After nearly 7,000 miles now, I've had some of the same problems as those mentioned here. Most annoying was the "popping" after the Stage 1/Level 1 install. I had it installed at the 500 mile break-in check-up and it lasted until the 6,000 mile check-up. For those of you who haven't heard the "pop" it is significant. It occurs through the exhaust, not the intake. If I were to drive by you and you were standing on a sidewalk when it happened, you would hit the deck. Only occurred when upshifting through about the first four gears. Mine never popped when decelerating. It didn't happen every day, just enough to not be random. I used the same gas station and the only thing that has changed significantly is the weather. After the 6,000 mile check-up, the popping is all but gone. The only thing goofy happening now is the average MPG readout will show mid 30's going to work and low 40's coming home. Memphis is flat! the next day it would be low 40's both ways. When checked at the pump, the low 40's is correct. The lower reading has only happened about three times in the last 3 weeks but it's something I notice.

Engine died suddenly: This happened about three months ago. I was pulling away from the gas pump and was just about to roll on the throttle to pull into traffic when it died. When I say died, I mean died. No lights, no digital dash, gauges pegged at zero, no motor. I stopped abut 6 feet short of the street but it freaked me out. I was about a mile from home so worst case scenario was not that bad. I cycled the kill switch off-on (nothing) and turned the key off and then back on. The headlights/taillights came on, I hit the starter button and it started right up but the dash was still totally dead. I was back in the garage two minutes later and shut it down. It was a Saturday night and my dealer is closed on Sun/Mon so I was looking at Tuesday before getting it looked at. I let the bike sit for about 5 minutes and turned the key again and fired it up. Lights came on, digital dash came on, fuel came back but the volt meter and tach were still out. I shut it off again and waited 5 minutes. Turned the key and fired it up again. The only thing not obvious was the speedo so I took it around the block and it worked. It has worked perfectly ever since then. I still took it to the dealer on Tuesday and he ran fault code checks and nothing came up. It may have something to do with the ignition recall but I can't prove it.

The interesting thing to me is, even with these faults with the bike, they are not a source of frustration. The only thing that really hacks me off is when Victory won't communicate. I can deal with just about anything if you keep me in the loop.

I got the recall notice.  My initial comment didn't come across like I'd hoped.  (I'm typing these during 20 minute breaks at work.)  I just find it ironic that we, as a group, take stuff like recalls in stride with barely a ripple.  But blow us off when we have questions about delivery dates (whether it be bikes, chrome, Stage 2, radio upgrades, whatever) and we spool up in a hurry.  If Victory would just figure out a way to communicate better, there would be almost nothing to gripe about around here except being snowed in for the winter.  Some things can be changed. The weather can't.

No excuses customer service.  It can be done.

Metalguy,

Tough call about the Stage 1.  The little goofy things get more and more random and eventually seem to go away.  I don't know if it's because the weather is warming up or the bike is just getting broken in good.  Another factor is that it seems like guys (and girls) with the exact same upgrades are having different experiences.  I could get a S1/L1 upgrade and get popping with a decrease in mileage, you could do the same thing and get no popping with better mileage.  The software for the re-map is surely being tweaked but we would probably never know.  Having said that, I'm really happy with the S1/L1.

I could not be more satisfied with my dealer.  We have become close friends and I trust him 100%.  I check in with him on a weekly basis and bounce the latest rumors off of him.  Sometimes he is quick to throw the BS flag and explain why.  Other times he goes straight to the computer to check it out to the best of his ability.  If he knows something, he tells me.

When I say "Victory", I'm talking corporate.  When I was in the throes of a meltdown last fall, one guy (can't remember who) made a statement that really put it in perspective for me.  I am not Victory's customer, my dealer is.  We can rant and rave all we want, but Victory probably won't really listen until the dealers get ramped up about it.  It is amazing to me how much I learn here that my dealer hasn't heard anything about yet.  Miles, JAM, Luzzy, badnvegas, and a host of others have some really good contacts at Victory that give out some good information about what Victory is working on.  How come corporate can't send a memo to the dealers that they are working on Problem X, Y or Z.  They don't have to say when the fix will be in place, just say they are working on it.  I get the impression that my dealer wouldn't know anything until after the fact.  The recall is a perfect example.  It was posted on the NHTSA website weeks before it showed up on the Victory dealers network.  If I hadn't given my dealer a heads-up he would have found out about it when I got my recall notice.  He found it on the in-house network about a week before I got the notice, but it wasn't because Victory told him about it.  Because he got a heads-up from the info I gave him from this site, he had the parts ordered for all of his affected bikes before we even got the official notification.  Somebody at Victory knew about the recall way before it got posted on the NHTSA website.  They should have given their dealers a courtesy call.  They can't cover everything but they can be a lot more proactive about customer concerns.  I think there's a lot going on there, but I can't prove it.

Mudge - 2008-04-13 9:36 PM You can't blame them if they are worried about lawsuits, that's just being realistic. I did get a chuckle out of the recall notice which warns in large bold print not to operate the motorcycle until the repair is completed. Is this an offer to pay for towing/trailering to the dealer? Is someone coming out to do the repair? I think the notice was probably reviewed by the legal department.

Good catch, Mudge. I would think they now have that liability to get the repairs done where it sits, with the onus on them for that expense as well. Hmmmm. I see them being obtuse if confronted with this situation. Any one going to stand on the "Do Not Operate" and make them come and do the repairs?