Fastest Harley Ever Built Is Up For Auction
In 2006, Harley Davidson built ‘The Destroyer,’ the most powerful H-D ever built. Now, some lucky rider is going to have bragging rights.
In the year 2006, the workers who put together Harley Davidson motorcycles went a little insane. Tired of building slow, comfy cruisers, they said let’s build something fast. Really fast.
And so they did. They built the fastest Harley Davidson motorcycle in the world, and a bike that was faster than many of the fastest drag racing bikes.
Now, 17 years later, it is still the fastest and most powerful motorcycle ever built by the Milwaukee legend and one of the limited number of 650 is up for auction.
V-Rod Monster Not Street Legal
You speed freaks probably know by now we are talking about the 2006 Harley Davidson VRXSE, better known as “The Destroyer.”
You also know there are really only two types of buyers for this motorcycle: Those who have more money than sense – popularly known as “collectors” – and those who want to put it on the drag strip.
This V-Rod monster is made up strictly of high-powered, expensive race parts and not street-legal.
Big Bore, High-Flow Heads
Why does Milwaukee do this sort of thing when they know it can’t be ridden on the street? It’s good publicity for one thing, and for another it gives the everyday Harley rider the thrill that he’s riding a bike that could be souped up to compete with the fastest motorcycles in the world.
Check out the numbers: 165 horsepower at 9,700 rpm. That means 145 miles per hour in the quarter mile.
The V-Rod is the Motor Company’s speed bike, and they started with the stock 1,131 cc engine. They then increased the bore by 3 mm and combined that with a Screamin’ Eagle 105 mm stroke, making the total displacement 1,300cc.
Then came the forged pistons and high-flow cylinder heads, special intake exhaust valves and springs. To that, they added 58mm throttle bodies and velocity stacks for constant air flow to the engine.
Solid Struts, Custom Swingarm
All that added 100 pound/feet of torque to go with that 170 horsepower.
They changed the belt drive to chain, then added a slipper clutch and electronic shifter, all for easier and smoother shifting for those speed runs.
Underneath, they added solid struts and a custom swingarm, and of course a wheelie bar to keep the front down during hard accelerations. Up front, they installed lowered, telescopic forks. You’ll also notice the footrests are further back, courtesy of a lowered frame.
Quarter-Mile Beasts
Experienced drag racers drove these hopped-up V-Rods to quarter mile times in the low 9-second range. The drag racing HDs proved to be reliable, and HD managed to sell most of the ones they built. They had initially planned to build 150-200, but increased that due to its popularity.
The Destroyer up for auction has never been raced, its tires never touched a pothole. It’s part of the John Parham estate collection, which has other bikes up for auction, such as a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow, a 1915 Flying Merkel Twin and a 1912 Indian Belt Drive Single.
Photos: Mecum Auctions
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