Well, ahh, basically we were just looking for an excuse to tool around on H-D’s swell new FSXB Breakout for a while, and decided to bring one of our favorite cruisers, the Victory Gunner, along for the ride to see how things stack up between these American cruisers. In the powertrain departments, at least, both big V-Twins are representative of their makers’ current offerings.

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A little history, in honor of Veteran’s Day and the USS Iowa …

The Harley’s 103-inch (1690cc) engine first appeared in 2012, but the original Twin Cam 88 has been around since 1998. The 103 powers H-D’s Dynas, Softails and Touring bikes – a couple of which get the new “Twin-Cooled High Output Twin Cam 103.” Otherwise, the basic 103 is what’s for dinner, unless you want to order upmarket from the CVO menu: Those bikes get a 110-inch version. (The 103B version in the Breakout gets an internal counterbalancer, which allows it to be bolted solidly into the frame.)

The Iowa was launched in 1942, served in the Pacific during WW2, was Admiral Halsey’s flagship for the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay, and has a bathtub FDR used in the days before there was an Air Force One. Now she sits in the Port of Long Beach, where you can take a nice tour.

Meanwhile in Minnesota (why do America’s three big motorcycle brands come from the frozen north?), Victory didn’t build its first big V-Twin until 1997. The V92C was met with mixed reviews. In 2002, that engine had evolved into the much more refined Freedom 100, which became the Freedom 106 of today beginning with the Victory Vision in 2008.

Animal Magnetism

No, they’re not sportbikes, though that’s all relative. The Gunner is in fact pretty sporty ridden alongside the Breakout, but neither one is going to be much fun at a track day. That’s not the intended use. You don’t use a hammer to perform brain surgery on most patients. At first the Harley feels like it would rather go straight than turn, but you soon learn that like walking a big dog, it’s just a matter of letting the dog know who’s in charge. Once that’s established, it rolls right in given an authoritative shove. Soon enough, the shove becomes subliminal and everybody’s happy. It’s that big, 240-section rear tire that’s the culprit, but how can you complain when it’s also that dragster-inspired tire that gives the bike its essence. It also makes your butt look not so big.

For myself, at 5-foot-8, it’s not the steering but the ergonomics that make this Hog less rider-friendly than the Gunner. Its flat, drag-style handlebar wants you to lean into it quite a bit, which wouldn’t be a problem if not for the fact that the footpegs are also way forward, which enforces a doubled-over riding position that’s not ideal. Some Harleys just make me feel small and inadequate; the Breakout is one of them. The 26-inch-low seat is nice, but the rest of it makes me wish I were a linebacker with gorilla arms. On this, Roderick and I can agree: “The flat bar forces any rider without NBA-length arms to lean forward and reach out like a zombie biker in search of brains.”

The ride itself is surprisingly sweet. You can see the black chrome sliders moving up and down on the fork tubes, but you don’t really feel most bumps, and the 3.1 inches of travel out back does nice work too even if you’re not a 250-pound brawler. Heck man, it’s a 703-pound muscle-bound Harley, even bumps seem to clear a path when they see it coming.

It’s pretty quick in the 40, too (that’s 40-yard dash for you non-linebackers, sneer …); 68 horsepower is nothing to brag about, but 87 pound-feet of torque at just 3000 rpm are Harley’s stock in trade. Drop the clutch in the alley, and the dragster-inspired theme makes immediate sense as the four-inch pistons and pushrods and rocker arms all get suddenly serious. Really it seems like the only guys who look down their noses at Harleys are ones who’ve never ridden one. The “Big Twin” (I think that’s trademarked) really does produce a unique, visceral experience for all six senses when you twist its tail, which is probably why it has so many imitators. And there are plenty of ways to get more power out of this engine.

The easiest would be, as Tom R. points out, for H-D to just put the Project Rushmore High Output Twin Cam 103 in at the factory. The one in our 2014 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special Vs. Indian Chieftain shootout made 9 more horses and 5 more lb-ft.

She stops good, anyway. All the Softails got a new front brake for 2015 that requires 40% less lever effort for maximum braking. A new master cylinder, a new 4-piston caliper with 32 and 34mm pistons with a special coating, and a larger 300mm rotor add up to this being the hardest-stopping Harley I can remember – even with just the one disc. ABS is standard too, with the sensors tucked out of sight inside the hubs.

