NHTSA Complaint #10652903 — 2012 VICTORY CROSS COUNTRY

I WAS RIDING ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT ABOUT 60-65 MPH AND PULLED IN THE CLUTCH, TO DOWNSHIFT FROM 6TH TO 5TH GEAR. IN MID-SHIFT LIKE THIS, I THEN DECIDED THAT MAYBE TRAFFIC WASN'T SLOWING THAT MUCH, AFTER ALL, AND WAS JUST ABOUT TO RELEASE THE CLUTCH AND CONTINUE TO RIDE IN 6TH GEAR. IN THAT SECOND OR TWO, THE ENGINE STALLED, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE MY LONGER THAN USUAL PAUSE IN THE SHIFT PROCESS HAD ALLOWED THE ENGINE RPMS TO DROP DOWN TO APPROXIMATELY IDLE SPEED (ABOUT 1,000RPM). WITH THE CLUTCH STILL PULLED IN, I HIT THE STARTER BUTTON; THE ENGINE FIRED UP AGAIN, AND I RELEASED THE CLUTCH. HAD THIS STALL OCCURRED IN A SIMILAR SITUATION WHILE I WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LEANED OVER IN A CURVE -- JUST WHEN A MOTORCYCLE NEEDS TO BE CONSTANTLY PULLED FORWARD, UNDER POWER, RATHER THAN RELY ON STRAIGHT-LINE INERTIA -- I WOULD LIKELY HAVE CRASHED. IN MY OPINION, THE FUEL-INJECTION SYSTEM -- HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE -- OF THE VICTORY 106 ENGINE DOES NOT PROPERLY MANAGE THE ENGINE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE ENGINE RPMS ARE ALLOWED TO DROP TO OR NEAR IDLE. WHEN THE THROTTLE POSITION IS ABRUPTLY CHANGED -- EITHER FOR MORE OR FEWER RPMS -- THE CONTROL UNIT, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SOFTWARE AND POSSIBLY OTHER HARDWARE, DOES NOT ADEQUATELY KEEP PACE WITH AND PROPERLY ADDRESS ENGINE FUEL-MIXTURE REQUIREMENTS. SUCH STALLING HAS OCCURRED AT OTHER TIMES, BUT THE SITUATION DESCRIBED HERE WAS THE FIRST AND CLEAREST EXAMPLE. *TR