Superglide vs. V-Rod

[Schutzhund]

Greetings,

Has anyone had the opportunity to ride a Superglide and compared it to a V-Rod?  Is so how do they compare in:

1, Everyday ride commuting

2, Sport touring ability

3, Handling

4, Engine tractability in city, open road and thruway riding

5, Maintenance costs

Thanks for any and all feedback.

Tom......

[Sport-Touring]

[FBRR]

I have owned both a V-Rod and Dyna.
The V-Rod is far more smooth. ( and it goes without saying faster )
The Dyna is a rubber mounted engine, non-balanced. It moves around a lot when stopped. It gets smoother at speed, but it will never be as smooth as a V-Rod.
I had forward controls on both bikes. ( for point of reference, as the Dyna comes with what Harley calls mid-controls )
Even though the V-rod has a streched out "look" it handles ( side to side transitions ) faster than a Dyna. It is also lighter. The Dyna has more clearence than the stock V-Rod. The Rod is better in a curve but touches down far too quicly to hit either the radiator shourd or exhaust. So I guess by default the "cornering" clearence goes to the Dyna.

Touring: one up to two. If two up is the question, the Rod is out.
I could ride my V-Rod much farther than the Dyna in a day. The V-Rod was easier in all aspects ( except room ). For "sport touring" the V-Rod lack space. I know everyone can adapt to anything but the Dyna will carry more stuff.

Also the V Rod transmission feel is so much better than a Dyna.( newer design obviously and no primary chain to mess with!).
The V-Rod is what led me to Sport touring. I really like my V-Rod better than any other of the Harleys I've owned.( but it is also the reason I new I wanted a real sport touring bike!! that would not scrap it bits in a corner. Hence the C14 )

For the question not asked. I've ridden for many miles on both the street glide and Road Kings of my friends. While they are obviously better suited as tourning bikes, I could never ride a bike that heavy and slow with any enjoyment. But if lack of acceleration and cornering is not an issue, either one is better for long trips. They are comfortable but slow.

Hope that helps.

[1KPerDay]

Get the dyna. Far more flexible, better bike overall. The V-rod's motor is a lot of fun, though. The Superglide is probably the best bike Harley makes (until they bring the XR1200 here).

[atadaskew]

I have owned both a V-Rod and Dyna.

What year was your Dyna?  Harley did a major revision in (I think) 2006 where they strengthened the frame and swingarm and increaded the fork size to 49mm tubes.
What engine was in your Dyna? The 96 cube model in mine is very smooth off idle as well having a really nice gear box.  Very short, positive throws.
You do not mention service costs.  The V-rod cost waaaay more to service than a Dyna as it has shim adjust engine valves while the Dyna are maintenance free.
To choose between them, test ride both...

[st ryder]

Get the dyna.

  If you want the modern descendant of the what defines a HD, and what all metric cruisers have tried to copy/capture, ie air cooled, single crank-pin Big 45 degree V-Twin.

If you want a high priced, "modern", water cooled, stop light to stop light, intimidating, high performance,"boulevard" cruiser, get the new V-max.    

[Schutzhund]

Thank you for the replies.  

FBRR, question,

Was the powerband of the Superglide more tractable in city riding?  Did you just have to focus on the V-Rods RPM's?

Which bike woud you rather be on for defensive driving maneuvers?

Which bike would you prefer to be on while on a twisty road?

I sat on a C14 and like them but I need to move my legs around to keep them from stiffening up.  That is why I sold my Ducati Multistrada.  Also my legs are more comfortable with my feet positioned in front of my knees hence my consideration of the Harley's.

The other considerations have been a Yamaha (Star) Warrior or a Kawasaki Mean Streak.

Thanks again for every ones input/advice.

Tom......

[1KPerDay]

Was the powerband of the Superglide more tractable in city riding?  Did you just have to focus on the V-Rods RPM's?

Which bike woud you rather be on for defensive driving maneuvers?

Which bike would you prefer to be on while on a twisty road?

The V-rod's engine is strong everywhere. Perhaps not the huge torque jump right off the bottom, but it's not weak in any sense. And it just keeps pulling to redline. Great engine.

Better brakes on the V-rod but funkyish handling (due to the super-raked forks and under-raked trees) and limited cornering clearance. Great brakes, though... I think there's still a V-rod on the top 10 shortest stops in Motorcycle Consumer News. Overall the rod handled much better than I expected.

for defensive driving and twisty road work, I still take the Dyna with mid-mount pegs. Neither bike is a corner scratcher. If that's what you want you might consider a Yamaha Warrior... or a sportbike/standard/sport-tourer.

[FBRR]

Schultzhund,

I prefered the V-rod. It does have more power everywhere compared to the dyna.
The Dyna is a larger bike and if two up is the issue, that would be my choice.
Just to answer a few of the others questions. My Dyna was a 2000 MY, 88cu in.
I have ridden the new ones, and I would stand by my statement that the V-Rod transmission is much better. It's smoother and there is no primary to add any lash. I know the new Dynas are better, but a Harley gear box is still a Harley gear box!

