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New user
Posts: 2
| I am looking to buy a new touring bike and the Vision is definitely worth checking into. I am on my 3rd Goldwing and looking for something a little different. I''m an iron butt rider, so I rack up some miles. My wife is on the bike with me most of the time, so I'm looking for a good 2 up bike.
I sat on a VV this morning and really liked how it fit. I'm 6'2" (225). I like the many foot positions along the floor boards. Here my main concerns:
1. Rider/passenger intercom... what is everyone using?
2. CB... Does anyone have a CB connected and how does it interface?
3. Backrest... Long rides require more than the stock seat. Is there a backrest that attaches to the seat for the rider, but still allows plenty of room for the passenger?
4. Does the bike get hot? Especially stopped in traffic?
Thanks for any comments! |
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Tourer
Posts: 432
Gettysburg, 2008 Tour Premium | I am going to give some feedback that does not quite answer your questions. First off I owned a GL1800 for a few years and the bikes beg to be compared but are different enough. The Wing was a bike that was designed for passenger comfort and as far as I can tell nothing much compares. The Vision has much better ergo'd for the driver and I feel that it is in a class by itself in this department. The wing has greater luggage capacity and in this catagory the Vision may have the least but if packed right it will suffice. The Vision is the best handling big tourer going and I have owned the K1200LT BMW as well. After spening a fistfull of dollars on Wilbers shocks front and rear for the LT it was a pretty sure footed corner carver but still no match for all around handling of the stock Vision. The bike gets warm but so did my 1800. Stopped in traffic the bike is about average. I had some minor work done on the stock seat, mostly to accomidate the wife. She wanted down a little and I actually added about 1/2 inch to to my seat height, we had Butt Buffer gel pads installed at the same time. I did almost the same with the 1800 seat. I added a Cee Baileys windscreen. The bike is an aerodynamic marvel compared to the H-D Ultra and Gl1800. The BMW was pretty good but definatly not better. Of course there is a backrest available for the rider. At this time though things like passenger armrests and a multitude of accessories are not yet availavble.
I firmly believe I now own the bike that may take me into retirement. I really like this bike, and I am not saying that just because I own one.
Walt |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | I have and use the CB/Intercom between my wife and I and it works very well. I regret I have nothing to compare it to since this is my first touring bike.
I have the Utopia Backrest on my Vision and recommend it. How much room the passenger has with the backrest installed depends on the size of the passenger.
I did some stop and go in 100 degree heat a few weeks ago. The tops of my black shoes were heated by the sun and the bottoms by the pavement. This was far worse then the engine heat. |
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Tourer
Posts: 332
Dale, Indiana | Intercom is integrated into the CB radio. CB just plugs into the bike's audio system Wife and I love chatting with each other while riding.
Bike does get warm when sitting in traffic (what bike won't?). You are sitting on top of a rather large air-cooled V-Twin. It's a man's bike, and water cooled bikes do get warm too. Adding lower air deflectors is quire nice on those hot summer days. They are also nice in the winter time since you can turn them out.
Do keep an eye on them, stock tape is crap and they will fly off!
This Vision is the best thing that has happened in my life in years.
At age 50 I could have gotten a few neck chains and button my shirt down to my belly button and rode around in a convertible.
However, thanks to Victory Corporation they built a Vision bike and saved my from embarrassing myself and made me the coolest biker in town. I went to the video store last night and drew a crowd.
Also, attracted some rich folks when I stopped to get me a couple bottle of fine wine.
WAIT!
You didn't ask about my midlife crisis did you? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | The CB and in the intercom are one unit. In other words, if you want an intercom, you also get the CB. The intercom works very well. There is a button pod on the left handlebar above the windshield adjustment and high beam selector. You have COM (which is CB) and ICOM (which is intercom). You can use one or the other or both at the same time. When you have both selected, the intercom is activated using the VOX, which has an adjustment. You speak and it opens a gate that allows others to hear you. It can be touchy, but works well. I find that interstate speeds I have to adjust it up one or two so wind noise doesn't open it. In this mode, the PTT button, also on the pod is used for the CB function and both driver and passenger can use their PTT button to communicate over the CB. With only the ICOM selected, the PTT button can be used in conjunction with the VOX, or you can turn the VOX off and just use the PTT. It also has an option to mute or "mix" the music when ICOM or CB is used. If you mute, the music cuts off both in the headphone and the external speakers (if being used). Only complaint is that incoming CB signals mute the headphone speakers, but not external speakers on receive, but they do on transmit. If the incoming signal is hard to hear, or low volume, then it's harder since the external speakers won't mute. Otherwise, it works very well.
Heat, I can't lie, it is an issue in stop and go traffic, but it depends on what you are used to. My last bike was watercooled and didn't get very hot at all. This, you feel it when in stop and go. If just slow, it's better. But, I can't say I have burned my legs or anything, but I wouldn't wear shorts in those conditions (I don't wear them riding anyways, but see some people do).
