At Silenthill's behest, I have decided to account my observations of my recently purchased 2011 Victory Cross Roads. Early on I made a similar thread after my first long for-fun-only ride and that accounted my initial impressions of a bike not yet broken in completely. Now, nearly 3 months and 3000 miles later, I think I can write review that more adequately details the experience of ownership.
I'll break this down into sections, like a lot of reviews do. It'll bust up the WALL O' TEXT, and keep the related info together.
So let's start at the top, with what most folks want in a touring bike
COMFORT: A-
The Cross Roads (or "XR") stock seat is deeply dished and provides pretty impressive back support even without a driver's backrest. Even on the 100-mile ride from the dealership in Idaho Falls to my in-laws' in American Falls, I didn't get sore (note that I rode my Vulcan there, so when I bought the Vic, I was already a little sore). Now that the foam is nicely broken in and molded to my hindquarters, I can ride for hours between stops, even at the end of a long day in the saddle. I just don't get the saddle-fatigue like I did on the 900.
The passenger pillion, after a few rides, was more then adequate as judged by my wife. My XR came outfitted with a Victory "lock-n-ride" passenger backrest with attached luggage rack. Wife determined quickly that the backrest was too low after she tried to flip backward over it under rapid acceleration, but was otherwise acceptable.
The floorboards seem ridiculously long at first, almost like pointy clown shoes, but form over function quickly comes into play here. Being able to move my feet from an extreme-forward position to a mid position completely eliminated the need for highway pegs.
The motor, is a hard-mounted counterbalanced engine. Some vibes are to be expected. I never notice any. I can "see" some when my mirrors start to buzz a little at around 70 mph, but I never feel it. I also never really notice engine heat. If it's especially hot and I'm sitting in traffic, I'll notice some on my right leg. But it's honestly less noticeable than it was on the 9, since there's no cooling fan to blow 200-degree air directly onto my junk.
the 2011 and 2012 models came from the factory with cruise control. Now that I've had it, I can't go back.
The factory "mid-height" windshield is poorly named. I'm 5'9" with a 32-inch inseam, and the 'shield barely hits my chin. This results in some buffeting.
Severity depends on which helmet I'm wearing. In the half-helmet I can be pushing triple digits before my eyes start to rattle. In my full-face, I notice it pretty good at around 75-80. This can be reduced with lowers or the "tall" windshield, and purportedly eliminated with a combination of the two. it's really my only comfort-related gripe.
I honestly believe if this bike was any more comfortable (even if I made it that way myself), I would fall asleep on it and die.
POWERTRAIN: B
The "B" rating is not for lack of power. This thing pulls like a true beast. Against the other bikes in its class, I can only cite other reviews in which they were compared, but in those reviews was the hands-down favorite for grunt (except where Yammy's Roadstar 1900 was involved, admittedly). I'm hoping to take a stab at a friend's 2012 Softail in the near future, and will post back results when I have. He's a good sport, so I'm sure he'll be up for it. Compared to the 900...well, there is no comparison. On paper, it's twice the displacement, twice the power and torque, and only 150 lbs heavier. In the real world, this bike would fly away from a 900 like it was standing still. At half throttle, the XR outruns my wife's wide-open Shadow like it's not even trying. BUT...
while I have no true gripes with the motor, I always seem to want for a little more torque at the very bottom. The Freedom 106 wakes up at about 2800 RPM and gets downright scary around 4 grand, but up to that point it feels almost tame. I must say, this does make the power surprising easy to handle, since the bike won't try to kill you at low speed if you accidentally goose the throttle. Well, it won't try very hard, anyway. Mountain climbing, which I do at every opportunity, is a breeze with this motor. I've been at 6800 feet on ID-21 above Lowman, ID and the motor has never flagged once.
Additional power is fairly low-cost with a couple $0 mods like unplugging the O2 sensors and modding the airbox--these I may try--and there's always the pipes and fuel-controller combo. Cams and even overbore kits are available.
I must say, tho, the exhaust note is completely unremarkable. This bike begs for pipes.
