Harley-Davidson V-Rod Muscle

Fat 240mm of rear rubber rolls through a glistening puddle and the eighth-of-a-mile drag strip shimmers in the LA haze as I apply the front brake, raise the revs and dump the clutch. Smoke billows from the spinning rear - it's hot, it's sticky and I'm good to go.

Harley-Davidson's V-Rod Muscle completes the hugely popular VRSC platform for 2009 and if you're wondering what makes this bike so different from the existing standard V-Rod and Night Rod, the clue's in the name. It's a beefcake of a bike, so where better to launch it than on a drag strip in Los Angeles?

Gallery - Harley Davidson V-Rod Muscle

My eyes are as wide as saucers, completely devoid of their normal blink reflex and they're fixed on the tree of starting lights in front of me. Harley-Davidson's resident drag racer Gene Thomason advised me not to wait for the green - go on yellow or you'll be too late.

React, anticipate ... It all blends into one split-second response, one miniscule moment that will be recorded on a tiny slip of paper which I'll undoubtedly keep - if the time's reasonable enough.

First yellow, second yellow, then a blanket of colour streams down the tree and I'm off. My body's as flat as a pancake on the wide 18.9-litre tank, elbows tucked in, head down and how my feet have found the forward-facing footpegs in that all mayhem will forever remain a mystery. But I'm on it, pinning the throttle through to third as though my life depends on it. Thankfully it doesn't, as I post a respectable, but hardly earth shattering 7.972 seconds.

The V-Rod Muscle may be inspired by the drag strip with its long 'n' low sculptured design, but it's pretty comfortable in the twisties too. Much of the bike's donated in its entirety from the standard V-Rod, with the core architecture of the frame and liquid cooled, V-twin engine remaining untouched. But with the low-slung twin pipes flanking either side of this new model, the new exhaust layout means the maximum 115Nm of torque rocks in 500rpm lower at 6,500. It feels like you can almost let the revs fall off the counter before the engine will start spluttering a complaint and the punchy power really suits the bike's masculine design.

...the Muscle is bolder, stockier and meatier looking...

Where the V-Rod has curvaceous, fluid, feminine lines, the Muscle is bolder, stockier and meatier looking. But its physique has come at a price. Complex shapes cost a small fortune to manufacture in steel, so the all the bike's bodywork uses SMC (Sheet Moulded Compound). It has the same structural rigidity as steel, but weighs far less, is easier to use for tricky, angular forms, but it's also expensive and therefore contributes to the bike's premium price tag.

And before you ask, the Americans prefer not to mention the P-word (plastic) and instead refer to SMC as a "Kick Ass Material" that's used in the wings of F18 fighter jets and high-speed Bullet trains!

There's a small but significant list of differences between this bike and the standard V-Rod, including the five-spoke cast-aluminium wheels, a super stylish instrument cluster and new handlebars. As the product planning director, Peter-Michael Keppler so aptly described: there's just so much of this motorcycle that looks like "frigging jewellery."

The rear is absolutely stunning - in the US at least. Unfortunately, European law dictates that the number plate must hang at the back of the bike and not at the side (as it did on the model I rode.) So the beautifully crafted, wafer thin strip of LED lights which float just above the fat back end will have to incorporate a bracket and legal plate by the time it reaches our shores.

The V-Rod Muscle wouldn't look out of place on Venice beach...

The bike's back end may look like a wonderful work of art but it's cut so short that yours will be filthy and drenched to the bone after five minutes in a British downpour. Harley's defence? "Hey, do you wanna be cool, or do you wanna be dry?"

The V-Rod Muscle wouldn't look out of place on Venice beach, surrounded by beautiful people who love beautiful things. But it's no vacant air head. All the VRSC models are equipped with Harley's version of a slipper clutch which smoothes out ruffled down changes better than a steam iron on crinkled cotton. And apart from having a fun morning, the other distinct advantage to riding the V-Rod Muscle on the drag strip was the need to brake quite sharply once the run was completed.

A terminal speed of 91mph may not sound overly extreme on a track, but when you've just passed the exit with the throttle still wide open, stopping, and stopping quite quickly, is pretty important. Thankfully, these Harleys also have ABS. Grabbing the front brake with total commitment to scrubbing speed as instantly as possible, feels so much more reassuring when you know it won't lock up. OK, use real force and you can feel the lever pulsating as the brakes release, but I'd much rather that than end up on my ear.

It's essential that the V-Rod muscle has a new and different identity to its siblings, so the riding position has also been altered compared to the V-Rod. The feet-forward footpegs and bars have both been pulled back to create a more commanding stance. And unless you plan on riding exclusively in straight lines, you'll need that authority to get the bike cranked over for the fun stuff.

The 19-inch front wheel is less raked out, so the handling feels more solid and representative of the bike's sturdy stature, especially mid corner. But it also feels heavier on the steering than the V-Rod, with noticeably more muscle needed to flick from side to side - pun totally intended!

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