After apexing the final corner at Blackhawk Farms Raceway and getting on the fat part of the rear tire, I dial up the throttle of the Harley-sourced high-performance V-Twin to rocket me up the front straight on this radical new American-made sportbike.
At this point you might assume I’m behind the bars of one of Erik Buell’s latest sporting machines, but the fertile mind of Buell had nothing to do with the innovative steed that is hurling me through the Wisconsin forest. And Buell surely must be envious that the most powerful of his American bikes are down almost 50 horsepower from the exclusive new Roehr 1250sc.
Response from the stock V-Rod fuel injectors was glitch-free everywhere except for a slight kink when dialing on throttle from a closed position. A stiffly sprung throttle is mostly to blame, but the linkage itself seemed to provide excessive drag. Once the right grip is twisted open, you’d best be prepared for a never-ending blast of grunt that sweeps through its five-speed gearbox like nothing else on wheels. The small V-Rod tachometer could be a bit more conspicuous, but shifting, say, 500 revs early hinders acceleration only as much as an extra carry-on bag does on a Boeing 373
