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New user
Posts: 3
| hi everyone this is my first post as a new vision rider
i'am 54 years young, been riding motorbikes for around 44 years now love it that much I'd like to be buried sitting on one lol. so here's my review on just the touring bikes I have owned. Goldwing gl1500 what a great bike, I owned this bike for about 5 years rode 2 up around Australia, we did 18000 klms on that trip in 6 weeks here's what i liked about the Goldie you could do a 12 hour day in the saddle no problem the protection from the wind was outstanding I could light up a smoke doing 130klm ,as far as rain I found if I rode 80klm a hour or any thing above the only thing that got wet was the tips of my boots. the down side to this sort of protection was riding in summer over here you would cook no matter what speed you did. the sound system on the Goldie in my option is way better than the visions on the gl you hit that surround button and you where surrounded buy clear music at any speed . as far as handling in my option the Goldwing was shit it did not like bends at all , slow tight bends I always felt like the bike was going to fall over lol and in fast bends it would just turn to jelly in saying that at normal touring speeds it seemed to be fine the other thing that really pissed me off, was when riding solo at say around 130klm, the back pressure would just about ram you into the windscreen saved on buying a backrest i guess lol .as far as pillion comfort all i can say is my wife as fallen a sleep on the back or that thing and when awake lol did not complain at all so it must of been ok for her .as to performance the motor was sublime i felt it the be slightly under powdered at times but overall not to bad .the main reason for selling this bike was it just had no character it was just to smooth if you get my drift it really did a good job for what it was designed for but it just never really turned me on while riding it i was sorry to see it go we really had some good times on that bike.
like most I have owned a few Harleys the one i will pick on is my 04 roadking custom, I got this bike just before i sold the Goldwing i got to say when it was parked next to the gl it looked like a 125 trail bike lol anyway first i knew this tourer had lots or character as stated i have owned Harleys in the past so character side of things was a no brainer . i loved the look of it and as i clocked up 14000klm I realised that was the only thing i did like about it . so it had lots of character and looked great but it was just shit to ride for long distance touring my ass and back would be killing me with just 2 hours in the saddle this bike had on wind shield so i added one , what a mistake that was first off it turned that meaty exhaust note into a high pitched pop pop pop that was just crap to listen to , also with the shield on you get this updraft that hit me under my chin and then go over say 100klm per hour and your head would just be getting tossed every were, the faster you went the worst it got . I found 90klm per hour on that bike with screen on, was where i was a happy chappie handling was ok at normal pace,i took it up to 170klm one day to see what i could get out of it , at that speed it was weaving all-over the place not scary but it was letting me know don't push it much more fella . braking using the front only ,you would get better performance doing a Fred Flintstone, how they named it a roadking as got me fucked, yes I sold that bike , reason I just can not stay at 90klm or under to have a half a good ride while touring bye bye roadking.
ok Harley was gone time to look for a new tourer ,I looked at Harley ultra ,gl1800 , bmw 1200lt ,victory vision,
I really do like Harleys so i was hoping the ultra was going to be better than the roadking i took a 08 for a test knowing what I was looking for I took it up to a 110 klm per hour I could not believe it , it did the same thing as the roadking draft hitting under chin plus the buffing on my head , I rode that bike straight back. next took the bmw for a ride very nice bike indeed my thoughts on this was just never had that character i was looking for plus the looks in real life just was not doing it for me, but would be a great tourer if you wanted to go flat out most of the time . next gl1800 this surprised me I sat on one and just plain hated it never even started it to here for a nice exhaust note just could not wait to get of still can not explain it so no say on how that bike was.
next was a vision, went to a dealer had a sit on one ,man I just loved the way you sat in the bike was my first impression next was the floor boards huge amount of room i was very impressed indeed but i could no take it for a ride like a dickhead i left my drivers lic at home and the dealer would not let me test it so i just came home .
