Considering a Victory Motorcycle?

OK, unlike most of the others, I own one. I have a Victory Kingpin Tour 2007. It's a great bike. The motor is excellent, handling is superb, for what it is. It's a great distant tourer, and a super daily driver.

I have logged just over 6000 miles since May on mine, including one NC to South Florida run 930 miles in 16.5 hours, and looking for another 70...

Anyway, my bike rides very similar to a Road King Police, which was my hands down favorite in the HD line.

In HD, I could have had a 2 year old bike, with very low miles, and a year or so of HD warranty. Instead, I stayed interested in the Victory until a dealer finally gave me the deal I wanted. Same price as the 2 year old Harley, so I think the price was right for a brand new bike half a model year later.

I am fairly certain the warranty with Victory is just as good as HD. As far as recalls, I don't think that tells you jack. I've had Yamaha, Honda, and Buell before, all under warranty, and so far, I've not seen anything from any shop that makes me wish I had them for backup. It's more likely the privateer shops with the go knowledge, and that's who I usually trust.

So far, I find the paint finish awesome, quality of most parts very good to above average, but some detail parts are definitely junk. My mirrors are crap, but that's a rather low buck upgrade. Still, if they were made with better chrome, there would be no issue.

The motor and tranny have been reworked since day one (1998), with every major model change, and the 6 speed is supposedly state of the art, according to most tech articles. So far as I have seen, I can't see any negatives except some parts have inferior coatings.

All in all, it turns heads everywhere, everyone acknowledges it as Made in the USA, and it has a rumble like it's supposed to.

Nits - saddlebags are too small, trunk is too large, and the chrome on the mirrors is low grade. That's it!

Nearest dealer is great, even though I didn't get my Victory from him, as he didn't have any left. He's still supportive, and very helpful and friendly, what more can I ask for? Oh, heck, as long as I'm wishing, I just wish I could have 50% of the resale value a HD has... That's very likely it's biggest selling point.

Well you're doing the right thing by asking questions before purchasing, but I don't think there are many Victory owners on this forum. One thing to be careful of is that some folks will swear the brand they own is the best just because they own it. You also have many anti-Harley folks that would blow sunshine up your ahole about Victory just to keep you from buying a Harley. I agree with you that Victory makes a beautiful bike and I considered buying one last year, but the nearest dealer was a couple hours away and I had literally 4 HD dealers within an hour from me. May not matter to some folks, but that was the deal breaker for me. Read this article over and do more searches for Victory Vegas reviews.

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/roadtests/2006_vi...

I'd like to address the comments about the high number of recalls.

Recalls aren't really a bad thing. What a high number of recalls should tell you is that Polaris doesn't wait until the next model year to fix a known problem like most vehicle companies. The fact that Victory bikes are supported like that is, in my opinion, a testament to the loyalty Polaris has for its customers.

Once again, that's just my opinion. After all, I can't afford a Victory!

For starters, Victory has only been around for 10 years. So not too many people have their bikes although many people have heard of them.

They do make beautiful bikes but lets point out that Victory is owned and operated by Polaris Industries which better known for makeing ATV's and Snowmobiles, not motorcycles. I actually could understand it if Polaris had a popular line of off-road/adventure bikes, but not touring/cruising machines.

I must say though, I am conflicted on the Victory Vision. I don't know whether to take it out on a date or kick it to the ground. Also of Victory, their bikes are, overall, overpriced as compared to H-D. I'd rather spend my money on a company with a bigger market and has been around for a good while.

In conclusion, get what makes you happy and comfortable. Even if it gets recalls, fine, as they come up, get the problem fixed. The company is new. Many times, car companies don't find design flaws until a decade after they started building a particular line of cars. As long as th flaws have not been fatal, then if you have the money and you like the bike, GOFOR IT!

Yeah. 8 hours in the saddle at a stretch is no problem if you have a wind screen. Check out this video of me racing a 110 cube Harley with my lil ole 100 cube Vegas Jackpot. SMACK DOWN!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad6GOql0D5o

Siempre,

Titus

Engineered from the ground up with a profitable, well known corporation behind R&D. Victory is considered to be the best V-Twin made in America.

great bikes, best looking street bikes. look at the recalls on harleys and people waste their money on them. If you want american made Victory is the way to go!

go for it!

I agree with biker for life. Lots and lots of recalls. They don't just make bikes, they make snowmobills etc. Plus they have only been making bikes for 10 yrs. I think you will get a better product from a company that concentrates all their energy one a single product.

As nice as those bikes seem, they do have a ton of recalls and I would do a little research before buying one.

they're great my buddy own a 8ball and a hammer...

I've rode them it's very comfy