Momma took the Charge card away but not my cash. 08 Victory Vision

Even though Claudia said no more toys after the truck, muahaha i was greatly surprised when she said i should buy the bike i have been wanting for so long. Of course this was only after we just paid 20K to pay off all our debt, save the house and cars. I have a habit of living way under our income to allow toys and such and normaly put away more then 1K a month to savings and such, plus we both pay a ton into stocks. Recently her company went public and forced her to sell a bunch of our stocks, once i paid everything off she presented me with an offer i couldnt refuse. Buy the bike ive been wanting.

I have been drooling over Victory Motorcycles for quite some time. I have Harley's as well but after a lot of research I decided a HD wasnt for me.

I choose a Victory Vision Premium Tour bike.
I was torn for a while between the 8Ball Vision <all blacked out but no options> and the Tour all the options but not blacked out. I was lucky enough to find the best of both. The previous owner spent a ton of money to have everything Black Chromed and the result is perfect to my tastes.
I choose this bike because in the NW our boating season is shorter, as well as the riding season. On a Vision though your season get extended quite a bit with all the creature comforts.
Some of them, Best in class Air deflection and rain protection
Power windshield to adjust while you ride to fit your comfort for that day
Heats hand grips
Heated Seats
HID Headlight
Cruise Control
Stereo with MP3 and IPod control
Tip over protection so if the bike gets knocked over nothing is damaged
106 V twin engine
6 speed gear drive trans

The pics are from the dealer i bought it from in a little town just south of Seattle. I am picking her up tomorrow. I have already began the upgrades by ordering lower wind deflectors, lay down license plate, and got a stereo upgrade in the works lol.
For those that are safety minded, i picked up a TourMaster 3/4 riding jacket designed for all seasons, a Scorpion Full face Hem and leather riding gloves.
On to the Pics. Ohh and yes she has a name. Sophia my fat bottom girl.
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia17.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia7.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia6.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia5.jpg

more pics
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia4.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia3.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia2.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia15.jpg

more pics
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia14.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia16.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...ey/Sophia9.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia20.jpg

more pics
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia21.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia13.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia12.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u.../1street15.jpg

more pics
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u.../1street14.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia11.jpg

One of my favorites because it kinda looks like smoke behind it but its just clouds.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...y/Sophia18.jpg

Super nice... have had dreams of a Victory myself a time or two. Congrats! Gonna get the wife a sissybar? Looks like the Arlen Ness design.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chawk610

Super nice... have had dreams of a Victory myself a time or two. Congrats! Gonna get the wife a sissybar? Looks like the Arlen Ness design.

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Yes this is Arlen Ness's design. Its a love it or Hate kind of bike. Thats pretty much the only responce you get LOL.
Theres actually a trunk for it that goes on and acts as a back rest and has 2 speakers in it. I said id look into one later but there pricy, she said she doesnt care she wants on to feel more safe LOL.

Gotta love a woman who helps you spend money on toys lol.

nice addition to the toy collection!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wolfeman131

nice addition to the toy collection!

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Now my new garage is full. I told her its her fault for letting be buy a garage so big. I needed to fill it up. Its like buying a huge walk in closet for a woman, first thing she does it fill it with cloths and shoes, well what does a man fill a garage with toys and tools LOL.

Congrats Mike.

An IPO is the time to have the stocks. Sucks she had to sell but you got a sweet bike now.

Looks like a comfy ride. Congrats.

I'll say this.. not my cup of tea, as I prefer a crotch rocket, but that bike is very nice. given a choice of hd or victory for a touring bike, I'll take a victory every time..

nice purchase mike..

glad to see you are getting gear. don't be that harley guy with full leathers and a dew rag. always sport a lid... oh wait, it's law there isn't it :)
you got a "m" endorsement on your license or is an msf course in your future?

Schweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet bike!!!!!!

Your going to have to ride that thing up here so I can have a look at it. Beautiful bike brutha!

Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk

nice bike man, i had didnt know polaris and victory where the same. that thing looks pretty sweet and that 106 has some power i bet.

i got my M class license just so i can rent a HD fatboy and do the toys for tots ride every winter if i am home. tons of fun

Victory is a nice bike. My boss has one and it is beautiful. Wish I had one but got to buy gas for the boat!!!

Nice bike! Ur gonna need to upgrade the residence to one with a bigger garage soon :) !!

Thanks guys.

