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

Law Abiding Biker | Street Biker Motorcycle Podcast

Episode • Oct 28, 2014 • 1h 25m

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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

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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 dual front disc brakes w/ ABS (comes standard)
Kawasaki is dual front brakes w/ ABS

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Tires

Harley
1. Front: 130/60B-19
2. Rear: 180/65B-16
Victory
1. Front: 130/70R-18
2. Rear: 180/60R-16
Star
1. Front: 130/70-18
2. Rear: 190/60-17
Indian
1. Front: 130/90B16 73H
2. Rear: 180/60R16 80H
Kawasaki
1. Front: 130/90x16
2. Rear: 170/70x16

Weights

Harley is 810 lbs Wet
Star is 813 lbs Wet
Victory is 760 lbs DRY (basically the same as others when wet)
Indian is 848 wet
Kawasaki is 835 lbs

Fuel Capacities

Harley is 6 gallons
Victory is 5.8 gallons/ 22 litre
Indian is 5.5 GALLONS / 20.8 LITERS
Kawasaki is 5.3 gallons
Star is 4.5 gallon

Fuel Economy

Harley is 42 mpg
Victory is 42 mpg
Star website says "N/A"
Indian is 42 mpg
Kawasaki is 36 mpg

Entertainment Systems

Harley-Davidson Boom!™ Boox Infotainment System
1. Integrated GPS
2. 6.5" touch screen model
3. 4.3" non touch screen

Learn to use the Boom!™ Box system and more!

All other models have a standard stereo with no integrated GPS

You will want to tune in and listen to this episode for a ton of more information that we go over. We talk about what all this data means for the rider. We answer many questions and give much guidance based on our experiences.

Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up!

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