I stopped by the local Victory dealer today just out of curiosity. He had a used '09 Vision Tour with 1400 miles on it and was willing to let me take it for a ride. I was on my '09 RG so I thought I'd write a comparison.

My RG has the 103 Stage II kit in it with a PCV. It also has Works shocks, Russell Day-Long seat and a Cee Bailey's screen. Other than that it is stock. So now you know what I am comparing the Vision to.

Here is what I came away with in no particular order.

Appearance
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say and the Vision with it's top case installed is a bit too space ship looking for me. Without the top box I think it's pretty reasonable. As a touring bike it won't work without the top case since the side cases are way too small. They also had an Arlen Ness version on the floor which was actually pretty nice looking. A lot of it is blacked out and the chrome removed. Overall the Vision's fit and finish were acceptable but not quite up to Harley's standard. Some of the parts looked a bit cheap to be honest.

Comfort
This bike is really comfortable. They moved the gas tanks (there are two of them) up by the fork so the area where the tank would normally be is quite slender which makes for a very comfortable riding position. The seat is large and gives good support and is very low which allowed me to sit flat footed with my legs slightly bent. The passenger seat is way up there which allows for a built-in driver's backrest so to speak. The bars come back to the rider perfectly and the floor boards are really long so you can move your feet around. On the RG I have to use a backrest but on the Vision I don't think I would need one. The Vision is considerably more comfortable for me right from the get-go than the Harley is. The passenger seat is absolutely huge! I think my wife could probably cross her legs sitting up there

Wind Management
They really did their homework here. The Vision has an electrically powered screen so you can move it up and down. With it down you get some wind to your face and with it up you get no wind at all. In either extreme you get absolutely no buffeting whatsoever. Wow! I always thought that on the RG having the screen so far away was contributing to the buffeting but on the Vision the screen is even further away which blows that theory. You can run the radio at 50% volume at 80 mph and hear it fine. I thought that heat would be a problem since there is so little air getting past the full fairing and screen but I rode in traffic for a bit at 80F and didn't really feel anything to speak of. One thing I did notice is some pressure on the back of my helmet with the screen all the way up. I kind of remember the same thing on a Goldwing I had so maybe that's normal. The Vision spanks the Harley in this area.

Brakes
The Vision's brakes are on a par with those on my RG. The Harley's brakes take a stronger bite initially with less lever pressure. The Vision stops hard with little dive but requires a strong pull. They linked the rear with the front brakes so that when you hit the rear alone it also partially activates the fronts. I tried stopping hard with only the rear and it was pretty weak. You really need to use both. I never hit the ABS during my short test so can't comment about that.

Suspension
Since this bike was a used unit and had been on their lot for a while I have no idea if the shock had any air in it or if the tires were aired properly or not. Overall the suspension didn't feel as plush as my setup but like I said, I don't know if it was set up correctly or not. I was expecting more in this area since Victory makes a big deal of their increased suspension travel, etc. Didn't seem particularly special to me.

Drivetrain
At idle the engine is almost silent. I would compare it to a Goldwing. There is no vibration and the exhaust is mute. At cruise the drive train is smooth with no vibration getting through to the rider. Run through the gears and everything changes. This is by far the roughest, noisiest most unsatisfying drive train I've experienced in a long time. One of the most fun things to do on the Harley is to go through the gears at full throttle entering an Interstate. I just love it! It sounds strong and with it's rubber engine mounting, feels really smooth. The Vision is just the opposite. Gas it and you get this horrendous guttural snarl and the vibration that comes through is rough and irritating. Miserable! For me if I was in the market for one of these bikes, the engine alone would probably be a deal breaker. The other problem is that the first 50% throttle hardly gets the bike moving. You need to take a really healthy yank at the gas to get anything happening. Once you get 75% throttle it pulls like a freight train. Very strong! But it feels like ****! All manufacturers invest in NVH engineering (noise, vibration and harshness) so I don't know what went wrong here. And no, I don't think there was anything wrong with this particular bike. I think that's just the way it is. Certainly a good tuner could get the throttle more responsive but NVH is here to stay I'm afraid. Think of the last cheap 4 cylinder Korean car you drove and that's what this felt like. Yuck!

Handling
I didn't get to take the Vision on any twisty roads but I did take a couple of curved freeway ramps at speed. The bike feels well planted and turns in easily. It does have a tendency to run wide in sweepers compared to the Harley but that would probably go away with some saddle time. Slow speed handling is excellent, even better than my bike. I had to creep up one of the entrance ramps which was traffic controlled. I was probably moving slightly under a walking speed with absolutely no problem at all. On the freeway it ran straight and changed lanes easily.

Miscellaneous
Whoever decided where to put the mirrors should have his head handed to him. The most you can see is your glove. Crazy! If they had moved the mirrors up or down they would have been fine but where they are now gives no clear shot behind you at all. Useless.

The clutch is a combination hydraulic and cable system. The lever works a master cylinder which is connected to a slave that pulls on a cable that pulls on the release mechanism. Pretty bizarre. The pull is pretty heavy but not too bad. I'm running a TorqDrive on my bike so I'm probably spoiled.

The kickstand is in the ideal position and only allows the bike to lean a slight amount. Getting the bike upright takes little effort and the kickstand is easy to reach. This is a better setup than my bike.

In summary, I liked the Vision but I think the Harley has a higher level of quality in components and fit and finish with a far superior drive train from a NVH view. I'm curious to check out the Cross Country when they show up and see if there are any improvements. If I remember anything else I'll add it on.

Marc

 

Good review! I thought that Victory still didn't offer ABS brakes though, even through the 2010 model?

 

Thanks for the review.. I test one also, before I bought the SG. Agreed on the rocket ship type look. Also, just as you observed, sounds aweful and not enough power. Thats why I chose the SG......

 

You're partially right. The 2009 did not have ABS but the 2010 does have it as an option according to their website.

Marc

 

Nice review, well written and very detailed. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

i think its a really cool lookin bike , very futuristic and nothin else on the market looks like it. Id love to see victory be more successful as well. they make good lookin bikes. ill keep my road king for now however

 

Thanks, but no thanks.

 

That was a very good review, thank you for sharing. My buddy's friend just bought one about a month ago and by the way he talk's it is the best thing on the market. I still can't get past the look, not for me but as long as he is riding good for him. Again nice write up. Ride safe

 

The Vision is the only bike that has grow off me. Did you get a chance to see the 2010 Cross Country or Cross Roads.

 

Two things would have to happen before I would even think about buying a victory vision.....(1)-Every harley on the face of the earth would have to disappear....(2)-I would have to go blind.