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Horex VR6 Roadster in the driving report

Test drive

MOTORRAD has not yet received a test machine for the Horex VR6 Roadster. Therefore, test boss Gert Thole simply took a test drive at the friendly Horex dealer.

It took a long time. At least much, much longer than planned. In the summer of 2010, Horex presented the six-cylinder roadster Horex VR6 Roadster for the first time and announced series production for the end of 2011. That didn’t quite work, which is not surprising to those familiar with the subject. Because putting a hand-made prototype on its feet is one thing, while pounding a small series out of the ground out of nowhere is a much more difficult task. Especially since the nested cylinder head of the VR engine was breaking new technical ground in the motorcycle sector.

Horex VR6 Roadster in the driving report

Test drive

Pre-series with many teething problems

The hurdles that have to be overcome when rebuilding a brand were also shown at the improvised small press event in July last year, at which Horex allowed journalists to drive pre-production copies for the first time (see MOTORRAD 17/2012). The two available Horex VR6 Roadsters ran basically already, but not flawlessly or flawlessly. They still had a lot of teething problems to contend with, including such substantial things as overheating engines, hastily improvised detailed solutions, and insufficient engine management. One got the impression that a lot of development work and fine-tuning was still needed. So it was no surprise that the series launch announced for August had to be postponed again.

But now there are finally machines. They are at the dealer, some of them are already in customer hands. It would be all the more interesting to thoroughly examine the Horex VR6 Roadster, which is now being delivered. Unfortunately, Horex MOTORRAD has not yet been able to provide a test machine and has not been able to give a specific date for it. So MOTORRAD got in touch with dealers and asked for an appointment for a test drive, anonymously of course as a precaution. After all, you want to know whether all points of criticism have been resolved.

Not all dealers want to let us drive

Dealer number one in the Stuttgart area was pleased with the interest, but did not want to give his only machine for test drives: “You are welcome to come and see the machine. But as long as I don’t have a second one, the machine stays here in the showroom. ”The second dealer, Bikestore-KA in Karlsruhe, took a more relaxed view of the matter:“ Yes, we have a machine. And of course we can make an appointment for a test drive. When should it be? Tomorrow? No problem, just come by at 2:00 pm. ”Amazing, no further questions as to whether the prospective customer might just want to have fun with a six-cylinder or perhaps have serious intentions to buy. The handover of the Horex VR6 Roadster, which stood between a number of new and used vehicles from Honda, Victory and Harley-Davidson, was correspondingly uncomplicated.

“Normally a test drive costs 30 euros, but you can drive the Horex for free with us,” explains salesperson Sven Knopf. "Thank you, and how many kilometers?" "Anyway, just tell me when you will be back." The speedometer of the Horex VR6 Roadster with the number 76 on the sticker shows that there weren’t too many interested parties there. “Now they have to do some PR again. And watch out, the tires are almost new! "

Okay, the friendly gentleman doesn’t know yet, but the man can be helped in terms of press work. Interestingly, the engine has the number 000001. Should this really be the very first production engine? The starter beats for a few seconds until the six-cylinder comes to life with a hoarse puddle. He unwillingly answers the first throttle and does not want to run smoothly. You have to play carefully with the clutch and gas for the first few meters in order to roll off smoothly. So first get out of the city as quickly as possible. The clutch needs a lot of power, the gearbox shifts pretty bony. In the partial load range, the engine still accepts throttle with a slight delay, which requires a certain amount of getting used to. Three mappings are available for the Horex VR6 Roadster, switching from touring to sport makes the throttle response a little more direct, but it still remains delayed in the lower speed and low load range. The load changes are sometimes quite hard, and a smooth transition at the apex of the curve is rarely successful.

