Thinking Of Buying Harley....

[SpaceKadet]

Very interesting post and i also think the V-max can be compared to the night rod ..although i don't know how the nightrod rides but i sure know about the older V-max which i used to have (in US specs). I recall the nightrod i have seen & heard ...and it had a great sound too. More torque , power, and better looks along with being a "muscle" bike is what the nightrod makes it my favorite. I must say the water cooler on the nightrod should be considered an asset , specially in thailand's warm climate.

happy trails,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

Must be quite a change going from 145bhp V-MAX to 18bhp Tiger, right Mbox?

Joke aside, if you can pop a wheele on that Tiger Boxer I'll get one for myself for the boonie town roads here...

[Tigersachsclub]

Very interesting post and i also think the V-max can be compared to the night rod ..although i don't know how the nightrod rides but i sure know about the older V-max which i used to have (in US specs). I recall the nightrod i have seen & heard ...and it had a great sound too. More torque , power, and better looks along with being a "muscle" bike is what the nightrod makes it my favorite. I must say the water cooler on the nightrod should be considered an asset , specially in thailand's warm climate.

happy trails,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

Must be quite a change going from 145bhp V-MAX to 18bhp Tiger, right Mbox?

Joke aside, if you can pop a wheele on that Tiger Boxer I'll get one for myself for the boonie town roads here...

In terms of power and torque it is a big difference....but for tight curved roads in questionable conditon and in town you be better off with the tiger boxer- also touring is actually possible ...thats where the vmax fueltank really sucks , too small. The Vmax was a good fun to blast wide curves but i wouldn't want to do a 1000 km /day to umphang with it ....but i could do it on the Boxer . The Vmax had not so good handling in curves really. Wouldn't mind to take a spin on the new Vmax

Btw. i recently sold my Boxer 250 and await my XV750 return from "renovation" plus i will get myself the x-road 250 once available. I often change bikes no faults on the Boxer at all ,the Boxer 250RS was a great bike and had some outstanding rides on it too. I am just wh_oring around on different bikes

happy trails,

Tiger/Sachs Club - Mbox

[Bard]

I am impressed with the silly people commenting that they think Harley sucks in a post asking specifically about advice between 2 HD models. I am very sure Crobiker has plenty of biking experience with sport bikes and what have we.

If he want to add an HD to his arsenal, that is up to him and the HD negatrons can post in another post.

Here is my 2 cents about the 2 bikes you asked about. The street glide is very versatile and a very good tourer, my personal preference for a HD tourer is Road King, it has all you need for a lower price. You get Brembo ABS brakes, throttle by wire, you can shut in rear cylinder when you go slow in traffic or standing in one of Thailand's 15 minute wait redlights, to avoid heating yourself up with engine heat. Anyway the Street Glide is almost same model with same frame, same basis, but different styling.

The Nightrod is probably the bike you enjoy the most if you want big burnouts etc.

My preference would definitely be a Road King, I do/did have a HD for sale but I still like it too much to sell it.

Cheers Bard

[barrybike]

"....v rods engine were designed by porsche,watercooled...."

I have to disagree with your statement there Barry. The V-ROD engine was originally designed by HD factory for the Harley-Davidson VR1000 Superbike. The VR1000 came out in 1994 and was racing with mixed success, more due to internal Harley politics rather than technical capabilities of the bike. VR1000 came in a striking paint scheme, the right side of the bike being red, and the left black. The Harley Superbike racing program was put to rest in 2001 and the remaining VR1000 bikes are a real collectors item now. What Porsche did was to help Harley to develop a manufacturing process for what was originally hand build racing engine. There was a documentary made about the birth of the V-ROD motorcycle couple of years ago, I think by Discovery Channel.

There isn't much to say about the Street Glide. It's a typical H-D bagger, big, heavy and underpowered, although quite comfortable on long slow rides. Harley redesigned the frame and put on real (as in Brembo with ABS option) brakes for the 2009 models so it's now quite comfortable on faster rides too, but still underpowered. I'm not a bagger person, no matter what manufacturer, so the only bagger that would grace my garage is the CVO 110CID version, and that just ridiculously priced...

