Victory Motorcycles
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Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
From:
Victory Motorcycles
A friend of mine just bought a 2005 Arlen Ness Signature Series Kingpin Victory. Dont know much about the Victory Motorcycle does anyone have an opinion or know much about these. Not trading, just curious
Road Warrior
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,644
Likes: 439
From: Mount Rainier, Washington
RE: Victory Motorcycles
They have come a long way since first introduced and Polaris builds quality stuff, but I think what is hurting the brand more than anything is the lack of support. Dealerships are far and few and the accessories are almost non exisent. We have a Victory dealership here in Pensacola, Florida and the accessory section consist of one wall of about 6foot x 8foot. I do think they look good, and having the Ness team on board has helped alot with the styling.
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,037
Likes: 2
From: Winslow, Arizona
RE: Victory Motorcycles
My bro-in-law has an earlier model Victory (pre-Ness). Good bike, very reliable, clunky looking. Not much aftermarket support compared to a Harley, but its growing. Good thing about Victory is Polaris is their parent company, and they seem serious about staying in the bike game and turning out quality stuff.
Guest
Posts: n/a
RE: Victory Motorcycles
Took a demo ride on the Kingpin, one of Vegas, and the 8 ball before buying my harley.
Nice bikes...They are light, low seating position, and packed with power (113).
Lots come with pretty paint jobs too.
The 8 ball was the lightest/smallest and with it's power it almost scared me (the newbie in me).
They seemed to be balanced slightly to the right (engine offset) so if you take your hands
off the handle bars you find yourself leaning to the left a tad to keep balance.
If I didn't have my heart set on the Harley I might have definately considered it.
Found the low seat heights and the weight appealing (the girl in me
).
Cost was up there I think it was $18,500 or so for a black Kingpin with the outfitting
for touring (windshiled, bags, etc.).
The dealer is half a block from the Harley dealer in Ventura, CA. Lots of
folks were riding over to check them out.
BTW...The weight and balance of the Harley is a plus for me.
Riding the Victory felt like riding my 650 Yamaha custom (weight and balance wise)
with an really quick engine.
Don't know about the hold up factor....
Nice bikes...They are light, low seating position, and packed with power (113).
Lots come with pretty paint jobs too.
The 8 ball was the lightest/smallest and with it's power it almost scared me (the newbie in me).
They seemed to be balanced slightly to the right (engine offset) so if you take your hands
off the handle bars you find yourself leaning to the left a tad to keep balance.
If I didn't have my heart set on the Harley I might have definately considered it.
Found the low seat heights and the weight appealing (the girl in me
).Cost was up there I think it was $18,500 or so for a black Kingpin with the outfitting
for touring (windshiled, bags, etc.).
The dealer is half a block from the Harley dealer in Ventura, CA. Lots of
folks were riding over to check them out.
BTW...The weight and balance of the Harley is a plus for me.
Riding the Victory felt like riding my 650 Yamaha custom (weight and balance wise)
with an really quick engine.
Don't know about the hold up factor....
Intermediate
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: VT
RE: Victory Motorcycles
I was looking at a car dealer who sells victory bikes on the side and saw a 50th year Aniversary Bike....then I looked closer, and it was the 50th year for Polaris. How bloody sad is that......[sm=badidea.gif]
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 5,820
Likes: 15
From: PA
RE: Victory Motorcycles
I think their bikes are sharp looking and hope they continue to catch on. Another American company making bikes successfully is a good thing. I think dealer network issues are still a problem but as they grow I can only imagine that it will be healthy competiton for HD. Victory offers some nice out the door values like added inches for about the same price as a stock 88" HD. I like them.
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 124
Likes: 2
From:
RE: Victory Motorcycles
I TEST DROVE ONE MYSELF IT RODE WELL, GOT GOOD POWER. I HOPE THEY DO WELL, ITS A NICE BIKE. THEY NEED MORE MARKETING.
