I'm just curious. Why don't I see more Victiry's on the road. I think they're beautiful bikes. They get great revues.  I'm too old and busted up to get one(maybe), but if I could, I'd get a Victory.  Maybe it's because I'm in the midwest and it's Harley territory. Harleys arent as American as they used to be. Lots of Jap parts. Victory's are made in Minnesota and supposedly all-american parts.  Maybe I just root for the underdog.  Any comments?  They seem to have trouble keeping dealerships open around here.

I know of three dealerships that have stopped selling them due to well, no sales because of continuing engineering problems. They still have a SHIT charging system, excessive primary gear noise, and a finicky EFI system.



I was sent to MMI for a week  back in '98 to attend a service seminar on the Victory for our dealership. As usual with Polaris Industries, we were told "Yes, they have a few problems but we are working to address the issues....". [://

English translation - " We are going to dump these under-engineered problem child mf'ers on the dealers and hope they can help us figure this shit out..". JUST LIKE they did with EVERY POS watercraft they ever built, year after year.

Fortunately for me, I retired from the motorcycle business after almost twenty years at the same shop.The first Victory's were being delivered the day I left.  I went back about a week later to pick up some parts, and what do I see? Victory's on every lift being diagnosed for no spark and no fuel flow from the injectors. These were new units that were fresh out of the crate, not customer's bikes.

After about three years of losing their ass, the owner had Polaris Ind. send an 18 wheeler and load up their shit and take it back to the wasteland in Minn. where they came from, along with all parts, accessories and special tools purchased.  EVERY dealer I have spoken with in the last few years have said the exact same thing, poor engineering, and a SHIT attitude from PI.

IF their were an American company that could build a bike that is competitive with the Jap and European offerings, I would be the first in line to buy at least one!

I'm sure there are some folks that have a Victory, and I wish them well. If you like it and it performs okay, great. I hope you enjoy it and have fun riding.  It's just a shame so many problem have to come along with a new brand.

I am riding my 2nd one and have never had one issue. I have no idea what the "continuing engineering problems" Fook is talking about. The early voltage regulators on the V92s were shit but that was resolved after the 2003 models. Yes, the primary makes noise as a gear
driven primary will. Only you can decide if it is objectionable. The new bikes have rounded teeth as opposed to the square /
trapezoidel teeth of the old bikes. If the EFI is not mapped correctly then you will have some issues, mainly running lean. The V92 tranny had a lot of issues but that was a long time ago and hasn't been seen since 2003. The first run of bikes had their problems but they have been resolved. The 2 Vics that I have owned have been amazing machines.



Why aren't there more Victory's on the road? I would say probably that people are hesitant because of the size of the dealer network nationally and lack of marketing. They have been in business for 10 years, not 100 years, and it takes time to create brand loyalty. There is a lot of competition out there these days and the cruiser market had more to do with image than engineering.

In this area they seem to lack in resale value.

So bike resale values aren't so good in Alaska huh?

My Vic is anything but underengineered.  In my experience they are great running bikes. They make lots of power and look cool too.

I don't think resale values are good anywhere at this time, but this area is Harley country (probably over 90%) and its difficult to sale most anything else.

Because they're ugly.

You forgot to wipe the Kool-Aid from your chin.



 

They sure as hell aren't ugly.  I think everyone has it in their head that Harley's are the only bike out there due to history, and marketing.  People are afraid to try something new/different.  I hope they get it together.  I have a polaris quad  and have had no problems with it for 9 years, other than I don't get to ride it enough.

Victory faced the same Prejudice as all the other Cruiser Manufactures here in the States "It aint a Harley" nonsense with thee added disadvantage of being pricier than the Japanese competition. Also working against them is that the after-market  is kind of shallow. Although that is changing as well. When saying you don't see a lot of them remember the brand has only existed for 10 years. Interestingly enough, from the beginning they have in apple to apple comparisons built machines that offered more power and better braking than HD. As for appearance they look like Victory motorcycles  you like them or your don't  The don't look like a HD and don't try to.
My wife and I each have had Victory Motor Cycles with no issues  what so ever .  She sold her Touring Cruiser last year after back surgery. I still have my 01 but will probably sell it this year. (Since Ihave the Goldwiing the Hayabusa and the B King I just don't ride it any more) I certainly am not wrench but have had no difficulty anything to do with the charging system and that is with the conversion to projector headlights and heated Grips.
The Bargain Victories  would be the any of the V92 Cruisers and the 03  Vegas they have the 92 Cubic Inch  engine with the five speed Brembo brakes stainless lines and often can be picked up in good shape for well under 8k 02 forward had a Factories 100 inch kit available and S&S makes a 106 kit. 02 backward had transmissions with square Cut gears so they make a clunk when they shift. 03 forward used beveled gears and are quite silky.
If you are a Cruiser guy the Victory line offers a line of bikes that are great performers and don't look like every other bike out there.

I wanted a 2up touring bike.. I looked at all of them.



the Victory touring bikes, to me, looked awful and cheap.



the Goldwings looked cheap as well, like someone put all the options out of a JC Whitney catalog on them.



I went for the BMW K1200LT, its clean and sexy

I would love to have a Victory but I am on a Honda budget. Which is why I ride a used Sporty right now. When I can afford a real bike I will look at possibly getting a Victory.

Look less, ride more.



 

They're not Harleys & they have that "Custom Easter Egg On Wheels" look to them.

What is the "Custom Easter Egg On Wheels" look?

 

I don't know what the fuck that's supposed to mean, but I do ride more.  I ride the BMW more than my HD and Suzuki

Arlen Ness, Orange County Choppers, ect.....



 

To each his own. That is why we have variety.

Yep.




 

I have ridden all of them and the None of them appeared cheap I liked the LT but with its high center of gravity and slightly buzzy engine and by comparison to the Honda somewhat limited dealer/support Network we chose to buy the two Goldwinds (LT was the only thing close in comparison)

I walk over to look at them every time I'm in the local dealership.

Damn nice looking bikes IMO. Pricey, though. Won't be seriously looking at one in the near future, but I won't overlook them when it's time to buy another new bike.

If the price is right, the reviews are good, and I still like how they look, I won't turn my nose up to them or any other bike.

My old man had a K1200LT. Nice bike. REALLY nice bike, really. Can't say it looked much different, quality-wise, than any modern Goldwings I've seen up close, but I guess that's subjective.

I was rather dismayed at the apparent lack of resale when the same dealership who told him just how good resale was three years earlier offered him far under what he paid for it. That kinda soured me to BMW in general, but I wasn't realistically going to buy one anytime in the near future anyway. Just not my style of bike.

Well, from what I hear, they don't hold value as well as Harleys do, so you may be able to pick up a good used one for a fairly reasonable price.



 

Very possible.

I'll look when I'm in the market for another bike, which will be some years now.

Funny to find this topic, I just saw my first Victory bike on the road yesterday (not really into 2 wheels lately and I had never even heard of the brand).

I will say that even to a cager it clearly didn't fall into the goldwing/harley style camps, but given the styling I honestly thought it was a badge-engineered Japanese cruiser. I'm surprised it's a US brand.

I have a Vic and love it!  People compliment me all the time on the "space aged" looking bike I ride

Victory did have some problems in the beginning but their bikes are rock solid now.  I wouldn't trade mine for anything.  I'll have to go out and take some pictures and throw them up here.  Loving every minute of mine.  No vibration, fast, super comfortable, and has every options I could ever want.

my jackpot great bike

I work at a Harley/Honda dealership....we take anything on trade, except for Victory's

And why is that?



 

Just as I suspected, alligator mouth and hummingbird ass.