I really wish OP would have put that info into a format that would have been better to understand. That post made my eyes bleed. Hesus.( yes I know I misspelled it.)

The fastest Vtwin power cruiser on the market is the Vrod. It also has the smallest displacement. The only one that can beat it is the Yamaha VMax, but that is a V-4.
All other cruisers are NOT meant to be fast. So its no surprise. And comparing a Bagger to a Meanstreak is ridiculous. Compare the performance of the Roadking to a Nomad if you want to compare.

Mostly what it comes down to is this. Motorcycles are cool. Riding them is fun. It doesnt matter what it is, riding a bike is more fun and cooler than driving a minivan. Unless your bike is broke, you WILL out run a minivan, on ANY bike. Todays drivers have forgotten the lessons of the 70's about accelerating with an egg under the gas peddle. And many of the drivers here in AZ. come from south of the border, and they never even had that concept introduced to them, especially the ones who drive the ten year old minivans. Many of them have never been taught to drive, and the were to poor to own a car or drive when they did live down there.
So if a minivan is out accelerating your roadking, or any other bike you ride for that matter, twist the throttle past half way and you will see, your bike will move out at a pretty good pace, because those minivan drivers have the gas peddle planted practically WOT. Ive done my own tests with my wife driving our 201 hp Taurus, which will out run a minivan, so I KNOW what those folks are doing to their gas peddles.

Granted, its not going to go as fast as a sport bike thats 600cc or more, but its a Vtwin CRUISER. You want a fast Vtwin? Get a Ducati, Buell, or that crazy fast Honda Vtwin sport bike.

 

Any cruiser performance comparison that doesn't include popular metric cruisers like the Honda VTX 1800, the Suzuki M109R and C109, the Triumph Rocket III, and the the Yamaha V-Max, really misses the mark in my opinion. The bikes listed in the chart are bikes that exist to be Harley-knockoffs. The point is that young people increasingly don't want Harleys or Harley knockoffs.

Young people increasingly don't care whether their bike looks or sounds like a Harley, they don't care whether it has an air cooled v-twin (and in fact many don't want it to), and they don't have any attachment to the Harley image (any many don't want anything to do with it).

And increasingly they don't even care whether it is a cruiser. "Why," they ask, "would I want a Harley when I can get a sport bike or a sport tourer that can out-accelerate, out-corner, and generally out-perform any Harley by a huge margin, at the same price or in many cases for far less?"

And the answer is in my opinion, if you don't care about Harley styling, image, and sound, there is no reason to buy a Harley over any of these bikes.

Yes, I'll agree that if you want a bike that looks, sounds, and runs like a Harley, then you should buy a Harley instead of a Harley-knockoff, but increasingly those are not the purchasing criteria of young motorcycle buyers.

 

The Suzuki M109R/C109 which is a vtwin cruiser, will handily beat the V-Rod stock for stock, and is several thousand $$ cheaper.

And this assumes that the buyer even cares whether the bike is a vtwin or not.

The Triumph Rocket III which is a cruiser will beat it, and is cheaper.

And as you note, so will the V-Max, which is also a cruiser and much cheaper.

It's possible this has changed with the 2008 displacement increase, but the above is true of what I've seen in reviews comparing across bikes using the same rider.

Personally, if I were buying a bike for its performance I wouldn't be buying a cruiser, period, Harley or not.

Keep the racing on the tracks and off public streets.

Here's a popular mechanics review of 2007 models: http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...03.html?page=1

 

Now you have done it.....

A logical, well thought out reply such as the one you just made is not allowed.

Spoilsthe fun of reading all the 'bickering'..

 

Any cruiser performance comparison that doesn't include popular metric cruisers like the Honda VTX 1800, the Suzuki M109R and C109, the Triumph Rocket III, and the the Yamaha V-Max, really misses the mark in my opinion. The bikes listed in the chart are bikes that exist to be Harley-knockoffs.

That was the entire point of the comparison--Apples to apples.
Any thing else would have been skewed.

I will be posting testing results of V-twins similar in size and weight to the Harley Road King

Indidently, we purchased the Harley over other bikes for two maiin reasons, comfort being #1, and #2, for ease in putt-putting through campgrounds pulling our camper something this bike excels at.

If you want to win drag races, buy the 2006 Suzuki GSX:
9.55 @ 143.02 mph

Fastest bike: 1999 Hayabusa 188 mph

Most HP? 2006 Kawasaki ZX 14 @ 163.3 hp

Most torque? Triumph Rocket III @ 144.6 ft/lbs

Best brakes? Triumph Speed Triple 104.8' from 60mph to 0

The V-Max is no longer on any of the above top ten lists, but still a wonderful machine. My '84 Venture with the same engine less the dual induction would run circles around my Ultra if that's what I wanted.

 

I am new to the forum and also a new bike owner. Since I do not know the age of many of the posters here I will just assume that all this stuff about high performance and speed are posted by kids, since all this speed only gets you arrested in Texas. I bought a Harley for the look, sound, and the experience, that’s all there is! God takes all the rest in a few short years anyway, as nothing leaves the planet not even Harley’s, I guess they are too noisy in the after world.

I just got back from a car trip to Colorado, and drove back through New Mexico. When stopping to get gas in a reservation town, an Indian man drove up to the icehouse on a beautiful blue, chromed out, softail HD. He was all decked out in his leathers, matching jacket, chaps, etc. Just the sound and the show of him pulling up made everyone in the store turn and look, or come out of the store to look. He had a kind of tough look on his face until I looked at him and said, “NICE BIKE” and his smile went ear to ear. I have no idea who this gentleman was, but in his mind, and in the minds of the folks in that area, he was a Chief, and that’s what a Harley does, and it does not happen with any other bikes!

I owned a 65 yellow and white corvette at one time. It was really a piece of junk; it rattled, and wiggled all over the road at speeds passed 80 MPH, but what a car!

 

Was he a Del Fuego?

 

Alright, well l agree with you that Harley fairs well in that kind of comparison. Like I said I do believe that if someone wants something that looks, sounds, and runs like a Harley, then Harley still makes a better bike than its imitators. That's why I bought one afterall.

But the point I was getting at is that this isn't neccsarily comparison young people are making, because increasingly they don't care whether their bike looks, sounds, and runs like a Harley. And for someone for who those aren't purchasing criteria, in the grand scheme of cruisers and street bikes, Harley suddenly isn't a very good choice in my opinion.

I've had the conversation many times with younger acquaintances and coworkers, and they just don't get why I bought a Harley.

 

Awww C'mon....It's all about the CHICKS! Forget HP and Torque-chicks want to be seen on the back of a Harley! That's the only comparison that counts...

 

MNPGRider;
I completely understand why you started this thread. It is very hard to come on this forum and have people rip on something that you love and if you defend it, you are accused of being part of a "fad" or are "sheep". I wouldn't tell someone I didn't know on the street that I think their bike sucks, or their kids are ugly, or you're stupid for buying a Harley cause everyone knows.....blah blah blah, of course it's ok to say anything because "it's just my opinion". Ah, the safety of the internet. Then you have people that want to project that they have the wisdom of Solomon. Every one is being unreasonable and there is good and bad in everything...blah blah blah. My Harley purchase was completely based on emotion. If there were any logic involved I would have put the money in real estate, or home improvements. Therefore it becomes a very emotional subject when you feel like you're getting slammed for something you bought that I at least, am very proud of. Oh, and please remind me again why I'm supposed to give a s**t about the purchasing criteria of the young motorcycle buyer.