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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Well, after much (and I mean MUCH) testing, researching, riding and reviewing of just about every touring rig on the market... I pulled the trigger on a 2011 Silver and Black Vision today!
I take delivery of her this weekend (it goes without saying... this week is going to drag!).
I've got the dealer installing Kicker speakers (front & back), lower deflectors, XM radio and Navigation wiring (but looks like the Nav isn't currently available... maybe an indication Victory is upgrading to the 665? we'll see, but I'm happy either way).
Let's see, what else? Did I mention I'm excited??  |
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Cary, NC | Congratulations. We got ours on July 16th. Already have 3650 miles on it. That was with 15 days in the shop. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | Congrats on the new ride! I have no doubt you'll love it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 155
Stockton, California | Boy does that sound familiar. I searched then researched then researched some more for about one year before I bought Rosie (2010 Pearl White). Patience pays off though She is a great bike and I have had no problems to speak of. Have almost 15.000 miles so far. Just got back from a 1100 mile ride to Oregon and back (California). Rode like a champ. I am sure you will enjoy. Congrats
Edited by BreadmanRo 2011-10-24 9:18 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | Welcome to the family I have the same Vision as you no lowers or XM. I have the Zumo 660 but have been reading about the 665 and am sorry I did not wait for Victory to catch up with the wire harness. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 752
Broken Arrow, OK | Congrats! Got ours in August. My research was a little different. Consisted of a 25 minute test ride with our salesman and another few hours of just staring at it! You'll really enjoy it. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 79
Michigan | Congratulations. I picked my 2012 up last Friday. Love it. Like you a did ooddles of research and I am extremely happy with my choice. I have 320 miles on the ODO now. (Had to take care of normal Michigan outdoor chores while the weather was nice. Couldnt just ride but I have loved every mile so far.)
In my 26+ years of riding this is now my favorite of any motorcycle I have ever owned. |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | Congrats! I got mine off CraigsList during the depth of the economic downturn, a repo out of CA, with 5600 miles on it, a 2008 Street Premium with the backrest/luggage rack, S1L2 and a reflash, in Black Cherry. It was sitting in some young guys shop head to head with an '08 Electra Glide Ultra, in black. I felt the Harley had the better paint by far, but it was like sitting on a tricycle compared to the stretch out room afforded by the Vic, plus the panache of the out there styling, and especially the electrically adjustable windshield went to Victory, so it won out handily, since distances are far (and frequently wet) up here in the Northwest. It's been reliable, as fast as anything in it's class, economical (even better than some of my other 'tankers' over the years), and feature for feature, absolutely unbeatable! And My wife loves the heated seats. She has a smart phone with a GPS app, which updates periodically, so I personally feel an onboard NAV system would lock us into something that will become obsolete in a short time, having been burned by a now nonfunctioning Garmin. Good luck with yours, I'm very sure you will be repeatedly and satisfactorily reminded of your prudence in your choice of trusty steeds! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1117
Northeast Ohio | KC,
You can run the 665 on the 660 mount and have full functionality if you swap the boards inside the GPS holder / mount with the one in the 665 box.
Enjoy your ride. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 125
Kerrville Texas ( now a homeowner on six acres) | Congrats!!!,
We purchased ours the end of September of 2007 five days after the dealer recieved it from the factory.We only have 36,000 miles on it though.It is in the shop now and I can hardly wait to get back and RRIIDDE...........Riiiiiiiiiiide riiiiiide!!!!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Thanks for the welcomes everyone!
I think Gunny is right... ride one and you'll own one, because that was the clincher for me. After I rode it, it became the standard I compared every other bike to. The Harly Road Glide was a close 2nd place for me, but I liked the better engine technology and the overall design of the Vision. Looked at the 2012 Goldwing too, but felt it was overpriced for what it came with, and I didn't have much room on the foot pegs.
heheh, and when the salesman was showing me how to adjust the Goldwings windscreen, the mechanism it slides on got bound up in the faring and wedged tight. The salesman ended up trying to tear into the faring to get it working and show me how easy it was to adjust while explaining 'this sort of thing never happens'... All I could think about was how easy the windshield button on the Vision was to use.
It really seems like Victory did their homework on this machine.
Not that it's perfect, but then, I couldn't find a perfect bike out there. They each have their pros and cons. I just felt the Vision had more pros than most.
I've been reading posts on this forum and learning a lot. Seems like a good group of knowledgable folks around here.
Stay safe, all, and enjoy the ride!
Edited by KCVic 2011-10-25 7:16 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Thought I would add a quick follow-up here...