Now to the Night Rod Special.... That is a different kind of animal altogether... It's Big, it's Black, it's Bad, it's Intimidating. It clearly shows its drag racing pedigree with the fat rear tire and long wheelbase. It is one of the longest bikes on the market so don't expect a nimbleness and corner flicking ability of a sports bike. But it's very stable and comfortable bike on fast long runs. The V-RODs are very popular on the drag strips around the world. A stock V-ROD in capable hands will consistently do 11 seconds on a quarter mile, and I have seen times in the mid 10's. To give you a comparison, a stock old style VMAX will do about the same.

If you are used to sports bikes and want a power cruiser from Harley, Night Rod or its brother Muscle is the one to go for. The engine characteristics of the V-ROD are quite similar to other sport bikes. The power builds up slowly from low rpm and then explodes around 6K rpm with socket pulling force. The engine redlines at 9K rpm, again similar to the old VMAX. The factory rates the engine at 125bhp at the crank, quite low but the figure doesn't tell the whole story, the engine is quite nice. If you want more power, put a turbo charger and with standard pressure get 170+ rear wheel HP! Then you can pop wheeles in 3rd gear doing 140kph. Not bad for a Harley "tractor". Search youtube for V-ROD, you'll be surprised what you find. Oh, and the brakes are best of all the current Harley models.

And I disagree with people that say it doesn't sound like a Harley. It doesn't sound like anything else, it is a Harley, therefore it sounds like a Harley. With a good aftermarket pipes, this oversquare big displacement V twin will give out a growl that will make your hair stand out in the back!

And despite being a Harley whore all my life, I will agree with you on one thing. If somebody drops the new VMAX on me, I'll take it. And I'll ride it like I stole it!

On a more personal note: It is against my religion to allow my wife to influence the choice of my ride...

read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harley-Davidson

The Revolution engine is based on the VR-1000 Superbike race program, developed by Harley-Davidson's Powertrain Engineering team and Porsche Engineering in Stuttgart, Germany

Edited April 26, 2010 by barrybike

[JohnLeech]

I did not see he was asking about that, did i miss something, then i am sorry i did answer about the 2 bikes. …. oohhh the night rod is not a HD,,, is watercooooooled, come on, get a real harley.... kidding but i like the "old" type HD, they also sound better.John,,, grow up, or better down, some people really like to ride you know...

I am impressed with the silly people commenting that they think Harley sucks in a post asking specifically about advice between 2 HD models. ….. my personal preference for a HD tourer is Road King, it has all you need for a lower price.

Thank you both for illustrating my point far more eloquently than I could have done myself, by criticizing those who offer other views or comment on other bikes and then going on to do exactly that yourselves. As I thought I made clear, I have no problems with Harleys, was a Harley owner and was an active member of a London HOG (fortunately one whose members did not match the usual Harley image). While Harleys are undoubtedly far better than they were at that time they are nevertheless designed to appeal to a certain type of rider and are primarily either cruisers or heavweight tourers, and their appeal purely as a bike to someone who is "100% in heart and soul sport/sport touring bike rider" is likely to be limited as they simply do not produce anything that can compete with "rice burners" as sport/sport touring bikes go.

I am sure CroBiker already knew that Harleys come with a lot of additional, "non-optional" baggage, possibly more so in Thailand than elsewhere - if he didn't, then I am sure he does now!

[SpaceKadet]

OK Barry, so which one is it?

....v rods engine were designed by porsche,watercooled...

or

...developed by Harley-Davidson's Powertrain Engineering team and Porsche Engineering...

If you said that in your original post, I wouldn't have commented.

OK, let's not bicker about it. I ride an American lowtech engine myself, as evident from my avatar. And like any slightly modified TC engine, I'll smoke any stock V-ROD in a stop light to stop light race, but give it a bit of road and it's just dust in my face... The fact is that the Revo engine is excellent and the one to survive in the long run. Large displacement air cooled engines will be impossible to get through the ever tightening emission laws in not to distant future.

I had to dig out that documentary. It's called "Harley-Davidson - The birth of the V-ROD" made by Discovery Channel. Everybody who is anybody in Harley, including Willie G, are talking about the design process of the bike, and the cooperation with Porsche. You can even see the original VR1000 engine in the V-ROD frame...

Now back on topic...

[vision]

...While Harleys are undoubtedly far better than they were at that time they are nevertheless designed to appeal to a certain type of rider and are primarily either cruisers or heavweight tourers, and their appeal purely as a bike to someone who is "100% in heart and soul sport/sport touring bike rider" is likely to be limited as they simply do not produce anything that can compete with "rice burners" as sport/sport touring bikes go...

