Long-Term Wrap-Up

LONG-TERM WRAP-UP

Victory Cross Country

Far from perfect but close to our hearts

EVER HAVE A FRIEND YOU REALLY LIKED, despite his or her many quirks? You know, that good buddy who always had your back but owned the most irritating laugh in town and somehow always avoided picking up the check?

If so, you can probably understand the affection we’ve developed for our long-term Cross Country. In the nearly 6000 miles we’ve racked up so far, it has delivered great open-road cruising, days-on-end comfort, superb backroad handling (for a 770-pound cruiser) and the thunderous torque of a big-inch V-Twin. But it also can annoy the crap out of us with clunky shifting, whiny gear noises (Victory made the six-speed box quieter for 2011, but it’s still not quiet), inaccurate instrumentation (nonlinear fuel gauge, optimistic fuel-mileage readout and other LED-panel oddities) and saddlebags that clatter noisily on bumps. And the same steering geometry that makes this bike so agile also results in awkward balancing at walking speeds and a touch of straight-line nervousness on the highway. Still, in overall performance and inherent character, the CC is so rewarding that we love riding it anyway.

Though we were content with the sound and performance of the 106-inch V-Twin, we tried a set of Victory’s accessory slip-ons (part #2878037), which, like the stockers, are concealed beneath chrome beauty covers. The $699.99 muffler “kit” includes a freer-flowing air-filter element and a one-time-only EFI remap that has to be performed by a Victory dealer. Figure about $250 in labor for the complete installation.

Victory’s P.R. reps claimed this upgrade would give the engine a deeper exhaust note but do zilch for performance. They weren’t lying. On the CWdyno, our stock CC managed 87.7 horsepower at 4750 rpm and 101.9 footpounds of torque at 4400; post-modification, hp increased less than 1 to 88.5 and torque soared a whopping 0.6 ft.-lb. up to 102.5. The exhaust is more soulful and doesn’t offend the noise nazis, but $950 is a pretty steep buy-in for such a small improvement.

The big Vic’s brakes were a bit wooden, so we switched to a set of Z Plus pads (part #7175 front, 7176 rear; $49.95 each) from Lyndall Racing Brakes (lyn daUracingbrakes.com). Even with the OE rotors, that simple drop-in gave the stoppers noticeably better bite and feel.

VICTORY

CROSS COUNTRY

Price as tested (2011) $20,499

We’ve got more equipment lined up to try on our fun and funky Cross Country; we’ll let you know how those worked out in our next update.

BMW K1600GTL

Vaporizing miles

WHY, WHY, DO WE HAVE TO GO TO work?” This is the overriding thought that crosses the minds of staffers and contributors alike any time one throws a leg over the K1600GTL, to the point that we were thinking of getting a personalized plate that reads “SICK DAY.”

While the GTL makes for a good commuter and feels pretty light when bagless, it’s been used for several multiday trips loaded to the gills with luggage and a passenger. Nothing beats the electronically adjustable suspension for rapid and easy accommodation of such variations in load.

www.cycleworld.com

BMW

K1600GTL

Price as tested (2012) $25,845

The stock Metzeier Roadtec Z8 Interact tires held up well, the rear calling it quits at about 5400 miles. Pretty impressive for a 753-pound-dry touring machine with 133 horses and 112 footpounds of torque; especially since we try to use all of that juice as much as possible. The front still has life, so we are stretching it.

We blew it on rear brake wear, letting the pads ($93.82) get down to metal and scoring the disc ($369.52). We’re including the pads in the maintenance total but leaving the disc out of the “repair” column, since that was our fault.

Best mod so far? The BMW accessory Akrapovic slip-on silencers. They are wickedly expensive at $2615 but drop several pounds over stock and boost horsepower (plus 3) and torque (plus 2). Plus, the sound of that Six is even sweeter without being intrusive on long rides. Time to call in sick again.

Husqvarna TE630

Traipsing through mountains and deserts

WE’VE FINALLY HIT OUR STRIDE WITH the TE630 and have logged miles from the Sierra Nevada in Northern California all the way down to the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in Baja California, Mexico.

Since our last update, we’ve added a few items from Husqvarna’s accessory catalog to make the TE a great overnight adventurer, including a Touratech-made luggage rack ($198) and tailbag ($133). Stuffed with clothes and supplemented by a light backpack, those add-ons provided more than enough space for personal belongings on a four-day Baja journey.

A reoccurring mystery that plagued the TE since we decided to source moreaggressive, street-legal off-road rubber was severe front-end instability (primarily on southern California’s rain-grooved concrete freeways). Catch the wrong seam and the bike would go into a tankslapper vigorous enough to make you consider taking surface streets the next time.

After Husqvarna replaced the 630’s worn-out steering-head bearings, we thought our problems were behind us, but the Michelin Desert TT Rally ($238) tires’ tall and skinny front knobbies were more likely to blame. After throwing on a set of Dunlop Rally Raids ($507), the Husky behaved significantly better but still not as composed as on the stock Metzeler Karoos. The best solution was finally found in an odd mixedbrand combination of a Pirelli MT21 Rallycross ($70) front and Dunlop D606 ($89) rear. On-road grip was very good through tight, supermoto-style twisties and even better for off-road hardpack, sand and loose gravel.

Two liters of Bel-Ray EXS 10W-50 ($36) and a K&N Performance Gold Filter ($15) kept the engine happy between normal scheduled services.

HUSQVARNA

TE630

Price as tested (2010) $8999

www.cycleworld.com