I took the day off and picked her up on Friday 28th! With the exception of Saturday (had to help a buddy) I rode all weekend and I gotta say that I LOVE THIS BIKE!
Even with my Harley buddy along for the trip making disparaging remarks every chance he could (he's just jealous and won't admit it, heheheh), I had a blast. I can't wait to get a real cross-country trip under my belt with her, which was the whole reason I bought her.
Stay safe, all! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| Welcome, you'll enjoy your new bike the longer you have it. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2027
Brighton, TN | hoooodoggies, git 'r' dun! Say it out loud and with the Gunny style and it'll mean more. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 131
Edmond, OK 2012 Vision, 2012 Cross Country | As everyone else has said congradulations on you new Vic. I am currently waiting on my third one to get ready for me to pickup. I have had a 2006 VV black cherry, a 2011 Pear White, and am waiting on my 2012 to be gotten finished transfering parts over from the '11 to the '12, which is black. In case you are wondering the '09 was laid to rest after a accident in Sept. '10 and replaced by the '11 delivery was taken on 11/19/2010 and had 23,500 fabulous miles ridden on it as well. I made the mistake of being the atypical rider who rides all the time and helped my local dealer out with demo rides and watched them unload the 2012 and helped unwrap it also then fell in love with it. I called the wife and cleared the new purchase with her and got a great deal and made a trade. I know you will love your new bike as much as I love mine as well if you can't tell by the number of Vision's I have had. Ride it with pride as much as I do, also allow extra time at fuel stopps as you will get lots of questions and can bother your buddies because they don't get the questions about their bikes. Ride safe and often. |
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Tourer
Posts: 492
Indianapolis, IN | KC Welcome and congrats! Seeing that it's so late in the season and I know you aren't going to want to park it too soon for the winter, I highly recommend getting a heated jacket liner and having the accessory plugs added for this purpose. You will never look at cold weather riding the same again.
Also since you don't mind being the odd man out, you did buy a vision, all your motorcycle buddies will be that much more jealous when they see your having a blast on your new bike even when it's 25 degrees outside.
Ride safe and most of all ride more than the rest of them! |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 763
Anderson, IN (48mi NE of downtown Indianapolis) | I bought mine with no test ride at all. Heck, I had never even ridden a Victory before. When I saw it I instantly forgot about the Wing and Ultra I had in mind. Absolutely no regrets. I will definately buy another one when this one gets too old.
Congrats on your new ride. You will love it like everyone else that pulled the trigger on one. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Thanks everyone! I can tell I made an excellent choice with the Vision, and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. But these dark morning rides are gonna be the death of me if I don't quit oggling that gorgeous blue-lit console!
My Harley buddies latest comments have been about the tip-over protection. He says it's just a sales gimmick, and that any bike with crash bars has "tip-over protection".
...I'm considering knocking my bike over to show him, and then tell him it's his turn next with his StreetGlide. I'm guessing he won't want to play though...
Robert: I gotta say I'm a bit jealous. I had my eye on the '12 Black Vision, but my dealer couldn't find it on their books (a late color addition by Victory is my guess). In the end though, I decided the deals they had to blow out the '11 Visions were better for my current finances so I think it all turned out for the best. Enjoy your Black beauty!
Hoosier: I think I'll take your advice on the heated gear. Any suggestions? Gerbing? |
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Tourer
Posts: 492
Indianapolis, IN | I have never heard anything bad about any of the heated gear. Some brands are substantially more expensive than others. Right now I believe motorcycle superstore has some of their heated gear on sale.
The tourmaster brand comes in talls if that is something you would need. I have the powerlets brand and like my jacket liner very much. It is going into its third season and still works great and holding up fine. I wouldn't bother with the lower wattage versions. Mine is a 90 watt and if it gets warmer outside as you ride you can just turn it down. The heat controls for the jackets work very nice. The only other thing I think I may need besides the jacket liner and gloves is the heated insoles. My feet tend to get cold and crampy after a long ride in the cold.
Good luck and ride safe. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | Congratulations on your new bike. You're gonna love it. Heated gear extends your riding opportunities substantially. We, and another couple, just completed a 3500 mile 9 day trip out West. We rode in temperatures ranging from 27 degrees to 69 degrees. Much of our riding was done in the 30s and 40s. We were on our Vision and they were mounted on a GL1800 Goldwing. They were outfitted with Gerbings gear and we were outfitted with Warm-N-Safe gear. All of it worked great and we were all very comfortable. They had jacket liners and Gerbing Union Ridge heated overpants, and gloves. We had jacket and pants liners and gloves.