Agreed 100% when applied to a guy who is: "100% in heart and soul sport/sport touring bike rider"

I just don't think anyone is 100% anything.

Were I on an unlimited budget I would have:

Full suspension motocross bike

A cross country off road touring bike

A Goldwing type long distance touring bike

A top shelp Sport bike

A mini automatic 7-11 run bike

A bar hopper custom rigid

and a longer range custom softail

I think most riders can appreciate more then one type of bike because they can enjoy more then one style of riding.

If the OP really couldn't enjoy anything other then bombastic, high speed rides then I doubt he would have opened the subject in the first place.

Edited April 27, 2010 by vision

[CroBiker]

"....v rods engine were designed by porsche,watercooled...."

I have to disagree with your statement there Barry. The V-ROD engine was originally designed by HD factory for the Harley-Davidson VR1000 Superbike. The VR1000 came out in 1994 and was racing with mixed success, more due to internal Harley politics rather than technical capabilities of the bike. VR1000 came in a striking paint scheme, the right side of the bike being red, and the left black. The Harley Superbike racing program was put to rest in 2001 and the remaining VR1000 bikes are a real collectors item now. What Porsche did was to help Harley to develop a manufacturing process for what was originally hand build racing engine. There was a documentary made about the birth of the V-ROD motorcycle couple of years ago, I think by Discovery Channel.

There isn't much to say about the Street Glide. It's a typical H-D bagger, big, heavy and underpowered, although quite comfortable on long slow rides. Harley redesigned the frame and put on real (as in Brembo with ABS option) brakes for the 2009 models so it's now quite comfortable on faster rides too, but still underpowered. I'm not a bagger person, no matter what manufacturer, so the only bagger that would grace my garage is the CVO 110CID version, and that just ridiculously priced...

Now to the Night Rod Special.... That is a different kind of animal altogether... It's Big, it's Black, it's Bad, it's Intimidating. It clearly shows its drag racing pedigree with the fat rear tire and long wheelbase. It is one of the longest bikes on the market so don't expect a nimbleness and corner flicking ability of a sports bike. But it's very stable and comfortable bike on fast long runs. The V-RODs are very popular on the drag strips around the world. A stock V-ROD in capable hands will consistently do 11 seconds on a quarter mile, and I have seen times in the mid 10's. To give you a comparison, a stock old style VMAX will do about the same.

If you are used to sports bikes and want a power cruiser from Harley, Night Rod or its brother Muscle is the one to go for. The engine characteristics of the V-ROD are quite similar to other sport bikes. The power builds up slowly from low rpm and then explodes around 6K rpm with socket pulling force. The engine redlines at 9K rpm, again similar to the old VMAX. The factory rates the engine at 125bhp at the crank, quite low but the figure doesn't tell the whole story, the engine is quite nice. If you want more power, put a turbo charger and with standard pressure get 170+ rear wheel HP! Then you can pop wheeles in 3rd gear doing 140kph. Not bad for a Harley "tractor". Search youtube for V-ROD, you'll be surprised what you find. Oh, and the brakes are best of all the current Harley models.

And I disagree with people that say it doesn't sound like a Harley. It doesn't sound like anything else, it is a Harley, therefore it sounds like a Harley. With a good aftermarket pipes, this oversquare big displacement V twin will give out a growl that will make your hair stand out in the back!

And despite being a Harley whore all my life, I will agree with you on one thing. If somebody drops the new VMAX on me, I'll take it. And I'll ride it like I stole it!

On a more personal note: It is against my religion to allow my wife to influence the choice of my ride...

Great post SpaceKadet, thanks!

For a moment looking at that pic thought it was Ducati or something with harley sticker lol , nice looking bike.

And yes, in my household females don't influence decisions on what bike to buy. It's just that she saw on numerous occasions this Street Glide parked in front Hard Rock Cafe Phuket that belongs to farang GM, it does look impressive.

[CroBiker]

...While Harleys are undoubtedly far better than they were at that time they are nevertheless designed to appeal to a certain type of rider and are primarily either cruisers or heavweight tourers, and their appeal purely as a bike to someone who is "100% in heart and soul sport/sport touring bike rider" is likely to be limited as they simply do not produce anything that can compete with "rice burners" as sport/sport touring bikes go...

