Necks were snapping everywhere. Never before have so many people mouthed, “What the #^(& is that?!” in such rapid succession.
Actually, my jaw was dropped by the mere fact that I was riding this motorcycle. Just a few years ago, this machine was but a figment of computer illustrator Tim Cameron's pixel-powerful mind. The Australian has for years been drawing two-wheel digital flights of fancy (www.timcamerondesign.com.au), but here I was riding the beast down Pacific Coast Highway on a warm afternoon. The bike exists because of the persistence of a transplanted Frenchman named Christian Travert. Now living in Florida, Travert, builder of the Y2K turbine-powered sportbike, saw the illustration and contacted Cameron. The two hit it off, and the bike now, a couple of years later, rolls down the highway, a strange slice of reality.
My chance to ride the Rex came from the first owner of one, a Mr. Jack Reynolds. He bought the $39,900 machine for his business, and even got Travert to autograph it!
Despite the V-Rex’s far-out looks, the riding experience is surprisingly mainstream. Wheelbase is incredibly long because of the massive leading-link front end, but steering is very light. In fact, at low speed it’s almost too light, which is exactly the opposite of a heavy-steering chopper. At speed, the ride is smooth and there is virtually no front-end dive on braking. The biggest drawback to riding the bike is the nearly complete lack of cornering clearance; I have never ridden a motorcycle with less. With the limited steering lock, the lack of clearance and the long wheelbase, U-turns are out of the question, and even normal 90-degree turns on the road have to be negotiated at a ridiculously slow pace.
Ergonomics for those over 6 feet are quite comfortable, and 70-mph cruising is remarkably serene. Typically, wind tries to blow you off the back of a bike like this, but the low seat and fairing-like structure in front of the bars mean you get to skip the Eternal Pull-Up.
Perhaps the best element is the riding refinement. Thanks to Harley-Davidson V-Rod running gear and controls, the clutch action, gearshifts and fuel delivery are fully polished and what you would expect from a modern motorcycle.
This bike is engineering for art’s sake, and in that respect, it is a success. No one in their right mind would have tried to make this machine and put it on the road, yet Travert did. There were some functional concessions in the effort to honor the impact of the virtual concept, but the V-Rex is real and it runs. And nothing else on the planet makes an impact like this bike.