Your thoughts please (pro/con)

1716 Views 18 Replies 15 Participants Last post by pastordave1, Nov 25, 2014

Pastor

Discussion Starter · Nov 22, 2014

The Victory Cross Country and Tour has caught my eye. I ride a 2003 Sabre and it is still doing very well. I am wondering if you see the carburator bikes going obsolete soon? I wonder what thoughts you might have about the Victory CC and Tour. Maybe I am trying to talk myself out of changing, maybe not?
Thanks.

John

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

Hondaguy

· #2 · Nov 22, 2014 (Edited)

I have never read or spoken to someone with a Victory who was sorry they bought it. The only problem is having dealers close by for any service and their accessories are priced like they are made pf gold.

IMO carburetors are and will be will be going the way of points and a distributor

Pastor

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 22, 2014

Thank you.

jkustomz28

· #4 · Nov 22, 2014

get the tour you can aways take the truck off and have a cross country but when you need the truck its there. and believe you get a few more features with the tour you dont get with the cross country

7xclm

· #5 · Nov 22, 2014

Carbs is like a dinosaur and the asteroid is on it's way.

gregtheginn

· #6 · Nov 22, 2014

Carbs are like cigarettes. If you got em smoke em.
This was an interesting article about why carbs are going away.
http://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-things-are-fuel-injection

C5rider

· #7 · Nov 22, 2014

Interesting story link.

Been playin' with the carb vs. EFI battle for years. Done testing on V-8s to find out which makes more power (as author said, it has been little appreciable difference). But, again there are benefits.

EFI has helped to tune in some severely radical engines (think 9-second street car with an 860hp engine) and the constant adjusting of the EFI helps keep it in tune. Now, can't a carb do the same thing, YES. But it took a LOT more tuning to get a carb there, using many of the tried and true, but since forgotten tricks of carb tuners over the years.

Fuel mileage does increase, due to the better fuel control. One of the best improvements is when the throttle blades are closed and decelerating. Think about it, a carb delivers fuel based on vacuum and with the throttle blades closed, the vacuum is at it's highest. EFI simply shuts the fuel off.

Quick story from a friend who was there. When they put cats on Corvettes back in '75, then Chief engineer, Zora Duntov was testing a pre-production model on the hills for some high-altitude driving and while coasting downhill (on the other side) he put the car in a lower gear and let the engine hold him back. Well, the carb did it's job and the cat got hot, REAL hot and it smoked the floor! That's why the '76 model got a steel plate just over the catalytic converter.

That said, a finely-tuned carb can work well, but truth-be-told, many folks just want to twist a key and go!

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Mark-B

· #8 · Nov 22, 2014

Yeah, carbs are done.. Whether they are gone today or tomorrow, they are soon to be a thing of the past..

I have done LOADS of research into new bikes, the XC and XCT are two of the finest bikes in their class.. Very good value for money too (all in my opinion)..

The XC can be toured up at a later date if you wanted and is supposed to have slightly better handling compared to the tour model due to a slightly lower center of gravity..

Storage is immense.. Easy to work on, loads of power, and more speed than you need..

These bikes can even be fitted with a reverse gear later on if you need it.. Better gas mileage, better electronics packages than the Goldwing, ABS and heated everything..

For the money you are getting a bike everyone will wave at, with everything you will need to get you down the road, at a real good price.

Like I say.. Hard to beat..

The biggest question when it comes to that bike is.. "Will It Fit"

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CrazyDave

· #9 · Nov 22, 2014

Carbs may be done, but there are plenty of carbed bikes and cars to keep a supply going for a long time. Personally carbs on bikes work fine for me..but hey it's your ride not mine

h13man

· #10 · Nov 22, 2014

Carbs can be fixed on the side of the road if needed but EFI requires roadside assistance. New Valk mpg. avgerage is no better than old carbed Valks which also doesn't have carb lag but this is an exception due to having 6 cyls. vs two cylinders. I Like EFI but I like the looks of my antique carbs.

Harryc

· #11 · Nov 23, 2014 (Edited)

Mark-B said:
...the XC and XCT are two of the finest bikes in their class..

^^^^+1. I want either one or a HD Street Glide someday. As far as carbs go, I grew up with them so I am used to their quirks. With that said, I'd rather not have to think about fuel delivery on a bike .

. Change a fuel filter on a FI bike every 5 years ... Ok I can deal with that. Many of us are stuck in carb land because of finances. (period) I can't tell you how many hours I've spent this year resurrecting this Honda Shadow ACE, and most of those hours were spent on carbs or cleaning/rebuilding/adjustment of the same. I'm just about there, until something else wears out. Given the choice between that and not riding, well it's obvious.

Pastor

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 23, 2014 (Edited)

I really appreciate all of your responses - thank you. I have found them very beneficial and helpful. I am thinking my next bike will be a XC or XCT. So, now I will be thinking in terms of selling my bike and saving my money. Again, thank you for your comments.

Harryc

· #13 · Nov 23, 2014

Any time Dave. You will love the Victory. It's a solid design and engine. You can't go wrong there. Just think, with long distance capability you can increase your congregation by 10 fold.

.

Bobolto

· #14 · Nov 23, 2014

If you're going to spend $$$$$ then don't fool around and get a Harley

PACKY

· #15 · Nov 23, 2014

Yes Dave, carburetors are loved by many, but EFI is the current play. But time will continue and the EFI will someday be ancient with the internal combustion engine. I can imagine it now, Beam me up Scotty, dilithium crystals are nowhere to be found. We will probably have to order them from the Ferengi.
Go for it Pastor, get that Victory you dream of... you know the part: Live, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Don't wait until you are restricted to a rocking chair and thinking how it might have been if you got the Victory Motorcycle you wanted so dearly.

vito

· #16 · Nov 23, 2014

h13man said:
Carbs can be fixed on the side of the road if needed but EFI requires roadside assistance. New Valk mpg. avgerage is no better than old carbed Valks which also doesn't have carb lag but this is an exception due to having 6 cyls. vs two cylinders. I Like EFI but I like the looks of my antique carbs.

And when your battery starts getting iffy there is no pushing and popping it in second gear to get it started.

And PASTOR.....get the bike. Have yet to hear anyone complain about their Victory. If I ever have the means to bump up to a full tourer...Victor is my first stop.

h13man

· #17 · Nov 23, 2014

vito said:
And when your battery starts getting iffy there is no pushing and popping it in second gear to get it started.

As long you have "volunteers" to push a Valk. Been there done that when the starter switch took a s**t this spring. It was embarrassing to have HD and Yamaha owners having to push you

but I got home before dark as the headlight wasn't functioning because of the switch failure. I've since learned how to jump the starter.

Coolride

· #18 · Nov 23, 2014

Being a performance kind of guy, I'd rather tune my bike with a laptop, instead of tearing it apart, and playing with jets. Takes a few minutes to make fuel map changes with injection. With jets, you have to order a handful of jets, and tear the carbs. off a few times, until you get it right.

pastordave1

· #19 · Nov 25, 2014

I have EFI on my Phantom and my son has carbs on his ACE. So far no problems with the carbs but when I get on and start my bike in colder weather it is so much nicer than starting his with the choke on then let it warm up a bit and maybe have to play with the choke a little more before you can get going. I definatly like EFI better. As far as Victory, if I had the money I'd have one, read nothing but good about them!

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