Agreed 100% when applied to a guy who is: "100% in heart and soul sport/sport touring bike rider"

I just don't think anyone is 100% anything.

Were I on an unlimited budget I would have:

Full suspension motocross bike

A cross country off road touring bike

A Goldwing type long distance touring bike

A top shelp Sport bike

A mini automatic 7-11 run bike

A bar hopper custom rigid

and a longer range custom softail

I think most riders can appreciate more then one type of bike because they can enjoy more then one style of riding.

If the OP really couldn't enjoy anything other then bombastic, high speed rides then I doubt he would have opened the subject in the first place.

Well spoken too. If I had unlimited budget, probably would have half a dozen bikes by now, all for different purposes. At one time, I had 3 sport bikes and 7-11 fino, now left with ZZR 1400 and fino . Instead of owning so many sport bikes at once I should have bought one cruiser. Live and learn....

[guzzi850m2]

I have a 2002 Road King, which is a very good touring bike (2 up). My family have recently been extended by the birth of our son. This means the my wife will never go with me again, so I am trying to sell it and will properly buy either a Sportster 1200 or a Dyna. I find the Road King too big for Pattaya and will only go touring with HOG 2-3 times a year.

[Travelmate]

I must say, I also have been thinking of buying a Harley. Been thinking for a long time.

Trying to find a basket case of a Harley. Anybody know of one?

[saorsa]

I was on a run a while back with couple of thai guys on night rod specials, one of them had rear sets and he was regularly having to stick his feet out for some relief as even at about 5'7", they cramped his legs up too much. There were also a few guys on glides riding along chilled out with the stereos blasting out really naff thai music. Both bikes are very different, but good at what they do, so it really means you need to decide what type of riding you are buying it for...

I admit I havent ridden either of the bikes you mentioned, I have a 09 night train which I bought from Harley shop at BKK last year and I love it.

I would also add that the service you get post sale from the HD dealers is top notch. All the staff are very friendly and if you have an urgent need for service or something fixed, they will normally get you seen same day or next day.

[BSJ]

V-rod - Night Rod Special everytime I see one I think of sh1t on a stick! Get a real Harley or be like the rest of us and ride a Euro or Jap bike.

[SpaceKadet]

V-rod - Night Rod Special everytime I see one I think of sh1t on a stick! Get a real Harley or be like the rest of us and ride a Euro or Jap bike.

And what do you regard as "real Harley", BSJ? A 1947 Knucklehead in a hardtail frame?

[SpaceKadet]

Here is a nice picture of a V-ROD Muscle, all bagged up and ready for touring... there's even a space for missuss...

Edited April 27, 2010 by SpaceKadet

[moo9]

V-rod - Night Rod Special everytime I see one I think of sh1t on a stick! Get a real Harley or be like the rest of us and ride a Euro or Jap bike.

What a crap you are writing?!

The VRod is a "real" Harley and can not compared with Japanese Plastic Bikes.

And by the way, who is the "rest of us"? As much as I like Harleys (I have my 3rd one now), I do not like the attitude of a few HD riders. Come down to earth.

;-)

You might also call a Sportster a Girlie Bike, right?!

Edited May 5, 2010 by moo9

[beammeup]

Just checked the Bangkok HD prices re: N American prices - OUCH !! Somebody is making a good profit.

Yah the government

[bprinceuk]

HD photographs taken this afternon in Marseille France

[BSJ]

V-rod - Night Rod Special everytime I see one I think of sh1t on a stick! Get a real Harley or be like the rest of us and ride a Euro or Jap bike.

And what do you regard as "real Harley", BSJ? A 1947 Knucklehead in a hardtail frame?

Big Harleys or smaller Harleys designed in America. Nothing designed in Europe has much Harley flavour about it! Remember when HD bough in Aeromacchi shit from Italy way back when. Clap trap rubbish. Have you ever seen a 'Topper' or an M65? I rest my case.

[SpaceKadet]

V-rod - Night Rod Special everytime I see one I think of sh1t on a stick! Get a real Harley or be like the rest of us and ride a Euro or Jap bike.

And what do you regard as "real Harley", BSJ? A 1947 Knucklehead in a hardtail frame?

Big Harleys or smaller Harleys designed in America. Nothing designed in Europe has much Harley flavour about it! Remember when HD bough in Aeromacchi shit from Italy way back when. Clap trap rubbish. Have you ever seen a 'Topper' or an M65? I rest my case.

