Doc CJ:

If you are still subscribed to this thread, I'd invite you back for a "Part 2." In your comparo, you indicated you rode all three. So let's hear it:

1. How far did you ride on each one?

2. Did you ride both in the country & in the city? Through twisties?

3. How would you compare their handling?

4. How would you compare their storage?

5. Did you keep a record of gas mileage? Results?

You didn't give your height/weight/inseam length. So, how did they "fit" you? Were you able to adjust anything?

Did you have to fix anything? The comment about taking 1.5 hrs. to change the air filter is daunting.

Having ridden all 3, I have to concede the Victory & Honda seem to accelerate better than my 95" EGC. And, yeah, they seem to run smoother. But, mine fits me better. And, no, I don't take the twisties as fast as I used to. I've learned to just enjoy the ride. In the 80s, I sneered at the Harleys because they leaked and were not reliable, and my Honda 900 would out-run and out-handle anything Harley made, and didnt' "buzz" until I was running 75+. Now, you couldn't get me off my Electra Glide . . . unless I finally spring for a Roadie (another story).

So, Doc, finish your story. It will generate another 80 comments that will be fun to read. And, yes, consider drafting it in your word processor, doing a spell-check/grammer check, & then paste it into the forum.

And, to all the dyed-in-the-wool Harlistas, if it weren't for the quality of the Hondas, Kawi's, Yamajokes & now Victories, Harley would still be selling leaky, unreliable machines. Competition has made the Harleys we love the best on the road, so encourage the "wanna-be's" and future Harleys will be even better.

Now, if we could get broader competition in . . . . Naw, that's political . . .

 

I've wandered back in to the thread. I am a bit surprised it go so much read and response time. With apologies to the grammar and spelling police ... I'll add Part 2 ...

Rode the GW for 2 seasons and put about 15000 miles on it. I've only test ridden the Victory. I do like the look, though I know it is not for everyone. Then again, if we all had to agree on what we like then what fun would life be?

As for HDs, I've owned 9 in my life, including the '09 Ultra.

I live in southern Utah, have ridden LOTS of mountain twisties, and have done a number of cross-country trips over the years. I've been on the Dragon twice, so I'm guessing between the local twisties and the Dragon I've been on my share.

The two latest HDs I've owned are the Heritage and Ultra. The Ultra has a surprising ride, especially considering how top-heavy it is. The GW is as big, but the mounting of the engine makes it feel a bit better proportioned for overall weight distribution. I've not ridden the Victory on enough twisties to really make a fair comparison.

My opinion, the HD Ultra is a good choice for riding, but don't confuse it with bikes that are much better in the twisties. I like all kinds of bikes, something not everyone here seems to share. So if it's just twisties I'd have to say there are many other bikes much better. Even with that said, the overall ride of the HD Ultra is good enough to warrant getting my money last year.

As noted by others in many threads on this site, the GW and Victory have much better acceleration and overall handling tends to favor the GW. That won't make some on here happy, but then I guess I'm not really on here to make others happy.

Obviously, I've been on this forum long enough to have established credibility about my preference for HDs, but that doesn't mean I'm a blind sycophant of the brand. In this case, the exercise was to do some comparison, and to actually work out some demons about my upcoming purchase. I seem to have done that, plus it appears I've gotten lots of other folks chatting as well.

Good question, I'll address that in two parts. First, I love the electronic lock system on the GW. You can pop the trunk with the key fob, something I'd like to see on future HDs. It's nice being able to lock it without using the key, and better to have it open with the key fob when your hands are full.

Overall storage capacity was interesting. The Victory loses here. While I like the style (yeah, I know some of you don't) the lost space in the saddlebags was a bit surprising.

Comparing the top trunk of the GW to the TourPak on the HD is also interesting. Overall size and capacity was pretty equal, in my opinion. While I liked the electronic component of the GW I must admit that I didn't like the way the trunk swung into the rear seat. If you have a bag on the rear seat it means you have to remove it to open the trunk. That's why I like the side-swing opening of the TourPak.

I also think the HD saddle bags are easier to put stuff into. The GW and Victory swing out, not up, and that means that stuffing things into them is a bit trickier.

Just in my head. The GW got around 36 to 38 on 2 cross-country trips. That was terrible, especially compared to the 45+ I got on the '09 Ultra. Friends I know that ride a Vision claim high 30s and low 40s.

6'1" and 290 when I was on the Wing. I've lost 65 pounds since then, so when on the Ultra I was in the 260 and under range. Inseam is 32-33.

With that said, the Victory feels "more roomy" and that may be due in part to the overall size of the bike. It is a long bike, and the fairing just seems to be a football field away. Not sure if that is good or bad. I guess it depends on what you like.

When I rode the GW I had switched from a VTX 1800 (and 2 HDs before that). I felt a little cramped on the Wing for the first 6 months. But after changing the footpegs to floorboards and adding a rider's backrest I felt better. I think I just got used to it. As with most folks over 6 foot, the GW fairing lowers came back awfully close to my knees. That is something I didn't miss moving to the HDs.