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Cruiser
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Victory Motorcycles
In reference to polaris ATV's, I think it was just in the last 4 years that they got their acts together in regards to quality issues. Their current President, now their CEO Tom Tiller is an Ex GE guy, so quality control is in his blood. Met him a few times and he seems like a very bright and enrgetic leader. The pre 2002 ATV's quality were sporadic, some were good, many were bad. Today their quality and innovation is up there with the best of the best. Nice to see an American company kicking some butt where the Japanese dominate. Watch out for the new korean and Chinese products, right now their quality sucks, but its only a matter of time until they are kicking the Japanese butts.
I have riden most every model of in the Victory line and found them very nice. They are not a Harley, in that they have many things that differentiate them in both good and bad ways, but overall I like them. Arlen Ness and his son Cory have done a great job of helping mold Victorys styling. Keep in mind that Victory only sold around 5,000 vehicles in 2005 and Harley sold around 330,000, 2006 H-D sales will be around 340 to 350k. A bit of a difference when it comes to finding accessories and aftermarket items. H-D has around 650 dealers in the US, I dont know the exact number of Victory dealers but I think it is around 150 to 175.
I just love most everything about H-D. There are many Japanese motorcycles I also like, but would much rather support an American company if they can make equal or better products, so I am very happy to see Victory doing well. With the failures of Excelsior Henderson and Indian a few years back, it is refreshing to see an American company geting a slice of the motorcycle pie.
I have riden most every model of in the Victory line and found them very nice. They are not a Harley, in that they have many things that differentiate them in both good and bad ways, but overall I like them. Arlen Ness and his son Cory have done a great job of helping mold Victorys styling. Keep in mind that Victory only sold around 5,000 vehicles in 2005 and Harley sold around 330,000, 2006 H-D sales will be around 340 to 350k. A bit of a difference when it comes to finding accessories and aftermarket items. H-D has around 650 dealers in the US, I dont know the exact number of Victory dealers but I think it is around 150 to 175.
I just love most everything about H-D. There are many Japanese motorcycles I also like, but would much rather support an American company if they can make equal or better products, so I am very happy to see Victory doing well. With the failures of Excelsior Henderson and Indian a few years back, it is refreshing to see an American company geting a slice of the motorcycle pie.
Road Master
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,200
Likes: 5
From: Currently the pig country of Arkansas
RE: Victory Motorcycles
I have a neighbor who has a Victory "touring" type bike and he loves it like no other. It is a nice bagger with gobs of power and cool lines. Hopefully, Victory's customer service will be better than HDs, which shouldn't be too hard based on my experiences with HD.
I love my Heritage, but really dislike HD's attempt at customer support/service. After a 4 month fight over a fit & finish issue on my (then) 6 month old Heritage, HD has finally decided to repair my bike under warranty. This was after I got the Better Business Bureau to mediate the issue and finally making a threat to turn the issue over to my State Attorney General. I was not having problems with my dealer, but HD of America... The company... These are the guys who are making huge annual profits off of us, but told me to go pound sand over a legitimate warranty claim.
Now to the point of my rant (sorry!!)... Hopefully Victory will continue to catch on and give HD a run for the money. Stealing some market share from HD will be a good thing in several ways. First it will make me chuckle when HD realizes they actually have to treat the customer properly and it will make the market more competitive. In turn, a more competitive market will benefit us with better products and more value for our $$$s. Capitalism at work...
Maybe my next bike will be a Victory. Their customer service can't be any worse than HDs!
Edmo
I love my Heritage, but really dislike HD's attempt at customer support/service. After a 4 month fight over a fit & finish issue on my (then) 6 month old Heritage, HD has finally decided to repair my bike under warranty. This was after I got the Better Business Bureau to mediate the issue and finally making a threat to turn the issue over to my State Attorney General. I was not having problems with my dealer, but HD of America... The company... These are the guys who are making huge annual profits off of us, but told me to go pound sand over a legitimate warranty claim.
Now to the point of my rant (sorry!!)... Hopefully Victory will continue to catch on and give HD a run for the money. Stealing some market share from HD will be a good thing in several ways. First it will make me chuckle when HD realizes they actually have to treat the customer properly and it will make the market more competitive. In turn, a more competitive market will benefit us with better products and more value for our $$$s. Capitalism at work...
Maybe my next bike will be a Victory. Their customer service can't be any worse than HDs!
Edmo