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By The VRA Page Staff
This is a moving target, so apologies if anyone is being overlooked, but the earliest report we have of a Victory Rider taking delivery of a new Victory Cross Country was Mike Bingham of Bessemer, Alabama. Mike took delivery of his Solid Midnight Cherry Cross Country on Wednesday, October 28, at Shoals Outdoor Sports in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
That’s the same dealership where Mike bought his 2006 Kingpin.
When the VRA Page staff called Mike’s home Thursday for some of his early riding impressions, his wife Gayle answered and reported, “he can’t talk to you now. He’s not here. He’s out riding his new bike.”
Which is exactly what any of us would be doing if we had a new Victory Cross Country or Cross Roads.
We did catch up with Mike later, though, and he told us what convinced him to put a deposit on the bike at the dealership.
“I really like the looks of it,” he said. “I had really gotten excited about buying a Victory Vision, but that’s the ugliest dang thing I ever laid my eyes on. [The Victory Vision is] a great bike if you can ride with your eyes closed.
“The Cross Country is more traditional and I like its looks.”
He enjoyed his Kingpin for about a year before deciding he needed to thin his fleet of four bikes. He put a Harley-Davidson and the Kingpin up for sale, and, as you would expect, “the Kingpin sold first,” Mike said. “The main thing I remember about my Kingpin was that it rode very well. It was a comfortable-riding bike with excellent brakes and excellent power.”
He enjoyed his first ride on his new Cross Country greatly.
“I’ve probably been gone three or four hours,” he said after the ride. “I love the way the Cross Country handles.”
He said he wanted to customize the bike’s ergonomics to suit his size, so he is interested in getting pullback handlebars and a taller windshield for enhanced wind protection.
“The seat is excellent. And the floorboards, not only are they long, up toward the front they’re fairly wide so you’ve got a lot of leg room. I’ve just got to make the bike fit me.”
Mike, who retired two years ago after selling his interest in a safety stair nosings company, expects to take a long trip out West with several friends in the spring.
According to Mark Donovan, Sales Manager at Shoals, Mike had placed a deposit on a Cross Country and he took delivery of the first one the dealership received.
Mark immediately posted a photo of Mike on his new bike on the dealership website, and posted video of Mike riding off on the bike on YouTube.
We opened this report with the disclaimer because there are reports of additional Victory Riders taking deliver of the new bikes this week.
If you’re a rider who purchased one of these new bikes, or a dealer who just sold one, drop us a line via the Victory Mailbag. Photos are definitely welcome, too.
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