Horex VR6 Roadster amazes with wonderful lightness

Well, a Horex shouldn’t be a gentle, everyday all-rounder, but rather something for crisp fun on curvy slopes. And the really great chassis offers that from the first meter. When stationary, the Horex VR6 Roadster still looks like a mighty block, while driving it amazes with wonderful ease thanks to a tightly tuned, high-quality chassis and a Pirelli Angel ST that rolls completely neutrally in every lean angle and with its crystal-clear transparency builds enormous confidence in the first corners. This is really a lot of fun and pushes the imprecise throttle response a little into the background, especially since it is less of a problem in the upper speed range and when you work hard on the throttle. The mistakes of the pre-production phase are obviously no longer an issue.

Bilski

Power pack: The compact VR six-cylinder with its two nested rows of cylinders is supposed to deliver a strong 160 hp.

The six-cylinder turns into the red area without stuttering, as happened during the presentation. And of course, major blunders such as the engine stalling when the brakes were applied hard were eliminated. Which is a good thing, because emergency braking is a real pleasure thanks to the excellent brakes at the front, especially since the Bosch ABS is a great lifeline in an emergency. However, in contrast to this, the rear stopper of the demonstration copy of the Horex VR6 Roadster with a muddy pressure point seems numb.

And of course the workmanship of the series machine also makes a better impression, everything looks quite neat now. Sure, there are still a few small things to complain about, such as mirror booms that are too short or a display that is difficult to read and only offers brief information, such as temperature or current gear, but not both at the same time. When it comes to overheating, the Horex VR6 Roadster is clearly showing signs of relaxation: During the short trip, the water temperature always stayed below 100 degrees, the pre-series machine had permanently exceeded this mark and finally boiled off. Nevertheless, the fan of the demonstration roadster ran for minutes even at 90 degrees, probably according to the motto: better too much than too little.

The performance characteristics of the powerful block engine of the Horex VR6 Roadster remained unchanged. It seems quite cautious at the bottom, continuously picks up in the middle and builds up enormous pressure above. An engine that doesn’t knock your socks off despite a nominal 160 hp, but which always provides more than enough punch for a naked bike. And of course, it lives emotionally from the uniquely irregular six-cylinder sound, which sounds like two Benelli three-cylinders that have got out of step.

So corners and edges have remained, but a Horex VR6 Roadster certainly shouldn’t be a softly washed partner for every day. Of course, MOTORRAD would like to know what it can really do in an intense debate, what it can do on the test bench, and is not giving up hope of getting an official test machine soon.

Technical specifications

Bilski

Classic round instruments frame the digital display that can be switched on the handlebars, including the limited-edition badge.

engine
Water-cooled six-cylinder VR engine, three overhead, chain-driven camshafts, three valves per cylinder, bucket tappets, injection, Ø 34 mm, hydraulically operated multi-disc oil bath clutch, six-speed gearbox, O-ring chain, secondary ratio 2.47.

Bilski

Little muffler, lots of sound: an upstream exhaust flap makes it possible.

Bore x stroke 68.0 x 55.0 mm
Cubic capacity 1218 cm3
Compression ratio 12.5: 1
Rated output 118.0 kW (161 hp) at 8800 rpm
Max. Torque 137 Nm at 6800 rpm

landing gear
Bridge frame made of cast aluminum parts with screwed-on steering head assembly made of steel tubes, upside-down fork, Ø 48 mm, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, single-sided swing arm made of aluminum, central spring strut with lever system, adjustable spring base, rebound and compression damping, double disc brake at the front, Ø 320 mm, four-piston fixed calipers, rear disc brake, Ø 264 mm, two-piston fixed calipers, ABS.
Forged aluminum wheels 3.50 x 17; 6.00 x 17
Tires 120/70 ZR 17; 190/55 ZR 17

Dimensions + weight
Wheelbase 1500 mm, steering head angle 66.0 degrees, caster 95 mm, spring travel f / r 120/120 mm, seat height 800-840 mm, weight * 249 kg, tank capacity / reserve 17/4 liters.
Price including additional costs 21,700 euros

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