I got the complete front and rear Traxxion Dynamics suspension upgrade to my 2008 Vision yesterday and it is incredible!!  I really believe it is the best upgrade I have done to my Vision in almost 77,000 miles.

Max McAllister and two of his top techs Martin and Brian came to Dallas this Friday and Saturday to do a few Victory installations at Rick Fairless’s Strokers of Dallas and to set them up as a Traxxion Dynamics dealer.

After spending two days with Max and his team I can tell you now one knows motorcycle suspensions better. Their research, engineering and manufacturing process is the best in the industry.

Below is a picture of their front fork cartridge alongside the Victory stock cartridge and there is no comparison. The Traxxion Dynamics cartridge is about 1/3 the weight of the stock one and lowering the unsprung in the forks makes a difference. I could write a couple of pages on the difference from the quality of materials used to the engineering and functionality they have designed into each system. On their Vision solution you get top fork caps that allow you to adjust the compression and rebound of the front forks which is huge.

The rear Penske shock they have modified for the Vision is just as impressive. The combination provides a ride and handling experience beyond what you think is possible! After putting the new suspension through its passes on a wide variety of road surfaces here is what I have found.

The biggest thing you will experience is when applying a lot of front brake even very aggressively the front end of the bike does not dive like a stock bike. There is a little downward motion of the front end but it is so smooth and controlled and you cannot bottom out the suspension. The Vision’s front end due to the weight of the forward gas tanks and total weight on the front forks is prone to diving and it takes a very well-engineered suspension system to deal with this.  

The bike now absorbs both small and large bumps so much better while maintaining much better stability, smoothness and comfort.

Riding on the highway you are much more isolated from the road imperfections, bumps tar strips, grooves and such. The whole ride is so much more solid. There is less vibration felt on the whole bike. It is amazing how much vibration is transferred from the road to the body of the bike. The stability and control in cornering is enhanced as well.

The suspension of a motorcycle is supposed to isolate the bike from the road but almost all stock suspension systems do a very poor job at this because manufactures don’t want to spend the money on the components to do a great job.

If you get a chance to ride a Vision with the Traxxion Dynamics suspension by all means take it and your will be amazed. Knowing and experiencing what I have now when I buy my next Vision I will have this upgrade done right away.

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kris1956 - 2012-03-18 7:54 AM I went to their website but they don't list Vision. I looked at the Goldwing suspension and would think the pricing was close.

They have a new website that will launch in a week or so and it will have all the Vision and other Victory info. 

For both the front and rear suspension including labor it runs about $1,900 to $2,000. It is a lot of money but less than getting it done on a Gold Wing.

I was concerned about the investment but after riding the bike with the upgrade I would do it again in a heart beat. Like I said knowing what I know now when I buy a new Vision the first thing I will have done to the bike is the Traxxion Dynamics suspension.

I forgot to take a picture of the rear Penske shock they have built for the Vision. I will try and get one and post it. This new rear shock makes a huge difference as well. It will not wear out like the stock one and it works so much better and has a lot of adjustment to dial it in to your weight and riding style.

About a dozen people have ridden my Vision now and all have come off it saying I never thought you could make that big of a difference on a Vision. They were all very impressed to say the least.

I'm headed out on a 300 mile ride to put it through the paces some more and will have a report later.

marcparnes - 2012-03-18 9:57 AM varyder - 2012-03-18 1:55 AM Sound like something I need to look into. Is there an upgrade also to the rear shock as well?I called them a few weeks ago to ask about the shock. They don't have a specific upgrade for the Vision but can supply one of their off-the-shelf units sprung for our bikes. What dissuaded me is that they have no installed method for adjusting the preload to compensate for a passenger, trunk, etc. When I asked the salesman about it he didn't have an answer other than to say their shock was such high quality it would be fine. Not an acceptable answer. With the 8-Ball springs and cartridges up front I'm satisfied with the forks but I would like a better shock if one was available. Marc

Not sure you talked to but call and ask to speak to Max the owner. There is a lot of adjustment with the Penske rear shock they had developed for the Vision. There is a rebound adjustment at the top and a compression and rebound adjustment at the bottom that is really easy to adjust up or down. They also have different size springs to match a range of weight you will ahve on the bike. So if you pull a trailer they have a solution.

They spent a lot of time developing the suspension for the Vision. It was hard to build a suspension system that would not dive with all the weight the Vision has on the front forks due to the positon of the gas tanks.

I rode over 300 miles today with and without a passenger and the suspension worked great. This is a significant better solution than the stock rear shock for a whole lot of reasons.

marcparnes - 2012-03-19 6:05 PM I emailed Max at Traxxion yesterday and he emailed back today that he was too busy to take the call and gave me his sales manager's name and email. I emailed and left a voice mail for him but he didn't respond either. Sounds like their business must be booming or they're just not particularly responsive. Odd way to do business. Each to their own I guess. Marc

They have been slammed. Max and his two top techs were in Dallas doing a bunch of Vision's and Cross Country's and the week before they had their grand opening of their new manufacturing facilities with all new CNC machines. Check out their videos on their Face Book page. Their business is booming. They do suspensions for almost all bikes that ride on payment, no dirt bikes. They do a lot of the sport bike racing teams suspensions as well. Max blew me off today as well do to being slammed after being out of the office for 4 days. Mike Hardy the sales Manager should be able to help you as well.