so i got on youtube plus this forum to just check them out a bit more . well i got to say all you fellas just about sold me on one ,all I had to do now was to convince my self on its looks to be honest i loved the motor etc. but the styling was a real head fuck for me I loved it and hated it so for the next couple of weeks i just looked at pictures of bloody visions but it worked, I started to really see the beauty in this bike i started to show my friends pictures of this beast wanting to know there thoughts on its look i got a very mixed opinion my grand daughter said it looked like a ant lol .so now iam selling my self on getting a vision even though i have never rode one yet. The way i figured i sat on one and felt super good ,its got a v twin so there's the character ,wind buff at speed well you guys said it was great lol so now to find a second hand vision , i discovered there were only 3 for sale all 08,09 premiums all around 18k with 19 to 30thou klms on the clock and every one of them was 4000klm away from where i live in western Australia o well no biggie good excuse for a ride ,so rang up about this black one for sale, ring ring sales man answers, hi mate ringing about the black vision you got for sale, he informs me some one just took it for a test and tolled it , black vision crossed off the list ,there's a cherry one and a light blue one now left to choose from ,i never liked the blue and i never minded the cherry but i had my heart set on a black one . so i just waited for a while hoping a black vision would appear for sale waiting waiting waiting you get the driff ,well they say good things come to those that wait , a 08 cherry premium 33thou klm on the clock topbox rack, s1l2 pipes ,those little spotties on the forks, Garmin nuvi all wired in and external Ariel for good radio reception with new tyres to boot he wanted 13500k for it ,he had my attention , so i just had to ask him, what's the lowest you'll take mate , his wife in the back ground screamed out 12k i screamed out its a deal i would have paid him the full amount, god bless her big mouth . so off i fly to the eastern side of Australia to pick up a bike i have not ridden yet nor seen in the flesh, now you have to remember i blame all of you a your love and reviews on a vision that made me do this lol so me and the wife arrived in Melbourne 6am picked bike up i was as nerviest as hell i really never knew what to expect we had a 4000klm ride ahead of us in the middle of winter all our friends said you have to be fucking nuts to do that trip in this shit weather so at long last heres what i think about the vision it is with out any doubt the best long distance bike i have ever rode . we ad the bike fully packed and still kept up the ass of solo cruiser riders going along twistes i still can not believe the handling on such a big bike just unreal , as far as power goes its just right for touring and yes neutral is a night mare to find that's for sure . wind protection is very good i was sitting on 140klm per hour with screen up and no wind buffing my head at all as far as rain goes, and we coped plenty of that , the top of my helmet and my shines got wet and the wife reported she was dry and comfy as well. braking is just fine for this size bike not over powering but not under powered either , my butt lasted for around 7 hours before the airhawk came out ,the sound system i don't think is that bad but as stated before goldy is better overall and yes no one was lying about when you stop you get people everywhere looking at it , one time on the way home we pulled up for a break and a few Harleys pulled in and parked up as well ,what blew me away was the only person looking at Harleys was me every one else that was around was looking at the cherry red escape pod , love it! there is one thing i don't like and that's the rear shock while comfy is just seams under dampened to me very pogo stick feeling i found airing up the shock to at lest 60psi solo is the only way i can correct this i only weight 75kilos i guess that's the vision ride. anyway I've ranted to long now so thank you every one on this forum i learnt so much reading all the posts
and will enjoy reading more thanks again and may you all ride safe
cheers Mr b
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Cruiser
Posts: 102
Jal NM | Welcome aboard Vision Pilot from the Great state of New Mexico USA.
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Cruiser
Posts: 181
Henlow, Bedfordshire, England | Welcome from the UK, enjoyed the read. | |
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Puddle Jumper
Posts: 34
Robins AFB, GA | Welcome to the club - post pics of you and the wife on the bike when you can | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 803
Perry Hall, MD | Mr Bogan, Enjoyed your write up. While I have not owned a Wing the time I did have riding an 1800 left me feeling much the same as you said - it had no character - it is transportation but not fun to ride. The Vision is fun to the tenth degree. Not sure what the Mrs. would have told me had I followed your same path on flying out to buy one without ever having taking a test drive, but it would have at least included the word CRAZY. Very glad that it was such a positive experience.
CONGRATS and WELCOME. | |
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Tourer
Posts: 599
New Mexico | Good write-up, fair comparisons, and the conclusion we all came to.
Not sure if this will help, but as for the rear shock, my wife and I weigh in at about 180 kilos (had to look up and convert!). I run the shock at about 66lbs for two-up trips, then down to 44lbs when alone. Even less if I take the trunk off.
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New user
Posts: 2
| Boots:
Thanks for taking the time to tell your story. I enjoyed all of it. I came to the same conclusions.
Enjoy the cherry red escape pod. I recently had someone tell they expected to see crop circles left behind!
Cheers! | |
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Cruiser
Posts: 50
| Mr. B
Congrats on your ride. Many here have come from HD or Wings with no regrets.
Enjoy your vision. Ride safe!
Rick | |
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Visionary
Posts: 4278
| Take a wrench and check the inside bolts on the back half of your front fender. The factory might not of tighten them all the way and it will break | |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Thanks for the story. I've always wanted to ride my Vision around your "island".  Maybe some month.
Ride safe and enjoy. | |
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Tourer
Posts: 411
Dallas, Texas | Welcome to the forum, Mr. Bogan. You'll have to keep us up to date on rides, 'down under'. For some reason, 'Men At Work' songs keep playing in the back of my mind.
Edited by iluvink 2013-09-17 11:21 AM
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newbie in australia