Never a company to do anything by halves, Custom Chrome decided to introduce their dealers to ‘in-house’ designer John Reed’s latest prototype by airlifting the motorcycle straight into the middle of their recent Dealer Show, in Morgan Hill, California. Just after the smoke cleared from Bubba’s Buell torturing stunt show, with the light fading fast, the bike appeared above the trees, slung underneath a helicopter. The machine was gently lowered to the ground and a helmeted figure in bike leathers ran up to it. Soon the rider and techies fired the machine up and we had our first look at the machine simply known as the ‘Vee’ as it shot back and forth on a makeshift dragstrip. The show ended spectacularly with a burn out greeted with wild applause – partly because the bike looked and sounded so cool, and partly because many of us in the audience had twigged John Reed himself was the maniac riding it.

Then we were all invited back inside the vast hospitality marquee to inspect another – the other, probably – Vee prototype more closely. First impressions from the vast majority of dealers present were extremely favourable, many, especially the Europeans, thought their customers would like it too, but it is too early to say whether Custom Chrome International will make the huge commitment to tool up and market the bike. One very good reason why not could be that John had not built the bike utilising many components from the CCI catalogue. But neither was that particularly strange either, CCI still offer a predominately custom-orientated catalogue and to forge a brand new American performance machine John would naturally have had to shop elsewhere.

While neither John nor CCI were giving too much away – after all it is still a prototype – the Vee obviously utilises some very trick cycle parts. John himself told me the USD front end was exactly the same as that on the machine that won this year’s World Superbike round in Italy. I could see that the brakes too were state of the art fully floating race items, and John mentioned Corbin’s had worked alongside him to design and then manufacture the sexy single seat and elegantly curved tail piece. Indeed, the temptation is to think that only the RevTech 100 motor could be the only off the shelf ‘part’, but even that’s not guaranteed: John reckons he has the most sophisticated Dyna in the USA and the temptation for him to further tune the Vee’s 100ci RevTech fire-breathing monster must have been intolerable, but if he did it wasn’t at the expense of its usability.

However, calling the Vee a fire-breathing monster makes the machine sound as if it is barely controllable, but it isn’t – and I know this for a fact because John let me ride it.

On The Road

A week later I had the amazing good fortune to actually roadtest the Vee prototype. Sticking the California trade plate into the back pocket of my jeans, John and I rehearsed the excuse we would use if pulled by the Sheriff or Highway Patrol. "The mounting assembly for it fell off way back, probably into a bush or something Officer/Sheriff, this is all we could recover." Digging out a full face helmet for me John explained that the lid would deaden the sound more than an open-face, useful, because he wanted me to forget I was riding ‘a Harley’.

No key ignition as yet, the Vee was made live by a simple switch on the side of the electrics box and started conventionally by a handlebar mounted button. Despite the full-face, I could still tell I was on a familiar feeling big vee, but the noise emanating the two into one exhaust didn’t sound too much like a Harley and neither was it irritatingly loud – just nice! Up close I could tell that this was John’s working prototype – there was no speedo and the centrally mounted rev counter, behind an Italian fairing – swiped from an Aprilia I think – didn’t seem to work particularly well. The inside of the fairing was covered with hurriedly jotted readings and calculations – presumably from the high tech looking device with an incomprehensible, for me at least, digital read-out mounted temporarily on the right handlebar.

The Vee’s RevTech 100ci motor was extremely tractable, smooth and very sweet. I quickly felt at home on the machine, the seating position perfect, the close ratio gearbox positive and the immensely powerful brakes offering easy, progressive and assured feel.

However, with Mr Reed, hot on my heels aboard his own bike, I knew I wouldn’t have too long to fanny about getting used to the Vee before I’d completely lost any respect I might have possibly gained from him. So after a mile or two I began to crank the Vee up.

Any thoughts that the Vee might have just been a styling exercise were very soon dispelled. Although uncannily smooth, the engine did not lack power and responded eagerly to an enthusiastically twisted throttle.

The power didn’t so much surge in and out of a cammy powerband as build steadily throughout the rev range right up until the rev-limiter put a stop to it all. Thoroughly enjoying myself, I was soon hitting the rev-limiter in all five gears. John didn’t want me to ride the Vee like a Harley so I didn’t, and took much pleasure from wringing its neck.

At first I was not entirely convinced about the frame’s characteristics. While the suspension, both hi-tech USD front and conventional but highly efficient twin shock rear, was absolutely superbly set up – even considering a much lighter John Reed had presumably set it up for himself – the tubular frame seemed almost ponderous for the first couple of miles. But the Vee has a much longer wheelbase than any sporty bike I’d ridden since my enormous beam framed Kawasaki ZX10. The big Vee certainly didn’t feel like a Buell either but, to be fair, it isn’t trying to be one.

The Vee’s frame first began to make sense to me under real power. On the dry Californian asphalt, stuck to the ground on a pair of Avon Venoms, it wasn’t going anywhere I didn’t want it to go. To add enormously to the fun, I soon discovered that if you actively counter-steered those wide bars into the bends and grabbed a fistful of throttle at the same time the Vee, actually handled beautifully, albeit somewhat dirt-track style.
Some miles later I reached the outskirts of a picturesque settlement and was able to judge the Vee’s character at low speed. Here, at low revs, is where the motorcycle feels most like the Harley Big Twin it is distantly related to and it rumbled contentedly past the ranch style dwellings, kids out playing ball lifting their heads to see what exotic sounding custom was passing. The Vee didn’t lurch at low speed, wasn’t grouchy, didn’t cough and fart, and the power fed in as smoothly at very low revs as it did much higher. In short the Vee felt well balanced and sophisticated, and once I was used to the handling characteristics, I felt happy and totally secure with the machine. The Vee is certainly an amazing achievement, in fact I had to constantly remind myself that I was riding a prototype.

It’s a very interesting time for John and his Vee. John has a history of pushing the boundaries, often a startling new turn he makes becomes an accepted new solution, other times not. Whether the Vee prototype is actually progressed into full kit bike production at Custom Chrome depends on many factors. Whether the suppliers of the specialist parts the Vee utilises can offer those parts at bulk prices. Whether there is a will at CCI to produce a revolutionary sports bred big twin, and whether when they ride the machine CCI decision makers actually like it. Whether the Harley ‘Old Guard’ traditionalists balk at such an upstart. Whether the dealers think they could sell them.

But unusually, because we got access to a prototype before any decision about its future has been made, one of those factors is you. Do you like it? Does the concept strike you as bizarre or beautiful? If it was made available, would you potentially want a Vee kit bike?

Let your local CCI dealer know what you think of the Vee, or you could e-mail via CCI’s web site.

Me? I’d give the Vee the go ahead – but I guess you’ve already worked that one out for yourselves.