Saturday, January 24, 2015
2009 Harley Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Special – Motorbike Bicycle
Since then, I’ve put about 6,000 miles on the old Suzuki, made a few minor changes to the bike (tires, fork preload, seat, etc.) and generally had a wonderful time. VRSCDX is the official designation, but the bike is known as the “Night Rod Special” (NRS), a version of
Harley’s V-ROD family.
Basically, the theme is long, low, black and mean. The bike is nearly 8′ long, but is very low to the ground. The long and low theme carries through to the bike’s ergonomics as well. The riding position of the stock bike looks cool, looks uncomfortable, and actually is pretty decent at sane speeds. Okay, comfort and riding position are very personal things, and with a Harley-Davidson are easily modified. An engine that has tons of low-end torque and little high-RPM power can easily be built-up, but will never become a high-RPM powerhouse. Likewise a high-RPM screamer can’t easily be changed into a low-RPM freight train.
On the suspension front, the NRS is basic Harley-Davidson, not unlike a Dyna Glide model. The forks are fine, though I went to a thicker fork oil to stiffen the ride a bit. The front is rather conventional, but the rear mounts a massive 240mm radial that, combined with the steeply raked fork, makes the bike a handful at low speed. The front brakes also have abundant power and the Dunlop radial sticks well. Harley-Davidson designed this engine just over a decade ago with considerable help from Porsche. The 1200cc Sportsters felt much faster than the 96 inch Dynas, but the bikes themselves felt a bit small for touring. The V-ROD engine, in contrast, has abundant low-end torque much like the 1200 Sportster (not quite up to the big twin), but where the air cooled bikes are giving up at around 5,000 RPM, the water-cooled Revolution engine is just waking up. For relaxed cruising, just ride it like any other Harley and enjoy smooth torque and effortless cruising. I was in third gear, and then bike was smooth and comfortable. A quick upshift to fourth, and then to fifth reduced engine speed dramatically, radically changed both the sound and feel of the engine, but at ANY engine speed there was no tingling in the bars, seat or pegs. This engine is both counterbalanced and rubber-mounted, resulting in exceptional smoothness at any engine speed or load.
The liquid-cooled V-ROD engine has perhaps one fault, and that is fuel economy. Now combine an aftermarket exhaust with intake work and fuel system mapping and you can make some serious power. Personally, I like a bike to be fairly quiet at low RPM and to sing at high RPM, and the NRS is fairly close from the factory in that regard, only needing a bit more rumble at low RPM to be perfect. The look, feel, ride, handling and power characteristics of the Night Rod Special impress me greatly, and combined are what make this bike “the one” for me.
I’ve put 1300 miles on the bike and made a modifications. The mufflers were purchased used, and match the appearance of the bike very well. They are all black, smaller than stock, and look terrific. Finally, I installed Harley’s compact mid-sport windshield which fits around the cool speed screen and blends nicely with the lines of the bike. I had Harley’s VRSC sport saddlebags installed at devliery. Harley-Davidson’s accessories aren’t cheap, and there are few aftermarket options for this bike
When I bought this bike, the salesman asked me what kind of riding I enjoy while my eyes were locked on this black beauty. The V-ROD is most definitely made for touring, FAST touring. The bike is supremely comfortable, fast, handles well and is about the most stable riding two-wheeler I’ve ever ridden.
General information | |
| Model: | Harley-Davidson VRSCDX Night Rod Special |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Category: | Custom / cruiser |
| Rating: | 78.5 out of 100. Show full rating and compare with other bikes |
Engine and transmission | |
| Displacement: | 1250.00 ccm (76.28 cubic inches) |
| Engine type: | V2, four-stroke |
| Torque: | 111.00 Nm (11.3 kgf-m or 81.9 ft.lbs) @ 7200 RPM |
| Bore x stroke: | 105.0 x 72.0 mm (4.1 x 2.8 inches) |
| Fuel system: | Injection |
| Cooling system: | Liquid |
| Gearbox: | 5-speed |
| Transmission type, final drive: | Belt |
| Clutch: | 9-plate, wet, A and S (Assist and Slip) |
| Exhaust system: | Brushed, straight-shot exhaust with dual mufflers, |
Chassis, suspension, brakes and wheels | |
| Frame type: | Steel perimeter upper frame with hydroformed main rails |
| Rake (fork angle): | 34.0° |
| Trail: | 115 mm (4.5 inches) |
| Front suspension: | Wide, 49mm custom fork |
| Front suspensiontravel: | 102 mm (4.0 inches) |
| Rear suspension: | Preload adjustable |
| Rear suspension travel: | 102 mm (4.0 inches) |
| Front tyre dimensions: | 120/70-ZR19 |
| Rear tyre dimensions: | 240/40-R18 |
| Front brakes: | Double disc. Bremo, 4-piston calipers, ABS |
| Front brakes diameter: | 300 mm (11.8 inches) |
| Rear brakes: | Single disc. Bremo, 4-piston calipers, ABS |
| Rear brakes diameter: | 300 mm (11.8 inches) |
Physical measures and capacities | |
| Dry weight: | 292.0 kg (643.7 pounds) |
| Seat height: | 640 mm (25.2 inches) If adjustable, lowest setting. |
| Overall length: | 2,460 mm (96.9 inches) |
| Ground clearance: | 107 mm (4.2 inches) |
| Fuel capacity: | 18.90 litres (4.99 gallons) |
Other specifications | |
| Color options: | Black Denim with Vivid Black Racing Stripe, Vivid Black with Pewter Pearl Racing Stripe; Vivid Black with Mirage Orange Pearl Racing Stripe |
| Comments: | Black powder-coated engine with black treatment covers; Sport front fender with painted brace supports; Low-profile rear fender; Colour-matched headlamp nacelle; Slipper clutch; Lighter clutch lever operation; Forward-mounted rider footpegs; Standard passenger footpegs; Stainless steel, low-rise handlebar; Two-piece, two-up textured vinyl seat; |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment