Gas Man and marko pillage the East (MASSIVE pics)

[Gas Man]

Originally Posted by Sixxxxer

My girl might do it!!

and hopefully she weights less than me.

[Gas Man]

3 days
8 state parks
2 state forests
6 states
1 victory demo ride

So Friday I run out to my good bud Mark's house. Arriving at his house in Harrisburg, PA we get a pic of two sexy push rod twins.




Saturday we start out with a ride up to the Victory dealer which has the corperate truck there for demo rides.



Even though we both wanted to test ride the Cross Country (Street Glide look alike), we had to settle for something else.





The victory vision 8ball, was my test ride. First I notice the 8" deep dish seat. The huge mirrors off in the distance grab ur eyes. You reach for the long pull back handle bars and you have a startling realization, half of those big mirrors shows all your knuckles. Yikes!



Turn the key, thumb the starter and the 106 CI comes to life with very little enthusiasm or sound. It's what you can expect from a non push rod motor. But let's take it for a whirl. The throttle and brakes are crisp and responsive. But within only a few miles you notice the trans. Victory saw fit to pack all 6 speeds with noisey straight cut gears. So during the entire ride I had to listen to this trans.

There was a saving grace to all of this. Motorvasion Victory provided us with what is the best test ride route I've ever been on. Thru the mountains, twisting our way thru this 20 min adventure.

During which I have been trying to figure out the workings of this bike. My first confused point is this power windshield button. I cannot get this windshield to move. More on that later...

I love the big gear indicator located in the LCD. The deep seat is comfy and even while the trans is noisy its also consistent. The bike also seems to be very well balanced.


The 106CI motor does the job but with no excitement. Further, the lack of push rods gives exactly what I was expecting. Pure lack of bottom end torque, disappointing for this large displacement motor.

In the final miles we are out of the mountains and have a few traffic lights to navigate. I figured out that the blinkers are a 10 second blinker unless you have the clutch in (bike in gear) or in neutral. Under those 2 circumstances it will blink forever. Otherwise 10 seconds later regardless if you have turned or not; the blinker turns off. Good, bad, or indifferent? I do however, dislike the single staulk metric style blinker button.

At a light, not even neutral will get this windshield to move with this button. After we arrive at the dealer, I ask a sales lady about it. Nothing. Finally she asks a mechanic and he informs me that this windshield button doesn't work. The 8ball version doesn't have the power windshield but they leave only use the one style controls. Seriously? I then point out to the mechanic that it has a manual adjustment. Plus he confirms my analysis that the trans is packed full of straight cut gears. He tells me its to be strong and last a lifetime, which like charlie browns teacher all I hear is I'm going to have to hear this for a lifetime of ownership had I owned this bike. Why o why!

Hey, as a consultation they give you a MP3 plug in between you and the bars, under the left side fairing compartment.


My bud, Mark, road the Cross Roads. He said, while this is the first cruiser he ever rode, he said it was the most comfortable bike he's sat on.



This had standard bike amenities and I stand on my believe this is a want to be Road King. Right up to the standard equipment you see from the saddle.


We also notice that the saddle bags on the vision are useless with the side filling. Can a guy get a cargo net?



The new cross roads and country aren't affected by this handicap. Maybe they'll adapt these to the vision.


Neither is the cross country


I still like victories and while they're looks are weird they make a decent bike.

The demo ride is done and while I would have loved to ride and chat more. We have other adventures to start.

[Gas Man]

So then we had to hit the pavement running. We are late for our meet in Philly. With our trek thru our nations first state, Delaware, we had a hard and fast run to make.

We finally end up at the whole original reason for this weekend ride...


That's right. The 2 most famous debated cheesesteaks






Our crew started to line up.





Mark and his beautiful wife


Sunday afternoon... a line? seroiusly! Pat's up first


The steak was bland, but the grease from it thinned out the whiz, cooked onions and mushrooms... it is good. $9 + drink


In the mean time this tool backs their POS ice cream truck in, trying to score on this hot day. People aren't here for ice cream, GET LOST!



Round 2.... Geno's



$8.50 and it's definitely less to it. The roll is much softer which is at first awesome but then you realize you have to tear it. But there was less steak, and the onions weren't even completely cooked.


The debate ended poorly. I wasn't in love with either. Had it not been for the fabulous roads we discovered and the good company. This would have been a total loss for adventure status.

[Gas Man]

My buddy and I head out now with his wife now in tow on my back seat. We headed to the first state park, codorus park, to meet another buddy but he got caught up and couldn't make it out. So Mark checks the map...



Havin fun with my camera





We head south, but first we must unload the guns. Rumor has it, MD won't re-act to kindly to how we roll.


crossing the mason dixon line and entering Maryland.



We then travel thru some great roads and the mid 80 degree temps made for a hot n sticky that I'm just not use to yet on May 1st. Cachuchin state park gave us a winding road along lakes, and creeks.


Mark approves of his road wonder findings...


After we head back north we enter pa again and while running up 233 ran us thru 6 state parks and some amazing road twists.



It was an amazing day of roads that we found ourselves trekking.


I give it to Mark. For only being in these areas once before, he took me on roads that I could only dream to find in Michigan.

End of Saturday... 200 miles.

Sunday we roll out to Epheta for their first sunday of the month bike gathering at the American Legion.


When I say there were bikes... there were tons!




See the thread
http://www.twowheelfix.com/showthread.php?t=14575

[Gas Man]

We load up and throw the kickstands up for the last cool piece before my run home.





We run over to Jersey and I discover its nothing more than Michigan on the east coast with way more foreign cars. The roads are crap, it stinks, the houses and businesses are placed similarly. Plus a-hole drivers I'm use to.

After getting to the PA turnpike we have lost everybody but our buddy James.


We then loose him as well as he heads home. There was a huge possibility that we were going to hit some seroius storms on the way home. But other than a wet shoulder on the turnpike it was clear sailing. We even switched rides cause the Buell was beating up on Mark with 225 miles under his belt today. I didn't mind, I enjoyed the switch and enlighting of Mark on the HD Ultra meathods. The Buell is a real nice bike. The power of torque was great and seemed to be so solid. What a perfect end to a great day of riding. We arrive back at his house, not 10 mins later it starts to pour. WOW!

So I'm able to put in some of the smallest state stickers of the bunch. Doesn't really show the efforts we put forth but nevertheless, more filled in color.


I made my adventure home and my luck ran out with rain dodging. About an hour into it, when in the thick of the mountains heading north, go figure. It dried up shortly after I got on I-80W. The rest of the ride was sunny and nice. Another 500 miles...

Totally nearly exactly 1500 miles in the 4 days.

My hats off to Mark. My many thanks for everybody else meeting up with us in Philly.

Enjoy!

[karl_1052]

Originally Posted by Gas Man

that is a sexy XB.


Can't say the same for the cheesesteak on it.