Vitory XC vs HD xxxx-Glide

Thanks for all the feedback, and thank you for keeping it on topic and not letting this get into a nut swinger battle.

Both bikes are pretty close and I think ultimately its going to be based on the test ride and both mine and my wife's butt's. If its still a tie then I'll probably go with the Harley for all the outside advantages, IE: dealer network, after market support.

I'm also going to make both dealers give me a trade-in quote on the Concours, that'll be part of the potential tie breaker.

As for power/performance I was plenty happy with my Vaquero in that regard. My biggest issue (and why I switched to the Concours) was how quickly it dragged parts during spirited riding. I've ridden my friend's 2008 E-Glide and it didn't drag nearly as easily as the Vaquero. The Victory is supposed to be even better, but the HD should still be good enough. I'm also planning to eventually get myself a separate naked to be my Hooligan bike so its not as big of a concern.

If price is a factor both the CC and CCT have $1K in rebates on them right now - should be able to get a CC out the door for thousands less than an HD.

Either way you are getting an awesome machine made right here in the USA!!!

Wishing you a great purchasing experience and sweet v-twin ride!!



TG

I prefer the engine in the Harley, I test rode a CCT and the engine just felt crude and had an uncomfortable vibration. I liked the way the Victory rode and it had great wind management but the Harley and Indian have better feeling engines. Frankly the Indian had great engine in relation to vibration management compared to the other big twins.

Have you considered the Yamaha Stratoliner deluxe? I think it has the best V twin for everyday riding power. Plus they can be had for much less than the other bikes.

But I would go with the Harley over the Victory.

To really make a fully informed decision, you should also go check out the Indian.

As much as I want to like the Indian I just can't get into the styling. The Indian scout I like a lot, and when we go to swap the wife's shadow out for an American V-twin it will be one of the 3 models we look at. The Chieftan though, it's just not my cup of tea.

The 106 does send some harsh vibes thru the floorboards under hard acceleration, and the tranny is not as smooth as the HD, or the Indian.

Loved the ride on the Chieftain, Indian will get serious consideration for our next purchase.

My buddy just spent a week riding our 2013 RGU, he said his new Ultra Limited runs considerably better. He put over 100k on the '09 Ultra he traded in so he ought to know.

Love the 1900, and tranny in the Strat, but Yamaha missed the mark on the fairing, bags, and amenities compared to the American choices IMO.

I would have bought the XCT over the RGU in 2013, but my wife didn't like the pillion area of XCT. Kinda glad it worked out the way it did now, the Harley has been a lot better than. I figured it would be. Should HD release a new Standard RGU it will get serious consideration as well.

Don't think there is a bad choice out there right now in touring bikes. Just find the one that ticks the most criteria boxes and enjoy.

The Caligornia Touring is a cool looking bike but lacks the full fairing, radio, etc that I'm specifically looking for.

Stratoliner is a nice looking bike, but its outdated IMHO. Its only a 5spd, has no real radio, doesn't even have a dash inside the fairing. Honestly its like Yamaha just bought a cheap aftermarket batwing fairing and slapped it on their RoadStar. If I were wanting to go back to a Metric bagger/tourer I would take the Vaquero over the Stratoliner all day, every day.

I might argue that the gunner is with the low bars and similar tire profiles front to back.

I've only done a test ride, but it was impressive.

1,000 miles on a Vision were impressive. The fit and finish is great on the Victories, but the styling doesn't suit my taste quite as much. I'm having a hard time with the '15 Road Glide too though. Styling is all preference.

I'd vote to go with the bike/luggage/etc. first - bars, risers, seats, floorboard/peg tweaks - in any direction - are pretty easy.

What you bolt them to won't change.

It's not a bad predicament to have.

No HD Knowledge, but I have had Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha bikes. I switched over to Victory. I have put only 3,500 miles on the Vision, but it is such a nice road bike. The downside are the small side paniers. A two-up trip would challenge you for storage. I can't imagine ever wanting anything more (for me) as I ride solo. It is, however, a little clunky around town. The Cross Roads, which I think is of the Cross Country family, is better in town and short hauls. It is new to me with about 1,000 of my miles on it. Good luck on your decision. Good advice...get those demo rides in.
-Bud

Went for a test ride on a 2015 Road Glide S today. Here are my thoughts:

The new Road Glide is nice, but I just can't see spending that kind of money on it. After adding the tour pack, heated grips, and the seat with better passenger padding we're talking 27,000$ plus tax and dealer fees.

I will say, trying to remember back to my Vaquero from 8-9 months back the Road Glide definitely handles better. It also seems a bit "lighter" at slow speeds. However the clutch and transmission seemed to require a lot of effort to work/shift, and I couldn't get it into neutral while idling.

With all the vents closed in the fairing it had the same ear level buffeting noise that my Vaquero had with its stock shield once you hit interstate speeds, making the radio hard to hear. Once you opened them up that went away, so in that regard they were nice. I however didn't notice much of a temperature change with them opened or closed. The temps were about 60F and all I was wearing was a hoodie over my t-shirt. That makes me think that in hot or cold weather it won't make a difference in riding temp if you have them open or not, however I could see you getting a lot wetter in the rain with them open and having to suffer the buffeting while riding through bad weather. As such and curved or flared windscreen would probably need to be purchased to be able to lose the buffeting without having to leave the vents open 24/7.