@ KG yea i have no control over the stocks we get from the company, there used as part of our pay and bonus programs. They force sold hers, we both have stocks and such we pay into that we have control of but these ones we dont have any control of. Sucks because at Intel they give me 50-100 each year as part of my pay raises, but there on a 4 year mature plan and when they mature if the stocks are lower then what they were when issued i get nothing, like last month i had 300 shares expireing, so i had to sell them for 3 bucks each LOL

@Sandm yea its the law to wear a Helm here. Yes i have my M endorcement from my Crotch Rocket days, 95 Katana 600 black with purple. My Tourmaster jacket isnt leather, i will prolly get a nice leather jacket as well but this jacket is pretty nice, all these vents for cooling, and it has removable shoulder and elbo guards. It will be my every day riding jacket.

Actually yes im planning on taking a MSF course as well, but the itermediate, i think it would be good to see if i learn some new stuff or identify if i have bad habits to work on.

@Newty, you know i will brother. Wont cost me 50 bucks to drive out there now LOL.

Great looking ride Mike. You will look great sitting on the back with Claudia driving.

Mike- I am not a touring bike guy normally, but holy cow! That is SHARP! I am definitely in the "love it" crowd.

AWESOME!

Are HD's still all aircooled? (besides the V-Rod) I thought I saw a radiator on your Victory. My father and Uncle both have HD's and they get hotter than heck when riding. What made you go with the Victory over the HD? Were you looking at the Electra Glide?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by WaterBullDawg1980

Mike- I am not a touring bike guy normally, but holy cow! That is SHARP! I am definitely in the "love it" crowd.

AWESOME!

Are HD's still all aircooled? (besides the V-Rod) I thought I saw a radiator on your Victory. My father and Uncle both have HD's and they get hotter than heck when riding. What made you go with the Victory over the HD? Were you looking at the Electra Glide?

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pretty sure the V-rod is still the only liquid cooled HD.

One thing about cruisers is you cannot beat the looks of an air cooled engine, once you put a radiator on a bike without fairings it just ruins it for me. my dad has a yamaha raider S air cooled and it is a sweet looking bike, yamaha makes another bike slightly smaller motor and liquid cooled and it looks like a tard, driveability is improved around town and in traffic though but man do the air cooled motors look slick!

that victory really pulls of the radiator well since it has fairings on it all over, slick looking bike but my dream bike is still a HD fat boy

Yeah I tend to agree. If I bought a bike, I tend to like the old school designs. You know those old "care racers"? Those are very cool, but not very fun to ride.

OK first and formost, i dont want this to turn into a Victory vs HD like when you get Exile and WS in the same threads lol.

If you want a more classic style bike the Victory Cross Roads, or Cross Country might be more your style.
http://www.thecarolinarider.com/revi...x.php?id=10&p=
http://www.motorcycletrader.co.nz/Vi...oads/1274.aspx

This is strictly the reasons why i choose a Victory over a HD.
The Vic is air and oil cooled hince the radiator.

I like the stlying of a HD but its a classical bagger style and i wanted a more up to date look and comming from a Street bike in my past i like the full fairing look.
All the creature features are comparable depending on what modles you look at in the HD line.

I went by reviews done by http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/6/Moto...e-Reviews.aspx
In most of those reviews Victory always won out in power, smoothness, and handling. All important items to me.
In the real department is Maintenance and reliablity.

Check out these 2 videos, it explains it all for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGkFPUeNUqc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KueK_...eature=related

Yes this is a Victory dealer video but the facts are the facts about the engine and trans.
Basically this is whats making Victory very low maintenance and thats what i wanted in a bike.

Heard nothing but good things about Victory. Despite Dad having a Harley (That he is not even allowed to crank up in his neighborhood on Hilton Head SC by the way) I have never really been a Harley kinda guy or even a touring bike guy. But Mike, that Victory is SHARP. I used to sell Kawasaki and Yamaha dirtbikes, ATVs, and street bikes while I was in school so I used to be very into the sport. I had never came across a touring bike that I liked.

Coming from street bikes how are you liking the weight? Did you get a chance to ride it a few times?

Also, I should clarify what I mean by old style. Here is a customized version of one of those old cafe racers and then a newer version that I like.

http://www.bikeexif.com/wp-content/u...09/bmw_r60.jpg

http://www.triumphtwinpower.com/imag..._low_front.jpg

our harley dealer here is horrid when it comes to maintenance. good service at the sale, but 4-5weeks is pretty standard for any repair/service.
lots of independent service shops here for that reason. dealership is owned by son of some car family on the oregon coast. it's more of a hobby for him :(

victory has a solid rep here and a good dealer. see a lot of them running around for that reason.

take a trip over here mike and I'll run ya up the loop. 1/2 day and very nice scenery and great twisties. it's full of all kinds of bikes every weekend and lots of local grub...

