Second bike...? Thoughts?

[opas ride]

I can't help - I just like the looks of cruisers. A cheap second bike is a VStar 1300, but I would prefer a Victory Cross Country or CC Tour at this time (subject to change 100 times in the next couple of years). They are just good looking machines.

I didn't like my test ride last fall, but I wonder if I should've given it more of a chance. The vibration I felt through the seat when I first accelerated (plus the disappointing power down low, a shock for a Vtwin) was an immediate turn off. Build quality turned me off too.

Yet, I love the way they look and few or no one that has owned one has a bad word to say...

Having owned a few Victory's and ridden the ones your talking about, I have never noticed any vibration through the seat or any lack of power..My Victory Vision had no such issues and could easily "blow away" most HD's and other V-twins...????...Maybe you had a bad bike or were looking for something that was not there....Ride safe

[VStarRider]

Having owned a few Victory's and ridden the ones your talking about, I have never noticed any vibration through the seat or any lack of power..My Victory Vision had no such issues and could easily "blow away" most HD's and other V-twins...????...Maybe you had a bad bike or were looking for something that was not there....Ride safe

When I pulled up to the Victory dealer last October, I told the owner that I really valued a smooth, comfortable bike for longer rides. I told him that I am still open to a twin, but was growing a little tired of the feeling of vibration that comes from a twin, particularly under throttle. While I thought that the 1700cc Vic might be smoother than my 1100 VStar, because it is a $22,000 touring bike, he told me later that he knew right then I would not like the Vic because it was designed to have the rider "feel" the motor, as that is what many Vtwin riders like. He said that the Yamaha 1100 is one of the smoothest Vtwins around and if I felt that vibrated too much, then I would hate the Vic.

I pulled out of the driveway of the dealer and out on to the main road. Under moderate throttle while getting up to speed, I felt the vibration of the coffee-can sized pistons right through the seat on my arse. I also felt it through the bars. I felt that would become fatiguing on a long trip, plus I thought a $22k bike would isolate its rider far better than that.

As for acceleration, I felt I needed to really twist the Vic's throttle to get it moving. The dealer told me they made the throttle less linear because people were breaking the rear tire free too easily, so that may be what was driving my perception.

Anyway, you are probably right - I was expecting a different experience that what the Vic was designed to deliver. When I was cruising through the Finger Lakes on Saturday at a steady 50-55 mph without a single sensation from the flat-6 Honda, that it what I was looking for. I guess I found it...minus ABS, cruise, and a trunk!

Still like the thought of that much different experience in a second bike.