Harley-Davidson unveiled its MY2018 line-up earlier this month along with the new Softail platform and the Milwaukee-Eight 117 engine. Conspicuously missing from this new portfolio is the V-Rod range, which has fuelled rumours that the bike has been discontinued.
The V-Rod was born in 2001 out of a necessity to attract new buyers, as a rival to the Japanese muscle bikes. For this, Harley-Davidson turned to their factory racing team which had spent years developing its own radical racing engine – the VR1000. Until then, the company had only used air-cooled engine. With the introduction of water-cooling, the engine could now rev higher and could be tuned to become more performance-oriented. It was a major departure from the company’s heritage, but it was seen as a necessary step to attract a new set of buyers. Another radical change in design involved repositioning the fuel tank under the seat and moving the airbox above the engine.
Over the years, Harley-Davidson kept improving the V-Rod and introducing new variants like the Night Rod and the V-Rod Muscle. While purists scoffed at these radical changes in design, the V-Rod did have its own cult following among a younger audience. However, with the competition moving to the next level of technology, it is now time to bid adieu to the V-Rod. For now, there isn’t going to be a new model for 2018 and Harley-Davidson hasn’t announced any plans for its successor either. Who knows, the next muscle bike from Harley-Davidson might not have a petrol-powered engine at all