@waterbulldawg, nope havnt had to much time to ride it as i just got it homes yesterday, i got the insurance for it of course but the titling is a little weird, its some paperless title and it will take a week to get it and then get the plates changed to OR and in my name. I prolly wont ride it to much till next weekend, i wan to really go threw it and check, lube, service it and then take it to the Salem dealer let them go over it and make sure the computer is up to date.

I did ride it around the lot yesterday before i trailered it, its a bit heavy on the line standing still, it does have a really low center of gravity but you dont want to reach down and pick up a coin on the ground LOL

Once i got rolling i was only doing about 10mph and it was real stable and went right around the corner just fine. I was luggin the bike at 1500 RPMs so throttle responce was sluggish, these engines like 1700+ but i was going around blind corners and didnt want a surprise lol. After i did a lap and saw no other cars i got on it a little more and its nice and peppy, but couldnt do anything fast because the gear shift and brake levelers were adjusted for a man blessed with hieght LOL. I need to adjust them back to my leg length lol.

Sandm that sounds like a great idea, you would prolly smoke me threw twisties at this point but give me a few months to really get back in the saddle and ill be up for it.

Haha, didnt mean to make an HD vs Vic thead. I thought your bike looked really sharp and I actually went to victory website to check them out. i was looking at the 8 ball but it looks like speedo gauge on them was an afterthought with where they placed it. that and cooler on front are my only complaints

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rdlangston13

Haha, didnt mean to make an HD vs Vic thead. I thought your bike looked really sharp and I actually went to victory website to check them out. i was looking at the 8 ball but it looks like speedo gauge on them was an afterthought with where they placed it. that and cooler on front are my only complaints

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No you didnt bro, i just wanted to throw that out because everyone is passient about there things and i was just wanting to point out i was also only posting the reasons why i choose what i did and not to start a debate eigher. Yes I agree on the 8 Ball as well as the Cross Roads i really couldnt get past the Speedo. Even if you add the optional seperate Tach i just cant warm up to the placement. I do like the Cross Country Tour a lot, but the 2 big things i couldnt get past is the fork mounted fairing as this makes it feel a bit heavier in corners and the windshield is solid mounted. I really like the adjustability of the Vision due to being able to ride with it up or down depending on my mood and weather.

Congrats. Sweet bike!!!

After 5 long months of waiting and delays i finally got my Arlen Ness windshield for the bike. Man she looks sweet. Its got a lip on the top of the shield that kicks the air up a couple more inches so it protects more of you but isnt as tall.

Before.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_182447.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_182458.jpg

After with new shield.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_183355.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_183403.jpg

Down position

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_183423.jpg
http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...924_183431.jpg

Yup. Tinted windshield looks nice. Bet that bike is wicked fast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deerfield

Bet that bike is wicked fast.

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until you have to turn ;)



sorry mike, couldn't resist :)

looks real nice. I've seen several of the big victorys around town. edgy stylin to say the least.. I like them..

nice upgrade!

Yea, that thing's bada$$.

Sandm, you might think she doesnt turn well in corners but you have me mistaken with a Harley LOL.

http://i639.photobucket.com/albums/u...816_204524.jpg

This is my right side foot board, i can lay her down low enough pretty easy to scrape it at will. Now dont get me wrong she wont corner with a street bike but i have had those rockets behind me in the twisties and when we come out they pass me with the thumbs up. Ive even had a chance to stop and talk to some and they are like, dam man, for a big bike you lay her down in the turns well. Takes a bit more stones, and a bit more muscle but she loves the corners.

Im quite sure the bike is still better then me at this. Im still learning LOL

LOL, I'll snap a pic of my Harley's footboards here shortly. That's a scuff Mike! Admit it, you tipped over and that big ole pig hit a curb!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dusty2221

LOL, I'll snap a pic of my Harley's footboards here shortly. That's a scuff Mike! Admit it, you tipped over and that big ole pig hit a curb!

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HAHA i was wondering how long till you responded if a made a crack at the HD lol. Just teasing man. yea its a scuff but my boards sit pretty high. Its strange how if i tip the bike over the tip over protection catches it before the floorboards hit the ground. But riding i can scrap the floorboards.

They would be a lot more scuffed if they were spring loaded, when they hit they move up but basically when they touch you better stop leaning because now your lifting the rear suspension and losing traction to the rear wheel.

show us those chicken strips :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sandm

show us those chicken strips :)

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HAHA i just changed the tires out 2600 miles ago and man they had some serious chicken strips in them from the last owner. I will snap a couple pics of my tires. No chicken strips brother. I lay my girl down right in the corners.