marcparnes - 2012-03-19 9:50 PM Craig, When you took your long ride did it seem that the bike rode smoother? Did it actually feel more compliant over bumps than it did with the stock parts? Reason I'm asking is that the Vision already rides as good as or better than most big bikes so I'm trying to convince myself that there is sufficient improvement room left to justify putting that much money in it. If we were talking about a Goldwing or a miserably suspended Harley I wouldn't think twice about it but with our bike I'm wondering. I know it's hard to be objective about something you've just put $2K in but do you really feel that much of a difference? As for brakes dive, I use both the front and rear brakes at the same time so I don't really notice much dive or at least I'm not bothered by it. I've always been into suspension upgrades including more Ohlins shocks and forks that I'd care to add up so I'm actually serious about this. What do you think? I sure appreciate your time and opinion. Marc

The biggest difference is in the front forks and it is huge. Everything is improved a lot!!  The rear shock is an improvement as well but not as big as a difference as the front. I am leaving out of town  though not on my bike sorry to say and I don't have time to do more of a write up but I will later this week.

marcparnes - 2012-03-19 6:05 PM I emailed Max at Traxxion yesterday and he emailed back today that he was too busy to take the call and gave me his sales manager's name and email. I emailed and left a voice mail for him but he didn't respond either. Sounds like their business must be booming or they're just not particularly responsive. Odd way to do business. Each to their own I guess. Marc

Having read this thread and some others, I was seriously considering this upgrade to my '08.  However, I had the same experience Marc had with contacting Traxxion.  They are very unresponsive - which is a poor business model, no matter how "slammed" they may be.  If they (or any company) wants to remain "slammed", or in business at all, they should find a way to at least respond to emails or calls.  I actually asked them how to schedule an appt. at their shop in Ga. and on their schedule, and got no response.  Possibly I could just order the parts (although the promised "update" to their site about Vision parts never happened) and have my local shop install - but, I was more interested in having them do the work at their place to ensure all goes smoothly and would also allow for a nice pre- and post-test ride for comparison.  Maybe a great product, but shoddy business style (read a similar problem on another Vic site).  I like the idea of this upgrade and the positive reports from Spock and others, but I admit to being put off by any company so cavalier in the way they respond to potential customers.

Marc, I'm sorry to hear about your challenges in installing the Traxxion suspension system. Martin installed my fork suspension and rear shock. After putting about 2,500 miles on the Traxxion suspension I love it more with each day of riding. The front forks are totally amazing and perfect. I have fine-tuned the rebound and compression on the forks and it rocks. I agree with some of your thoughts on the rear shock. I have adjusted the rear shock and it is pretty good now. I do want to adjust the rebound some more as it is a little harsh on bad bumps but the Penske shock does so many other things better than the stock shock. I think with some minor adjustment on the rear rebound it will be perfect. My wrench is building a special shock wrench for the Vision to make it easier to get to and adjust the rear shock when installed on the Vision.

I have had 5 Vision riders ride my bike now and everyone was blown away. They all said they could not believe a change in suspension could make such a difference. A friend just had the Traxxion suspension installed on his Harley Road King and he was blown away and says it is the best thing he has done to his bike and he has done a lot.

I spent three days riding the great roads of AR the weekend before last and the Vision was a whole new bike taking those corners. The bike handles so much better it is hard to believe. It makes the bike so much safer and comfortable not to mention the fun factor.

I'm really happy to hear that you're liking your Traxxion suspension Craig. I'm liking mine too but for different reasons. I think the big difference is all in what you're looking for and what your perception is when it comes to something as subjective as this. There is no question that stiffer and more controlled dampening will allow a bike to handle better in the twisties. The first time I rode mine with the original Traxxion setup I was pleasantly surprised as well. The difference for me is that I was quite satisfied with how it handled originally and am more focused on the ride, solo as well as loaded for touring. I've had some pretty high end suspension systems including Ohlins on many, many bikes and always in order to find the best handling possible. These days as I'm getting older I'm less interested in a touring bike that's going to rail around corners even though the Vision actually does that quite well. I have a R1200GS that I've Motared with 17" wheels, sport rubber and Ohlins suspension that I use for my Tuesday rides with the guys and I also just bought a new Triumph Explorer but for touring duty on the Vision I'm more interested in comfort and adaptability. What is a great aspect of the Traxxion cartridges is that you can have it any way you want it simply by specifying that to Martin so he can valve it accordingly. As for the shock, I stand by my opinion that it is too much of a compromise if you're planning to use the bike for solo riding as well as loaded to the gills for touring. I think the original shock is better equipped in that regard. In any case, the Traxxion cartridges are a worthwhile upgrade for those willing to make the investment and something I would wholeheartedly recommend.

Marc

Good points Marc! The Traxxion upgrade is much better just going down the interstate. Big improvement in all riding conditions including low speed manuvering.

How do you like the new Triumph Explorer 1200 compared with the BMW 1200? I want to buy a adventure bike also and am looking at the Triumph Explorer 1200. I hope to test ride one tomorrow. I want to do a trip to Prudue Bay Alaska and South America and will need an adventure bike for those roads.

Thanks for the info Marc. I will call Martin tomorrow. He installed mine.

I have an appointment to test ride the Triumph Explorer 1200 tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to it. Did you get to test ride the Triumph before you bought it? How would you compare it with the BMW R1200GS? The only negative I have heard about the Triumph Explorer 1200 is that it is a little rough above 5,000 rpm.