Click to read: Harley Davidson VRSCF V-Rod Muscle owners reviews, Harley Davidson VRSCF V-Rod Muscle specs and to see the the Harley Davidson VRSCF V-Rod Muscle image gallery.
Peter-Michael Keppler, Harley-Davidson’s affable Fireblade-riding head of product planning, describes the Eureka moment behind the new V-Rod Muscle succinctly enough. "Whose idea was it? Mine," he says, smiling the smile of a man who’s persuaded his employers to build what is essentially his dream cruiser.
Over recent years Keppler’s been busy sustaining the revolutionary spirit that saw the creation eight years ago of the original V-Rod, working to build Harley Davidsons that younger, sportier riders aspire to own. Bikes like the Muscle and the moody, all-black Night Rod Special.
"My big things are appealing to younger consumers and introducing European influences," explains Keppler. "The Night Rod Special's been a huge success for us but its shapes are quite feminine; it's slim with flowing lines. I wanted to do a fat power cruiser; a bike with beefier, chunkier shapes. Our lead designer and I both like fighter jets and the F-22 Raptor, with its angular surfaces, was an inspiration."
Ultimately the new V-Rod Muscle is a styling exercise, a new frock on old (albeit mildly evolved) bones but when the result’s as striking as the Muscle any scepticism is short-lived. Where the V Rod and Night Rod Special are slim and pebble-smooth shapes, the new Muscle is a broad-shouldered and very masculine riposte to the equally brutish Suzuki M1800R and Yamaha V-Max. And Keppler’s creative drive, not to mention his ability to keep the moneymen on-side, has resulted in some pretty trick touches, from the rear lights (a slim, gently curving strip of LEDs under the rear mudguard) through the satin-finish, side-cut exhausts to the front indicators, strips of clear LEDs embedded in the mirror stems.
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H-D V-Rod 2
Other unique parts include the upside-down forks (the other two V-Rods both use right-way-up forks), some tasty milled-from-solid handlebars and of course the new tank cover and rear fender. It’s a great looking bike in the flesh; menacing in black, uncomfortable in that perennial Harley favourite metallic burgundy and knockout in the sadly absent-at-launch silver.
Turn the ignition switch to 'On', poke the starter and get the silky smooth, liquid-cooled twin running. It may be nearly a decade old now but the V-Rod motor remains a great engine. Ridden back-to-back with Harley's admittedly now highly accomplished aircooled motors the V-Rod motor feels like coming home; smooth, with effortless drive and a real high-rev shove.
The engine goes unchanged for 2009 but gains a slipper clutch, to give the brain of the new ABS system an easier time, while the claimed peak torque figure matches the V-Rod’s at 85ftlb; 3ftlb more than the Night Rod Special thanks to the greater volume of the Muscle’s unique exhausts. Those unfamiliar with scraping heels instead of knees will still find the riding position utterly alien but, with a curved back and your head low over the tank, sitting astride the Muscle at speed feels pretty damn good.
Parping out a lazy burnout at the rubbery end of the Irwindale drag strip in Los Angeles, the Muscle feels like V-Rod business as normal. Long, low and apparently hewn from a single metal ingot the size of a skip, the Muscle is also prodigiously grunty, spinning up its 240mm rear tyre easily despite a track surface stickier than a Wetherspoon’s carpet.
Up to the lights, hunch forward, hold the revs for the yellow lights and… bam. In a surge of heavyweight acceleration the Muscle launches flat and hard, droning out a conspicuously-race V-twin noise as it covers the eighth-mile in 7.5 seconds. V-Rods may be heavy – a claimed 292kg dry according to Harley – but they’re quick too, and in terms of outright acceleration the new Muscle is appropriately the quickest of the bunch.
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H-D V-Rod 3
While the frame goes unchanged, the 240-section rear tyre and new upside-down forks have brought with them some detail geometry changes too; trail is up from 115mm on the standard V Rod to 141mm on the Muscle. On the divine Highway 39 high in the San Gabriel mountains the Muscle is impressive, to a point. Bikes with such broad rear rubber tend to be corrupted beyond redemption by the black beach ball out back, steering with an alarming lack of enthusiasm.
By contrast the Muscle steers pretty neutrally and this, together with the bike’s rock-solid stance, encourages enthusiastic riding, at least until you run out of ground clearance, which is shockingly early on dry tarmac. That a drag-inspired power cruiser can’t lean like a 250 Grand Prix bike will come as a shock to precisely no one but it’s disappointing nonetheless, particularly when project leader Keppler insists his customers are ageing sportsbike riders.
So the Muscle lives up to its moniker perfectly. Minor gripes like the nonsensical BMW-style indicators and shockingly firm ride quality are soon forgotten aboard what is a strikingly handsome power cruiser, one with fantastic detailing, a capable if compromised chassis and more shove than any previous Harley-Davidson. Keppler’s Night Rod Special has been a smash hit for H-D and his run of form shows no sign of coming to an end with the new Muscle.
Specifications
Price: £12,330
Engine: Liquid-cooled, 8-valve, 1246cc V-twin
Power: 123bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque: 85ft.lb @ 6500rpm
Front suspension: USD telescopic forks
Rear suspension: Twin shocks, adjustable preload
Front brake: 300mm discs, four-piston calipers
Rear brake: 300mm disc, four-piston calipers
Wet weight: 307kg
Seat height: 640mm
Fuel capacity: 18.9 litres
Top speed: 135mph (est)
Colours: Black, Red, Silver
Visordown rating: 3/5