The handling on the V-Rod is also better. The issue is it lacks ground clearance. And yes I now would prefer a mid-contrls as on the Dyna. The Dynas are smooth at anything other than IDLE. That was my only point. The rubber mounted engine is not balanced and moves around at idle. The V-rod by comparision is both rubber mounted and balanced. I found the V-rod less fatiguing on long trips.( Both of mine had forward controls!!) Either bike will benefit from mounting a fork brace! It stiffens the forks just that much better.
As to upkeep, there are many V-Rods that have had their valve checks done and from many reports on the V-Rod forum, there have been almost none needing adjustment for the first 40,000 miles.

Some issues to consider; And I am not pushing either bike, nor knocking either bike.

The 96cu in Harleys have several "issues". Issue might be to strong a word, but things that can happen or design elements that as an engine engineer I would consider. Again, I'm trying to statr a "flame" war, just issue that some folks have had and I am aware of from other forums and friends issues.

The cam chain tensioners have had wear problems on some engines. They have been known to break down and "shed" in the engine. A bad thing. But this is a high mileage issue. ( 20K+)
The main bearings have been changed in recent years. ( Early 1999 88 cu.in. had bearing failures. A change in 2000 MY fixed the bearing issue. Now Harley have again
"changed" the main bearings in recent years.)
The valve guide was downsized. Directionaly incorrect.
Emissions have chocked the 96 engine. It makes better torque but shoold make a lot more power. Peak airflow is compromised again for emissions.

The V-Rod's main issue list:
The fuel gages are all "JUNK" on the new V-Rods. Harley has tried but failed to make a reliable fuel gage. This is a major pain on an injected bike with "relatively" short range.
For the most part the V-Rod engine is proving to be bulletproof. The big drawback as was mentioned is valve checks cost. But I think that the mileage for valve checks has been raised to 15,000 miles. The Brembo brakes are just what you would expect.

Both bikes are relatively easy around town as the seat height is low, but the V-rod is in my opinion easier. You ask which I would prefer for defensive driving. The V-rod is much quicker to changes in direction ( less weight ) and no I didn't need to watch the Tach it had power anywhere you need it. When asking about "handling" and Harleys it's all relative.

"REAL" Harley guys tend to not like or even acknowledge V-Rods. But then I never did care what "real" Harley guys thought. There is just no way a Dyna is as much fun to ride as the V-Rod, but then again I like power. The size and chassis design is the main drawback to the V-Rod. For one up riding the V-rod is great. The seat on the new 240 rear tire bikes is wider than the older bikes as well.

[Schutzhund]

FBRR,

Thanks for taking the time to type out such a detailed report of your experiences.  As soon as my local Harley dealer has a V-Rod to demo, I will compare the Superglide and the V-Rod together.  It will be cool to see how my seat of the pants evaluation compares to your experiences.  I also appreciate your mechanical knowledge of the two bikes.

Tom......

[JaVaDaVe42o]

Just got a 2011 Dyna AND VROD. (Dyna first)
The Dyna is absolutely gorgeous, plenty of power from 1584cc engine, but I have to agree for straight driving fun, power, response, the VROD wins hands down.
I'm almost tempted to sell the Dyna now but I love the how it looks so much. When it comes down to it, it's really just an issue of style vs performance.

-- Dave

[1KPerDay]

Just got a 2011 Dyna AND VROD.

Holy crap.  

[FBRR]

This is an old thread, brought back to life! The funny thing is, I've sold the C14 and I'm now on a DYNA again. I loved the C14 but couldn't trust myself to not wind it up into triple digits everytime I went for a "ride." The Dyna takes care of that, and yes the new Dynas have better transmission shifting and feel. I've kept the midcontrols on this Dyna, and added the fork brace from my V-Rod, it's "handling" is still not up to V-rod standards and V-Rods have much better brakes. ( Luckly, Dynas don't go nearly as fast as either my old C14 or a V-Rod).
I'm also sure I'm not a ticket magnet like I was on the other two bikes. ( C14 and V-Rod)

Horsepower is fun, but only when you whack the throttle. In my case I couldn't resist.

[falconati]

So, you're saying that Harley makes slow motorcycles?  

[2DFlyer]

Just got a 2011 Dyna AND VROD.

Curious.  Not to be a PTIA but is this really an apples to apples discussion?  That JaVa has one of each may say enough.  If I'm in the mood to putt and take the blood pressure down a notch or two I'm on the Dyna without a care in the world about handling and performance.  On the VRod I'm hovering about 4500 RPM with a SEG on my face looking for an excuse to whack it.

[Schutzhund]

Ironically, I bought a Honda VT1800F and passed for now on the Harleys.  I have made a few mods to it, it exceeds my expectations and was a bit cheaper to invest in.  I have ridden it twice (600 miles each way) to Indy for the Moto GP all via back roads.  Yes it is still a heavy cruiser but I need that to keep me from riding too fast which I did often with my Ducati.  Fun to see someone dig up this old post!

Tom......

[OldBob]

I had a V-Rod for a while. After making a luggage rack for it, I had a decent (600 miles/day) touring bike. The gas mileage could have been better. One of the saddlebags carried another gallon of gas.

Bob