MR AND Mrs V Rod are proud to announce the arrival of their brand new offspring, the VRSCR Street Rod.

This new bike is no simple cosmetic restyling; the geometry, riding position, suspension, exhausts and brakes, along with wheels and fuel capacity, have been redesigned to produce a nimbler bike with increased output.

Rake and fork angle has been changed to 30 and 32 degrees respectively, against the 34 and 38 of the V-Rod, which shortens the wheelbase from 1,714mm to 1,700mm, producing steering that is much more responsive.

The combination of the brawny 43mm Showa upside-downies on the front and performance calibration on the back shocks will deliver a sportier ride with improved braking provided by the introduction of Brembo four pot brakes with larger 300mm discs.

Geometry changes and redesigned high level exhausts produce an increased lean angle of 40 degrees before things start to scrape on the tarmac.

The rider now sits in a more european attitude, the footrests having been relocated to a mid position, the bars being shorter and less pulled

back and the seat height being raised by 102mm to 762mm.

The result is a riding position that will allow the rider to enjoy the enhanced handling, which is so well suited to our roads, in ease and comfort and get the most out of the increased fuel capacity of 18.9 litres.

The 1130cc water cooled, fuel injected, engine combined with the new exhaust system produces another 8bhp bringing the output up to

120@8250rpm' so there is a healthy dose of go to combine with the handling.

Ten-spoke cast ally wheels wearing ZR-rated Dunlop's, 180mm wide on the back, replace the solids found on the V-Rod, and very good they look too.

The VRSCR Street Rod is available in five colour options of Vivid Black, Black Cherry, Rich Sunglo Blue, Mirage Orange and Yellow with a silver and black engine with polished covers.

The reduced price of £10,995 on the road combined with muscle bike style, looks and performance will undoubtedly bring a lot of new, dare I say younger, riders to the Harley stable.

The Street Rod disproves the often quoted saying that H-D only make bikes suited for long straight US roads and I am looking forward to the first one arriving at Dockgate 20 next month.

In the meanwhile more info can be found at either Dockgate 20 or the Harley-Davidson website.

While there, have a look at the 2005 Sportster XL 883R, the rubber mounted Sporty inspired by the XR dirt track racers.

More details on that to follow.