The Ultra felt a bit close at times. I think the success of the floorboard extension companies is proof enough that the floorboards are too close to the motor. I've used the extensions from both major sponsors on this site, one on the Heritage and one on the Ultra. I'll likely add a set to the next bike as well.

Nothing major, just basic maintenence and small repairs. As I noted in my first post, I wish I had learned a bit more about mechanic skills, I might be more inclined to do some of my own work.

They both certainly accelerate better, but thankfully I'm not that into the pure speed stuff at this point in my life. Ride quality and overall appeal of the bike are more important. That's one reason I don't spend much money on horsepower stuff. Lots of folks spend thousands on that stuff, and I'd rather spend my money on trips or doo-dads for the bike.

No doubt the GW is smoother, but some folks don't go for that stuff. I liked the way the GW engine sounded. It was a well tuned and well balanced engine.

This will get me in trouble with some diehard HD fans, but I'm not a big fan of shaking motors. I tolerate it on the Ultra just because it runs so well at speed. But if the thing shook like that at highway speeds I would definetely own something else. I think HD realizes that as well; otherwise, why aren't they still building like the AMC days?

Sounds like we've got a lot in common.

Okay.

Now for the twist (pun intended), I've had a '10 Ultra Limited ordered for more than a month, and I'll hopefully pick it up this weekend. I guess some folks are willing to spend $25k and more on a bike without considering any other options. Power to them, but I'm just not built that way. My late-night trek into the comparison was just for fun ... and it seems to have served its purpose both in allowing me to exercise some "buyer remorse" demons while still stirring up discussion on the forum.

 

Always liked foorboards so I went with HD.

 

Altogether a good write Doc, very logical and well thought out. However, most folks are not logical when it comes to a purchase like this or a new car or boat or..ad infinitum. For me, the Victory Vision had a couple of drawbacks, One it looks like Arlen Ness designed something for a movie set in 2510. Way too futuristic. Second was the lack of a dealer network. HD has far more indy shops and dealers that Victory has sold bikes. If on the road, you can always find a Harley shop. Third, with the exception of Ness, there are very few aftermarket parts.

The Wing is a wonderful piece of two wheeled machinery with excellent power and handling capabilities. And the absolutely cheapest looking exterior of any bike, with all that plastic. It's a little too quiet for me, even though I still have the stock pipes on my 09 Ultra. It has all the soul and inspires the fun of a Mercury Grand marquis, you know the car the kids call GrandMa.

The HD is an anachronism of old technology, old styling, low horsepower and low tech all rolled into one beautiful machine that is recognisible all over the world. Its very pulsing at idle lends a promise of fun to come, like foreplay with a playboy bunny. It has become , with regular maintenance, a very dependable bike with more accessories and clothes ( hard for me to call them motorclothes) than the other two combined. When was the last time you saw someone wearing a Honda dealership t shirt? I thought so. It's the waves from little kids as they stare at the bike when you go by, the turning of heads and the wistful looks at the gas pump, folks wondering what it's like to ride one. For pure riding joy, my Ultra provides all the wife and I need. We have no desire to race from place to place so the 96 in engine is just fine, the gas mileage is a good trade off for the reduced power. The controls are well thought out and lend themselves to intuitive use.

In short, since HD has been making this same bike over 30 years, they have refined it to the point of perfection. I'll stick with HD. My only request for folks is that no matter what you ride be proud of it. Don't apoloigize if it's not HD and don't blast mine because it is.

Here's wishing you many happy miles on your new bike,

Bub

 

The 118 hp Honda six was for the Rune with 6 throttle bodies and not the two that the wing has. That was with a hotter tune also. By the way the Honda motorcycle plant in Ohio was closed over a year ago and production was returned to Japan.

I don't understand where 1/4 mile times or top speed come into play with cruisers/touring bikes. If that is the main factor then your are buying the wrong bike. A liter or larger sport bike is more fitting choice.

I've had them all and I now go exclusively with the winner. In addition I have decided to have one of each of the HD family of bikes. I have an 010 Ultra Classic, 09 XR1200 Sportster,08 Buell Ulysses XT, 07 Softail and am looking at a 04 V-Rod with only1,700 and a custom paint job. If I get it that will leave just the Dyna family to go.

Old tech gets bantered around a lot. The first internal combustion engine patented by Daimler was water cooled. Air cooling was a latter development therefore NEWER tech.

I had this for one season:



Then I learned this was a far better cruising bike.

 

Call me narrow minded but when I decided I was going to buy a touring bike, I didn't concider any other bike but a Harley.

 

Not any more.

They ceased motorcycle production at the Marysville Ohio plant in 2009 and moved all MC production back to Japan. The 2010 GW's are just leftover 2009 production bikes with a couple of recycled different colors and a $3000 higher MSRP, otherwise, they're identical in every way to an '09. On the Titanium Metallic colored bikes, the only possible way to tell the difference is to look at the VIN sticker.

Supposedly, they're going to be building cars or maybe car parts in Marysville now.

Of course, the VV is just plain hideous no matter how you look at it. I can't believe that any rider with a shred of self respect would buy one, but it's obvious that a few folks must like them. Personally, I've never seen one other than in pictures.