anyone ride a victory and decide on a Kawasaki?

[hoodooman]

i'm in love with the looks of the victory cross country. next summer, i hope to get a brand new bike. i'm debating on the victory cross country (or cc TOUR) and the vaquero or voyager. i haven't ridden any of them, but hope to very soon.


i'm curious, anyone actually ride comparable models and choose the kawasaki, NOT FOR MONETARY REASONS? did anyone just buy what they thought was the better bike? if so, what did you buy and why?

i really dig the looks of the vaquero also, but the victory seems even cooler to my eyes. of course nothing takes the place of a test ride. but i'm curious, what bike have you bought? PS my next bike WILL have ABS!! any thoughts on that are appreciated as well.

thanks guys! hoodooman

[blowndodge]

Ive never heard of a Victory CCT owner wanting to go to a Voyager. I know quite a few that left Kawasaki's touring model for Victory. Maybe there are better thing riders like about Kawasaki's touring models but what is undesputed is Vics have way more power, way more rider room and way more luggage space. Those are the facts and there is no dispute.

[highwayman2011]

Might as well check out the Indians as well.

[Top Cat]

Victorys are everything Brad said so if a person is buying for performance, carrying capacity and leg room and can get past the sledge hammer shifting noise Victory is it.
But if a person wants a bike that will get them where ever they want to go and is better looking then the Kawasakis are the winner.

[drains]

Just really do not care for victory body style I bought 2014 Voyager but looked at CCT but to me the voyager looks much better and I really love riding voyager. You can also get some good deals right now.

[blowndodge]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Victorys are everything Brad said so if a person is buying for performance, carrying capacity and leg room and can get past the sledge hammer shifting noise Victory is it.
But if a person wants a bike that will get them where ever they want to go and is better looking then the Kawasakis are the winner.

You make a compelling argument on why Harleys sell so many bikes Tim. Subjective looks alone. I like Harleys by the way. I chose function over form. BTW I haven't heard too many negative comments on my bike's "looks"

[hayes]

I test rode the lowest version of a full fairing Victory. It's a phenomenal bike. I would buy it if I could afford the price tag. That being said, I am really happy with my Nomad and couldn't see getting rid of it. The Victory has awesome power though.

[Ken Vega]

I was looking at the Cross Country I just did not like the sharp lines of the fairing and hard bags. The fit and finish were excellent though. The motor in the Vic is phenomenal despite the clunky shifting. I also looked at the Harley Road Glide. Beautiful bike but in my opinion you are paying $25k for the name. Again fit and finish were beautiful. Not sure I was in love with the Shark Head fairing but the electronics included were awesome. Now the Vaquero just had everything I was looking for. And after a few performance upgrades I would say the most stylish and best performing bike for the money. Just my 2 cents.

[recumbentbob]

I traded my Nomad in last year for a Victory cross country tour.
Glad i did.

[drains]

There is a lot of good bikes to pick from and I like most all and they all seem to have things I like and things I would change. I would like to change seat height,heat on right side and clunk between 1st&2nd but if I was doing it all over I would buy 2014 Victory.

[dshelly]

Before you pop for a XCT be sure to ride one. I did and decided to get the Harley FLHTCU. The XCT just didn't fit me. They seem to be geared towards taller guys. (With the exception of Netnorske) You can make it fit with a lot of mods, but that just adds to the price.

Kawasaki since 2009 just doesn't get my attention anymore with the top loading bags and fixed fairing. IMO that ruined the looks of the bikes for me. One thing I noticed last year in Orofino after following a couple 1700's is that they whine . I'm pretty sure it's from the belt...

The Indian is a great looking bike, but they are still "new" to me and if any problems/defects arise, I just didn't want to deal with that since the closest dealer was 500 miles away. I'd give them a few years to prove themselves first .

[Gypsy Dragon]

A much as i hate to admit it, if I had had the money, I probably would have bought the Victory CC, or one of the bikes in that line. They really are amazing bikes. Beautiful, great motors, good seating position, good chassis, inverted forks(!), and American made. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE my Vaquero, but the Victory's are in a different league, in my opinion.

[Top Cat]

Originally Posted by blowndodge

You make a compelling argument on why Harleys sell so many bikes Tim. Subjective looks alone. I like Harleys by the way. I chose function over form. BTW I haven't heard too many negative comments on my bike's "looks"

I don't think Vics are bad looking Brad, I just like the look of the Kawasaki fairings better.
Function over form guys should choose the Vic every time IMO
When I hit 88,000 miles on my 07 Nomad I was looking to get a newer or new bike. As you know we talked about the Victory.
I just decided there was nothing out there that really got me fired up.
Soooooo, I looked for a low mileage 08 Nomad.
I'm not disappointed with my decision even when I'm a full throttle going up a long hill and Cindy on her Vic shoots by me like I was standing still

[hoodooman]

I had a feeling these are the responses I would get. I really love the looks of Victory. There is nothing out on the road that has such distinctive looks IMO. I walked into my local dealer last year and my jaw dropped when I first saw the CC and CC tour models. I'm going to sign up for the next local demo day they have for sure.


I dig the Vaquero/Voyager as well, and they seem like they're a great bike at a great price. But, this will be my first new vehicle purchase and I don't want to regret it and wish I'd gone with the Vic. Again, I'll be sure and test ride both before I make a decision. I was just interested in other's first hand opinions of the bikes. In the end, it comes down to how much I want to spend on a toy! You can get great deals on a Kawi, seems I'll be in the hole at least 22K for a Vic if I want ABS ( I DO!)

I've luckily got a big promotion coming up soon which means I can justify to the wife spending the dough!!

Anyone have any comments/thoughts on the K ACT braking system on the new Kawis?

[cliffordgos]

Originally Posted by hoodooman

i'm in love with the looks of the victory cross country. next summer, i hope to get a brand new bike. i'm debating on the victory cross country (or cc TOUR) and the vaquero or voyager. i haven't ridden any of them, but hope to very soon.


i'm curious, anyone actually ride comparable models and choose the kawasaki, NOT FOR MONETARY REASONS? did anyone just buy what they thought was the better bike? if so, what did you buy and why?

i really dig the looks of the vaquero also, but the victory seems even cooler to my eyes. of course nothing takes the place of a test ride. but i'm curious, what bike have you bought? PS my next bike WILL have ABS!! any thoughts on that are appreciated as well.

thanks guys! hoodooman

Maybe look into leap frogging into the next phase. Look what these 2 guys did.

Just skip the Victory and go to a sport touring bike.