Went on an unscheduled group ride

[Monkeyman]

I rode the bike today just planning on a quick trip to town to the store. I passed an Indian Chieftain and decided to turn around to see if I could find him as I've never seen one in person. I found him and talked to him for a bit. All of a sudden, I noticed I was getting surrounded by other bikes (I was in his driveway). Turns out this group of riders gets together every Thursday at 6pm for a short ride and dinner. They invited me along. Took most of an hour to go 35 miles to the next town over (about 15 miles via the 4 lane). Very diverse group. One Yamaha Venture, 2 1800 Gold Wings, a Harley Fat Boy, the Indian Chieftain and my Victory Vision.

(FWIW, the Chieftain is VERY nice but more cramped than my Vision. It had the Stage 1 pipes and sounded AWESOME. The Wings are just as cramped as the Indian but they must be a great ride. Both of the Wings were ridden by 70-80 year olds who regularly take them cross country.)

[Top Cat]

That's great Chris, glad to see your riding the bike again, even if is only short trips.
Might want to stop in his driveway again next Thursday around 6 PM

[ringadingh]

Those spur of the moment rides are sometimes the best ones.

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

That's great Chris, glad to see your riding the bike again, even if is only short trips.
Might want to stop in his driveway again next Thursday around 6 PM

I work next Thursday but if my arm feels good, I'll probably stop by the following Thursday. It was fun although the sweep hit my bike. No damage (his mirror tapped my trunk at about 1/2 mph) but it bothered me just the same. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have bugged me as much if I wasn't trying to sell the bike.

[cnc]

Cool stuff Chris.

[landman]

good for you.

[Loafer]

Happy for you Chris! Do it again, you deserve it.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

I rode the bike today just planning on a quick trip to town to the store. I passed an Indian Chieftain and decided to turn around to see if I could find him as I've never seen one in person. I found him and talked to him for a bit. All of a sudden, I noticed I was getting surrounded by other bikes (I was in his driveway). Turns out this group of riders gets together every Thursday at 6pm for a short ride and dinner. They invited me along. Took most of an hour to go 35 miles to the next town over (about 15 miles via the 4 lane). Very diverse group. One Yamaha Venture, 2 1800 Gold Wings, a Harley Fat Boy, the Indian Chieftain and my Victory Vision.

(FWIW, the Chieftain is VERY nice but more cramped than my Vision. It had the Stage 1 pipes and sounded AWESOME. The Wings are just as cramped as the Indian but they must be a great ride. Both of the Wings were ridden by 70-80 year olds who regularly take them cross country.)

The average size of an american male is 5'10 and 175lbs. Fall outside of that and finding a bike that fits well off the showroom floor becomes more difficult as the difference increases. I found the Ultra the most cramped of vtwins I've ridden, may be the same as my Vulcan 800. If the Indian is similar, well, it is what it is. The Victory's seem to have more room. So did the 1600 Nomad, but Kawasaki fouled that up. Oh well.

[landman]

Originally Posted by ponch

The average size of an american male is 5'10 and 175lbs. Fall outside of that and finding a bike that fits well off the showroom floor becomes more difficult as the difference increases. I found the Ultra the most cramped of vtwins I've ridden, may be the same as my Vulcan 800. If the Indian is similar, well, it is what it is. The Victory's seem to have more room. So did the 1600 Nomad, but Kawasaki fouled that up. Oh well.

I think that Harley is on to something with their new low rider that has easily
adjusted handle bar positions.we need more bikes that offer adjustments of
the handle bar position.seat and peg adjustments.the older nomads required
many average size riders to add handle bar risers in order to get comfortable.
kawi fixed that on the newer models at the expense of a cramped riding
position for the taller folks.why not make these things adjustable to accommodate a wider range of people?

[ponch]

The Japanese manufacturers tend to be value focused. You'll have to go to premium brands to get better.

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by ponch

The average size of an american male is 5'10 and 175lbs. Fall outside of that and finding a bike that fits well off the showroom floor becomes more difficult as the difference increases. I found the Ultra the most cramped of vtwins I've ridden, may be the same as my Vulcan 800. If the Indian is similar, well, it is what it is. The Victory's seem to have more room. So did the 1600 Nomad, but Kawasaki fouled that up. Oh well.

I didn't know that. Part of my problem is that I'm short waisted. I'm 6'1" but with only a 31" inseam. I haven't owned a bike where I didn't need taller handlebars. I'm not saying the Indian wouldn't fit me, just that it's more cramped than my Vision. You're right that the Victorys seem to be engineered with a LOT of leg room. They're almost too stretched out. I like the legroom (I have bad knees so it's nice to be able to stretch out once in a while) but I'm not sure I'd "have" to have it.

I think the pre-water cooled Ultras were pretty cramped but I've sat on the new ones and they've stretched them out some (at least it feels that way...maybe they just changed the seat?). I thought my Nomad had great legroom.

[Bud2rat]

I think the pre-water cooled Ultras were pretty cramped but I've sat on the new ones and they've stretched them out some (at least it feels that way...maybe they just changed the seat?). I thought my Nomad had great legroom.

That's what I like about my Nomad, the legroom. I prefer to stretch my legs out while riding. My buddy has the Ultra Classic and it seems to be too cramped for my riding style. Think I'll just keep what I got.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Bud2rat

I think the pre-water cooled Ultras were pretty cramped but I've sat on the new ones and they've stretched them out some (at least it feels that way...maybe they just changed the seat?). I thought my Nomad had great legroom.

That's what I like about my Nomad, the legroom. I prefer to stretch my legs out while riding. My buddy has the Ultra Classic and it seems to be too cramped for my riding style. Think I'll just keep what I got.

The 1600 is better than the 1500 too in that regard. As far as the ultra goes, I think the chassis is the same, so may be they changed the seat.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

I didn't know that. Part of my problem is that I'm short waisted. I'm 6'1" but with only a 31" inseam. I haven't owned a bike where I didn't need taller handlebars. I'm not saying the Indian wouldn't fit me, just that it's more cramped than my Vision. You're right that the Victorys seem to be engineered with a LOT of leg room. They're almost too stretched out. I like the legroom (I have bad knees so it's nice to be able to stretch out once in a while) but I'm not sure I'd "have" to have it.

I think the pre-water cooled Ultras were pretty cramped but I've sat on the new ones and they've stretched them out some (at least it feels that way...maybe they just changed the seat?). I thought my Nomad had great legroom.

It sounds like you are long torso'd. I'm 6'5 34" inseam. I don't have a problem reaching bars. with the Nomad, I rotated up a little. Whoever assembled the bike made the bars too low and when I made a l hard left turn early on my knee got trapped between the bar and the tank. That got fixed quickly. On my RT I put risers on not so much to make them closer, but a little higher. Since the neck problems, I like to sit straight up.

[Monkeyman]

I put a set of Dmyers 12.5" bars on my Nomad and the aftermarket bars on my Vision are 2" taller with a 2" greater pullback. I could almost use another inch of pullback to be "just right". One of the reasons why I didn't look at any sport tourers when I got my Vic was because of the seating position. Like you, I need to be able to sit straight up. Bad knees, bad hip, bad back, bad....you get the idea.