Sometimes manufacturers bail on a model for very good reasons (see: Pontiac Aztek). But if you know your automotive history, you also know about those instances where a machine may have failed on the sales floor through no fault of its own. Many choice rides tanked because their feel and function didn't jibe with the public's perception of the brand. Imagine how hard it would be for Buick to successfully launch a 300-hp awd rally car to compete with the WRX and the EVO, and you get the idea.

So when Harley-Davidson decided that their objectively excellent VRSCR would not be part of their 2008 line up (the VRS Nightrod and VROD models will soldier on), we were saddened but not completely surprised. The Street Rod never played well with other Harleys. It's a bruiser, not a cruiser. You can still find one if you look around, and it's worth the trouble.

Think "Harley-Davidson" and odds are you'll picture a machine that is long on shininess and short on performance. The vast majority of the brand's McCrary twin-in-training consumer base wants only to keep buying essentially the same bikes year after year, bolting-on chrome gee-gaws and upgrading the under-stressed engines until they start making both respectable power and disrespectful amounts of noise. But it's the very conservative, almost reactionary nature of Harley's true believers that has made it so difficult for the company to leave the 20th Century behind. European and more progressive American motorcyclists want more from their bikes than glorified parade duty, and that's where the VR family of bikes comes in.

Born from Harley's ill-fated road-racing efforts in the '90s, the V-Rod (launched in 2002 as H-D's first completely new bike in 50 years) and its more recent stablemates employ the relatively high-revving, water-cooled, street-legalized 1130-cc V-Twin engine developed for its retired VR1000 Superbike. It wasn't good enough to win as a road racer, but it's a rockin' good mill for the street.

Back in '05, Harley finally built a chassis around that great engine, keeping the performance-rider's needs in mind. At the risk of sounding like we just cashed a check from Milwaukee, the Street Rod is a superb motorcycle; it's fast and quick (read: top speed and acceleration), it has brilliant Brembo brakes, and most amazingly, it handles. Granted, we aren't talking Yamaha R6 handling, but a good rider will be shocked by how this thing rails. It's got a long wheelbase for a bike with sporting intentions, so it requires a bit more bar effort to bend it to your will in transitions. Even so, it's surprisingly nimble, and as you pass that apex, tell us you aren't grinning when you twist the throttle to the stop, the engine booms to redline, and the huge torque hit slaps you upside the head. Think of the Street Rod's performance as more Dodge Viper than Lotus Elise.

This handling prowess is due to improvements in front-end geometry, more travel in the higher-quality suspension, mid-set pegs and revised handlebars. The rider sits in a more conventional position as compared to the V-Rod's pure-cruiser, feet-forward set up. Besides aiding balance and control,

you also get a full 40 degrees of lean before you start grinding off the peg feelers. Note to car guys: that's a shitload of lean.

Some people don't like the styling, complaining there's too much cheap-looking brightwork. And indeed, the louvered aluminum trim panels at the neck look like stove vents from a taco truck. Yet we met plenty of people on the street who thumbed-up the hypermodern, overcooked styling, which is pretty par for the course when you're talking Harley-Davidson.

But unlike most other Harleys, the Street Rod is most enjoyable at speed. Blow past an unskilled sportbike squid mid-corner on a canyon road some Sunday morning, and you'll experience a level of joy to match how you felt when you sucker-punched that drunken frat boy who felt up your girlfriend (well, maybe that's just me). Just be ready to deal with hassles at the hangout, where the tire-kicking starts with such astute questions as, "That's a HARLEY?!" Sure it is, in the same way that a CTS-V is a DTS. This is the Harley for the rest of us. Or at least it was. Get one while you can.