Harley-Davidson Road Glide Vs. Victory Vision Street

Harley-Davidson Road Glide vs. Victory Vision Street

Battle of the max baggers

THIS TEST MIGHT HAVE been over as soon as darkness gathered in the San Gabriel Mountains and the Victory’s digital air-temp gauge registered 33 degrees.

Time to turn for home.

The Victory rider made sure his bike’s wind deflectors were fully deployed, raised the electro-adjustable windshield to full height, switched the heated handgrips and seat to their toastiest settings and double-checked that his MP3 player was plugged into the sound system, cued to the right tunes.

DAVID EDWARDS

The Road Glide rider, with none of the above, simply gritted his teeth.. .or would have had they not been chattering.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves-and, of course, that’s not the whole story.

Touring-cruisers, i.e. baggers, make a lot of sense, as an increasing number of riders are finding out. Laid-back comfortable, lots of cargo capacity, room for two, weather/wind protection up front. For this 2x2, we went straight to the top of the food chain and picked a pair of maximum baggers. While most of the ilk makes do with a simple copbike windshield bolted to the fork, Harley-Davidson’s FLTR Road Glide runs a frame-mount fairing commodious enough to contain a sound system, extra gauges and a couple of gloveboxes.

Our testbike was painted Crimson Denim Red, a satin finish that elicited responses ranging from “What a gorgeous paintjob!” to “That’s not paint; that’s what you put paint on.” Eight other shiny schemes are available, including the copper/black 105th Anniversary (yes, already) colors. Upping the bike’s $18,595 base price were optional spoked wheels ($450), electronic key fob security system ($345) and antilock brakes ($795). The ABS, offered for the first time on civilian H-Ds, works through new Brembo calipers.

Going up against the Glide is the striking new Victory Vision Street, looking more like a concept bike than an actual production machine. Ours had the Premium package, a $1500 upgrade over the standard Street’s $18,999 MSRP. Worth the dough, as you get a power windshield, HID Xenon headlight, extra chrome and the aforementioned electrically heated grips and seat, the latter with separate controls for rider and passenger portions. Lower deflector shields were another addition, a $230 option, plus we had the iPod interface ($40) and XM satellite radio ($400). Midnight Cherry paint cost another $500.

Both bikes are powered by air-cooled, fuel-injected VTwins, have six-speed gearboxes, 6.0-gallon gas tanks and run belt final drive, but there the similarities end. The Road Glide is familiar, its shapes and lines iconic, almost comforting. We first saw those saddlebags in the mid-Sixties; the fairing in 1980. The 45-degree Vee has roots clear back to 1936, but its more immediate ancestry runs to 1984 and the introduction of the Evolution motor. That begat the Twin Cam 88 in 1999, followed by the current 96cubic-inch (1584cc) version last year. Ours was a good runner, too, funneling 70 horsepower to its rear Dunlop. That’s 7 more than the Rocker tested in this same issue-thanks going to the Glide’s larger, freer-flowing (but very quiet) dual exhaust, and the fully broken-in 8000 miles showing on its odometer.

If the FLTR’s look is classic, then the Vision’s is... well, call it a cross between an Art Deco locomotive and George Jetson’s sky scooter. This was a clean-sheet design-actually, the first all-new touring platform from any manufacturer in many years-and everywhere you look it shows. The frame is a massive all-aluminum affair that drapes over the top of the engine. Rear suspension is via monoshock with a risingrate linkage. Okay, the 50-degree, 106-inch (173lee), counter-balanced engine isn’t exactly cutting-edge stuff, but it throws down 18 more horsepower and 18 more foot-pounds of torque than the Harley’s TC96. In any contest of acceleration, the Vision flat spanks the Glide, though curiously both top out at the exact-same 108.9 mph.

H-D ROAD GLIDE

$20,185

lips ▲ Nuthin’ else is a Harley ▲ An engine to love ▲ ABS at last! ▲ Accurate cruise control Downs ▼ Maybe time for a V-Rod bagger? ▼ Sat-nav system needs to meet Garmin ▼ Parked, radio antenna becomes a pedestrian-poker

Before you dismiss the Harley as a hoary old anachronism, though, realize that it’s the one here with the fly-by-wire electronic throttle and ABS brake option (the Vision’s brakes are linked rear-to-front and very effective). It also has many of the same infotainment options as the Victory. And around town, the Road Glide is simply the better bike. It’s lightersteering, feels about 100 pounds less heavy (actually 62), and its rubber-mounted motor shakes about at idle and is just a more charismatic piece.

As Executive Editor Mark Hoyer put it, “The Harley is appealing for the simplicity and elegance its traditional shape and sounds suggest. Even with the TC96’s power deficit, mechanical quality and low-end power delivery are better and more pleasurable than those of the Vision. Victory has for sure made big strides with this Freedom 106 engine, but it still has a harsher mechanical edge.”

It’s out on the open road where the Vision wins back an advantage. It’s not a question of smoothness-the Harley’s rubber mounts do a great job of resolving vibration-it’s just that the Glide’s drafty old barn door of a fairing can’t compete with the Victory’s wind-tunnel-tested bodywork and the impressive still-air pocket it generates. Road Test man Don Canet was particularly put off by the Harley’s buffeting at helmet level, noting, “Riding this bike with a hangover should be part of a 12-step program!”

At a moderately brisk backroad pace, both bikes do well and have decent cornering clearance, but start to get serious about making time and the Harley folds its tent, the lightly damped fork and steel-tube frame getting decidedly willowy.

And so it was on a mountain road two hours from hearth and home, with both night and temperature falling, the choice between these two bikes was pretty clear. □

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VICTORY VISION STREET

$21,669

4lps ▲ Fashion-leader styling ▲ All the modern conveniences (almost) A Accurate cruise control, too yBÊÊÊW Downs ▼ Take-me-to-your-leader styling ▼ Er, ABS ain’t a mod-con? ▼ Saddlebags aren’t as big as they look ▼ Fuel-filler door a little chintzy