Driving report Harley-Davidson V-Rod Dragster

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Driving report Harley-Davidson V-Rod Dragster

The screamer

95 decibels, 129 hp, 225 kilograms and an airfield in front of the front wheel. Only flying is more beautiful.

Midday heat harasses the asphalt. The engine roars, is at operating temperature. He is greedy. The sitting position: crouched. The pegs hover just eight centimeters above the asphalt. Without putting your feet down, your toes balance the 225 kilogram bullet. Perfect. Because every movement, even if it is only that the foot is pulled onto the notch, brings restlessness to the start. Everything revolves around acceleration: 400 meters at full throttle. The legendary quarter mile. Dragster racing. In view: horizon, rev counter and three shift lights. The first for optimal starting speed ?? between 3500 and 4500 rpm ??, the second around 200 rpm before and the third at the optimal switching point. Take a deep breath. 4000 rpm, disengage softly, tension the throttle cable. And…
When the new Harley VRSCA V-Rod came across the pond in 2001, the Wurzburg dealer Andreas Gopel and his mechanic Guido Sonnenschein fixed themselves on a plan: drive dragster races and pass on their tuning experience to their customers. The engine co-developed by Porsche is the ideal basis for acceleration races: powerful, easy-turning, powerful. Planned, done. The Harley, trimmed to 129 hp, has so far completed more than 60 runs without a breakdown, is currently third in the championship in the Street Harley 1 class and roars from its tailpipe: 95 decibels. The exhaust, type SR-Racing, is available for the street with a TÜV stamp. Then of course corked. The Franconians have developed two tuning versions: 149 and 129 hp. Measured on the rear wheel. But the 149 is still messing around. Is reluctant to take the gas in the lower speed range, shifts her entire life into the last third of the speed due to extremely sharp control times. Nobody needs that. Especially not a Harley customer. This is being further refined. The mature version under the rear has 129 hp. Enough for black lines or a rising front wheel.
Full throttle. The load blows it up from the parking position. Slight wagging at the rear, pulse rate 180. The front wheel stays down, the world blurs. Disappears in an inferno of decibels and adrenaline. Switching. Lightning. The engine demands rock instead of roll. No wonder: Race tuning, larger throttle valves, increased compression, refined cylinder heads such as pistons and modified valve timing play together. Delight with very even power development over the whole area. In order to counteract the tendency to wheelie, the pneumatic struts can be inflated almost to a rigid frame effect, and the axle can be moved far back via a special dropout on the swing arm. Everything is ready for the quarter mile. The heat balance too: the water cooler only holds two liters. What would cause a heart attack in normal operation. No matter. Dragster races are a thing of the past after a few seconds.
B.Litz from the front, Donner from behind. The left foot twitches electrified. Bangs the gears. Straight ahead? Stubborn. Vibrations? No more than in series production. So hardly. The tower rushes past on the left. Now just pull up … But at 200 km / h it’s over. Although the secondary chain transmission used is almost identical to the serial transmission using a toothed belt, the dragster runs on a 17-inch rear wheel instead of the 18-inch original. The brake, slimmed down on a disc, nibbles on the speed in a completely relaxed manner. Careful about-face. Four degrees incline, paddle the stops, back to start and repeat. The seconds can be so cool.

Power project – Harley-Davidson V-Rod dragster conversion

Mechanic and driver Guido Sonnenschein (photo) and his boss Andreas Gopel from Harley-Davidson Wurzburg found broad support for their project. The companies Lightcon, UHS, Micron, Hohn and the Milwaukee Iron Shop were at their side with advice and action. The 129 hp power kit is available now. The next expansion stage with the target of 149 hp should work perfectly in spring 2003 and is guaranteed to satisfy the horsepower hunger of V-Rod drivers. Info: Telephone 09302/932440

Technical Data – Harley-Davidson V-Rod Dragster Conversion

Data of the series V-Rod in brackets: Engine: water-cooled two-cylinder, four-stroke, 60-degree V-engine, B. Kramer pistons, cylinder heads and camshafts, electronic manifold injection, Ø 56 mm (53 mm), open intake funnels (Air filter box), compression 12.2: 1 (11.3: 1), rated output 129 hp at 8900 rpm (117 hp at 8300 rpm), max. Torque 117 Nm at 7300 rpm (105 Nm at 6600 rpm), water cooler 2.0 liters (5.0 l) Secondary transmission: chain, 62:25 teeth ratio 2.48 (toothed belt 72:30 teeth, ratio 2.40 ) Chassis: double loop frame made of tubular steel, telescopic fork, standpipe diameter 49 mm, spring travel 100 mm, Fournales struts, air-pneumatic, spring travel: 50 mm (steel springs, 70 mm), floating Kosmann single brake disc at the front, Ø 300 mm, four-piston caliper (two brake discs) , Rear disc brake, Ø 256 mm, double-piston caliper (Ø 292 mm, four-piston caliper), modified swing arm with axle adjustment: 100 mm positive, 40 mm negative to the axle Tires: front 110/70 VB17 Avon on UHS three-spoke rim 3.50 x 17, rim weight 3 , 8 kg (120/70 ZR19, Dunlop D 207, full disc wheel 3.00 x 19, weight: 10 kg), rear 190/50 VB17 Mickey Thompson on UHS three-spoke rim 6.25 x 17, rim weight: 4.5 kg (180/55 ZR 18, D 207, full disc wheel, 11 kg) Dimensions and weights: Seat height 630 mm (690 mm), weight fully fueled 2 27 kg (285 kg) Top speed: 200 km / h (221 km / h) Other: modified control module from HD Wurzburg, 2-1 stainless steel exhaust with titanium silencer HD Wurzburg and SR-Racing, footrest system HD Wurzburg and Bulldog Racing, dragbar handlebar from LSL, tachometer Sreamin Eagle with sequential, three-stage Dyna-Shift-Light

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