I love riding cruiser to remind me how quick my FZ1 is 
Victory Cross Country Tour:
Properly slow. Clunky gear box. *Slow* fueling. Blipping the throttle makes it drop the RPMs before they come up.
These bikes are built to eat up highway miles and I could see how this one would work well. Adjustable screen, electronic cruise, etc. Very easy to ride and effortless to turn (easier to do a tight u-turn on one of these vs my FZ1).
Victory Vision:
A bike which should be a car, except it only has 2 wheels! Having said that, I actually liked it better than Cross Country. Handling felt a bit better :don'tknow:
Another great way to kill major highway miles (2-up or not).
Victory Vegas 8-Ball:
TORQUE! Same motor as in the other 2, but this one is significantly lighter, which translates into very nice thrust from very low RPM. Makes a nice dirty noise too. Fun bike which lives up to its "cruiser" name. I can see cruising on this for 30-40 minutes up and down the Main St in Everytown, USA! :america:
Indian Chief Classic:
Had to give this one a try, as it's yet another rebirth of the brand, but this time with substantial financial backing by Polaris. These bikes look like art on wheels, in person.. particularly the engines. Very nicely done, in terms of developing something modern that looks so classic.
Jumping on this one after Victory, it's easy to notice how much smoother both the motor and the transmission are and how much better the fueling is. It's a huge heavy bike, which like all other cruiser I've ridden hides its weight incredibly well once you get it rolling. Steering is effortless and it holds its line well through the curves, going over bumps. Plenty of torque at nearly any RPM, without sounding like something is about to break (the feeling I get when I ride Victory bikes).
Hats off to Victory for having the best organized demo setup! Register once and just stand in one of 3 lines (cruiser, bagger, touring). Maximum wait was no more than 5 minutes for each one. Compare that to the Indian.. same line setup, but waited about 45 minutes on line and all the Japanese ones, where you have to register individually for EACH bike (but at least there's a schedule, so you know when you're up).
I thought to try a Harley or 2 as well. As I'm walking toward the registration area, an announcer exclaims over loudspeaker: "If you've never ridden a Harley before.. though I can't imagine anyone on Earth hasn't, come on over and take a REAL bike out for a spin!"
That is precisely the sort of condescending attitude and false sense of superiority which will keep so many riders from ever owning a Harley, myself included.
The combination of that statement and the general audience in the Harley tent (muffin tops + tats + leather) really made me want to leave ASAP, so I did.
Victory Cross Country Tour:
Properly slow. Clunky gear box. *Slow* fueling. Blipping the throttle makes it drop the RPMs before they come up.
These bikes are built to eat up highway miles and I could see how this one would work well. Adjustable screen, electronic cruise, etc. Very easy to ride and effortless to turn (easier to do a tight u-turn on one of these vs my FZ1).
Victory Vision:
A bike which should be a car, except it only has 2 wheels! Having said that, I actually liked it better than Cross Country. Handling felt a bit better :don'tknow:
Another great way to kill major highway miles (2-up or not).
Victory Vegas 8-Ball:
TORQUE! Same motor as in the other 2, but this one is significantly lighter, which translates into very nice thrust from very low RPM. Makes a nice dirty noise too. Fun bike which lives up to its "cruiser" name. I can see cruising on this for 30-40 minutes up and down the Main St in Everytown, USA! :america:
Indian Chief Classic:
Had to give this one a try, as it's yet another rebirth of the brand, but this time with substantial financial backing by Polaris. These bikes look like art on wheels, in person.. particularly the engines. Very nicely done, in terms of developing something modern that looks so classic.
Jumping on this one after Victory, it's easy to notice how much smoother both the motor and the transmission are and how much better the fueling is. It's a huge heavy bike, which like all other cruiser I've ridden hides its weight incredibly well once you get it rolling. Steering is effortless and it holds its line well through the curves, going over bumps. Plenty of torque at nearly any RPM, without sounding like something is about to break (the feeling I get when I ride Victory bikes).
Hats off to Victory for having the best organized demo setup! Register once and just stand in one of 3 lines (cruiser, bagger, touring). Maximum wait was no more than 5 minutes for each one. Compare that to the Indian.. same line setup, but waited about 45 minutes on line and all the Japanese ones, where you have to register individually for EACH bike (but at least there's a schedule, so you know when you're up).
I thought to try a Harley or 2 as well. As I'm walking toward the registration area, an announcer exclaims over loudspeaker: "If you've never ridden a Harley before.. though I can't imagine anyone on Earth hasn't, come on over and take a REAL bike out for a spin!"
That is precisely the sort of condescending attitude and false sense of superiority which will keep so many riders from ever owning a Harley, myself included.
The combination of that statement and the general audience in the Harley tent (muffin tops + tats + leather) really made me want to leave ASAP, so I did.
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