Powerlet and Tourmaster gear both have good reputations too, but I have no personal experience with either. I started many years ago with Widder gear, which was very good stuff, but the family closed the business after Mr. Widder passed away. I "outgrew" my Widder stuff and replaced it with the Warm-N-Safe and have been very pleased with it. I know that both Gerbings and Warm-N-Safe have lifetime warranties on the heating elements and 1 year limited warranty on the rest of the garment. I haven't investigated the warranties of the other brands.
Whatever brand you choose, get dual controllers for both rider and passenger, so that you can tailor the heat to where you want it. I have all our controllers permanently mounted on the Vision. Just sit down and plug in. Our friends with the Goldwing have two Gerbing portable dual controllers. They do a bit of fumbling around to get wired up, but they stay warm too.
Ronnie |
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Cruiser
Posts: 144
| Welcome KC and congrats. Dain |
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Cruiser
Posts: 131
Edmond, OK 2012 Vision, 2012 Cross Country | KC, who knows I live in the Oklahoma City area and it may be possible someday to meet somewhere inbetween and go for a ride or even just for lunch. Riding is what its all about. i am still waiting for them to get my 2012 ready for me to ride. However it is and will always be worth the wait. Kinda like waiting for my wife, always worth the wait. Ride Safe. |
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Tourer
Posts: 554
2 mi from Jim Beam n KY | Welcome to the board and congratulations on the new Vision!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Thanks all!
Hoosier and rdbudd: Thanks for the tips on the heated gear. Looks like there are quite a few choices out there, so I'll start doing some research and figure out which one to go with. I had only looked at Gerbing at the time, and I liked the idea of installing a plug onto the Vision, but for some reason Gerbing shows 'out of stock' on their plugs and hasn't returned my email asking when they might be available again. I hadn't heard of the Warm-n-safe, so I'll check them out when I have some time too. I did take a look at the sales from Motorcycle Gear, but they were out of stock on my size on one piece or another for the First Gear and Tourmaster stuff (2XL). ...story of my life.
Robert: I haven't been to Ok City since the 90's when I used to sell satellite systems down that way. But you never know, I'm always looking to ride and I'm eager to get some miles on my new girl.
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Quick update: Looks like the warm-n-safe IS the Firstgear line of heated. Doh! Guess I have looked at it, but one piece or another was out of stock in my size. The search continues... |
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Tourer
Posts: 444
Bay of Gigs, WA | We've got Gerbings "Extreme Weather" coats and gloves, as they're made up here in the NW (unless they're made in China like everything else), and I swear, when the coat is on, it's like sitting in front of a window with the warm sun shining on you. Very pleasant, waterproof, and contains armor, too. I haven't tried cooking any roadfood in them yet...
Edited by rainryder 2011-11-04 4:57 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | They're in Tumwater, WA. just North of Olympia 'warning young Robinson, politicians in the area...warning young...' Olympia is Washingtons state capitol |
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Cruiser
Posts: 131
Edmond, OK 2012 Vision, 2012 Cross Country | Synstr, you say Harley Rider, what's that? you ask, a factory recall! A Vision rider what's that the Harley rider asks? No recalls that anyone knows of! Why do you ask? I'll be happy to tell you where the dealer is located so you can make the best deal possible and trade your Harley. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 785
Mt. Vernon, WASH. | I have no idea what you've been drinking, but I wouldn't have a H-D as a piece of yard art and the last time I thought about owning one I'd guess I was about 13 and that was over 50 years ago, and it's been a good 25 years since I even rode one (about 5 blocks)
My nearest POLARIS dealer (even tho they are more quads than street bike oriented) is about 6 traffic lights West of my house, see if you can decipher the bottom line of my tag that says "2008 VISION street custom black on chrome." The quoted exchange was between me and a H-D rider at a traffic light just after I got the VISION, in the exchange, I play the part of the VISION rider-
You must be confused with my earlier post about the nearest INDIAN DEALER, but I'm ot interested in an INDIAN, I love my VISION.
THat small quake you had last night must have scared the poo out of you! |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | KCVic - 2011-11-04 9:02 AM
Quick update: Looks like the warm-n-safe IS the Firstgear line of heated. Doh! Guess I have looked at it, but one piece or another was out of stock in my size. The search continues...
If you are interested in the Warm-N-Safe gear (also sold as Firstgear), you can buy it factory direct from Warm-N-Safe and get a 20% to 25% discount off retail prices. Warm-N-Safe offers this discount to members of various motorcycling and professional organizations. Sort of a group buy thing. Just go to their website http://www.warmnsafe.com/ and register an account with them. After you've registered, log into your account and the discounted prices will be automatically displayed for the various gear they sell. I'm registered as a member of the Victory Motorcycle Club (VMC). They honor other groups, such as Goldwing, BMW, Harley, etc. Also Fire and Police and Military.
