Hey all,

Looking at purchasing my first HD in the next few months.  I fell in love with the VRod Muscle the first time I saw it.  Question is, would it make a good commuter?  I would be riding it daily to work about 15km into the Melbourne CBD.

Also, what are the running costs like on a VRod? Insurance, servicing etc?

I hope thiese questions haven't been answered too many times...I had a look but couldn't find anything.

Cheers,

Paul

Hi Paul,

mate some of these questions can be answered by a interent search, insurance depends on your record and age. etc.

running cost, depends how hard you like to twist the throttle. although harleys do like a drink, again depends what your like as a rider...

at least you didn't ask, what they are like to ride, that question burns some people on here and me too.......

Very fair answers   I was half expecting to be baked for my post....I guess I am at that point where I am trying to decide between HD and "over" brands....

Any insights into whether a VRod would work well as a commuter?  I intend on riding which ever bike I go for daily....And hopefully it would get 180+ KM to the tank so I only am refilling it once a week most of the time.....

you were this close to getting a roasting......mate you should get 200 + on one tank....thats about the extent of my knowledge, but a lot of great people on here now a hell of a lot more....also post up a welcome in intro section, you can meet a lot of riders form whatever neck of the woods your ftom...

Hi mate, this is what I reckon.

Don't worry about fuel economy, if you can afford a vrod then $20 juice a week is nothing.

Insurance , well I pay about $600 per year but it will be more in Melbourne. ( I live in the country.)

Servicing, probably no more,  if not less than jap or other bikes, mine is about $250 to $350 per service every 8000km (just do your own oil changes in between services, I do mine about every 4000km)

As a commuter well...... I use my NRS as my daily ride to work , about 25 km and its a blast but living in Melb (  I lived there for 30 years ) you will have to put up with all the 40-50-70 kmh speed limits and the cameras on every corner  which means you probably won't be getting out of 2nd gear  much which could be frustrating or you will do your licence.These bikes don't like that much just idling around at low revs all the time they need a good flogging and when they can do 100kph in 1st gear , well you know what I mean.

I reckon they handle well for what they are and with abs there user friendly especially in traffic, and on greasy roads.

Mate if you love it, BUY it ( just put some decent pipes on it so you can be heard)

 Aqua.   

well said Aqua !!! i bloody love my Muscle , use to commute on my sporty and that was good but Aqua right , they need to rev and are not the best at 50 / 60 ..... BUT fuel is no worries , still get over 250 km per tank ...... servicing and insurance would be same on most types of Harleys i would think

Hi paul and welcome. Mate life is short, and the best part of my day is riding the nightrod to and from work. If want economy get yourself a vtr250, but you wont be disappointed with the muscle. Good luck and please keep us posted. Fat tony

nothing like a blat in the morning to wake you up!

Thanks for all the replies.....It's funny because in the end....insurance, economy, etc won't play a part   I went into Harley heaven in Melbourne a few weaks ago and they had a Vrod Muscle just about to be delivered to a customer and it had a ncie set of custom pipes on it.....When the sales dude fired it up, I instantly fell in love...

Time to organise a test ride soon me thinks.....

I bought a 2002 Hayabusa as my daily ride several years ago and it did the job perfectly. Only problem was, every time I saw a Harley my mouth would water and I wanted to kick myself. I used to finish bouncing at pub and clubs and find myself parking my bike in Frasers car park for some window shopping at stupid hours of the morning. Now my daily ride is a Road King and I look forward to my 35km commute to work when that gets boring I leave half hour earlier (0615) and or a ride down the coast.
I guess the moral of the story is you can commute on anything. Not everything, especially cheap substitutes, will make you happy!

I forgot to mention, when I have have paid off my RK, I will definitely be looking at a Muscle for my next bike. Think I might book a test...