Now that the frustration with delivery dates has reached a fever pitch, I'm trying to figure out what Tom Tiller (CEO Polaris) and Mark Blackwell (Head of Victory) are thinking. If you look at all of the press releases and articles written about the Vision since the beginning of the year it has been very methodical and incremental. First they showed concept drawings. (This, along with the release of the Vision 800 Concept bike lead to a lot of confusion about what the "Vision" really was.) Then they showed the actual Vision prototype to the press but gave no specifics. The reporters could only guess/assume about the engine size and transmission. Then they took everybody on a two day ride in July and the lid blew off in the press. All that was left was delivery to the fanatical pre-paying customers.

It's a lot like being one of the geeks who lines up outside the Apple store waiting for the latest release from Steve Jobs. Apple has a very methodical marketing plan that just shows peeks behind the curtain until the very day it is released. Even the Apple store employees are kept in the dark until the unit actually arrives. The problem is that Apple doesn't give a three month window to fudge with. When they post a release date, it is to the hour. You can camp outside the store if you want to and you know that when the doors open, you will get what you have waited for.

Victory has promised a "Fall Release". Being the literal geek that I am, I looked it up. Fall 2007 starts on Sept 23rd (the Autumnal Equinox). Winter (the Winter Solstice) is Dec 22nd. So, technically, Victory doesn't have to deliver a single bike until Sept 23rd and has until Dec 21st to keep their promise.

I hate lawyers and I hate splitting legalese hairs. When Victory says Fall Release I stupidly assumed that I would get to ride a new Vision during the Fall. Fall, to me, has always been when school starts back and before December. September/October are the prime months and November is when it starts getting cold. The best two months of riding weather for 90% of the country are here.

There is nothing we can do about this except vent our frustration with their system. Tom and Mark, Don't give release dates that you can't/won't keep! Figure out a way to deliver your product so that everyone in the loop knows what to expect. If you are working out technical problems, just say so. Don't leave your dealers and customers cut off like a bunch of worthless hacks. I am totally embarrassed by my lack of knowing what is going on with the bike. My family members and friends at work have listened to me hype this thing for the past two months and now I (and everyone else I know associated with Victory) are in a vacuum. The release dates that keep getting slid back with no explanation from the company are the worst kind of torture. The guys who are buying this bike are not young kids to be trifled with. You guys have marketed this thing to go after 50 year old men who have 20 years of riding experience. How about treating us like that's exactly who we are!

On behalf of your Dealers and customers, please stop jerking us around and tell us what is going on.

I don't mind delays in order to fix problems and get it right on the front end. Just don't give out a proposed shipping date if the bike isn't ready yet. All I ask is to be treated like a valued customer (or Dealer) and kept in the loop. Communication is the key to minimizing rumors and making us feel like we count. It's one thing to wait for an i-Phone or the latest Harry Potter book but these are $22,000, flagship motorcycles we are talking about and Victory claims that they want to be the best motorcycle company in the world. If so, prove it. We're grown adults. We know stuff happens. We want more than anything to brag our brains out about this whole experience. Victory needs to be pro-active and head the rumor mill off at the pass. Let the dealers know what is going on so they can be informed. Mark Blackwell makes a big deal out of trying to release one ground-breaking model each year and he needs to come up with a delivery system to match the hype. I know they are a young motorcycle company but Polaris has been building and hyping high performance machines for 50 years. This mentality of a three month window with a bunch of false starts just because "that's the way they've always done it" doesn't wash.

Talk to us, guys. We can handle it, I promise. I know you want to be the best and get this right. Please help us make you look good. It will pay off.

The whole point of this post is communication. Victory is announcing ship dates and then sliding them with no explanation. If I get a house custom built, I don't expect it to be done on time and on budget. I do expect my builder to keep me informed of what is going on. If the custom $8,000 door promised on a certain date (even if that date is early) doesn't arrive, do I have a right to know why?

This isn't even about my own personal situation. I have always told everyone around me "Fall". I don't expect to see my bike until November and I'm the only one with money down on a Vision in Memphis. This is not about a video game release. These guys have put thousands of dollars down on the bike of their dreams. Some have had deposits down since last spring, sight unseen. We believe the hype. We trust the company.

All we want is to be kept informed. Dealers have told prospective customers "It popped up on my computer, I should have one in here next week for you to look at." Then the date gets slid a week, with no explanation. Then slid again. Guys waiting for specific bikes have had the same story. If the dates get slid, just tell us why. The trunks for the Tour are back-ordered? Chrome fork problems? Antenna problems? Certain colors will get released first? Certain dealers have priority? The list goes on and on and the rumor mill flies.

I know the bike is going to be great. I know it will be worth it. I just wish Victory would do a better job of communicating in the mean time. If they had explained why the dates keep getting pushed back, I would have never posted this.

One last point and I'm done. As long as Victory says "Fall Release" I have a three month expectation. If I want to start hyperventilating on the first day of Fall and chomp at the bit for the next three months, that's my choice. If I want to relax and know that it will be here in the next three months, that's ok also.

As soon as Victory says "We have a proposed ship date of Sep 12th on your bike." everything changes. I expect the bike to ship on Sep 12th and have it arrive at the dealer within a reasonable amount of time (within two weeks). If Victory changes that date, I want to know why.