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Anyone own or have ever owned a Victory?

5K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  Scott_in_TX 
#1 ·
Hey all! I was wondering if anyone owns or previously owned a Victory? If so, what did you think? I currently own a 900 Custom and have been looking to upgrade to a larger bike. I found a 2010 Victory Cross Country with tour pack for $11K. It looks to be in great shape and I'm thinking about checking it out tomorrow. I have read and received tons of great advice on the Vulcan Forums, and was hoping to get some great advice on the Victory's. Thanks!

Oh and by the way, I haven't completely written off a larger Vulcan. I'm just exploring all my options.


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#2 · (Edited)
Hey all! I was wondering if anyone owns or previously owned a Victory? If so, what did you think? I currently own a 900 Custom and have been looking to upgrade to a larger bike. I found a 2010 Victory Cross Country with tour pack for $11K. It looks to be in great shape and I'm thinking about checking it out tomorrow. I have read and received tons of great advice on the Vulcan Forums, and was hoping to get some great advice on the Victory's. Thanks!

Oh and by the way, I haven't completely written off a larger Vulcan. I'm just exploring all my options.
Sweet looking rides. Ridden a couple and they're OK but never thought about owning one. My next bike will be an Indian.

Here is a link to a recent thread:

http://www.vulcanforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31651&highlight=victory

Check these forums out for more info:

Victory Forums
http://www.victoryforums.com/

Victory Motorcycle Club
http://www.thevmc.com/start.html
 
#3 ·
I love the looks of most of the Victory bikes but if I bought one it would probably be a Cross Country or Cross Country Tour. I did a demo day in October and rode both of them. I thought I would leave having to have one but I didn't. I'm not saying I didn't like them, not at all, but it didn't sell me on their bikes. I'm still considering one in a couple of years but I'm also looking at some other choices.

I know we have some people who ride Victory bikes who can tell you a lot more than I can, but here are my impressions from the test ride.

Victory Demo Day today
 
#4 ·
I've rode them at the Victory Demo Days and have even test rode a demo the dealer had. I really liked the bike, but I didn't like the price tag on a new one. My main concerns are long term maintenance and reliability. I know the 900 is virtually bullet proof, but what about the Victory's? Thanks again!


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#6 ·
OK, so I test rode the Victory Cross Country and well, it's not sitting in my garage. The ergonomics on the Victory are totally different than my 900 Custom and that would definitely take some getting used to. I will say this though, it's probably the best handling bike for slow speed maneuvering I've ever experienced. Anyway, after 15 minutes I got more comfortable on the XCountry, but then I got stuck in traffic. Being air cooled, the bike got hot between my legs and I didn't care for that at all. I don't know, the Victory just didn't feel like a 'fit' to me. When I rode home, my 900 Custom felt like an old glove and smile came back to my face.

I think I'll be keeping my eyes out for a Nomad, Vaquero or a Voyager and sticking with Kawasaki. :)


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#9 ·
now thats setting the bar pretty low !!!! lol
 
#10 ·
While the Victory may be hot while sitting in traffic, don't kid yourself about the Nomad being much cooler. My '10 Nomad threw off plenty of thigh roasting heat while sitting in traffic. Those are all big engines and they all put off a lot of heat. Doesn't help that the rear cylinder is right by your upper legs and that the rear exhaust pipe comes out right next to your inner leg as well. If you want to graduate up to a larger bike, more heat is just part of the package.
 
#12 ·
Thanks Stormpilot! I've never actually test rode any big Kawasakis, but I assumed the big liquid cooled engines would be much cooler in traffic than an air cooled one. I'll definitely take one (or three) for a test ride before I make any purchase decisions.


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#15 ·
I had a 2010 Crossroads. Loved the bike. Lost my job and it had to go at the beginning of last year. Was the most comfortable bike I've owned. Didn't have to do a thing to make it comfortable. Now have a 900 Classic. What is the big difference? The 900 is paid for and it won't go. If I had the cash to own another Victory outright I would.
 
#16 ·
The wifey likes the Crossroads, but I haven't rode that one yet. I don't see as many Crossroads as I do the Cross Country. I have rode the Hard Ball and I really liked that bike, but it's not really setup for touring (no windshield or passenger backrest). Anywho, I don't know, I'll figure something out. Thanks guys!


