Jerecho Zahara installed a Dual Lamda Gauge (DLG-1) on his Victory Cross Country to monitor both cylinder’s air/fuel ratios. Check out the feature on his bike.
“I’ve done three other motorcycle builds in the past, and I realized I just can’t leave well enough alone,” says Jerecho Zahara, the owner of this tuned and customized Victory Cross Country. “My background is in art and has been since I was very young – I’ve been described as a Jack of all trades, but a master of none.”
A quick glance at his bike shows that Zahara’s distinct collection of interests is showcased here, making his Cross Country a rolling canvas of sorts. “I was looking at an Indian at first, but I was having an issue pulling the trigger on it,” he explains. “It just didn’t fit me. So I started looking around and discovered that Victory had a bagger and found the local dealer. Once I saw it and sat on it I was in love. The style, the color, the power, and ride were above the Indian for me!”
Zahara wasted little time making the Cross Country his own, adding Ed Roth-style graphics and other old-school hot rodding flourishes. “I got into pin striping last year and immediately dove into my dad’s bike and mine,” Zahara tell us. “The pearl in the bike’s Havasu Red paint is purple and green, so I’m mainly using those colors. The monster on the fairing is named Victor-eye!”
His modifications aren’t relegated merely to aesthetics either, as the bike has been upgraded with a Lloyd’z Motorworkz air cleaner as well as their timing wheel, which Zahara has set at 5°, along with a Dobeck Performance EJK tuner, Witchdoctors adjustable lowering kit, and a Innovate Motorsports DLG-1 Dual Lambda gauge. “I installed the DLG-1 into the fairing and flush mounted it to the right side speaker grille so I can read out what my air/fuel is on the fly and tune accordingly – like a rolling dyno,” Zahara says. “I discovered this gauge while trying to find a dual readout setup. I couldn’t find a solution that didn’t require two gauges until I found the Innovate DLG-1. I also love that when I eventually turbocharge this bike I can use the same gauge setup,” he adds.
To learn more about the DLG-1 air/fuel ratio wideband gauge, click here.
His bike also sports a wicked audio system that includes 1000-watt Soundstream amplifier, Rockville competition-grade mids that sit in custom dash mounts, along with a pair of Rockville RT6 tweeters for the highs and Rockville RVL6KIT 6.5-inch component speakers in the bag lids. “This last winter when I purchased the Victory Extreme Audio lids, I got a wild hair to cover them in leather and hand dye them to match my bike,” he explains. “I’m really happy with how it worked out – they’ve gotten a lot of positive comments.”
But Zahara says he’s far from done modifying the Cross Country. “I have many more plans for this thing,” he says. “More art will go on it when it warms up outside. I’m also considering cams, turbocharging, and a 23-inch front wheel. But we’ll see what I end up having time for – I’m also in the process of building a ‘79 Ramcharger Cummins.”
In the meantime however, he’s stoked on the results thus far. “A year and 3500 miles in, the story of this bike is just getting started,” he says. “But the fact that my 11 year-old daughter rides with me all the time is a story that is writing itself with every mile we clock.”
(Left) The front fairing of the Cross Country is the domain of ‘Victor-eye’, a monster of Zahara’s creation that recalls the Rat Fink-style characters that Roth was famous for. (Right) The Cross Country’s V-Twin power plant has been upgraded with a Dobeck Performance EJK tuner as well as a Lloyd’z Motorworkz air cleaner and timing wheel. While he hasn’t measure the performance versus stock, he reports that his dad’s cammed and tuned Indian Chieftain has a hard time keeping up.
