I don't agree with the thigh rubbing issue.  I have 3,200 miles on my Vision and haven't noticed this.

The reviewers also didn't mention the HD Air Cleaner cover hitting your right leg or the wider leg position of the HDs.

I think these guys are used to riding HD's more than the Vision, thus the Vision's deltas are new/strange to them.

The brake thing is a bummer.  To compare apples to apples, they should have compared stock brakes to stock brakes.  I have noticed that the Vision's front brakes are a bit light. 

Tim

I was talking to my son's sister-in-law yesterday about motorcycles.  She said she liked Harleys better than anything else - didn't know why, since she's not allowed to ride yet (15 - still at home).  I told her that Harley had a great marketing department.

After we all got back to my place I showed her the Vision.  She was stunned by its looks and fell in love with it.  She said, "This is the most beautiful motorcycle I've ever seen in my life!"

Very astute young lady.

Be sure to look at the photo section of the website when you read the article. Also, read the comments at the end. (Luzzy pipes up for the good guys.) Even if the "numbers" had been a draw, the significance of X-factor cannot be truly explained in a written article. You have to pull up on a Vision and notice the looks before you even park it and get off. You have to watch out the window from inside the business/restaurant as middle aged guys stop dead in their tracks and start walking around it. It is mind blowing how many non-motorcyclists absolutely love this bike and would never had said anything about another motorcycle. I love pulling up to a crowded four way intersection with a long stop light and playing with the power windshield and XM radio. Sit next to a stressed out mom in a minivan/SUV with young kids onboard and within seconds you can have the whole car smiling and pointing.

Comparing the Vision "numbers" against the Ultra, Goldwing, or K1200LT only goes so far. Bragging rights are nice but there will always be pluses and minuses for each one.

The reaction I get every time I go out on the Vision cannot be measured with numbers. The gate guards at work had a bet going about how much I paid for my bike. The estimate was between $40,000-55,000 since it was obviously a prototype or one-off bike. When I told them $22,000, the same as a Harley, they freaked out. None of those guys/gals will probably ever be able to afford a Vision, but every one of them absolutely loves it. They have one of the most mundane jobs on earth and they jump up, smile and comment every time I pull in.

Vision vs. XXXXXX......the numbers are nice but they're not the reason.

I think people feel that a Vision rider is more approchable than a HD rider.

I agree 100%.

I believe the article was written to be bias and when the author found it hard to say bad things about the Vision he had to over emphasize little things or make something up. I ride daily and I rode my GL1200 for two years prior to the ViVi and had it masters as close as I could get without going to a riding course. I still had stability problems coming up to stop lights, tight turns, and traffic manuevering. I rode the GL1200 to Texas and back living on it for any where from 11 hours to 19 hours a day, which was a 3,200 round trip. I still had the same issues even though I would "practice" slow stops at every stop. In heavy traffic I would back off and move to the right and stay there or even stop for a while and sike up for another shot.

From day one, when I get on the ViVi, it is as though I have always ridden it. I have a much better confidence, even in heavy traffic, even to the point that I remind myself I'm on two-wheels with no shield. At stops, I come to a complete stop before putting a foot down, but mostly, I stop and go without putting my feet down, something I was only able to do occassionaly on the GL1200. On the twisties on the GL1200 I have spooked myself many times and have backed off in turns I was uncertain of, only to find I could have taken it with ease. On the ViVi, I have yet to backed down from any twistie, even to the point of laying it hard in the lean and going WOW!, I did that.

I would like to meet the article author to find out what he really thought about the ViVi, because I believed he was paid a premium to write the dumb stuff to sway minds, but couldn't honestly put the HD on top. My 2 cents.

I think we are all in agreement over this article that it is filled with junk, even though Vision comes out on top. I think it was written to plant negative thoughts without being down right anti-Vision. I believe that some competitor had it written because they are fearing the Vision will draw on the customer base that is not a HD or Wing sheep and take a large market share. That can be a large percentage when you think about it. So what better way to sway peoples mind to "stay away" from the Vision because your thighs will have saddle soars and your clutch hand will be twice the size of the brake hand, if you can get it to stop or stay up. But it's a great bike and comes out the winner, if you want these things.

Any serious rider of any motorcycle will make their own assessment. I am amazed at "loyal" HDers who complain about their ride yet continue to ride them. Too much vibration, my back hurts, heavy, breaks down and on and on. And, oh by the way, I don't hang around harley riders or many of the riders at that, but I still hear this comments. They say things like "I'd ride more if it wasn't for ....._____" fill in the blank with any of the aforementioned symptoms, or something to do with the weather. I have an appreciation for those who have styled their bikes to fit them, as I did with my Goldwing and the seat. I had it lowered and cut to fit me and covered with leather. This made the ride to TX better, but not perfect.

I think the Vision is great since they got it right before it came out of the box. Ride on....

One more thing I want to add to my comments is to take note of the two closing photo's of the bikes. The HD in front of a statue honoring motorcycling police that died while saving others. The Vision is front of graffitti painted walls like it is in some alley somewhere waiting to do you harm. I don't know if that is your take, but I see that alone as a mind swayer.

AMEN!! You are right on Buckeye!

I was going for comfort and handling first, then reliability and then looks and I got all three.

BUCKEYE - 2008-01-18 8:01 PM I will say, it takes us Vision Riders to get out on the road and help sell the product by doing nothing but answering questions. Everywhere I go I'm open to answering the masses. The HD guys will come around. All the guys I ride with have HD. I was the only one in the group to ride my HD regularly (to Work and home with weekend rides), and thus it was in the shop more than anyone elses scoot. When I got the Vision, they all knew why I went with the Victory. The minds of my group have all come around to wanting a Victory for their next scoot, especially when we pull up somewhere, and my bike gets ALL the attention. Lets face it, we all want people to look at and admire what we ride. I was going for reliable first, then looks second. Turns out I got both! I'm 100% Victory now.