Parked in the Road Glide's low-profile seat, a rider looks out into a big black seemingly endless fairing. Nestled inside is a Harman-Kardon 40-watt audio system (with CD player and MP3 input) and a pair of integrated storage compartments-a big benefit of the Glide's larger wing (or, er, Nose). A chrome console perched atop the 6.0-gallon fuel tank includes a tachometer, and various gauges relay info for fuel, oil pressure, voltage and ambient air temperature. Controls on the Road Glide are typical Harley, with nicely integrated switches augmented by a handy (though optional) cruise control tucked into the right-side hand controls.
The Victory's new fairing contains an AM-FM tuner with 11 pre-sets and a weather band (WX). An AUX mode allows use of your MP3 player, but you have to get the right accessory plug from Victory first-a bit annoying. XM radio or CB are also optional. But the multifunction center digital display was a big hit among testers, with analog fuel, voltmeter, speedo and tach gauges clustered around it. A handy 12-volt cigarette lighter-style power port is tucked just under the left speaker. Cruise control buttons just below the throttle are easy to access, though a bit harder to operate for gloved hands.
Let's Roll
While they cut nice profiles sitting in the parking lot, we wanted to see how these kool kustoms fared out on the road.
Everything feels and sounds familiar on the Harley-down to the shift pattern. Right off the bat, the Harley begs for a stronger pull at the lever to make things happen, compared with the Victory, and surprisingly, initial turn-in feels a bit heavier as well. Also disorienting is the fairing's straight, unmoving position when you turn the handlebar-a bit unsettling at first, but you get used to it. Otherwise the pleasing lope of Harley's 45-degree V-Twin rumbles beneath, and in the sonic wars, the Road Glide's exhaust note wins hands down. The Victory gets more profound as the revs build, but its exhaust isn't as rich and throaty.
Thanks to a single overhead cam configuration, the Cross Country feels like it can rev to the moon (relatively speaking), but because the 106 mill is rigidly mounted, it also makes for more vibes coming through the floorboards and handlebar.
Throttle response is good on both machines; in fact, it's excellent on the Road Glide thanks to the advanced technology of throttle-by-wire. The Harley serves up a ton of torque right off the bottom, that continues well through mid-range and then flattens out, catching a second wind above 3300 rpm. It's not until higher up in the rev range that the Victory really overtakes the Glide. But engine character on the Harley is a whole 'nother animal than the more sedate Victory's and you can feel stuff happening down below.
Power is well matched to the tranny on both bikes. The Victory displays a flatter, more linear delivery with plenty of torque on tap from the bottom to well into the high rpm. It felt vibe-ier than the Harley when underway though far smoother at a stop. Despite the Victory's clear displacement advantage testers were split on whether throttle response and fueling was better on the Victory or the Harley, though all agreed the Cross Country was the power champ.
One thing that was clear to several testers was that controls felt more accessible on the Cross Country, especially just after jumping off the Harley. With a lighter effort clutch and better feel at the lever, the Victory wins the shifter wars, engaging more progressively, though both bikes offer positive gear engagement from their respective six speed transmissions. At low speeds on the Cross Country however, testers missed the initial shift from first to second, complaining of a too-low shift lever-and the Victory doesn't come with a heel-toe shifter standard (it's an easy fix though).