The V-Rod Chronicles: Part V

We return to the infamous MotoJustice  2015  Harley-Davidson V-Rod Night Rod, with additional info on the bike and some new stories about the latest struggles associated with “Charlie the Harley”… As per our previous blogs, this bike was purchased in the hopes of making it the MotoJustice flagship and having it wrapped in our logos to take to bike nights. Unfortunately, between the mechanical problems and the delays in our plans, this bike has seen its share of problems. 

Most notably, we continue to deal with overheating issues. It turns out that the online forums for this wonderful motorcycle appear to have a few strings related specifically to this overheating issue. The bike essentially runs like a striped ape and the Porsche-designed engine is a motorcycling wonder. The downside is that I have to travel with an allen wrench and a box of 15 amp fuses. When the fans click on after a spirited ride, they blow the fuse that controls the fans and gauge cluster. That means you are cruising along and the tach/speedometer/fuel cluster freezes and the fans shut off.

At that point, you have no idea how much gas you actually have, or how fast you are going. If you get in traffic and the fans don’t come on, the engine overheats and the cooling fluid eventually comes shooting out (check out our previous blog post wherein my wife made some disparaging comments about Charlie which prompted my Harley Mechanic to drive in from Mississippi to work on the bike). Like most electrical gremlins, this electrical issue is still present and may require another visit to the dealership to see what can be done to rectify it. 

One of the interesting things about this bike is that it has a set of Akrapovic pipes installed that sound amazing out on the road. It’s very unusual to find European pipes on a Harley-Davidson V-Rod but the former owner put in the time and money to make them work properly. He had an aftermarket fuel unit installed and the engine was tuned to work with these aftermarket howlers. Despite the all-American nature of the motorcycle, the Euro Engine seems to work with the Euro Pipes, so keep this in mind if you have some modifications in mind for your V-Rod.

While I sort the issues with the engine, the plan was to have the bike wrapped, and in keeping with its namesake, Charlie can’t buy a break (Charlie is named after my hard luck brother). It seems that despite the COVID-19 cloud lifting, I cannot get the bike wrapped. I have contacted every wrap company I know of and, despite some positive conversations, when it comes time to drop the bike off, I can’t get anyone to confirm. The one company that finally got back to me quoted a price that was almost as high as wraps I have had done on full-size automobiles. This wrap project has stalled more than any other project I have but I’ll forge ahead. The real future of the bike will be in a wrapped body kit. 

There are some GREAT body kits that could also make this Harley-Davidson V-Rod stand out. I ordered the Eurocomponents Stealth Body Kit and think it’s the best body update for this motorcycle. It is a high-dollar body kit but once wrapped and in place, I think the bike will really look great. Check it out online and we will blog about the changes once the kit comes in, gets wrapped, and is installed.