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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | Well, I satisfied my curosity on what it is like to ride a Harley. Don't care to go into too much detail, but the conclusion is what I said to the Demo coach, "I want to see what I'm not missing." I rode a Wide Glide, a Fat Boy and a Road Glide. Thinking the Road Glide would be the king of the road, I found it to be less favorable than the Wide Glide with it's cartoonish engine vibration. The floorboards where adequate, but the lowers on the RG I found myself unable to stretch out like on the Vision. The Fat Boy would have been the winner for me for a fun weekend ride bike, or a daily commuter, but the seat was very stiff. Thinking the RG would steal the show made me more disappointed with its under powered 103, I really hate to have known what the 96 would have done on the Ultra. All the bikes were so underpowered that it allowed me to pretend I had Lloyd cams in my stock Vision.
So I got to find out what I am not missing, and made me come away asking myself "What is the appeal with Harley?", I certainly don't see it. Too much for me to redo on a Harley to make it the bike for me when my Vision does it coming straight out of the box.
The great thing of the day was when I and two other Vic riders, one with Cross Country and the other with a Vegas did about a 130 mile ride today in some of the best roads Virginia has to offer. And to think I was going to paint the back porch today. Well, I'll save that for another day.... | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| I agree with you but good luck convincing a die hard Harley rider. I ride with several H-D people and have swapped with them for 50 miles or so. They always swear they have the better bike. I just look at em and shake my head. I honestly think it's the 30k plus they have in their bikes and they just can't bring themselves to accept the fact they could have done better. | |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | The guys I was with were entertaining on getting a Harley, one was serious because we do not have a Vic dealer close at the moment. The other has entertained it because the fit and finish is so much better on the Harley. He complained that the Cross Country was very poor in the fit and finish department. My only rebuttal was that I would rather pay the price of the Victory for the comfort and performance than all the fit and finish in the world. Neither could disagree with that statement.
The odd thing is also, this was a HOG event where they had the demo rides, and we all know a few Harley riders that we each ran into. The conversations usually centered around them trying to get Harley to make things right, or how they had to upgrade for more power, but none would entertain getting anything else.
Edited by Cap'n Nemo 2011-06-26 6:51 AM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 1109
| I hear about the fit and finish from my Harley friends too. Funny thing is two of them have 2010 Ultra Limiteds. Both have had the trunk and the seat replaced at least 3 times each because of fit and finish. | |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | I stopped seriously to see what I was missing, and while the "culture" was in full force, not many folks were seriously taking any rides. Also, there was no one pressuring me to buy one. It was a great opportunity to taste Harley though, but the big focus seemed to be on "the family". This Harley dealership has done a 180 in attitude in the past 3 years and got rid of all the vespa's they once tried to peddle. One of the insiders confirmed this while I stood with the Vicster wanting to trade his Vegas in on a Heritage Softail. At the end of the day though, I think it boiled down to this, Victory is the better bike for the price, albeit, with no dealer in sight.
I very good statement was made in one of the conversations that I totally agree with and was able to comprehend it as I hung out at the dealership. There is NO competition between Harley and Victory, none. Harley's market is the Harley culture, something that is a monopoly and has no competitions, the rest is just motorcycles. I made the statement on theVMC around a discussion of increasing motorcycle sales and such, and it was argued against, but I feel we have to have our own culture of Victory to gain popularity. Given that, a better motorcycle and a culture built around it, Victory would then be a rival to the Harley domain, otherwise, Victory is just another motorcycle.
Edited by Cap'n Nemo 2011-06-26 4:31 PM
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Tourer
Posts: 520
Simi Valley, CA | I agree. I ride with Harley guys occasionally, and all of them will not even test ride a Victory. Harley is all about "joining the club". I personally think they would lose their HOG membership if they set their butts on anything else. | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | I was shopping for a bagger. Went to a very large HD dealer in NJ.Donna and I went to the Bagger section waited looked after 16 min I went to the receptionist and asked do they have sales people ? I went back to Donna 5 mins later out the door.
Then I went to a local to me HD shop 100 % different sales people chat drinks and test rides. I really felt cramped on the stock foot pegs The cost for forward controls was high.
I had never heard of or saw the Vision before my dealer tossed me a key to one ,She was Black cherry with a great ass and an ipod.
I returned said I want it. It was reccomended Donna take a test ride as well.
Donna liked her seat | |
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Tourer
Posts: 523
seattle, wa | Cap'n Nemo - 2011-06-26 2:28 PM
I stopped seriously to see what I was missing, and while the "culture" was in full force, not many folks were seriously taking any rides. Also, there was no one pressuring me to buy one. It was a great opportunity to taste Harley though, but the big focus seemed to be on "the family". This Harley dealership has done a 180 in attitude in the past 3 years and got rid of all the vespa's they once tried to peddle. One of the insiders confirmed this while I stood with the Vicster wanting to trade his Vegas in on a Heritage Softail. At the end of the day though, I think it boiled down to this, Victory is the better bike for the price, albeit, with no dealer in sight.
I very good statement was made in one of the conversations that I totally agree with and was able to comprehend it as I hung out at the dealership. There is NO competition between Harley and Victory, none. Harley's market is the Harley culture, something that is a monopoly and has no competitions, the rest is just motorcycles. I made the statement on theVMC around a discussion of increasing motorcycle sales and such, and it was argued against, but I feel we have to have our own culture of Victory to gain popularity. Given that, a better motorcycle and a culture built around it, Victory would then be a rival to the Harley domain, otherwise, Victory is just another motorcycle.
You are 100% correct about HD selling the culture, and I also agree that HD has nothing to be scared of from Victory. To most people, Victory is just a motorcycle. They all want to buy into something more, something that makes them part of the crew just buy purchasing an item.
Over time, as Victory improves their "fit and finish" and some of the other areas that need work, they will be a very strong motorcycle company. Let me say that the only fit/finish problems that I hear of are on the Visions with all their bodywork, not the other "cruisers".
I absolutely love my Vision, I love the way it looks, the way it rides, I haven't had any problems with it, altho I am low mileage (18k on an 08).
All we can do is keep on riding our Vics, everyday I see more and more of them on the road. It will come to a point when the discussion on this board will be about how it used to be, when nobody was riding Victory.
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | I expect that too, I like to keep folks thinking. There's the passion in what we do, then there is the passion for what do it on. The beauty is when they come together. | |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 965
New York State | I would never want to see Victory become like HD . As long as there is a HD company to compete with we will get 106 motors and better.
Indian was a real MC co then it became a traded Brand there are many Indian Owners that are on Kit bikes that were sold because the brand holder could not get Gov't approval on finished product. That was corrected and I think Polaris buying the brand is a good thing like when Triumph re emerged as a MC co again.
I love my Vision but my America is also a great machine.
That whole if it ain't a HD it stinks attitude would end up destroying Victory.
Victory is the new kid on the block if they want respect Bikes like the CC and the Vision just have to preform well at a lower cost.
I liked that my bike was made in Iowa but it did not have to be.
I buy a machine that I think I can count on to run .
Not because the co sells millions of T-shirts and tattoos
Edited by Trekwolf164 2011-06-27 8:07 AM
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Satisfied Curosity