HD Road Glide vs Victory Cross Country review

[atadaskew]

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2010-harleydavidson-road-glide-vs-2010-victory-cross-country-89044.html

They give it to the Victory.
Having ridden bikes with that motor, I'd pick the Harley for several reasons:
1/ The engine is much smoother in the Harley. Victory's is buzzier which defeats the visceral purpose of having a big thumpin' V-twin as you roll in the miles. (Doesn't matter that the Victory is 'faster' cuz quite frankly these bikes aren't about fast.  They're about cruisin'.  Ya want fast? Buy the Kawi C14)
2/ Victory has great fit/finish, but it looks like it was styled by someone who did the Yam Raider.

Anyone know if the Victory motor has hydraulic valves like the Harley?  Maintenance as easy?

Still, the Cross Roads is the nail in the Vision's coffin.

[chornbe]

Vision = BKing

"Hi.

I'm new and big and honkin' and most people consider me fugly. Love me while you can. I'm outta here tomorrow.

Lovingly,

The Latest Attempt...."

[2DFlyer]

http://www.motorcycle.com/shoot-outs/2010-harleydavidson-road-glide-vs-2010-victory-cross-country-89044.html

Anyone know if the Victory motor has hydraulic valves like the Harley?  Maintenance as easy?

Valve Train     Single overhead camshafts with 4 valves per cylinder, self-adjusting cam chains, hydraulic lifters

I'd take the FLH any day.

[Playinthestreet]

Peter Egan rides a Road Glide.  That's all I need to know.

[SpitfireTriple]

I've ridden neither.  But I'd take the Victory.  There's too much BS attached to the HD "brand". The Victory is "just" a motorcycle.  Which is how it should be.  The Harley sounds better though.  And I'm gradually coming round to the realisation that the sound is an important part of the riding experience. On that point, there's too much music on the video.  It stops you hearing the sound.

[15dollar]

I like the Street Glide over either of Victory's two new touring bikes.  Victory has done a good job of offering options to the cruiser/touring market, but their styling is a bit too much for me.  Also, HD has dealerships everywhere and a ton of small shops that specialize in HD service.  Food for thought; Sonny Barger rode a Road Glide, until he bought a Victory Vision.

[atadaskew]

  Food for thought; Sonny Barger rode a Road Glide, until he bought a Victory Vision.

Why would anyone care what a convicted felon rides?

[atadaskew]

Peter Egan rides a Road Glide.  That's all I need to know.

Lezzbe honest here, Egan changes bikes like the rest of us change socks.
One time I wuz all happy that he bought a Duc like mine, look, Egan's got my bike!  Then he traded it for the next thing a short while later.  Rinse and repeat..
 

Where I was disappointed with him was when he was involved in Cycle World's big bagger test, and said the Guzzi Vintage was maybe the best bike.  Thought he would step up to the plate...

Out of Harley's current tourers, my pick would be the standard Road King (prefer the hard over the soft bags of the Classic) or the Road Glide.  Thing I like about the RK is that the shield comes off in seconds, so for those round town rides you don't need that in front of you.

[atadaskew]

I've ridden neither.  But I'd take the Victory.  There's too much BS attached to the HD "brand". The Victory is "just" a motorcycle.  Which is how it should be.  The Harley sounds better though.  And I'm gradually coming round to the realisation that the sound is an important part of the riding experience. On that point, there's too much music on the video.  It stops you hearing the sound.

I was angling that way a while back until I rode a Victory.  The motors are not as smooth or nice sounding (too much gear whine drowning out everything else) as the Harleys.  So I'm glad I never made that statement!
I agree that there is too much BS around the HD brand, but that's marketing for you and one reason why HD is dominant in it's class.
I disagree about a bike needing to be 'just' a motorcycle.  If that was the case then we either  would be all riding scooters (shaddup up my Vespa!) or really really bland bikes.  Ducati, Moto Guzzi, KTM  etc wouldn't exist (let alone Harley or even Victory) if it was 'just' a motorcycle.
You can imagine what we'd all be riding...
 

[broncoblue399]

 cuz quite frankly these bikes aren't about fast.  They're about cruisin'.  Ya want fast? Buy the Kawi C14)
.

Thanks so much for the terrific insight and fresh perspective

[atadaskew]

Thanks so much for the terrific insight and fresh perspective

Why are you here?

[broncoblue399]

Why are you here?

to bask in your specialness

[atadaskew]

to bask in your specialness

Make sure to have at least spf (specialness protection factor) 30 on, cuz it's real strong.  Don't want you to burn on the first day.

