| Author | Message | ||
     Blake |
AR, Yes sir. Thanks! | ||
| Ar15ls1 |
Maybe it is or maybe it is not. Will somebody tell! | ||
| Bads1 |
Ya think it could be Blake(grin)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Blake |
That sure is a wimpy looking front brake.  | ||
| Bads1 |
standard cartridge fork on there to. | ||
| Dynarider |
Looks like your standard run of the mill harley fork & brake caliper setup. Only difference is the weird brake rotor & the Buell styled wheel | ||
| Blake |
Appears to have a bunch of rake too. But man, 149 hp, that might be fun. | ||
| Dynarider |
Cough it up Jose, what the hell is it & where did you get the pics? | ||
| Dynarider |
Posted by the King himself...Elvis..............At 11.31 seconds in the quarter mile, the V-Rod is mediocre. It only beats bikes that you would never consider "fast" bikes. Nothing against the V-Rod, but lets not pretend it's a performance bike ================================================== Well I looked at the chart & aside from your average basic hyper sportbikes, the V-rod pretty much kicks ass & takes names. Its faster than several Ducatis on that list, beats the Honda Superhawk, almost takes out the Suzuki TL1000S. And then look at its 60-80 mph roll on times, the bike dominates a lot of those that beat it by a smidgen in the qtr. I dont know if you have ever gone 11.30 in the qtr but let me tell you that is hauling serious ass with a bike with that much mass. Id be willing to bet that a lot of folks would come closer to getting a similar time on a V-rod then trying to match the times with one of the sportbikes. The rod is point & shoot, no worries about looping. I used to own a cbr 600f2 & raced it quite a bit at Great lakes dragaway. At the time the mags were using 100 lb Jay gleason for their times & he was running some 11.24's corrected on the same bike I owned. The best I was ever able to hit with it was an 11.89 at 114 mph. I never saw a "normal" human come close to the times posted in the mags on any of the sportbikes, but on harleys & V-maxes & similar bikes I would see times that were pretty damn close to the mags. You may think the V-rod is not a performance bike. But I say any bike thats running 11's is. And BTW is the lil bolt a performance bike? I dont see how it could be if the v-rod will kick its ass & you dont consider it one. | ||
| Dynarider |
Also I will be the first to say that I dont defend the V-rod based on its looks because I think they are seriously hideous & wouldnt own a stock one. But there is no denying its a damn fast bike. BTW, I have seen a couple that were customized & I would own one of those. All the ugly silver bodywork was painted, different pipes on em, one had wire rims the other had custom mags, both had your standard Harley stretched headlight too. Made a huge difference in the looks dept. | ||
| Rick_A |
A 120 RWHP Buell is not neccessarily on the ragged edge. Done right it is possible with very close to stock reliabilty. ...and any stock Buell engine that isn't reliable in stock form had something wrong with it to begin with or wasn't maintained properly...cause I know those comments are probably coming | ||
| Elvis |
Dyna, I basically agree with you. My point is that, contrary to some of the posts on this thread, the V-Rod is not a V-Max. If you made a list of top ten best looking bikes, the V-Rod would be on that list. If you made a list of the top ten bikes for acceleration, the (stock)V-Rod would not be on that list. If you made a list of the top ten best handling bikes, the XB9R would be on that list. Both bikes accomplish their goals. The XB9R is designed to be a great handling bike. The V-Rod is designed to be a great looking bike that accelerates reasonably well. No one will ever mistake it for a V-Max (maybe someday? Maybe by then the Firebolt will have a 120 HP engine that is lighter and smaller than the VRSC.) According to this: http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/146_perf_nums/ The XB9R is at 11.84 stock (performance acceleration by your standard). Again, I don't disagree with you, I just wanted to put the discussion in perspective with some real numbers. | ||
| Bads1 |
I look at the V-ROD as muscle cruiser in a class of v-twins that hands down is the champ. | ||
| Dynarider |
Correct Dana. 1 other thing about the V-max, dont forget it also has a V-4 engine that didnt have to be designed around a bike. Yamaha wasnt to concerned about its looks....obviously. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Sure wish someone would put the V-Rod engine in a chassis intended to run the twisties. That would make for an interesting comparo. Not looking for a class bike as none of the Buells to date have been class bikes without some handicap (golf joke). Just a real world bike with more modern engine technology. | ||
| Joebuell |
Guys, guys, guys... isn't that picture of a Blast! front wheel and fork? If that is from a big hp sportbike the front end looks like it will fold over on the first track day. | ||
| Dynarider |
The forks do look similar to the Blasts. Brake is on the opposite side tho, same as on all of the single caliper big twin bikes. | ||
