|
Here is an article about some friends that
were out riding this past
Saturday and caught up with the lead designer from the Netherlands and the Lead Porsche engineer while they were out riding the new V-ROD. They are the two guys who have to put the final approval on the bike, they have been in Talladega, Alabama at the "hush-hush" HD testing facility since last Wednesday. Here is a pic of "REV" VROC # 3324 on the beast. Wild ride 07/24/01 TED PRATT News staff writer Birmingham
News,
Birmingham,
Alabama Some Alabama motorcycle enthusiasts cruising the back roads of Talladega County Sunday got a first-hand look at Harley-Davidson's new superbike, the V-Rod. Benny Bryant, founder of the Stars Over Alabama riding club, and about eight other riders were cruising around Cheaha Mountain when they spotted two Harley riders going in the opposite direction. One of the bikes was a Road King 1500 not an unusual sight but the other bike immediately captured the attention of some of the Stars riders. "About three of us knew what it was," Bryant said Monday. "We drove on for a couple of miles to our planned stop and we said, `Get off, stretch your legs, then get back on because we're going after that bike.'" Turns out the other riders were a Harley engineer and a designer on a joy ride after giving the new V-Rod a workout last week at the company's hush-hush testing facility at the Talladega Superspeedway. Bryant and his friends found the Harley riders pulled off to the side of the road. They quickly surrounded the V-Rod, peppering the two with questions and begging for a ride. "Naw, we didn't get to ride it," Bryant said. "But they let us all sit on it and listen to the engine running." A friend snapped a photo of Bryant sitting on the V-Rod, one of Harley's most eagerly anticipated new bikes in years. Its 1100cc water-cooled engine, which develops about 115 horsepower, doesn't have the trademark "potato-potato-potato" sound of air-cooled V-twin Harleys, but is still a Harley. The V-Rod won't go on sale until later this year and hasn't been widely seen. Harley released photos of the bike for the first time only last week. It is expected to be a hot seller. "Interest in this bike is very strong," said Jimmy Kendrick, general manager at the Riders Harley-Davidson dealership in Pelham. "It's breaking into a whole new market for us." Kendrick inspected the bike last week in Los Angeles at a Harley dealers' meeting. To show off the motorcycle's power, a stunt rider stayed in a burn-out so long the rear tire was thrown off its wheel. Unlike Bryant and his buddies, Kendrick got a ride. Harley expects the V-Rod to appeal both to the company's traditional customers and attract new buyers. Problem is, being a buyer this year could be tough. Kendrick said the dealers group was told to expect their first V-Rod sometime in October. "They told us they were going to make enough for one for each dealership, them ship them all at the same time," Kendrick said. Other than photos, though, enthusiasts won't get a close-up look until the giant Sturgis, S.D., bike rally in August. |