The Road Glide was really herky-jerky in 1st gear, way worse than I remember my Vaquero being. At first I figured it was due to it being cold, but it was like that after going on my 15 mile loop as well. There just wasn't any letting it drive itself at idle, it just felt like it was going to stall out, and the clutch required a lot of effort and didn't offer a lot of "feel" for when it would grab so that made it worse. Despite the lighter feel of the bike parking lot maneuvering was kind of hard due to the roughness of the idle and the lack of feel in the stiff clutch. This differs from what I remember about the Vaquero where it had a twitchy throttle but a smooth and easy to operate clutch, it also drove itself at idle just fine.

It was a really well built bike, and actually riding it was a good experience. The quality of the paint and materials seemed a lot higher than that of my Vaquero and my Concours. Its a very quality product offering, however it really didn't capture me like the Vaquero and my Concours did. It felt like a bike I wouldn't mind riding more, but not like one I want to own. Add in the high price and I don't think its the one for me.

I'm going to check out the Victory on Saturday. If the Victory sweeps me off my feet than that is the way I'm going. There is a used 2014 and a left over 2013 at the dealer I can probably get a good deal on, plus a few new ones obviously.

If the Vic doesn't instantly woo me then I'm actually going to go back to my Kawi dealer and test out the Vaquero again. I want a fresh perspective on it before deciding if I'm going to go back to it or get a used HD. There is a 2009 Street Glide that has already had a tour pack, thicker seat, and other goodies added for 15,000$ at a nearby HD dealer. There is also a 2009 Road Glide that is missing the tour pack but has a few nice add-ons and really low miles at a BMW dealer in Denver listed for 16,000$.

Parking lot navigation on big v-twins: Big engine pulses negate smooth low speed navigation without your input.

Feet- On the floorboards not doggy paddling
Throttle- apply more than idle RPM
Clutch- Modulate- Slip the clutch
Brake- Rear-Use it for control of speed and stability- As in Drag the Brake.
Head- up with bike Vertical.

The rear brake is the key to feet up U-turns and 180 off camber switchbacks.

Impress your friends as you slowly and controllably glide through low spots or rough spots and smoothly pull away where they bounce!

I am looking forward to your comparison of the two bikes.

I voted HD for two reasons. First off, it you are doing a lot of touring, eventually some part is going to give out and Harley dealers and after market shops are everywhere. Victory shops are still few and far between comparitavely.

Second off, ever since the Ness's took over Victory design, those bikes are fugly!



Seriously, how many mushrooms did Arlen or Cory do to come up with this monstronsity?

First of all beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Second of all I'm really glad to see a bike that's not just black and boring. I'm not saying I think this IS beautiful, I'm just saying......with that said...my bike is matte black

As far as something breaking....Victory's motors are pretty bulletproof and there's some folks racking up impressive mileage with them. Most modern motorcycles are pretty good now. Do your PM and ride them.

I'll agree the Vision isn't my favorite looking bike, however I'm not shopping for a Vision. I'm looking at the Cross Country.



As for using the rear brake and a bit of throttle with clutch modulation, that's what I would normally do. The issue I had on the Road Glide was that the clutch was stiff and didn't offer a lot of feel for when it engaged. Also, the rear brake was very abrupt in its engagement. I'm sure I would learn the bike eventually and get used to it, it's just my initial impression on a 15 mile test loop. Part of that was me swinging into an empty parking lot to try some tight circles.

I'll also add that some of that "stalling out" feeling I was getting was probably due to the Harley Shake at idle vs it actually stalling out. I'm not a big fan of that shake, and I've found it to be very inconsistent from bike to bike when riding different ones. My father in law's 2007 E-Glide is actually pretty smooth. My friend's 2008 was horrendous and this Road Glide was sort of between the two. I'm going to take another friend's 2013 E-Glide for a spin on our lunch break and see how it is too. I'm very much impatient for Saturday though and testing a Victory. I'm half tempted to take a sick day.

My Vision is pretty!

Pretty ugly!

Buffeting concerns were one thing that made me not choose Harley. I simply wasn't comfortable spending all that money hoping I would be able to find an aftermarket solution.

If you test ride a Cross Country Tour you may find the windshield too tall for your liking, but I found the regular Cross Country without lowers to buffet. If your wife is on the test ride, keep in mind her floorboards are adjustable on the XCT.
There are some great deals on new Victorys out there.

This is an urban legend that simply won't go away. The Ness' are paid to use their name. They've consulted on accessories and put their name on special editions. They don't design the bikes.
Michael Song was the main designer on the Vision and Cross Country and as far as I know is still with Victory.

I have had 14 HD's, 2 V-stroms 1000's, 3 Goldwings and a several BMW's+Guzzi's over 41 years of continual riding.

NOW I own and love a 12 Victory CCT which is the most comfy and best handling of the touring bunch for S/O and I.
Whenever I sit on a HD tourer now it feels small compared to my Cross Country Tour.
I recently spent a week in Az riding a 14 Streetglide and was unimpressed and uncomfortable. I test road a new 13 RG Ultra 41 miles before heading straight to the Vic dealer and got a new Cross Country tour. The heat on my right thigh from the 103 was unbearable as was the helmet buffeting. On my CC I cut the shield to suit my height after having an aftermarket shield that did not work for me. If I won a new HD in a raffle I would sell it and get a Victory.