Street Rod On A Diet Harley V-Rod Discuss Street Rod On A Diet in the Motorcycles forums; Originally Posted by milindh Oh, and back to the Street Rod, right on Buzz! I hope you really put that street fighter on a serious diet like the racers did ...

[Buzz Kanter]

Originally Posted by milindh

Oh, and back to the Street Rod, right on Buzz! I hope you really put that street fighter on a serious diet like the racers did in the past when they converted a street bike into a race bike. If you can knock 100-150 lbs off that cruiser it'll be a different animal. I'm dying to see what can really be done with the Vrods. Harley dropped the ball on that one.

As an ex-roadracer (Yamaha. Honda & Ducati) back in the 1970s, I am all about adding lightness to my motorcycle. My goal is to start reducing the heavy parts like exhaust, then cut the unsprung weight - which might be tough on this bike. But if I can knock off 100 to 150 pounds I'll be pleased.

I think the Street Rod is one of the most interesting bikes Harley has made recently and am disappointed that they dropped it after only 2 years of production.

Weight reduction gets real expensive and involved and I guess if you were going for an ultimate light and tight bike you really could do something fantastic. Removing 10% is probably pretty easy and very worth the cost and effort. The next 10% - 15% would be possible but very custom and real expensive.

When I look at my FXR4 the heavy stuff that jumps out at me are like this:

1) The steel fenders. Even direct copies made in FG/kevlar would probably save some serious weight.

2) Steel oil bag. Aluminum is a lot lighter and readily available at least for the FXR. I'll bet the Street Rod has some in frame set up and would be hard to change.

3) The steel gas tank and console. A light tank could be fabricated from FG/Kevlar or possibly bought in aluminum. Again, with the Street Rod being such a totally different animal in the fuel storage department this would have to be a totally custom set up and real frickin' expensive.

4) The frame. It's probably mild steel and built to deal with a possible 800-1000 lb GVW. I remember when Mert Lawill was trying to build those semi custom Street Trackers he would buy an old Sportster frame with title and cut the steering head tube off the frame and send that to one of the race frame builder, like C&J I think, and have them build a light chrome moly frame around that steering head. What he ended up with was a true racing frame with an HD street title. Sneaky and cool but kind of expensive.

5) Wheels, brakes, and hubs. This is easy and all bolt on. This falls in the Easy first 10% category. I'm dying to see how your CF wheels work out. Lyndall rotors and pads would be lighter and stop better.

6) Exhaust. The usual aftermaket HD stuff will help a lot here. the Street Rod stock set up just looks real heavy. Something real trick and pretty easy would be to adapt some CF mufflers made for Ducatis or Buells to HD or aftermarket headers. Maybe not so pretty to some eyes but trick for sure.

I guess if you had $30k burning a hole in your pocket you could do something really fantastic but $5k-$6k should deliver something pretty cool too.

Good luck in your endeavor.

[4cams]

I don't think you could knock that much weight off in your wildest dreams. People spend thousands of dollars to knock off far less than that. It will be interesting to see what you do.

At 665 lbs. dry I just know there's some serious Hog Bacon on that bike! Of course, that's what gives it that great flavor.

[DesertSpeed]

Originally Posted by Buzz Kanter

I think the Street Rod is one of the most interesting bikes Harley has made recently and am disappointed that they dropped it after only 2 years of production.

Sounds like a line that belongs in a top-notch HD enthusiast magazine.

The wheels are a little heavy.
Steel fender liner can go, maybe even dump the whole rear fender and passenger seat for something composite.
No oil bag on the V-rods, so no help there. Trade the 5 gallon tank for the smaller tank from the 06 and ealier bikes?
I believe sombody weighed the stock D/R exhaust at 42lbs. Doesn't look like the Kirkers are weight savers. I assume you have the 180 rear tire. There's a 5 lbs difference between the 180 and the 240, just in the tire.

[Buzz Kanter]

Here's a photo of the bike as I bought it, and after I rode it home and gave it a good washing. After the photo I dried and waxed it - looks pretty good now.

[DesertSpeed]

No doubt here Buzz. The R is the second best looking V-rod made!
Looks like ya dun good on the purchase.

[BlueBob]

Ohhhh... the mind races at the possibilities. Good lookin' ride!

[BaggerDad]

Never really considered Harley riders as people concerned with reducing weight on a bike. Remember this is the company that brought you the Fat Boy!

If you want to see how much weight can be taken off a Harley all you have to do is look at the Buells.

Stock '07 Sportster 1200r dry weight - 565 lbs.

Stock '07 Buell XB12R dry weight - 395lbs.

That's 170 lbs.!

Of course the Buell has a completely different frame and it's quite a bit shorter but still you can see what a dedicated weight saving program can do.