Victory (?)

[Troll]

Sounds like how I spent my Sunday...

[John Hopkins]

I've got to admit I really enjoy my Drifter, I like the way it handles, I like the fit and I like the reliability...

I remember when the VN1500 first came out, what a great looking bike, I thought..but I didn't buy one then..That was before the Drifter arrived on the scene..Then they bought out the VN2000 so I went to try one, The sales staff ignored me for ages, then when I sat on one I nearly dropped it, the steering was too tight and the bike felt really uncomfortable..

I've just been for a quiet 100 mile ride in the country today, high hedges, lakes, rivers, narrow winding roads with tight corners and curves, hills and valleys, sitting on the Drifter and watching the world go by..who could ask for more..

John.

[moosewayne]

I rode a Victory Vegas with no mods/customization other than the Stage 1 exhaust-the same one available on new Indians.  I bought the Vegas after a long, lawyer filled struggle concerning my Gilroy made Chief.

I loved that bike!
Very lean, light and powerful.  Fabulous suspension and turn radius even though it looked very kicked out.
8 years of very solid riding and not a single problem--nothing!

If I were a wealthier man, I'd have kept it in a heartbeat.
Last year, the Mrs. and I relocated from Chicago to Denver.  Once I found myself in a much more motorcycle friendly environment I knew it was time to sell and get the Drifter I've always wanted.

[chief]

I did a test ride on all the available models a couple of years ago... and my Binlaw has a Vegas. Most of them felt "loose" to me... not sturdy like the drifter. My wife HATES the rear of the Vision. The Vegas is nimble and light compared to the Drifter - ride is nice. Its just not "different" enough for me to want to spend my money on it. I think they are good bikes overall... and I am glad there are options available for everyone's tastes!

[CDNRatMan]

  Troll you can take that any way you want it to be, I am just not into a bike that is so high tech looking like the bat bike, I am just that old school kind of person.

[draconarmy]

i hate to say it but i agree with rat man.  i saw my first victory on the way to sturgis and i thought it was trying to be a space ship.  it was the model with the realy high trunk and bags...vision i think.  the line of the bikes just turn me off.  even there cruisers look bad to me.  that being said i would love to find a way to mount one of those V shaped tail lights to the drifter.

[Troll]

Batmobily..is that Canadian for FUGLY?

[CDNRatMan]

  Never had the chance to ride one, have not seen any I really like the looks of, for the most par they all look too " batmobily" to me not my style of ride.

[49Reo]

Never rode one, sat on several, didn't like the feel of them. On the other hand, my nephew bought the Victory touring model, looks like a Star Wars reject; he loves it, and bought a Victory 8 Ball to keep it company in the barn. Each to their own, that's for sure.

[DC]

I have not tried a Victory, but have sat on almost every model made.  This was from going to the Victory dealer many times and trying to figure out why none of their models fit me.  I had the same reach issues on the bars, could not find a comfortable and controllable way to have my feet touch the ground, and concluded these bikes are for big, tall people, or maybe giants.  They do not make a bike that fits someone my size (maybe 5' 9", since I began shrinking.  . . used to be 5'10").  I think they have some interesting designs, but none that I could handle without contorting, nor handle safely.  Oh well.

[Troll]

  My local Kawasaki/Suzuki/Victory dealer had an open house Victory Demo ride. I went down there basically for the free Pizza and drinks, but I signed up to try a Victory, just because I felt obligated for eating lunch on them. I don't know how you feel about Victories, nor do I really care. I know how I feel. Let me give you a little back story: In 2008, I had a chance to ride a Vision Tour with about 800 miles on it that belonged to my real estate agent. He had traded his RoadKing for it. I was riding my 1980 TourGlide, which had, at that time, about 190,000 miles on it. As John Hopkins has so accurately stated, beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone. I rode his Vision a few miles and felt very uncomfortable and ill at ease on it. The controls are quite far forward, for a bike with boards. The handlebars are the "tiller" style that, to me, didn't seem to be connected directly to the front end...and then there was the engine heat...My TourGlide had factory lowers on it, and never produced that much heat, even when riding in Dallas in July! The transmission on the '08 clanged and banged like it was coming apart....Fast forward to 2014... The Vision feels like it's so top heavy, I took three tries to get it off the side stand. The clutch on my old FLT pulled easier (that clutch with my hand surgery was one of the main reasons I sold the FLT)...The handle bars still suck, the foot controls are so far forward, I had to stretch really hard to get to the shifter, and there is STILL no heel shifter..They claimed the controls were adjustable, but the whole placement was just wrong. One of the demo team was gassing the bikes up, and he slipped the bike he was on into gear...the breach on a 20mm cannon makes less noise! I asked, they assured me that they had improved the transmission since '08... I'm not comparing this thing to my Drifter, just the memory of my 200,000 mile old FLT...The bike I was sitting on was parked about as long as my Drifter...the engine heat was incredible! I tried several other bikes for fit and feel, but they all had the same design issues...the seats are all ball crushers, the handlebars are too much of a reach, the clutches are all quite stiff, and the ones with dash boards reminded me of a '59 ford. In the end, I didn't find anything that I would feel comfortable on, much less want to own...they are all pretty FUGLY....and that arlen ness edition was more cartoon than motorcycle...I didn't ride one, I got on my Drifter and road away...knowing I have something I like, not something I would have to LEARN to like. Just my opinion...now I'm not so sure I want to test one of the new Indians....I would be interested in what your take on these motorcycles is....