After alot of research and reading on this forum, I purchased my first Harley in April a used 2007 VRSCD with 945 miles. The VRod was the first Harley I ever had any real interest in and I chose the 07D as it seemed to combine most of the features I wanted.
Having been raised on "standard" style and sport bikes I was set on having mid-controls, all my buddies said I'd end up liking forwards so I figured having the highway pegs would offer the best of both worlds so I chose the D instead of the R. I really like the mids for driving agressively, but other than that I constantly find myself driving on the highway pegs and wishing the shifter and brake were up there.
I'm not a fan of ridiculously loud bikes, but the stock exhaust is really much too quiet, but it seems to sound a little less like the Jetson's spaceship everyday. From what I've read a 2 in 1 offers the best performance, but I don't like the look of them. There are some nice 2-2 systems but I hear most will actually reduce torque. The stock exhaust has a nice unique look and I couldn't stand the stock sound any longer, so I ordered a set of V-Mods which should arrive anyday now.
I originally found the stock seat to be decent, even my girlfriend didn't complain too much about the passenger pillion. But after a few longer rides I've changed my mind, any longer than an hour or two of saddle time becomes a pain in the ... I have a sundowner coming from a forum member.
The Fuel Gauge... huge disappointment, it doesn't seem to have any logic to it. Stay above the full-mark for quite some time, a few miles later its down to 1/4, then its empty light on, then back to 3/4s...sometimes you fill it up and it stays at 1/4 tank etc.. I've found I can average around 185-210 miles on the 5 gallon tank and try to ignore the gauge. Has anyone figured out a solution or even some understanding of this gauge?
The bike is still on the Mobil1 Synthetic 20w50 that the previous owner put in it. I have noticed it seems to burn some oil, its went down about a full quart since I got it. I also find it shifts a little rough from 1st to 2nd. I have Amsoil 20w50 ready to go into it and hope that solves both problems.
I wish it had a 6 speed transmission and/or more spaced out gearing. 1st has too much gear for low speed traffic speed, 5th could use more gear as it turns around 5000 rpm at 75mph. The close ratio gearing sucks for fuel economy, but great when you wanna bang a few gears and put your driver's license on the line.
The engine performance is great, a quick twist of the right hand always makes me smile. I wish it had more downlow torque, but it hangs with the big air-cooled twins at low rpm and when they're running out of gear its just starting get into the HP curve and its lights out. Its plenty fast, maybe not sportbike fast but it doesn't have sportbike aerodynamics either. I haven't pushed it passed 125, but that felt alot faster than 150 does on a traditional full fairing sport bike.
I have the standard slotted disc wheels. I was worried about cross wind issued and have found that to be a bit of a problem although I am getting used to it. I'd love to get some dead sexy HogPros or Reactors but they're too pricey for my blood so I hope to pick up some 08D 5-Spokes or even a set of 10-spokes from an R or a D.
I strongly dislike the plastic license plate mount and signal lights. Eventually I'd like a sidemount plate set up and a much classier/cleaner yet still very visible signal light mounting solution.
My better half enjoyed biking so much that after only a few rides she decided to buy a used Suzuki Marauder 800 and get her license. She wants a V-Rod eventually, but apparently its not acceptable to take mine as a hand-me-down so that I can get a new Muscle.
Hopefully this post is useful to someone looking to buy their first V.
Ride Safe!
Having been raised on "standard" style and sport bikes I was set on having mid-controls, all my buddies said I'd end up liking forwards so I figured having the highway pegs would offer the best of both worlds so I chose the D instead of the R. I really like the mids for driving agressively, but other than that I constantly find myself driving on the highway pegs and wishing the shifter and brake were up there.
I'm not a fan of ridiculously loud bikes, but the stock exhaust is really much too quiet, but it seems to sound a little less like the Jetson's spaceship everyday. From what I've read a 2 in 1 offers the best performance, but I don't like the look of them. There are some nice 2-2 systems but I hear most will actually reduce torque. The stock exhaust has a nice unique look and I couldn't stand the stock sound any longer, so I ordered a set of V-Mods which should arrive anyday now.
I originally found the stock seat to be decent, even my girlfriend didn't complain too much about the passenger pillion. But after a few longer rides I've changed my mind, any longer than an hour or two of saddle time becomes a pain in the ... I have a sundowner coming from a forum member.
The Fuel Gauge... huge disappointment, it doesn't seem to have any logic to it. Stay above the full-mark for quite some time, a few miles later its down to 1/4, then its empty light on, then back to 3/4s...sometimes you fill it up and it stays at 1/4 tank etc.. I've found I can average around 185-210 miles on the 5 gallon tank and try to ignore the gauge. Has anyone figured out a solution or even some understanding of this gauge?
The bike is still on the Mobil1 Synthetic 20w50 that the previous owner put in it. I have noticed it seems to burn some oil, its went down about a full quart since I got it. I also find it shifts a little rough from 1st to 2nd. I have Amsoil 20w50 ready to go into it and hope that solves both problems.
I wish it had a 6 speed transmission and/or more spaced out gearing. 1st has too much gear for low speed traffic speed, 5th could use more gear as it turns around 5000 rpm at 75mph. The close ratio gearing sucks for fuel economy, but great when you wanna bang a few gears and put your driver's license on the line.
The engine performance is great, a quick twist of the right hand always makes me smile. I wish it had more downlow torque, but it hangs with the big air-cooled twins at low rpm and when they're running out of gear its just starting get into the HP curve and its lights out. Its plenty fast, maybe not sportbike fast but it doesn't have sportbike aerodynamics either. I haven't pushed it passed 125, but that felt alot faster than 150 does on a traditional full fairing sport bike.
I have the standard slotted disc wheels. I was worried about cross wind issued and have found that to be a bit of a problem although I am getting used to it. I'd love to get some dead sexy HogPros or Reactors but they're too pricey for my blood so I hope to pick up some 08D 5-Spokes or even a set of 10-spokes from an R or a D.
I strongly dislike the plastic license plate mount and signal lights. Eventually I'd like a sidemount plate set up and a much classier/cleaner yet still very visible signal light mounting solution.
My better half enjoyed biking so much that after only a few rides she decided to buy a used Suzuki Marauder 800 and get her license. She wants a V-Rod eventually, but apparently its not acceptable to take mine as a hand-me-down so that I can get a new Muscle.
Hopefully this post is useful to someone looking to buy their first V.
Ride Safe!