Navel Gunnery

We’ve already contemplated the Gunner at length, both in Brasscannon’s initial ride and again a couple months ago in our big Shootout at the MO Corral seven-bike slugfest, so I won’t regale you with the details again. Victory’s Hammer 8-Ball, with its 250-section rear tire, would’ve been the one to ride off against the fat-tired Breakout, but the Gunner was what we had; they both use the same Freedom 106 powerplant and are otherwise pretty similar. I remember the Hammer 8-Ball being similarly affected by its beach ball back tire, but with a pullback handlebar that made it easier to deal with.

With its SOHC engine and matte paint, the Gunner is the introvert of this pairing, but giving its throttle a nice twist lets its personality open right up. Interestingly, the same bike made 4 more hp and 6 more lb-ft of torque on a different Dynojet 250 just a couple of months later and a few miles away. Don’t know how much that has to do with Dynojet 250s (or their accounting for atmospheric conditions) and how much of it has to do with an engine now showing just 503 miles still breaking-in? Anyway, 99 lb-ft is seriously stout, at just 3300 rpm. Consider that our Bike of the Year KTM Super Duke needs to spin its 1301cc Twin to 8200 rpm to make 96.5. And the fact that the Victory makes 18 additional peak horses than the Harley is even more impressive.

Suspension and ride quality is very comparable to the H-D, but the Gunner leaves the Breakout behind in ergonomic terms, with a pullback bar that leans you into the wind just a little, and forward pegs that aren’t too far forward for medium-sized people. With its light clutch lever and a seat that’s even lower than the Breakout’s, a chick could ride this bike. Wait, is that sexist?! A WOMAN, I meant, and not a big linebacker one in a plaid shirt either. A dainty one.

It’s still a big long bike and only 30 pounds lighter than the Harley at 673, but overall the Gunner just feels like a bigger, way more powerful version of the excellent little 505-pound H-D Street 750 I traded in for the Breakout, which might actually be my current favorite Harley.

The main complaint with the Gunner remains its gearbox: “The transmission in all Victory motorcycles has, for years, been lambasted by the motorcycle press for its overtly noisy, clanky operation, and Victory has failed to address the issue,” says Tom Roderick. I personally don’t find it all that bad. It and the Harley both engage first and second like train cars coupling – which bikes like these have been doing for so long, I assumed it was part of the show – but once past second gear, shifting is pretty non-eventful on both of them even though you won’t mistake either 6-speed for a KTM gearbox. Both of them engage gears smoothly with just a partial pull on the clutch lever once you’re rolling, and the Gunner in particular has a nice, light lever pull.

The upshot of it all …

By the end of our time with both bikes, we determined that one’s best for looking at and the other’s better for riding. If you like to ogle and polish and you have another motorcycle to ride when you’re going somewhere more than a couple of hours away, then the Breakout is as beautiful an embodiment of the modern Big Twin Harley as any and will definitely hold its own and be your personal bully pulpit at any gathering place where cruiser people, ahh, gather.

The Gunner, to most eyes, is not nearly so nice to look at but is a far better motorcycle to ride than the Hog, much more comfortable, more responsive to the helm, and considerably more powerful. Then there’s the price differential. At $12,999, the Victory is a tad less than ⅔ the price of this $19,799 Breakout.

Tommy sums it all up: “While the scoring was close, I think it’d be easy for me, given the situation of spending my own money on one of the two motorcycles, to purchase the Gunner and use what I save to buy some new riding gear, bike accessories, then take the wife on a weekend ride to a fancy resort … The Victory Gunner is less expensive, more comfortable and smokes the Breakout in every performance category. Shootout won.”

2015 Harley-Davidson FXSB Breakout + Highs You can join HOG

Best paint and chrome in the biz

Great brakes – Sighs A little more fashion than function, ergonomically speaking

Is the side-mount license plate a little awkward?

I feel like Walter Mitty

2015 Victory Gunner + Highs 99 lb-ft. of torque is a good thing

Really comfy to ride and easy-handling

You can’t join HOG – Sighs Lower couple of gears are a bit clangy

The low price is reflected in the details

A little more function than fashion

Big Gun Blow-Out Scorecard

Category Harley-Davidson Breakout Victory Gunner Price 65.7% 100% Weight 95.7% 100% lb/hp 75.0% 100% lb/lb-ft 83.95 % 100% Engine 80.6% 88.75% Transmission/Clutch 71.25% 52.5% Handling 50.0% 75.0% Brakes 85.0% 76.25% Suspension 75.0% 76.25% Technologies 57.5% 50.0% Instruments 77.5% 67.5% Ergonomics/Comfort 50.0% 77.5% Quality, Fit & Finish 92.5% 80.0% Cool Factor 82.5% 77.5% Grin Factor 60.0% 72.5% Overall Score 73.6% 78.8%