2009 Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special

At first glance you would think that 2009 Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special was special ordered by Bruce Wayne and had just burst forth from the Batcave. This black-on-black alternative rendition of the V-Rod is yet another member of the company’s Dark Custom design direction which it has applied to a number of models in recent years. One look is enough to tell you that the ’09 Night Rod Special Edition sports a unique appearance that skews slightly from the rest of the VRSC Line. The most obvious element of this is the near absence of any chrome, usually a mainstay of any Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Even the engine is treated to a black powder coat. This works well when contrasted with the black nacelle which wraps around the single round headlight. There has always been a gulf as big as the Grand Canyon between Harley riders and those who favor import [...]

2009 Harley-Davidson V-Rod

America’s favorite cruising dragster hybrid is back for more in 2009. Harley-Davidson engineers left the V-Rod pretty much unchanged from the previous edition with only minor tweaks to the platform. The motorcycle is still powered by the only liquid-cooled engine Harley makes…the 1250cc Revolution V-Twin. This power plant is rubber-mounted and sports chrome covers. Built to operate at a higher range than its air-cooled brethren, it puts out 84 ft-lbs of torque at 7,000 rpm. Exterior styling points include chrome slash-cut right-side exhaust, sport front fender and low profile rear fender, a two-piece, two up textured seat, forward mounted foot controls, stainless steel pull-back handlebars…and more. The V-Rod rolls on a fat 240 mm rear tire and a smooth-flowing exhaust system ends in bright chrome slash-cut mufflers. The low-riding seat and leg-forward design elevates the rider just 26″ from the pavement. The pull-back handlebar frame, clamshell instrument pod, and teardrop [...]

2009 Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle

In this first edition of the V-Rod Muscle, Harley-Davidson designers borrowed some styling cues from the muscle cars of the ’60s/ abd ’70s in order to give it a much more aggressive appearance. The changes from the standard V-Rod start with the screened-in air scoops jutting out from the faux fuel tank, replacing the former louvers. Above those is a new, intricately cast, 1-inch-diameter handlebar that ties together the inverted fork, headlight and mirrors to give the bike a very clean-looking front end. Below is a new satin-finished, dual-side exhaust with turned out tips, recalling an old Corvette.