Originally Posted by
Miks
I have waited to post something on this Forum, as it took a few weeks to get my Matte Silver F6B due to adding a few accessories. Had a smoking hot deal from Storm Lake Honda in Iowa, actually I was sort of out of the market for a bike this late in the season, but ended up purchasing bike #37 after trading in my 2015 Victory Cross Country.
Since this is my 37th motorcycle...sort of went through three brand new ones the past year :icon_lol:, I figure I have a good take on how the F6B compares. I also owned a 2012 Harley Davidson Street Glide (FLHX), and a 2012 Honda Goldwing base model so as baggers and touring bikes go, the F6B fits the niche very nicely.
My complaints with the Victory Cross Country, was the lack of refinement on the bike. I have read in a few areas about the shifting and "clunk" of the F6B gearbox, but to me it is as smooth as butter in comparison to the Victory. The Victory had a few things that wouldn't take much to fix, but for some reason they never got around to doing so. First, when you put gas in the gas tank, you have to hold the nozzle at the EXACT angle, or it would shoot the fuel back up at you, and it was such an odd angle you had to hold the nozzle, it was weird. Not a big deal, but a big deal to me was the turbulence that the batwing fairing on the bike produced. I tried windshields, lowers, wings, etc. and came to the conclusion that it is what it is, just deal with it. I hear the cross country with the fairing type lowers ($1,049) would help this out, but at this point of the game, I was ready to move on.
The Victory did have excellent handling, but the brakes...although good, are NO comparison to the F6B! After starting the Honda and listening to the sweet music from the 6 cylinder warming up, the smoothness and tone of the exhaust was intoxicating...even after being on a V-twin! Just sounded like a refined yet powerful tone to it. As I accelerated away for the first time, the quick response of the engine was evident, something you don't get from a V-twin, but my first attempt at slowing down was how effective the brakes are on the F6B. Seriously, the Victory did have good brakes from what I have had on most other bikes, but the F6B has some of the best binders that I have experienced since my Honda 919 that I owned in 2002.
The handling is remarkable, and we all know why but truly the double perimeter aluminum frame is rigid and makes the bike feel...well, not wobly! My Harley had some sloppy handling, but the Victory is known for it's lean angle and it does handle very well for a big V-twin. However, neither of these bikes comes close to the crisp feel of the F6B. I recall my Goldwing felt tight also, but without the weight of the top-box, the F6B just feels that much more sporty.
I only was able to put about 65 miles on the bike, but truly enjoy the way it performed, and am looking forward to a nice long summer of riding next year. I had the bike delivered with the square type LED fog lamps, the Honda accessory rack, and had the Windbender windshield system installed by the dealer. I was VERY impressed with this windshield, adjusted it to look just above the shield, and didn't have any turbulence to complain of at all. This, while getting excellent protection from the elements, the high for the day was 52 degrees, and for the most part, think this windshield may be the cats meow!
As I look at the last six motorcycles I have owned in the last seven years, Honda ST1300, a Harley Street Glide, Honda GL1800, BMW R1200Rt, Honda CTX 1300, and Victory Cross Country...I am HOPING this bike will be a keeper for a while! I would have purchased one of these back in 2013, but due to the bike not having electronic cruise control, I passed and went with the Harley...it was a $300 option due to the throttle by wire! I traded my CTX 1300 because it did not ride all that well, and also did not have cruise control. I was going to wire in a universal Rostra electronic cruise, but due to liability concerns, I couldn't get anyone to install this so the bike had to go. That being said, the CTX had some very cool features, one being the bluetooth system that would play through the speakers, LED headlights that were unbelievable, and that marvelous V-4 engine! It was one STIFF ride for sure, while the throttle was overly sensitive that I just had to send that one down the road also.
Bottom line to the F6B is that it offers a great combination of a bagger for cruising the boulevard, to the comfort that you can put some serious miles on. I was in Oshkosh Airventure this summer on my CTX 1300, and I ran into a very wealthy guy who had owned a lot of motorcycles like I had. He had all the Harley gear, so I expected that is what he rode to the convention, but when he pulled up to the shower facilities, he was riding an F6B. He told me that...once bikers figure this bike out, they will sell like hotcakes. His opinion was based on the room for taller riders, the smoothness of the motor, and he had the Ergo pegs and utopia backrest, he told me he has never had a more comfortable bike. I sort of believed him but not really...now I am a believer!