For the transmission, the 6th gear is a dream come true. 80 mph is 3000 RPM and silky smooth. Bumping down to pass is necessary only if you like to make some racket and do it really fast. Bumping down two gears is necessary if you want to terrify yourself AND the person you're passing. For 2011, Victory boasted a redesigned transmission for the XR and Cross Country that offered a longer service interval. I'm not sure what they redesigned in it, but as far as transmissions go, this one's a bit on the noisy side. Shifts are direct and smooth, but LOUD, and the throw is a little long. The torque compensator is also very noisy, especially once it's warm, and is my only real complaint as far as powertrain noise. Coming from the 900, something would have to just sound like it's just freaking falling apart to bother me.
HANDLING A
Depsite its increased weight, the XR is just as easy to maneuver in a parking lot as the 900. In fact, the bike is considerably better-balanced, so I feel much more confident on it than I did on the 900. On the mountain twisties however...this bike is much better.
The XR is so much better planted, has a steeper lean angle despite being a bagger, and has such superior balance, it is in every way a superior canyon-carver. I just feel like I own the mountain on this bike. The Dunlop Elite IIIs they outfit from the factory seem pretty decent in the corners, altho the stopping power of the brakes (dual-disc up front) is much better than the tires' traction, and results in lockups feeling a little too easy. Which in turn results in me doing stupid crap like twisting out 2nd gear to blow through a yellow light that's almost red. I'm not sure that's the best solution to the problem.
STORAGE A+
The hard bags are lockable and weatherproof and each is large enough to hold a small toddler. And they're really weatherproof. Wife and I rode through a downpour for over two hours and 100 miles...and our stuff was still dry at the end. The luggage rack is wide enough to strap a small CRT television to and confidently secure it. I don't think you could improve on that as far as a bagger is concerned.
BUILD QUALITY/FIT & FINISH --
After 3 months I won't give this a hard rating. But I haven't broken anything on it, and everything still works right. As far as fit and finish, one can tell that this thing some some designer's baby for a long time before it was built. The only thing that looks tacked on is, as usual, the license plate mount. Par for the course in motorcycle building, seems like. However, the paint feels a little fragile, compared to what I've dealt with in the past. I don't have any scratches or swirl marks, but I guess it's not an uncommon problem if the paint is not maintained with great care.
EASE/COST OF MAINTENANCE B
Changing the oil in the XR literally takes about 10 minutes. Easiest bike I've ever done/seen/heard of. Nothing extra has to be removed or loosened, and normal tools can be used to reach the filter and drainplug. Checking/changing the air filter takes much longer and requires removal of the gas tank.
That makes me make this face:
All Victorys also take 20w-40 synthetic blend. Guess how many companies make that? I've found two. Victory and Castrol. Guess how many places in my town carry it?
Yeah. Zero. But the ease of doing the service goes a long way in my book.
AFTERMARKET: D
There's plenty out there for the other Vic models. But the Cross bikes are pretty new, and there's not a lot to choose from yet. And name-brand Vic stuff is damn near Harley price, so I haven't bought any goodies for mine yet.
DEALER SUPPORT: C-
3 dealers in southern ID, 2 in northern UT, only one dedicated to the brand (Tri-Cities Performance in Centerville, UT). Everywhere else the Vics are shuffled in with offerings from Japanese manufacturers. Action Motorsports in Idaho Falls is pretty dedicated to Vic for a multi-line dealer, but Carl's Cycles in Boise is more like, "Victory? Oh yeah, we sell those too." Victory dealers will sometimes tell you Polaris dealers that don't sell Victory can help you with service or part needs, but those Polaris dealers have thus far all informed me otherwise.
I'm not going to quote on Victory's unique styling. If I didn't like it, I woulda bought a Vaquero.
FINAL VERDICT: This bike is pretty much exactly right for me. The few small gripes I do have are easily ignored. I have a bike that I can throw enough stuff into the saddlebags for a 2-day trip for me and the wife (that's just the bags!), can blast down the slab effortlessly (when I run out of back-road options), is loaded with power but gets 45 mpg, has a 6-gallon tank, and is comfortable enough to sit on for 150 miles at a time. It does all the things I wanted my Vulcan to do, but does them without trying. And I'll tell you, there's no going back from here. If I ever trade up, the next bike's gonna hafta have a jet engine and laser cannons.