Since you don't even ride a Harley, you wouldn't know and so can't comment BSJ.... I rest MY case!

[HappyDavid]

To answer the original question;

Night Rod is a slick looking machine, I'm sure whatever you choose will be fun.

My two cents; I like Dyna's. Not the biggest or fastest, but a real nice bike. If you need more power, there are great mods to charge 'em up. In the USA, cruising at 100mph is good enough. In Thailand, I like a bit slower pace.

I started out with '76 Sportster when I was 16, loved HD's ever since. Good luck.

[Sakeopete]

I know this is an old thread but I think the V-Rod is the best looking Harley

[Timthai]

Since we are regurgitating an old thread, I'd be interested to know what CroBiker ended up going for, and what his experience has been?

I was in excactly the same position. Grew up on sport bikes but had a photo of the Night Rod Special on my desktop for ages, but have absolutely no knowledge on HD, and had no idea if I'd enjoy a cruiser...

Couple of weeks ago, I ended up getting a new Vulcan Classic SE... I fugured the price was more attractive as an entry point to test out owning a cruiser, and I can always upgrade later. Less power (which I figure is a good thing at this stage), and 30kg lighter than the Night Rod. Surprisingly, the specs for the two suggest that the Vulcan is 25mm longer than the Night Rod.

My experience... I was surprised how comfortable the Vulcan is to ride, even in the Bangkok traffic. I figured I'd ride the Ninja Monday to Friday and the Vulcan weekends, but when I grab the keys in the morning, I find myself going for the Vulcan. The long rake on the forks and the turning angle on the steering make it surprisingly mareuverable around the traffic lanes, and it's only a few cm wider than the Ninja. All in all, I'm hooked so far. I will take it for a decent run up north this weekend, and I'm sure that will cement the deal.

I haven't deleted the photo of the Night Rod, but I think I will enjoy the Vulcan for a bit, till my wallet get's itchy again! (but also still happy to hang on to the Ninja for now... though that could change with a Night Rod?)

[ajahnlau]

I don't consider a Night Rod a cruiser. Something in the Softail family would be more like the Vulcan.

[Shocktreatment]

If you are going to be touring around Thailand with a women on the back go with the street glide, if just the od long rides go with the V rod.

If you have been into speed and sports bikes you are going to find the street glide gutless and handles like a battle ship.

[mic6ard]

Personally I love the look of the Night Rod, but then I think about how it feels to ride across the country. It has too much forward angle on the rider for my liking. But then again, I believe the OP stated that he likes the sport/cruiser type so I doubt that it will be much of a problem for him.

[guzzi850m2]

If you are going to be touring around Thailand with a women on the back go with the street glide, if just the od long rides go with the V rod.

If you have been into speed and sports bikes you are going to find the street glide gutless and handles like a battle ship.

On my Road King we have a detachable back rest for the missus and she loves it, so we just snap that on together with the screen and we are ready to go.

The V-rod seems to be popular with Thais for unknown reasons I never tried one myself but would love to.

A customer at one shop here i Pattaya bought a V-rod and had it for about a week, then he came back and said he want a V-twin for good sound, so a deal was done.

[Shocktreatment]

It also seems the V rods dont hold their value as well as the air cooled HDs. My next HD will be a ultra or a street glide. As the wife wants to come with me more and likes to pack a shit load of gear.

[Kf6vci]

Where would you want to ride? Have you ridden a 375 kg bike before on some winding road with uneven surface?

Now and then a BMW R 1200 C is for sale for < 600 k and have you checked out the Ducatis? After a few hundred miles on a Monster, my bum would ache. But they have fantastic frames and a glorious mid range & sound. When it comes to bikes, I'm polygamous and even love the strokers like RD 350 YPVS or the TZR 250 or a 400 cc four. Personally, I might opt for 2 bikes versus 1 costing more than a million.

[seedy]

For a lover of sport bikes, the closest HD would be the Dyna Super Glide Sport - FXDX - sadly no longer made.

Came with adjustable fork and shocks.

Any Dyna model - except the Low Rider model which have limited suspension travel to allow them to be closer to the ground - can be made to handle well. That is Harley well, not sport-bike well. Add saddlebags and a luggage rack and touring is effortless.

But it is really trying to compare apples and oranges - there are motorcycles, and there are Harleys.