Anyone own or have ever owned a Victory?

[Strompilot]

Originally Posted by angelo

Sure, I believe that! The overdrive gears are all about the flat roads around here. Going 80 true speed on the slabs, that 6th gear is nice. Uphill at 65, not so much. Pulling a trailer, forget about it.

Still, a great addition to any bike, but certainly not for every situation. I think getting into that big V, heavy torque mode, can make us lazy by default. Switching to sport touring, I find I shift more - and like it!

I had an ST1300 for a couple years years and really liked that bike. But like the Nomad, it wasn't a good platform for pulling the Bunkhouse. It had the power, but it just isn't designed for that kind of duty. Sure was a fun bike to ride, though. Lots of power, roomy and comfortable, handled well and just ate up the miles. I wouldn't mind having one again.

[40XC]

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.

[Scott_in_TX]

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

[40XC]

Originally Posted by Scott_in_TX

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

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.

[Scott_in_TX]

Originally Posted by 40XC

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.

Yep! Just looked at the site.

They come with the custom paint jobs you mention for a total of 2k; or you can add them as a single accessory for $600!

Victory has a lot of great innovations, and the MSRP shows it; they should make that stuff standard equipment.
I love the idea of another American motorcycle manufacurer.
Victory seems to understand that being a clone isn't going to cut it; but they are going to have to keep the things that set them apart, out for the public eye.


Scott