First Ride | 2012 Victory Cross Country Tour

As motorcycles have become more specialized, they?ve focused more intently on smaller slices of the market. However, that niche focus has a drawback: Ask the bike to step out of its area of expertise, and it can become as uncoordinated as a nerd trying to talk to the head cheerleader. So, imagine our surprise when we discovered that Victory?s conversion of the Cross Country from a touring cruiser into the Cross Country Tour tourer made the bike even more versatile.">As motorcycles have become more specialized, they?ve focused more intently on smaller slices of the market. However, that niche focus has a drawback: Ask the bike to step out of its area of expertise, and it can become as uncoordinated as a nerd trying to talk to the head cheerleader. So, imagine our surprise when we discovered that Victory?s conversion of the Cross Country from a touring cruiser into the Cross Country Tour tourer made the bike even more versatile.

When we tested the 2011 ?Country earlier this year, we were fairly complimentary. In a head-to-head comparison with the Harley-Davidson Road Glide Custom, we chose the Victory. There weren?t many things we didn?t like about it. (OK, so maybe we wanted more feedback from the binders). So, why would Victory take a package that works well already?and is its best selling model?and try to best it? The Victory rep told us at the press launch for the Cross Country Tour in Park City, UT, that the company had always internally tracked five features for their touring line as a means of comparing itself to its competitors. Now, they?ve decided to group these features under the moniker of ?the Victory Edge,? which translates to: performance, comfort, storage, reliability, and style. For a motorcycle manufacturer that has, since its inception, always had such a distinctive style, you might be surprised to see it listed last. But without the other qualities, all the styling in the world wouldn?t do the bike any good.

An included iPod/iPhone adaptor...�

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An included iPod/iPhone adaptor allows you to control your tunes (somewhat).

Since the entire Victory touring line comes with the 106/6 cubic-inch Freedom V-Twin engine, the propulsion aspect of performance is well covered (as we discovered on past rides and with this first jaunt on the Cross Country Tour). The air-oil cooled, 50 degree V-twin engine gets its 106 cubes from a pair of 101 x 108mm cylinders. The single overhead cams operate four valves per cylinder, using a self-adjusting chain and hydraulic lifters, giving the Freedom engine its revvy personality. The fuel injection breathes through a pair of 45mm throttle bodies and gets bumped to a 9.4:1 compression ratio for a claimed 109 ft-lbs. of torque and 92 hp.

The torque off the bottom end launches the Tour in a manner that belies its weight. Shifting with the six-speed gearbox is easy, although you still feel a solid thunk when getting into gear. Sixth gear is an overdrive, which you?ll want to remember when passing other vehicles. Dropping down a cog makes acceleration all the more spirited when wheeling past slower traffic. Fuel metering is spot on, with nary a flat spot, and on-off throttle transitions are buttery smooth with no driveline lash from the belt drive. The top speed we achieved (before running out of road) ended in a ?3? and had that many digits?which is pretty impressive, considering that this was above 9000 feet in the mountains of southwestern Wyoming.

While the altitude did sap some power (the above speed was achieved in fifth gear), the Tour always felt willing in speed ranges for which it was designed. Before we leave speeds that can get you up close and personal with Mr. Law, the Tour?s propensity to shimmy a bit in a straight line as it approaches the ton says that you?re reaching the chassis? limits. Steering inputs and sweepers are met with a slight wobble, just to let you know that perhaps you should slow down.

Source: http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/features/1112_crup_2012_victory_cross_country_tour/index.html

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