Comments on: Harley Davidson XR1200

By: Shawn Stephens

Shawn Stephens — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:25:01 +0000

Phil,

I have a 2006 VROD and I am looking to get the black fly screen from the Screaming Eagle V-Rod but cannot seem to find it and the Harley Dealer said they do not have one ect… Where did you get yours and do you know where I can get one?

Thanks

By: Phil Salvatore

Phil Salvatore — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:51:35 +0000

Hi Peter. You really don’t like the appearance of the new 1125R? Wow. You do know the reasons the radiator shrouds are done the way they are don’t you? Sometimes beauty is as beauty does. Having an inexpensive sacrificial part out there designed to take an impact while saving the rest of the bodywork, as is the case with the shrouds that cover spring mounted and therefor crash resistant radiators, and then working with the insurance industry to keep that bike’s insurance rate down as a result of this design feature is to me some of the most advanced thinking out there.
My understanding from various articles in different magazines and on-line sources is that the XR will make it here eventually, but will be introduced in Europe first. I imagine Harley’s plan is to sustain the model on European sales volume, then offer it here knowing it will attract very few sales. I don’t think any V-Rod model would have remained in production were it not for the bike’s strong European sales. The US sales volume isn’t there. My guess is that HD will be counting on European sales to sustain this model too. For those of us who care we ought to hope that is true so the few of us with a Jones for this bike will have our chance to enjoy it.
Todd, I genuinely love the appearance of my Street Rod. I mounted drag bars and the little black fly screen from the Screaming Eagle V-Rod and absolutely love how the bike looks. I also understand that without the radiator shroud the front wheel completely masks the radiator and the bike will not cool. This info came directly from the German gent who was the platform manager when I asked him about it at that bike show. Again, beauty is as beauty does. Once he explained how the airflow inside that housing maximizes cooling the appearance became secondary. It weighs very little and does not drag when the bike in leaned over on the pegs, so where is the problem?

By: todd

todd — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:21:48 +0000

to continue slightly off-topic; the problem with the VRSCR and other V-Rods is their hideous frame and dorky headlight. Wait, then there’s that rear fender and radiator housing… I don’t know many people who appreciate their styling. If HD put the VR motor in a traditional frame and another in a true sport frame they would stand to do better. None of this half hearted “crossover” styling. V-Rod designers probably drive Pontiac Aztecs or Dodge Calibers.

-todd

By: Peter

Peter — Fri, 02 May 2008 03:42:29 +0000

I have owned three HD XL 883′s (’00,’04,’06), three Buell’s (’97 S1,’03 XB9R, and currently have an ’08 XB12R), and at least one of each of the following mfg’s: BMW (’07), Triumph (’97,’99,’00,’01,’06), Ducati (’00,’07), Honda (’05,’06), Yamaha (’95,’97,’99), Suzuki (’02,’03), Kawasaki (’01,’06). I am an active consumer, and contact mfg’s when I have something good- or bad to say. I called Buell to tell them about the travesty they were committing with the intro of the unforgivably ugly 1125R… they passed my opinion along. I have also talked to HD cust serv three times about the travesty of not bringing the XR1200 to the U.S. (an absolutely inconceivable thought- a HD to the U.S.?!), but they stand by the claim that this model will not be available in America. Even though it makes me so angry with them, I’d still be first in line to buy one if it did show up here. I guess it’s a sickness…

By: Phil Salvatore

Phil Salvatore — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:26:46 +0000

Harley dealers still have new, unsold 2006 VRSCR Street Rods on the showroom floor. A dealer in San Diego still had three new ones last time I looked last February. This is a fabulous bike, the first non-BMW in my garage in a quarter century. Quieter and smoother than the R-1200′s I rode, and great handling. No really, it feels more German than some BMW. What is the problem then?
It’s the Harley customer in the US. I honestly generate more hostility from traditional HD riders showing up at the dealer on my Street Rod than I do on one of my Beemers. Some dealers won’t even acknowledge it’s a Harley product. The traditional HD riders dismiss it as “just a crotch rocket”. They shake their heads as if they are ashamed of it.
HD was very anxious to sell that bike to non-Harley riders but they wouldn’t go into a Harley showroom to see the bike. If you talk to some Motor Company people privately at bike shows or road races where Buells are racing, they will tell you the dissappointment with the lack of support from their dealers for that bike. I wouldn’t have considered it had I not bumped into it’s “platform manager”, a German gent, at a bike show and there hadn’t been one outside to ride. That sold me. In the US, Harley will have a very tough time selling a bike like the XR-1200 and I think they know it. They will sell us the Cross Bones instead and probably sell ten of those for every XR-1200 they could sell. Tell you what, if they do sell it buy one and hang on to it, it will be a collector like the old XLCR or the previous XR-1000.