Posted February 11, 2005   Email this page

Photos by Brian J. Nelson

2006 VRSCR Street Rod

A hot Harley for the next generation

by Bill Andrews

In 2001, Harley-Davidson shocked the air-cooled-loving world with the introduction of the V-Rod—the Motor Company's first liquid-cooled motorcycle. As momentous as that was, for Harley it was simply the first step to get the riding public ready for the 2006 VRSCR Street Rod, a very un-Harley-like Harley.

At first glance it may be difficult to see the numerous changes that have been implemented to create the Street Rod from the starting point of the V-Rod. But look a little closer. These subtle differences have come together to create a completely new riding experience.

We'll get to the riding in a minute, but first take a look at the visuals. The flatter and lower handlebars are adorned with the smaller-diameter Sportster handgrips. The V-Rod's instrument cluster/pod, styled like a prop from an old Mars Invades the Earth sci-fi movie, has been shortened and redesigned. The only downfall is the new angle makes it difficult to see, especially with the more aggressive riding position.

The black, barrel-lock ignition switch has been moved from the below-the-seat, lose-the-keys-in-the-exhaust position on the V-Rod, to a more user-friendly location on the top of the right front downtube. It looks like the tank-mounted switches on the air-cooled Harleys, about the only family resemblance you'll find on the Street Rod.

Then there are the parts that affect performance, as well as appearance.

The pegs and foot controls have been moved to a more standard mid-mount position. This change alone provides better cornering clearance over the V-Rod which, with its forward controls, used your heel as the warning that you were about to drag hard parts.

To get even better cornering clearance, the entire bike has been raised a little more than an inch. The seat has also been raised and is now 31 inches high, which puts it in the sportbike and standard neighborhood, instead of the cruiser world's dimensions.

Maybe the most noticeable performance upgrade from the V-Rod is the new inverted fork, held together by a set of gorgeous “aero-cut” triple clamps. As different as the Street Rod may be for Harley, some things—such as beautiful styling— never change.

Those inverted forks are raked 32 degrees, compared to the V-Rod's 38 degrees. Despite that change, trail actually increases from the V-Rod's 3.9 inches to 4.3 inches on the Street Rod, but only because the bike sits higher.

New Brembo four-piston calipers grab larger, dual 300mm rotors, which are attached to cast aluminum wheels with 10 staggered spokes.

With the gas tank still located under the seat, the new seat height allowed room for a five-gallon fuel tank, 1.3 gallons bigger than the V-Rod's.

The engine remains untouched except for the new freer flowing, dual straight-shot exhaust pipes, which freed up five ponies, according to company spokesmen, meaning a jump from 115 hp to 120 hp.

The company bills the Street Rod as a “Hot Rod Roadster.” Yep, it sure is.

Once I got on the bike and pointed it down a twisting mountain road, I immediately found out how different two bikes can feel even if they have identical engines and similar looks. The Street Rod successfully fills in all the performance and handling gaps that hamper the V-Rod.

The seating position is slightly forward with your legs tucked underneath. The right peg is extremely close to the exhaust so the company put a heel stop on the pipe. With your foot in an aggressive riding posture, meaning just the ball of your foot on the peg, the heel rests on the stop. On the downside, though, if you wish to hook a heel on the peg, you risk leaving a mark on the pipe.

The riding style is designed to allow you to attack curves with full abandon. I lean into a turn and am impressed when nothing touches. The Motor Company claims the Street Rod has a 40-degree lean angle before soft contact, and after inspecting the tires, I’m pretty sure I used just about all the rubber there is.

Push harder in the turn and the feel remains solid, unchanged and neutral. The Street Rod is well connected to the road and there are no surprises. When you dive into a turn, the bike follows commands without complaint.

The Street Rod does feel a tad heavy, but that’s actually a compliment considering its 650 pounds claimed running weight. At that weight, it should feel a lot heavier than it does.

Despite the weight, the VR engine launches you out of a turn and propels you with the grunt that is the new performance standard from the Motor Company. Power builds steadily all the way up to the 9,000 rpm redline where the peak hangs out. Don’t be surprised if you bang off the rev limiter up there as you keep expecting even more.

There's only one way to experience more power in a bike straight from the Harley factory. If you’ve ridden the CVO V-Rod, with its 1,250cc of power, the five-horse increase on the Street Rod won’t be that impressive of a leap, even as good as it is. (Can anybody claim to have too many horses?) But given Harley's history of producing Screamin' Eagle performance upgrades for all its models, hope remains eternal that the factory will eventually release a killer performance kit every Rod owner will have to have.

When it comes time to stop all that momentum, you'll be happy to have the new Brembo brakes. The Street Rod brings the joys of two-finger stops to the Harley world. Feel and feedback remain good, and fade is a non-issue, even after repeated braking.

To sum up the Street Rod in a word, it’d be “aggressive.” It’s a bike designed to be ridden hard and look grand doing it. The handling and performance are so un-Harley-like, one has to look way back to the 1950s to find a time when H-D actually did battle with the rest of the world in that arena.

No, the Street Rod isn’t attempting to compete in the incredibly competitive racer-replica sportbike world. Instead, the company is trying to draw new and younger buyers into the Harley fold by carving out a new niche that balances higher performance with the attention to styling the Motor Company is already well known for.

© 2005, American Motorcyclist Association