I'll break this down into sections, like a lot of reviews do. It'll bust up the WALL O' TEXT, and keep the related info together.
So let's start at the top, with what most folks want in a touring bike
COMFORT: A-
The Cross Roads (or "XR") stock seat is deeply dished and provides pretty impressive back support even without a driver's backrest. Even on the 100-mile ride from the dealership in Idaho Falls to my in-laws' in American Falls, I didn't get sore (note that I rode my Vulcan there, so when I bought the Vic, I was already a little sore). Now that the foam is nicely broken in and molded to my hindquarters, I can ride for hours between stops, even at the end of a long day in the saddle. I just don't get the saddle-fatigue like I did on the 900.
The passenger pillion, after a few rides, was more then adequate as judged by my wife. My XR came outfitted with a Victory "lock-n-ride" passenger backrest with attached luggage rack. Wife determined quickly that the backrest was too low after she tried to flip backward over it under rapid acceleration, but was otherwise acceptable.
The floorboards seem ridiculously long at first, almost like pointy clown shoes, but form over function quickly comes into play here. Being able to move my feet from an extreme-forward position to a mid position completely eliminated the need for highway pegs.
The motor, is a hard-mounted counterbalanced engine. Some vibes are to be expected. I never notice any. I can "see" some when my mirrors start to buzz a little at around 70 mph, but I never feel it. I also never really notice engine heat. If it's especially hot and I'm sitting in traffic, I'll notice some on my right leg. But it's honestly less noticeable than it was on the 9, since there's no cooling fan to blow 200-degree air directly onto my junk.
the 2011 and 2012 models came from the factory with cruise control. Now that I've had it, I can't go back.
The factory "mid-height" windshield is poorly named. I'm 5'9" with a 32-inch inseam, and the 'shield barely hits my chin. This results in some buffeting.
Severity depends on which helmet I'm wearing. In the half-helmet I can be pushing triple digits before my eyes start to rattle. In my full-face, I notice it pretty good at around 75-80. This can be reduced with lowers or the "tall" windshield, and purportedly eliminated with a combination of the two. it's really my only comfort-related gripe.
I honestly believe if this bike was any more comfortable (even if I made it that way myself), I would fall asleep on it and die.
POWERTRAIN: B
The "B" rating is not for lack of power. This thing pulls like a true beast. Against the other bikes in its class, I can only cite other reviews in which they were compared, but in those reviews was the hands-down favorite for grunt (except where Yammy's Roadstar 1900 was involved, admittedly). I'm hoping to take a stab at a friend's 2012 Softail in the near future, and will post back results when I have. He's a good sport, so I'm sure he'll be up for it. Compared to the 900...well, there is no comparison. On paper, it's twice the displacement, twice the power and torque, and only 150 lbs heavier. In the real world, this bike would fly away from a 900 like it was standing still. At half throttle, the XR outruns my wife's wide-open Shadow like it's not even trying. BUT...
while I have no true gripes with the motor, I always seem to want for a little more torque at the very bottom. The Freedom 106 wakes up at about 2800 RPM and gets downright scary around 4 grand, but up to that point it feels almost tame. I must say, this does make the power surprising easy to handle, since the bike won't try to kill you at low speed if you accidentally goose the throttle. Well, it won't try very hard, anyway. Mountain climbing, which I do at every opportunity, is a breeze with this motor. I've been at 6800 feet on ID-21 above Lowman, ID and the motor has never flagged once.
Additional power is fairly low-cost with a couple $0 mods like unplugging the O2 sensors and modding the airbox--these I may try--and there's always the pipes and fuel-controller combo. Cams and even overbore kits are available.
I must say, tho, the exhaust note is completely unremarkable. This bike begs for pipes.
