I WANT!

This past weekend I got to drive what is now my current dream machine.  The Victory FUEL It tour was at a dealer near me, well, if you call 2 hours away near.

Before I go any further with the story let me preface it with I've been looking at motorcycles the last several years.  I currently have a 2000 Yamaha V-Star Classic 650.  It's a great bike and I love it.  However, with it only being a 650 it falls short in some areas.  The big issue is highway driving.  tooling around the country side or in town is great but doing any type of distance traveling on the highway sucks.  Above 60 mph the bike vibrates a lot and with my exhaust it is rather loud.  In town or cruising the country side the RPMs are generally low and it isn't that loud of a bike.  So I need a bigger bike.

Here is the problem I come across when looking for a bigger bike, most bikes are built for people about 3 inches taller than me.  Either I can't sit flat footed on the bike or it is wide so the inner thighs hurt after a while.  Bikes can be lowered but that usually means putting on a stiffer shock so the ride isn't as smooth.  You really can't do anything about the width of the bike.

Last year I checked out the new Harley Fatboy Lo.  I can site flat footed on the bike (meaning my feet are flat on the gorund when standing still) but the transmission case sticks out far enough it rubs my inner calf and is really annoying.  Every other Harley would require some type of lowering.  Plus I wouldn't want a Harley unless they made a touring cruiser with a fresh look instead of their current design that hasn't changed since the 80s.

I was also interested in the Yamaha Stratoliner.  I like the art deco design.  However, that bike is way too wide for me.

In one of my blogs last year I showed of some pics of a First Thursday event in Minneapolis.  In those pics were some of the new Victory bikes.  Some Victory R&D guys brought them as this was before the official launch date of the bikes.  At that time all I was able to do was sit on them.  I really liked how the Cross Country felt but I would have to drive it to see how it feels.

Well, this last weekend I got to drive one.  As I said, the Victory FUEL It tour was at a nearby dealer.  It is the second closest dealer to me and I figured driving the bike through the FUEL It tour would be a better experience than the typical test drive through the dealer.

OMG!  I fell in love.  I can can sit flat footed, however, that requires the shocks to be completely softened.  I would have to get a slightlly shorter shock which would be a pinch stiffer.  The seat width is great. 

So, what can I tell you about the ride and bike.  The ride was about 20 miles long, so definitely a better test drive than going through the dealer.  We did everythign from city driving to interstate driving (Eau Claire is right next to I-94).  The bike is very smooth with plenty of power.  I got up to highway speed in second gear.  Then working my way to 6th i was surprised at how well 6th gear work.  6th gear is definitely an overdrive gear.  There is enough torque in the bike to accelerate but it is better to drop to 5th to get around the semis on the highway.

The bike is smooth with everything is does.  From accelerating to leaning in and out of the curves.  It doesn't feel like the big bike it is.  Victory did a good job of keeping the center of gravity really low so it feels like a smaller bike.

I love floorboards now.  The Cross Country has huge floorboards so there is plenty of places to put your feet.  I also got to try the Cross Roads which is the same bike but just a windshield instead of a fairing.  The fairing does a really good job of air management.  The air space between me and the windshield was quiet.  My sister met up with me and she tested out the passenger seat for me.  The air space was calm enough we could have a conversation without yelling, even with us wearing helmets.  I know some people are going to think it is weird my sister would meet up with me just to be a passenger on a motorcycle.  But she loves motorcycles also and she is a designer for Kuryakyn.  She mainly deals with their luggage line up so she loves getting her hands on any new bike she can.  She was happy there was a passenger back rest.  At one stop sign I did give the throttle quite a twist to make sure she was awake.

Both the passenger seat and driver seat are very confortable.  Which you would expecting with a touring cruiser.  Maybe not as plush as a Goldwing's seat but you could definitely be on the bike for hours without any issues.  The saddlebags are huge.  As my sister noted, between the saddlebags and strapping on a Kuryakyn GranTourer you would have enough luggage to go anywhere.

I didn't try out the electronics since I didn't really have the time to learn the controls.  All of the stereo and cruise controls are located within reach of both thumbs and index fingers.

The only thing I didn't like was how heavy the clutch was.  The good about that is you definitely know when you changed gear.  The bad about it is it takes longer to change gears.  Though part of that might be I am use to my bike that I have driven for the last 10 years.  It has a very light clutch, you barely have to move the clutch to change gears.