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The
2007 VRSCAW V-Rod® M.S.R.P. $16,495.00 By Kirk Johnson For
2007, the V-Rod® sports a thinner drive
belt with a wider tire About the Bike User-friendly improvements for 2007 will please the daily rider immensely. First and foremost, one of the biggest hang-ups with the older V-Rods® was the 3.7 Gallon fuel tank capacity. Now, with the wider frame they are able to put a full 5 gallon fuel tank in the frame without increasing ground clearance like they did with the Street-rod®. With the wider frame they are now able to replace the 180 mm rear tire with nice fat 240 mm asphalt grabbing rear tire. Looks great! They also moved the ignition switch from under the right leg to a very accessible place just ahead of the forward cylinder. Now you don’t have to worry about the dreaded dropped key that disappears problem. For 2007 they replaced the small battery that the V-Rod® had with a bigger Dyna™ battery by moving the ECM to under the rear seat and moving the coolant reservoir aft of the air box. Currently there are 5 Rods®: the Night Rod™, Night Rod™ Special, Street Rod™, VRSCX or the Screamin’ Eagle®, and of course the standard V-rod® or the VRSCAW. For 07 they all have a new thinner carbon-fiber belt final drive, plus a five-speed tranny with a multi-plate clutch with diaphragm spring in oil bath. Here is a Dyno Chart that Buddy Stubbs ran for this bike from their Dyno room. As you can see it produced 100.47 Max Horse Power. Not bad for a bike off the showroom floor without any tuning or after market goodies. H-D
V-Rod Specs If you have read any of my past test rides, you know I’ve spent a fair amount of time on different V-Rods®. I like them a lot. I was not sure of what to expect with the new 07 model. It seemed like most of the improvements were with people friendly appointments. Not that this is bad; I think it is a great idea to clean up some of the shortcomings from the older models. As for handling and performance the only real change was rear tire and a wider frame. I had two different people tell me about how that 240 rear was going to affect the ride. Interestingly, they both had completely different ideas about how it would affect the ride. It was a very cold day here in the valley. I grew up in Iowa and used to cold weather. It’s cold in Iowa when it gets down to below zero and when it does, you know it is cold. Now when it gets below 60 here in the valley, it is cold. Today it was below cold so I only spent about an hour on the bike but loved every minute of it. I headed north out of Buddy Stubbs and headed to Cave Creek. It was about 10 a.m. so there was only mild traffic. With that little 100 hp mill warming up I played with the traffic for a little bit to get comfortable with the new ride. So far, I was unable to tell any difference with the new 07 from the older models. After several miles being northbound on Cave Creek road, I decided to take to the side roads and play with the new machine. First thing out of the box was the passing test. Just what you would expect, it was quick and quiet. Silently you speed down the asphalt on a very stable machine. About the only thing that I can tell you about this ride and most of the V-Rods® that I have been on is that they are very obedient, trustworthy and dependable. Although there is no roaring thunder from the v-twin, you can appreciate the slight exhaust noise and the sound of the mechanics from the engine laboring underneath you. The thrill of the acceleration and how fast it stops with ease is amazing. The best part about it is that every time you do it, it is just as much fun. Of course you always want just a little more. Now to play with the new 240-rear tire. From a standing start, you can still smoke the rear tire. That did not surprise me at all. Now for the turning characteristics, how will this affect the ride? First, I just turned real slow in a circle on a two-lane road to see if tight turning was affected. To me, it did not seem to affect the ride much at all. Leaned over as far as I could comfortably and still on a tight turn, the rear seemed to take a shorter path than the front. That would seem normal for a wider tire. There is a lot of difference from the 240 on this ride than there is when you get up to the more radical 300 and 340 tires. Performance for the high-speed turns, at least to me, was not really affected. It may be my skill level, but for a daily rider, the performance and agility of the bike was not affected. If you want to make a run up the back way to Prescott that might be a different story. The only real difference with this tire as opposed to the 180 is when you are on very uneven, tired asphalt that has depressions where the tires ride, you get a feeling that the bike is being pushed to one side or the other, depending on what side of the depression you are on. That is the only real negative to the larger tire; the meatier tire definitely looks great under you.Summary The V-Rod® is a great machine and a great ride. There are a lot of user-friendly improvements for 2007. The new 5-gallon fuel capacity is a real biggy. Now you can go more than 100 miles before you have to refuel. What a drag that was. As you can see from the Dyno chart, this is no slouch. Right out of the box you get 100 hp – nice! The relocation of the ignition switch may seem like a little thing. Just ask any V-Rod® owner about what a great and needed improvement that is. The great looks of the new 240mm rear tire adds a look of being a more serious machine and the riding and handling of the V-Rod® has always been there. This is a great bike.Ride safe. |
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