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#17 ·
To qualify my remarks concerning the 1700 Nomad, by no means did I mean to imply that there is anything wrong with it. I found that it is at least reasonably comfortable to ride on a hot (90's+) day, and really, the only time the heat becomes bothersome is in traffic moving slowly or stopped. The heat just has nowhere else to go but up. I liked my Nomad a lot and would still have it were it not that it proved itself to be a poor platform for pulling my Bunkhouse camper trailer. The heat only became an issue when it got hot out. Otherwise, it's hard to find a better bang for your buck when it comes to that kind of bike. The Nomad is less expensive than the others, has just a good quality, and is a satisfying ride. It only comes up short (but not by much) in the power department when compared to something like the Victory Crossroads or Cross Country, and both of them cost quite a bit more than the Nomad.

Personally, if I were to be in the market, I'd have a tough time making the choice, and it would have to be between the Nomad, the Victory XC and the Road King. In Alaska, heat is not an issue, as 70 degrees is considered to be a very warm day!
 
#18 ·
To qualify my remarks concerning the 1700 Nomad, by no means did I mean to imply that there is anything wrong with it. I found that it is at least reasonably comfortable to ride on a hot (90's+) day, and really, the only time the heat becomes bothersome is in traffic moving slowly or stopped. The heat just has nowhere else to go but up. I liked my Nomad a lot and would still have it were it not that it proved itself to be a poor platform for pulling my Bunkhouse camper trailer. The heat only became an issue when it got hot out. Otherwise, it's hard to find a better bang for your buck when it comes to that kind of bike. The Nomad is less expensive than the others, has just a good quality, and is a satisfying ride. It only comes up short (but not by much) in the power department when compared to something like the Victory Crossroads or Cross Country, and both of them cost quite a bit more than the Nomad.

Personally, if I were to be in the market, I'd have a tough time making the choice, and it would have to be between the Nomad, the Victory XC and the Road King. In Alaska, heat is not an issue, as 70 degrees is considered to be a very warm day!
Hey Strom,

When test riding tourers I was surprised when the Voyager seemed (butt dyno) to have more pull than the Victory XCT.
But, upon a closer look at the specs; the Kawasaki 1700 puts out 108lbs of torque and the Victory 106 puts out 106lbs of torque.

I don't think there is enough difference between the two to even consider it.

I know your issue was with pulling a trailer on the Nomad. I wonder if the gearing on the Victories would produce better results?

Scott
 
#22 · (Edited)
I currently own a Victory Cross Country. Awesome bike! Unfortunately I have it up at a consignment dealer to be sold because I'm streamlining some budget and considerling an older Nomad to replace it. There's not much heat issue with the Cross Country's unless you ride one of the 'Tour' versions that have the Harley style hard lowers. Those Cross Country's are HOT and I don't mean from a 'Cool' factor. Victory kind of botched it designing them IMO. They were to focused on more storage instead of air management like they should have. If you're looking at an '11 it probably has the forged (blade) style highway bars. Only on really hot (100+) days will you notice any kind of bothersome heat on that bike. Victory's have a really good oil cooling system on them. They don't just cool the oil in the crankcase, it actually comes back from the cooler and is routed immedietely through the heads to cool them which is where most of your heat in any engine is usually the hottest. They also have a very high volume oil pump. I read somewhere that the oil pump is a dual sided pump and about 30% goes to the engine for lube and 70% goes to the cooler for cooling.

As far as the power. It's good on the Victory's. When looking at posted numbers though keep in mind comparing apples to apples because some rate the HP at the flywheel and some at the rear wheel and it can deceive if you're not paying attention to that part. Also peak HP & TQ numbers only tell part of the story. Where the power is in the RPM band is just as important. Victory's tend to like above 2500 RPM before they wake up but when they do, hang on! They have them geared pretty good and pulling any kind of trailer shouldn't be a problem. 6th gear might be to fast but if it is they are still geared alright to run 80mph in 5th and have plenty of power.
 

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#23 ·
I loved those forged engine guards!
They shouldn't have discontinued them.
Do you know if they have them as an accessory for the later model CCs?

Scott
 
#24 · (Edited)
They're not totally discontinued. They still have them on the antifreeze-green and the black w/flame graphics 2013 XC that's not the 'Tour' version. I'm sure they would offer them as an option or parts listing also for the unforseen future. They are to popular to just drop entirely that I could see but you never know. A lot of people have criticized that they should have designed their hard lowers to work in the forged lowers instead of designing them on the tube bars because the blade bars are what gives the XC it's own unique character. If you go to their website and look under 'baggers' instead of 'touring' you will see them.
 
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