yea its gonna be dead by the time he tries to bank on it, which wouldnt hurt my feelings lol

 

Victory has the chance to become what the Indian of old tried to be -- a performance and innovation oriented company , at least compared to H-D . But they just keep tarting up the same basic engine which , granted , they do improve gradually , but it's still anemic and targeted at the poser crowd . They have the resources to create an all-American sbk ... don't hold your breath .

 

I'm more familiar with them in the sled market. The seem to be willing to take chances on sleds with some different new things in the past few years and seem to do well despite some engine issues. I really want to upgrade my sled this year to a new Polaris but I'll give them this winter to work out the remaining 800 issues and perhaps jump over mid winter.

I have the feeling that based on this if they are not stepping up with something more sporting in the motorcycle arena it is because their research indicates there is no money in it for them.

For myself, I've had my eye on a cross country for some time. I've always liked the HD Street Glide and I see the Cross Country as a more reliable, slightly more modern version of that for several grand less. Maybe next year.

 

I'm more familiar with them in the sled market. The seem to be willing to take chances on sleds with some different new things in the past few years and seem to do well despite some engine issues. I really want to upgrade my sled this year to a new Polaris but I'll give them this winter to work out the remaining 800 issues and perhaps jump over mid winter.

I have the feeling that based on this if they are not stepping up with something more sporting in the motorcycle arena it is because their research indicates there is no money in it for them.

For myself, I've had my eye on a cross country for some time. I've always liked the HD Street Glide and I see the Cross Country as a more reliable, slightly more modern version of that for several grand less. Maybe next year.

They went from first to last in sales due to their lax attitude to product development early in the new century (read 2002-2005). They have given signs of life of late but, having ridden their latest so-called game changer (the Rush), they are way off target (at least in the trail segment, although their new mountain stuff is pretty neat).

As for the bikes, they were going for the easy money with the cruiser crowd and have a decent product for that segment. While they could build a world-beater sportbike, they are not willing to allocate the resources to do so (although they have some good management and engineers).

 

so what's with the rotor tiller handlebars, looks like something off a Troy Built?...

 

I have a friend who has a suspension shop and has become a real expert in getting Yamahas to run right. Let me know if you want his address. In so far as teh 800 is concerned, it got a complete overhaul this year (lost an injector per cylinder, new fuel rails,....) The protos I rode in West Yellowstone in the spring ran very well, being particularly strong in teh mid-range. The Switchback Assualt works well as a do-it-all sled although its leaning is more off-trail than on. PM me if you have any questions, I tested all the 2011s at the Snow Shoot (this being my ninth time attending the event).....

P.S. You could always PM BLS for sled advice too... oh wait, he doesn't even know what a snowmobile is... ok, forget that one.....

 

You fvckin' Canadians make me laugh ... oh wait , strike that !

 

If I had to buy new and it had to be a cruiser or touring bike, I'd take one of those over a Harley any day. Yamaha/Star probably make my favorite cruisers, but Victory has dramatically improved their product since the first ones in the late 90's.

 

I had a chance to ride virtually all of their 2008 and 2009 line-ups and can honestly say they work well (even though cruisers are clearly not my bag). The engines are quite a bit more potent than Harley's (not overly hard to do of course but I digress) and the refinement and attention to detail is quite good. The move to lighter wheels in 2009 made a noticeable improvement to all aspects of the bike's performance. The Vision, in particular, looks aside, is impressively agile for such a heavy mount. If I was in the market for a cruiser, I would give them a serious look.

 

Where's the CORE? I don't want these bloated POS, cruiser derivatives. I want something with at least a hint of life's breath in it. Bring me the CORE!