Pascal and I rode a pair of Victory machines yesterday and early this morning. Both of us fell in love with the new-for-2010 Cross Country model, a touring bike with comfortable touring seating, an effective and high windshield that I had to look through, and the largest side luggage in the industry, even though you can only stowe a shorty brain bucket in there – the reason why Top Case luggage was created, I guess.

2010 Victory Cross Country (Photo: Philippe Champoux/Moto123.com)

The always smooth and torquey 106 cid motor pulls hard from low rpm, and the six-speed gearbox gives you five ratios to work with, and an extra long gear for higher speeds on the expressways. The build quality of the bike is nothing short of remarquable, as it has always been for this brand.

We also shared a Ness Vision, a very different kind of bike. The paint job and chromed accessories give you a lot to look at but do not really contribute to the ride. On the street, the bike feels heavy at city speeds, especially with full tanks. At higher speeds, the bike felt much better, but this is definitely not a city cruiser.

2010 Victory Ness Vision (photo: Philippe Champoux/Moto123.com)

Another fault I found was the small capacity of the side luggage, something I find hard to fathom on a touring bike of this size and price.

Zemke does the Superbike double - McCormick a fantastic 8th
Jake Zemke has made it two out of two on his new ride, Suzuki GSX-R1000 machines from the (Michael) Jordan Racing Team, outsmarting Tommy Hayden (Yoshimura Suzuki) with a great slipstreaming move right to the line and winning by 0.009sec, with Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 0.079 sec behing Hayden. The top six riders crossed the line within 1.838 sec of the winner, after waging a war right from the start. The other three riders in the lead group were Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki) in fourth, Larry Pegram (Ducati) fifth, and Josh Hayes (Yamaha) sixth.

Brett McCormick certainly made up for the disappointment of the broken engine yesterday, finishing a solid eigth, 30 sec behind the winner, on a self-funded machine prepared by Pascal Picotte and his team of highly qualified volunteers, the same guys who ran McCormick's 2009 campaign in Canada. Let me add that unlike the AMA bikes, Brett's bike did not use Traction Control, as it was illegal in Canada last year. According to McCormick, "I don't thinks it make any difference" Indeed!

Jake Zemke makes it two for two AMA Superbike wins.(Photo: Philippe Champouxx/Moto123.com)

here are the reults of todday's race

2010 Daytona AMA Superbike Race 2 Results
1. Jake Zemke (Suzuki) 15 laps
2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) +0.009

3. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) +0.081
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) +0.212
5. Larry Pegram (Ducati) +0.858
6. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) +1.838
7. Blake Young (Suzuki) +22.383
8. Brett McCormick (Suzuki) +29.235
9. David Anthony (Suzuki)+34.124
10. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki)+34.404