Victory

speaking of the Victory

I did visit the website of Victory and they did update all the specs on the new Vision...just still no pictures other than what they had.

Speaking of the Triumph tourer, I know what Flip is trying to say about the possibility of a real Triumph tourer model being almost nill, but since my Rocket has been in the shop taking care of it's oil leak, I have had a chance to reacquaint myself with the Wing.

Since I have been home I haven't ridden it as much, but when I rode it this last week (and really enjoyed the sound system) and got the rear wheel replaced (yep, nail right in the middle of the rear tire after only 2,000 miles), I really got to appreciate it all over again.

It is a great bike and I am looking forward to swapping it out every other day when the Rocket returns to the stable....however, riding it made me realize that it sure could use another gear just to get the rpm's down at high cruising speeds (65-90 mph). This is where I missed the Rocket engine in particular because of the low (compared to the Wing) rpms at the same speeds.

The one thing the Vision will do, I hope, is push Honda and HD (but primarily Honda) into making their respective tourers better. Honda has a good engine that is almost frightening in it's smoothness (and the Triumph doesn't do bad there either), but the high pitched whine in 5th gear (namely because of the alternator) would decrease with either another speed available in the transmission or a bigger engine that would run at lower rpms at the same speeds the Rocket does in "touring" mode. And while Honda is at it, maybe they'll get around to making the main trunk big enough to handle two full sized helmets again.

And lastly, with all due respect to Arlen and Cory Ness, this bike is (to me) almost hysterical in the styling department as it is, anything that they would do to make it "more" stylish or outlandish would be a waste of time and most of their offerings, again to me, have been too garish or hideous, or downright non functional to be of any real improvement unless you consider raising the bottom line of Victory for the increased price (note to all the "Screaming Eagle" admirers out there....it ain't all that) that would be demanded for their "touch" ....just not worth it in my book...but it's your money do what you are going to do....I did.

Dennis

I wonder just how much the Ness boys collaborated on the Vision. The styling smacks of Ness right now. You can always tell a Ness creation. It has a 'certain' look about it. If I did purchase one (I'm not), I wonder how the insurance companies would rate one. The body parts, in the event of a crash, would most likely be astronomical to replace, price wise.

If I had the cabbage and if I were to make a choice on an all out touring bike, there would be 4 possible choices. The Honda and the BMW with the Guzzi and the HD a distant 3rd and 4th. I believe there are at least as many Honda dealers as HD, one in every burgh. Honda has the reliability issue hands down. The Beemer has a reputation for reliability but dealers (like Triumph) are sparse. The Guzzi Norge is a nice touring bike, but if it breaks in route, you'll be renting a Honda anyway and the HD, while it has dealers everywhere, has become more of a cookie cutter bike than the Gold Wing. It's down on power, handling seems to be an issue (from what I've read) and it's the most pricey of all of them.

When I bought the R3, I came within a hairs breadth of buying a HD touring bike, laid out. The HD and the Triumph dealers were adjacent to each other so I did a comparo between the 2. I actually parked each bike side by side with the other. The R3 won. Not by much. Price and power did it. Not styling. That's why the Vision wouldn't be a contender for my choice of touring bike. Of course we don't know the price. If it turns out to be 15 grand, they will sell tons of 'em. At 25, they will languish on the dealers floor, a floor plan Titanic so to speak.

I have had 2, 3,4 and 6 cylinder bikes and crossed the country many time on each. My final thought, nothin better than adding cylinders, a V twin, Inline Triple or a flat or opposed 4 just can't match the all day smoothness of a 6 cylinder. Wing Riders will just get the more comfortable. If your just runnin "Tavern to Tavern":bch: yer gunna meet a lot of Hardleys. Whats the difference, Spend it on Bling or Spend it on Beer. Just keep your knees in the breeze

I saw one up close and personal at Bikeweek in Daytona this march.

My impression was:

" This is a bike that George Jetson would ride" and that Ness, either Cory or Arlen, definitely had a hand in the styling of the bike"


I don't think that it will have mainstream appeal, but then again neither to Ness Customs anyway. They still seem to sell quite a few.