These are the ramblings of a broken man.

Many of you out there are waiting for next years Vision while they "get the bugs out" of the '08's. I hope you know what you are getting into. If you are a previous Victory owner and know the secret handshake, you will probably have a wonderful experience. For those of you that haven't been initiated into the Victory family yet, here are a few pointers:

You will need the mental toughness of a Navy SEAL. Victory has perfected the art of mental torture to the point that it is now being implemented at Guantanamo Bay.

- You will be led to believe that your bike will be shipped on a certain date. You will believe this because you want to believe it. What you believe has nothing to do with reality. The more you believe the more you will be tortured. The torture will be your fault because you chose to believe.

- The next level of torture will involve an actual ship date. You will believe this because you chose to believe that the bike actually left the factory on the date that they showed you. You will be tortured.

- The final level will be a call that your bike has actually been delivered to the dealer. You will believe this because you trust your dealer. You will arrive at the dealership only to find that "Ooops" the bike they called about was not your bike but another one. "Ha! Got you again!" Your fault. Suffer.

- Throughout each level of torture, you will be told nothing official. The best you can hope for is a vague e-mail that explains nothing except that the company is experiencing delays. (This will arrive after your proposed ship date has been slid, twice.) The e-mail will be signed by Captain Obvious.

- You will watch good people, just like you, crumble before your eyes. You will watch battle hardened veterans reduced to a shell of their former self. (Poor soul, he chose to believe.)

- You will watch people who have never seen a Vision before walk right into a dealership and drive off on one months before you get yours. The fact that you have had a deposit down for eight months has nothing to do with it. They owe you nothing. It's all part of the torture.

- You will order the top-of-the-line version and believe that it will have everything on it that they promised. Drip, drip, drip.

- You think that '09 will be better. Believe what you want.

I will eventually be riding an '08 Vision and I will love it. However, along the way my expectations have been reduced to ashes. They win. It's always going to be like this. If you don't have the toughness to endure the torture, take the easy way out. Go buy a Harley.

Craig,

I have led a sheltered life and nothing in my 49 charmed years has prepared me for this.

I know all about the Harley problems, that's why I want no part of it.

I just can't believe it has to be this way. I'm so naive. Seriously.

I admire you guys that deal with stuff like this on a daily basis and don't go absolutely bonkers.

Thanks for the support. I know it will be worth it but like I said, I'm just beat down right now. This is my rant and for you guys that want to counter every point I have made, have at it. Drown me out.

Thanks guys.

This has nothing to do with the coolest bike on the planet. It is all about the process.

I still believe. I can't help it.

Hey Po,

After I got all pumped up about the shipping date of last Wednesday, I called Brantley on Saturday after work (about 2:00). "Hey Brantley. I have an offer to go ride with some guys this afternoon. Should I go ride or do I have to make other plans?" He sounded kind of bummed and said "Go ride." I asked "Any word from your end?" "Yeah, your bike hasn't even left the factory yet." I was stunned. "But I thought is was on the truck last Wednesday." "It was. Apparently the trucks got called back or never even left. I don't know if it's a shipping issue or a supplier issue. They're not saying much. It's still looking like mid-November." I sat in stunned silence. Finally he said "Go ride. I'll call you the minute I hear anything." ....."OK, thanks."

I went for the ride. Later that night I started watching the World Series on tv with the laptop in my lap and it all kind of hit me. I had been reviewing all of the stuff that guys had been going through on this forum and a compilation of the entire process just blew up in my head. I had the meltdown and posted this thread. It was actually very cleansing. When I say that my expectations have been reduce to ashes, I mean it. You could tell me my bike was burned up in the SoCal fires and I wouldn't even shrug. Victory has set the standard for false starts and lack of communication. I can't even think of what situation in my life would come in second.

I pride myself on having realistic expectations based on the situation. I bought an early model Maytag Neptune washer and dryer set about nine years ago and knew I was taking a chance on the new high efficiency, front loader design and technology. I had a 10 year old Kenmore set that ran perfectly but my wife was doing 4-6 loads of laundry a day and the high spin feature of the Neptune washer would cut her drying time in half. We gave the Kenmores away to a pair of newlyweds who were just getting on their feet. My parents had Maytags that lasted over 30 years and it was nice that I could finally afford the best. Of all the things I could buy, this would revolutionize my wife's life more than anything else. Through it all, there was a little voice in my head that said "This is brand new, cover your bases." So I bought a 5-year warranty. The pump on the washing machine went out three times in five years. Every time it went down, it took 3-5 days to get fixed. (6 loads X 5 days at $3/load at a laundrymat, X 3 occurrences...you do the math.) I got the same repair man each time and asked "What's the deal with this motor?" He said it was a design problem with the motor itself and they couldn't upgrade it. They have since redesigned the Neptune with a different motor, but it doesn't fit the old model. This model will always have the bad motors. Needless to say, the day my warranty had expired and the motor went out again, I hauled the Neptunes out to the curb and they were gone within an hour. I went to Best Buy and bought a set of LG's and they have run like Swiss watches everyday for four years. Through the whole Maytag ordeal I never lost a wink of sleep. I knew I was taking a chance and when it didn't go like I had hoped, I dealt with the inconvenience and moved on. So I never buy a Maytag again, no big deal. There's lots of good companies out there worthy of my money.

I am a Toyota/Honda guy. My wife begged me for a Suburban because we had five kids who were getting too big for a minivan. I finally caved and ended up getting a super deal on a '03 GMC Yukon XL. ($14,000 under sticker. The "bait" vehicle on the lot.) It was the first American car I had owned since my '67 Mustang Fastback in college. Needless to say, I got the extended warranty. Two transmissions, a stereo amp, and one alternator later I'm truckin along fat, dumb and happy. (The gauge cluster just went out last week. Out of warranty.) I knew what to expect. The only thing that has worn out on my other cars and trucks has been the battery.

I said early on when I joined this forum that I was breaking every rule in the book with the Vision. This was a huge leap of faith for me but I trusted my gut because I really respect how Victory is pushing the envelope coupled with the J. D Powers ratings. Plus, I'm really drawn to the Victory riders that I have come across. I really like them. I honestly believe in the product but this buying experience with no communication is Victory's dirty little secret and I never saw it coming. This post is to educate people on what could possibly happen to them. Every single thing mentioned in the opening thread has really occurred. I don't want to see anyone else blindsided because from what I'm hearing, it's par for the course. Now that I know that Victory never wants to be like Costco, I know what to expect and my expectations will adjust accordingly.

Oh yeah. To answer your question: "Mid-November." It's all good.