[voodoo1]

WEll looks like Yamaha and Victory have taken to spec building ...I tried it myself with the victory models online!!! even gave me the cost and all thwe goodies listed out.They look good, every year at the manufacturer show in cleveland we get to in to check out the new models from most of manufacturers . Build it the way you want it (for the most part) the first time. Instead of buying a bike then replacing a piece here and a piece there..don't get me wrong it was like the color,chrome forks and the color of the engine,light options... but more than HD's here is what "we" put on it before ya buy it. wonder if'll cACTH ON or if HD will try something else..I thought maybe if you buy a V-twin and trade it in then you could get a spec. LOL.....out here it is a HDv twin for a HDv-twin for the most part...

[Goose]

I don't care for the porky look of the V Stars. I guess if you could skinny up the front tire, give it a little more of that wide glide look? I just don't like "low and fat" unless it's covered up by touring bodywork. I admit, I haven't been to the site to check all the combinations possible.

As for Victory, are they selling anything? We have a Victory dealer here and I swear I NEVER see one on the road! I hope the bikes are designed and built better than those friggin' Polaris ATVs, though. I've seen some REAL JUNK with "Polaris" written on it. I've ridden a Victory or two. One, I rode up at Sturgis when they were quite new to the motorcycle market and the other was a Victory "SC" I rode at the dealer's here. I did quite enjoy the SC, though it looks pretty stupid and didn't sell well. It's no longer available. I don't really have an opinion on them far as built quality and reliability 'cause I just know so little about them. I don't know ANYone that actually owns one! They're still crankin' 'em out, so they HAVE to be selling 'em somewhere to somebody.

[FLHTbiker]

Goose, I saw a used Polaris at the Harley dealer the other day. See a lot of the V-star and Road Star's as trade ins at the Harley shop. Have to agree I don't much care for the V-tar line either. Have not road a Polaris but would like to. From what I have seen they look nice from what they first started out as. I talked to a Yamaha saleman recently and he said that the new Royal Star was not selling to well. To bad as that bike really had the best potential of all of them.

[Goose]

i chat on the "two wheeled texans" site which has a LOT of posters. It was an outgrowth of the Houston Sportbike Network, one of the guys that was on that board that was more sport touring oriented. The site has all sorts of bikes/rider types so I posed the question, did anyone have any opinions of Victory motorcycles. I'm truely neutral on 'em cause I know so little about them even after they've been out half a dozen years now. I got this one very interesting response/opinion I thought I'd share....

I owned a 2000 Victory SC for four years. In terms of the pure riding experience, it was a fun bike to own. All the comfort of a cruiser with just a touch of sportiness thrown in. Kind of like the HD Dyna Sport, Street Rod, Kawi Mean Streak or the Yamaha Warrior. But it's true, the early bike's weren't "pretty" to most cruiser buyers, so they didn't sell well, no matter how good they performed. In stepped the Ness boys, the engine's got more powerful, the bikes got prettier and they started to sell. But to get there, they had to sacrifice some of the handling and touring capability, IMO.

As far as price is concerned, I don't understand 'em. If you want reliablility, an extensive dealership network and low cost, buy a bike from one of the big four. If you want the mystique, an extensive dealership network and the bragging rights that come with a high buy-in cost, buy a Harley. And in both cases you have an extensive aftermarket supporting your purchase. But Victory has no mystique, no extensive dealership network, a high buy-in cost and their reliability has been somewhat hit and miss. And thus far, the aftermarket response has been lackluster, at best.

Those who bought the bikes in the first couple of years were sold on the fact that they were buying something different. We were told that Victory would be backed by Polaris and the dealership network would rapidly expand. This hasn't exactly been the case, thus far. Those early bikes (1999-2000) have been plagued with transmission problems, prompting a NHTSA recall investigation that Victory/Polaris is fighting tooth and nail. Also, riders of the early bikes have started going to their local dealerships for replacement parts for their discontinued (for four years) motorcycles and are being told that the parts are on "backorder". Parts like rear wheels, for instance. What has become apparent is that Victory, being such a young company, lacks the funds to keep parts in stock for their discontinued bikes. So they have to wait until they get a sizable order for enough of a part to justify a production run. Meanwhile, the bikes are sitting in their owners' garages, unrideable.

As for the dealership network, it's pretty hit or miss. Some of the dealerships are pretty stand-up guys, who back the brand and will go to bat for their customers against the corporate office. Or you can have an experience like mine and a couple of other local riders. I had a local dealership do about a thousand dollars worth of damage to my bike while taking the wheels off to replace the tires. They caused the damage by using maintenance practices that were specifically prohibited in the factory service manual. When I pointed this out to them, the general manager of two of the local Victory dealerships stated that they weren't paying for all of the damage and I was welcome to tell anyone I wanted about my poor experience with them. I later found out that they'd done the same thing with several other local Victory riders. The Victory corporate area representative was no help at all. And the next closest dealership was an hour and a half away. So, seeing the writing on the wall with regards to owning one of their early model bikes, I traded it in on my ZRX and haven't looked back.

So would I recommend one? Not really. For the price that you pay, you really don't get enough in return. Moderate build quality, an inadequate dealership network and a high price tag. For a lot less, you can pick up a cruiser that looks, handles and goes just as well, with much better factory and aftermarket support.

Kelly

[FLHTbiker]

Yea, I'll stick to my Harley's.

[SK]

I've got close to 100,000 miles on my Star and have never had even close to one problem with it. It still runs as good as it did the first couple of years I've had it. I prefer the rounded looks of the Star lineup to some of the boxier looking competition, but that's my preference. I've always liked the old Indian look (not the newer piece of over-priced crap). Yamaha must be doing something right as the majority of their lineup sells like hotcakes. I don't really care for the Honda lineup as they're too sterile to me, and the Harley's are just a tad too expensive. People can talk resale, but I don't buy a bike for resale..I keep em and just add to the collection.

[Sleepy]

I think the Victory could be a pretty good bike. It's got a nice motor, decent brakes and the ability to order different painta schemes is neat. You can order a Harley with the custom paint program and different wheels as well. The nice thing about the Harley is that there are a bizillion shops out there and if you have a problem, help is not far away. I like the Vegas..it pulls pretty good..I'm not big on the forward controls..the Deluxe is a nice motorcycle. We've got a Victory dealer in town now..I hope it's a good shop. I remember when we had one Ducati dealer in town..you had to be pretty hard core to stick with them..the shop's service section is "huge" in the success of a new brand of bike.