[Wraithwrider]

Hiya all I'm from the UK, the Lake District in the NW of England. Beautiful biking country even if it does get a bit wet.

Been riding coming up to 40 yrs and my thoughts have been straying to a big cruiser recently, something that would have been quite alien a few years back.

I presently have an old BMW R1100RS and when I had a newer R1200GS I rode with a guy who had a Victory a few years back and I was mightily impressed with the build quality and performance compared to HD stuff I had seen. Now looking around for a good big 'Bagger' (to quote US terminology I believe) and the Star (Yamaha) 1900 Roadliner seems to get rave reviews at the moment. Now I know you'll all be biased but I wonder if anyone can sell me on a Victory over the Star?

What's the pro's and con's of the pair? Has anyone on here tried the Yamaha?

Peter

 

[kevinx]

Without a doubt the RL is a great bike, and probably the closest thing to a Victory out there in this segment. It looses out in only a couple of areas. First....water cooling is for cars. All the extra weight, complication, maitenance, and chance of failure. Keep me from giving it a thumbs up in mechanics. Secondly the RL is a big bike, but ergonmically a little cramped. The last two Cross bikes we sold where I work were traded on late model Stratoliners

 

[Candubrain]

I have the Victory Vision, my friend the Roadliner with the Corbin bags, seat, batwing and stereo. His is the first year Roadliner so it did not come all dressed up like today's model, he has spent thousands in an attempt to make it into a comfortable touring rig.

Yamaha is a proven product, the 1900 is a powerful motor and it is a well mannered handling machine. Would I buy one, no.

The Vision comes loaded, has features that the Yamaha doesn't, i.e. powered windshield, position adjustable shift and brake pedals, heated seat and grips, integrated for iPod, state of the art frame, lower centre of gravity, to name a few.

Having ridden both, maybe I am bias, but the Vision outperforms the Roadliner in handling, low or high speed. Braking and pulling power feel similar, but the 2010's now have ABS. The wind and rain protection from the full fairing Vision is far superior to the Roadliner's Batwing. Having ridden a FLHTC for years, I can tell you there is a lot of wind buffeting with a Batwing.

Either bike is a great product. I think it comes down to personal taste, budget and do you want to stand out from the crowd.

Since you are in the UK and I am sure you ride in the rain quite often, I would suggest the Vision.

 

[Wraithwrider]

Thanks for that guys. The RL is air cooled as it happens so a plus there too in my eyes.

The Stratoliner isn't sold here in the UK, neither is the RL S model.

I was looking at the Cross Roads model, as the Vision is a bit above budget.

Peter

 

[Wraithwrider]

I've just been reading through some threads and Kevin you sure do know your stuff.

I'm thinking of looking around some Victory's this w/e with my lady who also rides.

Peter

 

[diamondrmp]

Kevin definitely knows his stuff. I asked him to come over here from another site we belong to. He is a Victory Mechanic and considered to be THE authority on our bikes.

 

[Wraithwrider]

Well, what can I say but

When I'm nearer being in a position to buy I'll book a test ride but I loved this Kingpin:

and my Lady was rather taken by this very pretty Jackpot:

 

[NOEMTZ]

Both are great looking bikes!