[chornbe]

Thanks so much for the terrific insight and fresh perspective

What's wrong with his statement. It's rather accurate. More people should get a clue when it comes to design and clarity of purpose.

$.02

[SpitfireTriple]

I disagree about a bike needing to be 'just' a motorcycle.  If that was the case then we either  would be all riding scooters (shaddup up my Vespa!) or really really bland bikes.  Ducati, Moto Guzzi, KTM  etc wouldn't exist (let alone Harley or even Victory) if it was 'just' a motorcycle.
You can imagine what we'd all be riding...
 

Know what you mean. I'm going to tie myself in knots here, but a motorcycle can be "just" a motorcycle yet still have a soul.  And a soulful motorcycle doesn't have to be a twin either.  I reckon my Thunderbird 900 and Daytona 900 both have more soul than my Aprilia Futura 1000 twin - which is a better motorcycle than either of them - better brakes, suspension, comfort, etc.  A Laverda Jota on the other hand, has more soul than my two Triumphs, but even worse brakes, handling etc. I'm not necessarily saying that there is a correlation here: "Worse motorcycle = more soul". That's sometimes true and sometimes not.

But the "If it ain't Harley it ain't shit"(!), the "Ride One"TM, the "Genuine Accessories"TM etc etc just makes me puke.  When the brand becomes more powerful than the machine, the machine becomes less than a motorcycle.  Harley executives don't talk about motorcycles, they talk about the brand. They don't talk about making motorcycles, they talk about shifting "Product".  It may make for a profitable corporation, but it doesn't appeal to me.  If a Harley didn't have all the marketing guff attached, I'd consider one.  Even though, objectively, it is not a very good motorcycle.

[chornbe]

... for sport riding. There is more to motorcycling.

Sorry, but it's an exemplary motorcycle for touring when a casual pace and hauling lots of stuff factors in... as is evidenced by the fact that nearly *every* other marquee builds a copy. If there is any question at all in that, simply look at the new $17+K complete and utter rip off of Harleys by Kawasaki.

LOTS of people seem to agree that it's a good, purpose-built machine because there are LOTS of Harleys (speaking specifically of the touring frame bikes) on the road, serving exactly that purpose - long distance touring, often 2-up, with weeks of provisions onboard.



I wouldn't take a Street Glide on the track. I wouldn't tour 10k miles around the country on a CBR/RR and I wouldn't take either of them on the trails.

It's ok that there are different bikes for different purposes.

[kendenton]

You know, I don't think we've covered this ground in any other thread.  Maybe we should sticky this one?  

[black hills]

I thought the vision was better than any HD I've ever ridden, but what do I know

[2006FJR]

I would prefer to ride the HD but all BS around the lifestyle is a big turn off. In the end I would get the Vision.  

[SpitfireTriple]

objectively, it is not a very good motorcycle.

... for sport riding. There is more to motorcycling.

We are in complete agreement

Sorry, but it's an exemplary motorcycle for touring when a casual pace and hauling lots of stuff factors in... as is evidenced by the fact that nearly *every* other marquee builds a copy. If there is any question at all in that, simply look at the new $17+K complete and utter rip off of Harleys by Kawasaki.

Disagree with your analysis. Yes, Kawasaki et al are copying the style.  Kawasaki & co are hungry for the buyers who will pay a premium price for something that actually requires less engineering excellence (=effort and cost) to develop than a sports bike. But demonstrating that Harleys are desirable machines to many people is a long way from demonstrating that they are good machines by any objective measure.
  

LOTS of people seem to agree that it's a good, purpose-built machine because there are LOTS of Harleys (speaking specifically of the touring frame bikes) on the road, serving exactly that purpose - long distance touring, often 2-up, with weeks of provisions onboard.

Sorry, can't agree.  The fact that there are lots of Harleys on the road does not prove that it's a good long distance touring machine.  (Nor does it prove the contrary).  It simply proves that plenty of people were happy to pony up the purchase price.  Those customers will have had a variety of reasons for making their purchase.  But it has to be true to say that a high proportion of them will be at least partially motivated by the BS that goes with Harleys - a motive largely absent from buyers of other manufacturers, jap ones in particular.  To many/most Harley buyers, the Harley BS is a plus.  To me, it's a minus.

I wouldn't take a Street Glide on the track. I wouldn't tour 10k miles around the country on a CBR/RR and I wouldn't take either of them on the trails.

It's ok that there are different bikes for different purposes.

Good!  We end in agreement!

You know, I don't think we've covered this ground in any other thread.  Maybe we should sticky this one?  

Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.  But it is, of courser, better than none at all.

I would prefer to ride the HD but all BS around the lifestyle is a big turn off.

He said it so much more succinctly than me.