Victory Motorcycles any good?

better to buy an old bike in need of repair, not only will you learn about machines, but you will be in a better position to buy one when you have been around awhile, in the meantime get a machine which suits your experiance, and get a bigger one next year or so, 40 year biker

Bad idea. Victory is a quality American manufacturer but you pay dearly for it both initially and with parts and repairs. I'd say your way better off with one of the big four (Kawi, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki). It sounds like you want a cruiser or standard style bike so check out the old Honda CB's, nighthawks, magna's. I've only had Honda crusiers but for every one of the bikes i mentioned the other 3 manufacturers have comparable models. You can get a late 80's to 90's one of these type of bikes for under $1000, do the work yourself or have it done elsewhere at a fraction of the price, and it'll be more reliable than the victory.

Victory makes a very good bike, but they are expensive. I have a Victory Kingpin, great bike, ultra heavy though. They are WAY ahead of HD, much better bikes and better quality. But once again, expensive to buy and repair, parts are expensive too.

The early bikes from Victory did have some issues, but anything from 02 on is good.

I also have a Kawasaki Vulcan, they are excellent bikes as well, very reliable and much less expensive than Victory. The VN800 engine is nearly bulletproof as long as you don't over rev them, they will last a lifetime with regular maintenance. They have several models in the Vulcan line, some look like Victory/HD, mine is a Drifter submodel and looks like a 1940s Indian Cheif. Smooth, comfortable, reliable, worth taking a look at.

A Victory falls between the Japanese big four and Harley Davidson .Its not near as good as a Honda,Suzuki, Yamaha or Kawasaki but its much better than a Harley. Just because its American does not mean its out dated junk.

The early Victories had "built-in" problems; I would shy away from it ! I would look for a Honda, or Yamaha !

You can't afford it.

Decent enough machine until things start to grow old.