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The future is now. Retro isn’t ride quality, it’s simply old-school styling.
Those are among the conclusion you can draw from the www.Motorcycle.com shootout in which the editors evaluated a 2010 Harley-Davidson Road Glide and a 2010 Victory Cross Country.
Sub-titled “American Bagger Battle: New Age versus the Icon,” the online report from their comparison riding made it clear the Cross Country is the preferable bike for someone who really wants to get out and ride, not just idle around and pose.
The online report ends with this sentence: “But for now, for us, the Victory’s got it!”
If you have an opinion about the new Victory Cross Country and Cross Roads, or feedback about the Motorcycle.com shootout article, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line via the Victory Mailbag.
You can read the entire evaluation HERE, but here are the final paragraphs (including a mini-“rant” encouraging Victory to offer ABS on the Cross Country):
”Objective stuff like a bigger, more powerful engine and roomier, easier-to-operate saddlebags nudge the Cross Country toward the finish line tape in this bagger tête-à-tête. And its $1,000 savings over the Harley’s $18,999 base model MSRP can easily launch the Victory to, well, victory in this comparison.
“But our sporting influences here at Motorcycle.com also favor the Victory’s remarkably precise and stable handling that allowed us to charge each twist and turn with the confidence the bike could handle our attempts at ever-increasing corner entry speed.
“And for this reason we think the aging sport rider who’s begrudgingly looking to cruisers as a way to stay on two wheels after parking the supersports might embrace the Cross Country as touring cruiser for speed junkies.
“We like how Victory threw in something as practical as cruise control as standard equipment on a touring bike, where H-D requests an additional $295. Although also an option ($845), at least ABS is available on the Road Glide. And it’s this one area where we think Victory really took a misstep by not offering ABS on the Cross Country.
“Even if the anti-lock option might’ve closed the pricing gap ‘tween the bikes, its availability could’ve meant all that many more consumers to whom ABS is now crucial in their purchase decision-making. Victory points to their own research that indicates customers in this segment aren’t concerned with linked braking or ABS. But like a good salesman will tell you, sometimes you’ve got to tell the consumer what they need.
“Whether or not riders like it, we’re reasonably confident mandatory ABS on motorcycles is on its way, sooner than later. (End helpful rant.)
“Hopefully, through all this, we’ve made it apparent that the Road Glide is still– in almost every department – a formidable opponent for the stylish, brawny new guy in the bagger class, and that so much about a decision between these steeds could very well come down to rider preferences.
“But for now, for us, the Victory’s got it!”
Again, if you have an opinion about the new Victory Cross Country and Cross Roads, or feedback about the Motorcycle.com shootout article, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line via the Victory Mailbag.
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