloss black.
remove inner fender and cut frame to hug 260 rear tire, move TSS for custom solo seat, no need for the rear pegs either
Bars and controls:
Pull back risers with swept back drag bars, digital guages prerably in the mirrors, short rear over 260mm, 21" up front wrap in long tire hugging fender


Fit Burleigh bars, and chrome out controls. Slotted levers and foot conrols. Arlen ness lipstick mirrors, and around fork LED blinkers.

Exhaust / tuner:

PC Vision and autotune with Akrapovic exhaust. If I wanted to go further, TTS supercharger.

Bits I added as I thought of them:

GRC seat, V-Gauge, back stop.

What have I missed? Please don't suggest lowering it! I'm sort of half way to this with my 07, but I've taken some different routes with which I am now stuck.
 
#37 ·
The clientele won't let it happen, period. We're lucky the V-Rod still exists in any form. Lucky it made it out of the prototype stage. We were lucky to have Buell for as long as we did. Harley is as you say the heavyweight king, but their faithful are lightweight in imagination. Again, HD makes what sells, makes on demand. It's worked well enough for 11 decades. What hasn't worked or sold, are the non traditional attempts. The R, Buell, XLCR, original Night Train, and in many ways the V-Rod itself.

For under $100 a set of Progressive front springs cures many ills.
I'm going with their new monotube fork kit for baggers/softails and 944's in the rear.
 
#23 ·
Shave as much weight as possible

Diet, diet, diet, diet, diet for the bike.

  1. I would use 2008 D/ABS or later model DX/ABS and put mid controls on it. Whichever weighs less to begin with.
  2. Take as much rake out of the Triple trees as possible.
  3. Definitely go with Kawi ZX-10R forks and wheels & petal brake discs. Figure out how to use the ABS wheels. Compensate ride height for change in front wheel size.Swap out rear shocks for taller lightweight performance shocks. Overall raise the lower frame rails about two to three inches to increase lean angle.
  4. Investigate whether or not you can take weight out off the engine by remaking engine covers in carbon fiber.
  5. Carbon fiber fenders, aluminum airbox painted flat black.
  6. Lighten rear inner fender as much as possible
  7. Lithium battery (have one now)
  8. Ceramic coated Akrapovic pipes
  9. 1/2" crank offset,
  10. stage two cams,
  11. CNC heads,
  12. trask turbo,
  13. 50hp Nitrous shot,
  14. PCV Autotune
  15. Lightweight wide dirtbike handle bars, (anodized black).
  16. Sportbike Brake and Clutch reservoirs, braided stainless steel lines
  17. Eliminate every pound robbing superfluous piece of metal on the bike. Replace Steel frame downtubes with a lighter alloy either chrome molly or titanium or aluminum. Same with kickstand.
  18. Replace every steel bracket possibly with titanium or aluminum, stuff like headlight brackets, cowl brackets, etc, etc.
  19. Replace all foot pegs with sportbike aluminum foot pegs.
  20. Get rid of the the radiator & oil cooler covers.
  21. Examine every piece of metal on the bike to see how it can be lightened.

Maybe this bike would weigh in at 500 to 540lbs? Just a SWAG.

I lament that I have the very desirable two tone, 100th Anniversary edition bike and will not bastardize my future collectible to make these changes. Cam with the optional chrome engine kit and I added boat anchor reactor wheels. (LMFAO)

My bike feels like my 2002 CBR with a 140lb chick on the back from an acceleration perspective. It tops out at 120.
 
#26 ·
oh OZ ..... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :(
 
#33 ·
I would love nothing more than next generation VROD - a couple of lines, lightweight functional cruiser and touring bike. It is not going to happen. Pick a model then look at pictures of the HD bikes from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and this decade. All you see is slow sutle changes.
 
#34 ·
I'm not really interested in any form of stock Harley, too many cut corners and cheap components, ruined by the EPA, and even in Europe boringly common.
 
#35 ·
Stock doesn't need to mean starter kit. I'm doing progressive springs and shocks on my Street Glide this winter because the 'street' is exactly where it is the least enjoyable to ride it. The nose dive in stop and go traffic just wears me down so I stick to rural riding for now. In my experience every Harley I've ridden but the R and 1200x does this.

I was thinking about having the dealership perform this mod while its in winter storage and their recommendation? If I'm doing the springs now is the time to install the $550 chrome front end kit because there won't be any additional labor. Seriously? I'm telling you my stock suspension sucks and im spending $1200 in parts alone to fix it and you're trying to up sell me chrome?

Huh. Guess I was kind of keeping that one down. I've owned enough harleys that i should know the deal by now. Back to the vrod mods.
 
#52 ·
Sharpen my pencil (first step when you start from scratch)

Actually the 2002 "TFE", was and is a piece of art from a company that had (has) little imagination to do anything more than change trim and paint schemes and rechristen any one of two basic models (Sportster or Big Twin) as something new.
It's superfluous as to whether it perfoms as a proper motorcycle or not as it stands alone.
 
#74 ·
Fabster please no pictures of scenic PR without some Chicas inadvertantly captured in the background.
 
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