LAB-59-Harley Street Glide vs. Victory Cross Country vs. Indian Chieftain vs. Star Stratoliner vs. Kawasaki Vulcan Vaquero

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.lawabidingbiker.com

Want to call us and get your topic on the show or leave us feedback?

• Listener Line: (509) 731-3548
• Computer Voicemail: http://www.lawabidingbiker.com/voicemail
• General Contact: http://www.lawabidingbiker.com/contact

PODCAST-We try to answer the question of which of the Harley-Davidson "Street Glide" class motorcycles you should buy. What are the difference and specifications? What are the difference in prices and why? Should I buy a Harley, Victory, Indian, Yamaha, or Kawasaki? We dive deep into this topic and you really have to listen in to this episode to get all the details.

We call all these bikes the "Harley Street Glide" class, because the Street Glide is The Motor Company's perennial best-seller, and the new "Special" edition is the world's favorite bagger. It is simply a fact that Harley came up with the overall look and style of this class of bagger and the other manufacturers have been chasing it every since trying to get a piece of the pie. Harley has been developing and designing this bike for many years and the others are all fairly new to the game in comparison. Harley has had much time to perfect and test the Street Glide. Not that the others aren't good bikes, but just stating the facts.

The 2014 contenders we chose to compete with the Harley Street Glidein the "cool baggers" class are

• Victory Cross County
• Indian Cheiftain
• Yamaha Star Stratoliner Deluxe
• Kawasaki Vulcan Vaquero ABS SE

MSRP

• Indian Chieftan $22,999
• Harley Street Glide is $20,599
• Victory is $18,999
• Kawasaki is $18,699
• Star is $17,240

EFI

• All are fuel injected

Engines

• Harley Street Glide is 103 CI/ 1690 CC High Output V-Twin Air Cooled
  1. Integrated oil cooler
• Victory is 106 CI / 1731 CC V-Twin Air CooledStar Stratoliner Deluxe 113-cubic-inch/ 1854cc air-cooled V-twin
  1. Integrated oil cooler
• Indian is ThunderStroke 111 CI/ 1811 CC air cooled
• Kawasaki is liquid-cooled V-Twin/ 1,700cc / 103.7ci

Patreon

• DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A PATRON AND SUPPORT US?

Horsepower

• All are around 80 HP plus or minus

Torque

• Harley is 104.7 ft-lb @ 3,250 RPM
• Victory is 105.5 lbs
• Star is over 100 ft.-lb. from 1600 to 4400 rpm
• Indian is 102.8 ft-lb @ 3100 RPM
• Kawasaki is 108 lb-ft @ 2,750 rpm

Valve Train/Misc

• Harley is twin cam
• Victory is single overhead camshafts with 4 valves per cylinder
• Star is 4 valves/cylinder
• Indian 2 valves per cyl.
• Kawasaki is four valve per cylinder

Transmissions

• Harley SG is 6 speed/ wet clutch
• Victory is 6 speed/ wet clutch
• Star is 5 speed/ wet clutch
• Indian is a 6 speed/ wet clutch
• Kawasaki is 6-speed

Clutch Lever

• Harley Davidson is a hydraulic clutch
• Victory is hydraulic cable clutch
• Star is a hydraulic clutch
• Indian is cable clutch
• Kawasaki is hydraulic clutch

Primary Drive

• Harley is chain
• Victory is GEAR DRIVE
• Star ??
• Indian is gear
• Kawasaki is ??

Final Drives

• All have a belt final drive

Cruise Control

• All have cruise control

Wheel Base

• Harley is 64 inches
• Kawasaki is 65.6 inches
• Victory is 65.7
• Star is 67.5
• Indian is 68.1

Ground clearance

• Harley is 5.3 in.
• Indian is 5.6 IN / 142 MM
• Kawasaki is 5.7 inches
• Victory is 5.8 IN / 148 MM
• Star is 6.1 in

Seat Heights

• Harley is 26.1
• Victor is 26.3 IN / 667 MM
• Star is 27.8
• Indian is 26.0 IN / 660 MM
• Kawasaki is 28.7 in

Rear Suspension

• Harley is manually (hand) adjustable
• Victory is air adjustable
• Star is Single shock; 4.3-in travel
• Indian is SINGLE SHOCK / 4.49 IN (114 MM) / PNEUMATIC ADJUSTMENT
• Kawasaki is Swingarm with twin air-assisted shocks

Brakes

• Harley is dual front disc brakes w/ optional ABS-Standard on the SpecialVictory is dual front disc brakes w/ optional ABS
  1. "Reflex Linked ABS System"
• Star is dual front disc brakes/ ABS??
• Indian is