A touch of clarification
Im new to Victory and have had my Cross Roads for almost a month now. I love the bike, but never owning a Road King I couldn’t compare the two.
I can tell you why I decided on the Cross Roads instead of the Road King though. My reasons listed by priority:
1) I wanted something that wasn’t a Harley. Nothing against Harley, but I wanted something that wasn’t like every other bike on the road.
2) Aesthetics. I love the look of the Bike and unlike several foreign companies; Victory did not attempt to rip off designs from Harley. Victory has its own style.
3) The price. I walked out the door for about $18,000 with my Cross Roads. The local Harley dealer couldn’t get the price under $20k for the ’09 Road King.
4) Long mechanical life of the engine and tranny per several people Ive spoken to and read about. Hope its true……
5) Bigger Engine 106ci vs the 96ci in the Road King.
6) Suspension and handling. My Cross Roads has way better lean angles then my friends ’09 Road King. On tight mountain roads, he has problems keeping up with me.
7) Comfortable.
8) Bigger hard bags.
9) Not as heavy as the Road King.
I really have to jump in here. I just paid 17K out the door(TTL, everything) for a 2010 FLHP. Here's a brief run down of the bike that came in with 10mi on the odometer:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Agey5pSzB5OCdFRGYlpsakNoVnFKemhzX0N6WlBPN0E&hl=en
All I did to get this deal was walk in the door and, stand by the FLHP I wanted, and tell them I wanted it for 17K out the door. The sales rep talked with the manager, then we sat down and I filled out the paperwork for purchase. Had I purchased all of the accessories that came for free on the bike, I would have paid an additional $4400
above and beyond the stock FLHR price of $16990, not including TTL, fees, etc. Mind you, mine is 103ci with an oil cooler and a ton of chrome. The stock is 96ci and just the smattering of chrome the MoCo puts on there for accent purposes.
For full details, take a look at my spreadsheet at that Google docs link.
Are HD's overpriced? No doubt on it. You'll never hear me argue any differently about that. However, it IS possible to get a good deal from the MoCo if you're willing to stand firm and buy something right off the floor.
Most of your other points (styling, weight, bag size, engine size) are right on the money, too. However, having ridden more bikes than I can count, the RK is at the top of my list for a comfy distance-riding bike. If I were to stick around in-town or short jaunts, The Heritage Softail or a Deuce would be my way to go.
Don't take me for some kind of HD-only guy. Victory's are a blast, and I recently sold a Honda VTX that was faster and more nimble than any HD big twin I have ever ridden. The wife didn't like the ride, so I got her a smaller Honda. till she gets more comfy on two wheels.
Keep the shiny side up!