For the transmission, the 6th gear is a dream come true. 80 mph is 3000 RPM and silky smooth. Bumping down to pass is necessary only if you like to make some racket and do it really fast. Bumping down two gears is necessary if you want to terrify yourself AND the person you're passing. For 2011, Victory boasted a redesigned transmission for the XR and Cross Country that offered a longer service interval. I'm not sure what they redesigned in it, but as far as transmissions go, this one's a bit on the noisy side. Shifts are direct and smooth, but LOUD, and the throw is a little long. The torque compensator is also very noisy, especially once it's warm, and is my only real complaint as far as powertrain noise. Coming from the 900, something would have to just sound like it's just freaking falling apart to bother me.
HANDLING A
Depsite its increased weight, the XR is just as easy to maneuver in a parking lot as the 900. In fact, the bike is considerably better-balanced, so I feel much more confident on it than I did on the 900. On the mountain twisties however...this bike is much better.
The XR is so much better planted, has a steeper lean angle despite being a bagger, and has such superior balance, it is in every way a superior canyon-carver. I just feel like I own the mountain on this bike. The Dunlop Elite IIIs they outfit from the factory seem pretty decent in the corners, altho the stopping power of the brakes (dual-disc up front) is much better than the tires' traction, and results in lockups feeling a little too easy. Which in turn results in me doing stupid crap like twisting out 2nd gear to blow through a yellow light that's almost red. I'm not sure that's the best solution to the problem.
STORAGE A+
The hard bags are lockable and weatherproof and each is large enough to hold a small toddler. And they're really weatherproof. Wife and I rode through a downpour for over two hours and 100 miles...and our stuff was still dry at the end. The luggage rack is wide enough to strap a small CRT television to and confidently secure it. I don't think you could improve on that as far as a bagger is concerned.
BUILD QUALITY/FIT & FINISH --
After 3 months I won't give this a hard rating. But I haven't broken anything on it, and everything still works right. As far as fit and finish, one can tell that this thing some some designer's baby for a long time before it was built. The only thing that looks tacked on is, as usual, the license plate mount. Par for the course in motorcycle building, seems like. However, the paint feels a little fragile, compared to what I've dealt with in the past. I don't have any scratches or swirl marks, but I guess it's not an uncommon problem if the paint is not maintained with great care.
EASE/COST OF MAINTENANCE B
Changing the oil in the XR literally takes about 10 minutes. Easiest bike I've ever done/seen/heard of. Nothing extra has to be removed or loosened, and normal tools can be used to reach the filter and drainplug. Checking/changing the air filter takes much longer and requires removal of the gas tank.
That makes me make this face:
All Victorys also take 20w-40 synthetic blend. Guess how many companies make that? I've found two. Victory and Castrol. Guess how many places in my town carry it?
Yeah. Zero. But the ease of doing the service goes a long way in my book.
AFTERMARKET: D
There's plenty out there for the other Vic models. But the Cross bikes are pretty new, and there's not a lot to choose from yet. And name-brand Vic stuff is damn near Harley price, so I haven't bought any goodies for mine yet.
DEALER SUPPORT: C-
3 dealers in southern ID, 2 in northern UT, only one dedicated to the brand (Tri-Cities Performance in Centerville, UT). Everywhere else the Vics are shuffled in with offerings from Japanese manufacturers. Action Motorsports in Idaho Falls is pretty dedicated to Vic for a multi-line dealer, but Carl's Cycles in Boise is more like, "Victory? Oh yeah, we sell those too." Victory dealers will sometimes tell you Polaris dealers that don't sell Victory can help you with service or part needs, but those Polaris dealers have thus far all informed me otherwise.
I'm not going to quote on Victory's unique styling. If I didn't like it, I woulda bought a Vaquero.
FINAL VERDICT: This bike is pretty much exactly right for me. The few small gripes I do have are easily ignored. I have a bike that I can throw enough stuff into the saddlebags for a 2-day trip for me and the wife (that's just the bags!), can blast down the slab effortlessly (when I run out of back-road options), is loaded with power but gets 45 mpg, has a 6-gallon tank, and is comfortable enough to sit on for 150 miles at a time. It does all the things I wanted my Vulcan to do, but does them without trying. And I'll tell you, there's no going back from here. If I ever trade up, the next bike's gonna hafta have a jet engine and laser cannons.