I don't have the backrest, so I can't give an opinion, but most people are using the Utopia backrest. Like radioteacher said, depends on the size of the passenger. My wife and I are not small people, so I use her like my lazy-boy on longer rides. I just tell her that I'm snuggling...what woman doesn't like that?
Good luck in making a decision, but personally I think it is awesome. I sat on the Wing, and while it has a lot of features, the foot position wasn't comfortable for me, and that is what is awesome with the Vision. I can move all around on those big boards. I rode my buddies BMW, and it was really nice, and handled well, but sat too high for me. I like the lower feeling of the Vision. Also, and maybe they now offer it on Wing's, but the power windshield on the Vision is one of the nicest features that I didn't realize at the time. I constantly adjust it. On the interstate, I like it all the way up to keep the buffetting down, but backroads it's nice to get some air on the face. It really changes the feel. The Wing's adjusted, but it was manual, and you had to stop to change it. A feature that I didn't think I would use but have come to love. Hope that long post helps.
Edited by divesharc 2009-07-12 10:07 AM
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | We find that the Vision's CB/Intercom is comparable to the Goldwing's. Unless the latest GL1800 has changed the way the system works, the Vision does offer a feature that the Goldwing does not. On the Vision, the passenger has totally separate control over her volume for CB, intercom, and stereo individually. In other words, my wife can listen to the stereo at whatever volume level she likes while I can have mine at whatever volume level I like, or even turned completely down. On the 'Wing, she had to listen at whatever level the driver chooses, unless you put the aftermarket accessory on to allow the passenger some control over her headset volume. Even with that accessory though, the driver still has to have the stereo turned up before the passenger has any control. On the Vision, it is completely independent. I like to ride with no music playing in my headset, just listening to the heartbeat of the bike, and the wife can still listen to the stereo at whatever volume she likes. The CB volumes and the intercom volumes are independently adjustable for both rider and passenger too. My wife appreciates those features. The feature that we enjoy the most on the Vision, that the Goldwing doesn't have, is the electrically adjustable windshield. Up for the open road, and down for in town, or when we want more air on the open road, or anywhere in between at any time we want. That's a feature that we never knew we needed until we got a bike that has it. Now I can't imagine riding a bike without it.
Rider/Passenger ergonomics are always a personal thing, but we find the Vision to be more comfortable over the long-haul than the Goldwing. That's saying something, because the Goldwing has been the class standard for a long time.
Handling: The GL1800 is fondly known as the "Sport 'Wing" with good reason. The Vision will take corners without touching anything down, that the Goldwing is throwing sparks in. The Vision's handling is even lighter than the Goldwing's, even if your'e not riding at maximum lean angles. Again, that is saying something, because the GL1800 has been the class leader for a long time.
Comfort: The Vision has those long floorboards. The Goldwing has those cylinder heads in the way. Otherwise, the bikes are very comparable.
Storage: The trunks on both are each pretty much filled up by two full-face helmets. The Goldwing's saddlebags hold about 15% more each, and are more accessible than the Vision's.
Power: Of the type that really matters on a touring bike, which is the ability to pass slow moving traffic on a secondary road (35 or 45 MPH to whatever) the bikes are virtually equal in their respective 4th and 5th gears. The Goldwing will win in a standing start drag-race by 3/10ths or 4/10ths of a second. The Vision has a 6th gear overdrive for relaxed cruising. The Goldwing cruises at around 3000 RPM @ 70 MPH, while the Vision cruises at 2650 RPM @ 70 MPH in 6th gear. 5th gear on the Vision has the motor spinning at 3150 RPM @ 70 MPH, and will carry the bike to 120 MPH if that is what floats your boat. Both are pleasant to ride for hours on end with the cruise control locked in at 75 or 80 MPH.
Fuel economy: I routinely get 1 or 2 MPG better on my Vision than the guys on the GL1800s when we are riding together, in all conditions.
Heat: All fully-faired bikes are hot to ride in hot weather, compared to unfaired bikes. I don't find the Vision to be any worse than the Goldwing, but we don't spend much time (any) in stop-and-go inner city traffic either. The sport-tourers, such as the ST1200 or the FJR1300 are much hotter to ride than either the Goldwing or the Vision, out on the road.
Soul: (Do bikes have "soul"?) The Goldwing is incredibly smooth, quiet, refined, and "soulless" to the point of being boring. The stereo is a necessity to keep me awake. The bike itself has some sort of "whine" that tends to irritate me after awhile. Turning on the stereo helps to mask that "whine", and the stereo on the Goldwing is a good one. The Vision is also smooth, but with a V-Twin heartbeat that is somehow "soul-satisfying". No stereo needed. The motor makes the right kind of music. The bike is also quiet and refined, just like the Goldwing, but I find that subdued V-Twin "heartbeat" to be very relaxing.
Ronnie
Edited by rdbudd 2009-07-12 11:22 AM
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