
Jack the Ripper: John Meade’s V-Rod Destroyer Carves Up the Track
Story by J. Joshua Placa
Photos by John Meade and Hannah Simmons
John Meade has a hunger for speed, straight ahead, none of this turning crap, eyeballs bouncing off the back of his brain, get ‘er down the quarter-mile in a whoosh and three heartbeats full of adrenalin kind of speed.
Meade is not your average drag junkie. The 45-year-old MMI instructor has been in or around racing before he began to ride. The aroma of melting rubber is intoxicating to this soft-spoken country gentleman from Virginia. So when we heard Meade was back on the track, images of monster motors and dangerous speeds danced in our heads.
But the veteran wrench pulled out a surprise. He went out and bought a brand new, bone stock Harley, rolls it into his truck and takes it right to the racetrack. This bike, however, was one of a limited run of VRXSE Screamin’ Eagle V-Rod Destroyers, race built, track ready and very illegal for street use.
Harley-Davidson won’t release production figures, but Meade estimated only 500 or so the 1300cc (79 cubic inch) Big Bore Revolution Racing Powertrain equipped V-Rods came out of the factory. “It was a joint venture between Harley and a few part suppliers,” said Meade. “I think the bike was built to showcase what you could do with a V-Rod and the kind of power you could get. Today, you can walk into an H-D dealership and buy everything you need to turn any V-Rod into a 170-hp Destroyer, just like mine.”
Meade, who now lives in Phoenix, runs in AHDRA’s Elapsed Time Destroyer Class, where bikes can be tuned but not modified in any way, even cosmetically. “Makes it hard to find your bike sometimes because they really all do look exactly the same,” said Meade. “It’s a lot of fun, and in the Destroyer class it seems to be more about you since the playing field is so even, or at least that’s the idea. It’s all in how you react to the Christmas tree.”
The instructor has run 9.20 at Rockingham, North Carolina. “Just,” as he says with a smile, “by tuning.” He added, as any drag racer worth his wheelie bar knows, “…these things are very weather affected. You have to account for humidity, temperature, and altitude, so dialing them for optimum performance for the conditions is key.” Cat-like reflexes and balls of steel don’t hurt, either.
Meade has won a few races, gone heart-stopping fast and had his fun, but noticed the sport is not as popular on the West Coast as it is on the East, where he says, “drag racing is king,” with upwards of 10 times the participation.
He is considering selling the Destroyer and turning his attentions to his latest project, a hotrod Road Glide. From bagger to dragster, Meade doesn’t feel at home in the cockpit unless he’s sitting on some serious power.
John Meade can be contacted at quickharley@aol.com.
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