They've always had anything I wanted in stock for immediate delivery too.
I saved considerable money, compared to what our friends spent on their Gerbings gear. I'm not knocking Gerbings, it's good stuff too, but money is money. Retail prices between the two brands is comparable for comparable gear.
Mike at Warm-N-Safe is an innovator whose ideas and designs have been copied by several other manufacturers, including Gerbings. He invented the, now industry standard, digital Heat-Troller. He came up with the dual circuits in the jackets. He came up with the co-axial wiring system. He came up with the zippered pockets to store the plugs. He came up with the stretch panels in the jacket and pants liners to allow for a better fit and more comfortable movement. Most of these things have now been copied by others, some of who give the impression in their advertising that they came up with these improvements on their own. Whatever.
Just get some heated gear. Then, the only thing that will impede your riding will be ice on the roads.
I have my controllers permanently mounted on the Vision. Two in the console for me, and two in the lower/right speaker cover for the wife. I have two pigtails coming up at the front edge of the seat for my use, and two more coming out under the seat, at the top/front edge of the saddlebag for her. The actual electronic modules are mounted under the seat, with the switches mounted in the console and speaker cover. We just get on the bike, plug in one or two cords each, and we're ready to go.
PS: You might also checkout their closeout section. It is limited in selection, but I ordered a jacket liner for my son from the closeout section, which was listed as a "second", but it appears to be a first-run piece. I can find no flaws in it.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2011-11-05 4:47 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | Wow! Lot's of good information. I'll start checking it all out!
Thanks! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 131
Edmond, OK 2012 Vision, 2012 Cross Country | Synstr, in case you didn't totally read what I wrote. I quoted your signature where you said harley davidson, whats that? my answer to that was recall. Victory no recall. Hmmmmmm lots of difference when you don't have them at all. I'm just sayin. |
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New user
Posts: 4
| Got my 2012 Vision Tour Oct.13. at Cruisin 66 in Springfield, Mo. picked it up at 4:30 pm and at 7:46 was drinking coffee in St. Louis at a QT (pretty good coffee) got back home at 11:30 pm just north of Springfield. Did all the boring breakin thingie's along the way, pissed a few four wheelers off OH Well. Friday morning took it to the dealer to get that nasty break in stuff removed. Got 1409 miles on it now and that all because I had to drive a car to FL. and was gone nine long days. First time in my life I was actually homesick for a Motorcycle. (unreal) Got home dropped the luggage in the bedroom and told the wife see u later. My Wife of 43 years may become a Vision Widow. |
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Tourer
Posts: 492
Indianapolis, IN | airdaleusn - 2011-11-08 7:52 PM Got my 2012 Vision Tour Oct.13. at Cruisin 66 in Springfield, Mo. picked it up at 4:30 pm and at 7:46 was drinking coffee in St. Louis at a QT (pretty good coffee) got back home at 11:30 pm just north of Springfield. Did all the boring breakin thingie's along the way, pissed a few four wheelers off OH Well. Friday morning took it to the dealer to get that nasty break in stuff removed. Got 1409 miles on it now and that all because I had to drive a car to FL. and was gone nine long days. First time in my life I was actually homesick for a Motorcycle. (unreal) Got home dropped the luggage in the bedroom and told the wife see u later. My Wife of 43 years may become a Vision Widow. Great story! Congrats and enjoy!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 57
Kansas City, MO | airdaleusn - 2011-11-08 6:52 PM
Got my 2012 Vision Tour Oct.13. at Cruisin 66 in Springfield, Mo. picked it up at 4:30 pm and at 7:46 was drinking coffee in St. Louis at a QT (pretty good coffee) got back home at 11:30 pm just north of Springfield. Did all the boring breakin thingie's along the way, pissed a few four wheelers off OH Well. Friday morning took it to the dealer to get that nasty break in stuff removed. Got 1409 miles on it now and that all because I had to drive a car to FL. and was gone nine long days. First time in my life I was actually homesick for a Motorcycle. (unreal) Got home dropped the luggage in the bedroom and told the wife see u later. My Wife of 43 years may become a Vision Widow.
Sir, my hat... er, helmet, is off to you! There just aren't enough dedicated coffee drinkers these days. 
Great story and enjoy your new Vision. I know I'm really liking mine! |
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Joined the Club!