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"Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire" (arch-duke-maxyenko) 01/08/2014 at 16:36 • Filed to: None

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EL_ULY > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 16:37

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ze V-Rod, mmmm :]

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 16:40

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The one bike that caused Harley purists to scratch their heads and rage.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 01/08/2014 at 16:42

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Harley should have made the bike a proper sports bike and left the Porsche name on the motor.

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 16:43

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That was Buell. Look what happened with them.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 01/08/2014 at 16:47

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Splitting off and making high dollar sport bikes, with a good racing program?

Stef Schrader > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 16:50

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{ hides }

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 17:02

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And being defunct as a brand.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 01/08/2014 at 17:03

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http://www.erikbuellracing.com/

Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 17:08

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Do they still sell bikes for the mainstream market? Like the Blast, 1125, etc..?

Edit: $18,995 for EBR1190RX

.... Buell, please stop. You're not BMW.

mrazekan > Satoshi "Zipang" Katsura 01/08/2014 at 18:01

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The V-Rod engine was initially a Buell Project. It was going to be the engine in the 1125. Harley liked it, made it bigger that what was needed, and pushed Buell to Rotax.

My point is Buell is not entirely to blame for their demise.

BoxerFanatic, troublesome iconoclast. > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 01/08/2014 at 21:45

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Agreed with the comments about Buell, as it was not well appreciated by H-D, and put out to pasture due to H-D management, more than anything Erik Buell himself did with the sub-brand.

I am glad he is on his own now, but expensive boutique bikes are like expensive super cars. Toys for people FAR above the average income range, and less relevant to regular joes who want a motorcycle to ride.

Plus at that time H-D had bought stake in a european group of motorcycle brands, and has since re-sold them, too, as well as putting Buell out.

With bikes like Yamaha V-Max, and Ducati Diavel, and Moto Guzzi Griso, there was, and is a way that V-Rod could have been cool, but not in a harley traditional way.

Something with a much steeper fork rake, more aggressive suspension geometry, less old-school chrome appearance, and standard ergos with feet under hips, rather than forward.

They made the V-Rod too "Harley" otherwise for anyone who would appreciate the modern engine, and the people who like "Harley" already have Sportster and other models with the old potato narrow-angle pushrod V-twins, and V-rod was not much more than an oddity to them.

Buell suffered similarly. Advanced chassis tech, and innovative thinking, saddled by said narrow-angle pushrod lumpy engine that made most sport bike riders mark them off the list, and go with a Ducati Monster or something else instead.

With the custom scene, I wonder why there aren't more power-cruisers or big-size cafe racer style bikes aren't built around the V-Rod engine.

It would be the modern go-to for something like that... the way older Yamaha Virago XVs are being turned from cruiser-style bikes into cafe-style bikes.