| Elvis |
The 2004 Blast? But that wouldn't explain the caption: "2 into 1 pipe, rear sets, bike weight down to 225kg (496 lbs), motor pumped up to 149 hp......" Does anyone else feel like this will be like when we saw glimpses of what we thought was the next polaris? After a lot of speculation it turned out to be BS. | ||
| José_Quiñones |
Somebody has already done it, they were able to knock 100 pounds off a stock VROD(to weigh 225 kg or 496 pounds), pumped the engine up to 149 hp, added rear sets, a drag bar and got rid of "Gumby's Casket" (the radiator shroud).   It's a drag race bike, it was built in Germany, and gives a good hint at the potential available in the VRSC platform. It's on the Internet, happy hunting...... | ||
| Ray_Maines |
So, the brake's on the wrong side is it?  | ||
| Imonabuss |
Jose et al, The engine alone needs to lose 50 to 80 lbs, not the bike! Don't tell me someone has done that, because they can't. The V-Rod motor weighs 205 lbs, the KTM weighs 125, the Ducati 140, the RC-51 145. If you think milling the fins off is going to remove that kind of weight, man you are smoking something, and it ain't the rear tire! This is a stupid part of the discussion...the V-Rod is not a sportbike engine, and using it to produce a second rate sportbike at a really high price is a really bad choice. It's a first class performance cruiser engine. In fact the best in it's class. End of story. As far as that German atrocity, anyone can build a weird gimmick by putting the equivalent of a Blast fork on a V-Rod. Welcome to the world of Jessie James. That does not equal a Ducati 999. Nor would a V-Rod do it in an XB if it would fit, which it won't. Buell doesn't build geeky poseur bikes. The XB is the ultimate in air-cooled sportbikes, IMHO, and I'm not alone. If Buell decides to play in the higher performance water-cooled world, I hope they get an equally ultimate engine for that. | ||
| Court |
There are precious few "et al's" in the group. Jose' pretty much shot himself in the credibility foot as a solo gig....I confess to wondering if the folks on the VROD boards are comsumed with becoming Buell owners.... Court | ||
| Jrh |
www.burning-out.de/news/2002/06/20020611151122.shtml then click on "click fur ein...blah blah blah | ||
| Dynarider |
Definately disappointed now. Here I thought Jose just might have some cool breaking news about a new bike. Instead we get a 1 off race bike that puts out less hp than the Mules that Harley has running around town.  | ||
| Dynarider |
And Jose, they may have done away with the radiator shroud, but that doesnt mean it works now. Dont really need it on a drag bike that see's action qtr mile at a time anyways. Im sure we all have seen the v-rod program by now that explains the hows & whys of the shroud. | ||
| Aesquire |
Ok, so I get Erik drunk, with a welder & a pile of tubing, and talk him into making a v-rod powered M2. I always loved the Honda v45 motor (when they didn't spit the bottom end into the ground, saw a v65 magna do that with 13 miles on it. Yahoo brought it home from the dealer & did a burnout in front of his house, lol I helped pull the con rods out of the asphalt) but a XB9 with a 1200 kit might be just right. | ||
| Aesquire |
Um... no intention to disparage Mr. Buell. Do you think I could get him to sign my gas tank if I make a Brag ride & he's there? | ||
| Aesquire |
As to the original question here, I want a standard. I bought an M2 (still on break in...argghh snow!) and love doing 55mph/2500rpm down back roads. Note the roads have curves & I don't slow down for them. I haven't explored the upper powerband yet, but am looking forward to it. So.. v-rod with better handling & mid controls, or XB9 with mid controls and more power? I vote Buell, 'Cause the road at the end of the straight is curved. | ||
| Nevco1 |
Buell owners...Harley owners...Who gives a damn. When my X1 finally wears out, if there isn't a replacement of decent size, technology and horsepower, I am off to import bike land again. | ||
| Imonabuss |
Nevco, I assume with technology, you mean motor, 'cause the Firebolt has the highest chassis technology out there. If size means a physically big motorcycle, I don't think that's in the cards with Buell. I have read lots of articles where Erik talks about making bikes that feel like part of your body, so I think the compact size is likely to stay. I am 5'11" and the Firebolt feels great, with tons of room for my knees. My friend who is 6'4" has no problem with knee clearance, but would like the Lightning pegs. He tried a GSXR-750 and said he was completely unable to fit. So, there isn't a problem with tall riders fitting...the bike was built for Americans. However, if the issue is a mental one..."the bike looks small", that would be a different situation. Typically "big" bikes don't make for great backroad handling, they need to be small. But if the real world for you just means general all-around reasonable handling and a modern engine in a big chassis, have you thought about a V-Rod with slightly higher suspension? |
