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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | I'm just sitting in the airport waiting for a connection and thought I'd share what I just read in the new issue of Motorcyclist mag. They compared the 08's of: Vision, RocketIII, Goldwing and the Ultra Classic. Early on in the article, it was appearant that the Vision and Gold Wing were the only 2 real contenders in the artilce. They opened the Vision's critique with: "The flamboyant Vision stole the show no matter where we were." In the end, they hinted that the Gold Wing was still favored for a straight up tour bike; however, the testers also had this to say about the 08 Vision: "Hands-down, and for every tester but tiny ones, this is the most comfortable touring bike around". The only real complaints they had for the Vision were that the side bags were smaller than they like, the wheel base was longer than usual and the bike lacked ABS. They mentioned that the Ultra Classic couldn't keep up with the pack and the the Rocket III was fast but wasn't well suited for long distance touring. They said the Gold Wing was the only bike with reverse, but it was not missed by any of the testers. They didn't mention any complaints of heat from the engine on the Vision, as I have seen posted several times on this site. Anyway, thought I'd share.
-Will |
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Cruiser
Posts: 294
rhode island | They also gave the H.D FatBob cruiser of the year, guess they gotta spread the love all around.
they also gave tourer of the year to the kawi and runner up to the goldwing....these guy's blow.  If they liked the kawi so much they should have included it in the shoot out!
Edited by sandman 2008-08-14 9:40 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | Yeah, their mag seems kinda hokey. They said they're mentioned the goldwing was favored but didn't really list why. Another article in the same issue mentioned the Concourse as their fav. Another in the same issue names the Versys. Maybe they forgot to mention tour subcatagories or is every other motorcycle considered a "tour" bike. It kinda seemed like they're client fishing to me now that I've read through it all. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| Different bikes different niches. The Kawi is a sport tour so it should have never been in the same shootout with a wing. The Ultra couldn't keep up wth the others???? Ok now I have to question their credibility if that was exactly what they said. 1 second quarter mile difference between the vision and HD.
Don't get me wrong I got off a HD after 10 years to buy my vision, and there are things about the vision that I really like. However it is hardly all that and a bag of chips. There were things the Hd did better and things the vision does better. So at the end of the day shootouts are worthless to the average consumer. Ride them yourself, see what your impressions are and then compare with what you read. Then buy the one that best suites you. At the end of the day there is little between these bikes except personal preference. JMO |
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Cruiser
Posts: 297
VA | Teach, you bring up a good point. The only problem I had was that you usually CAN NOT ride them. I actually rode my buddy's Ultra Classic, and another buddy's BMW before I test rode the Vision. I even brought my buddy with the Ultra Classic with me to test ride the Vision to see what he though compared to his Ultra. He said if his wife wouldn't kill him, he'd bought a Vision too. But that was the absolute great thing about Victory...the demo rides. Harley has some, but they are usually 2 days a year where they have demo bikes. If you miss it, you gotta go rent one to be able to get a good idea of how they ride. Maybe it's different in some areas, but that's how the three dealers in this area all do it. It seems almost absurd to consider spending that much on a bike that you have never reallly ridden. I wouldn't buy a car without a test drive.
The one thing that Victory nailed was test rides. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to try to test ride a Harley and other bikes all within a short time of each other to see which one I liked the best. Though I was leaning towards the Vision anyway, the test ride sealed the deal for me. Harley might want to take a page of out their book since things have slowed down so much. But then, you'd have a lot of yahoos wanting to demo ride just to ride one, and they'd certainly do something stupid to ruin it for everyone. |
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Tourer
Posts: 404
San Antonio, TX United States | Hey there diversarc, sounds like you live around the Hampton Roads area of VA. I know those dealers your talking about. I took my first test ride of the Vision back in Sept of 07 when the truck came through around Gaithers Burg, north of DC. That is what sealed the deal for me as well. I was about to buy the BMW K1200 LT untill Victory introduced the Vision. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 600
Linwood, MI | I think it's more of a dealer thing. Around here the HD dealer and the (ex-) Victory dealer were the only ones that let you have test rides. In fact, my buddy bought his wife a Harley a while back because none of the Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki dealers would let him test ride; only HD allowed him to try the bikes out.
Personally, I think it's a huge business mistake. I realize the dealers have to buy the demo bikes, but, as divesharc said, how can buy any vehicle without taking it for a test ride? |
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Cruiser
Posts: 117
South of Houston Tx | Well there are lot's of things about the motorcycle sales business that stink, that's just one of them. Like why do all of them think they can get away with selling their products at MSRP, you wont go to a car lot and expect to pay MSRP. Since I got my vision my wife has decided to take up riding so we have been shopping for a small bike to get her started. She is in a car sales at a GM dealer and has been for several years, she is appalled at the "I could give a crap less about what you want" attitude of the motorcycle stores. She works on commission and will do whatever it takes to get a deal done, within reason of course, but at the cycle shops, if you don't like what they offer, they apparently don't need your business. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1436
| I have a number of LONG time friends who OWN motorcycle dealerships in my town. They understand the buyers reasoning for wanting to test ride but the liability issue is what stops them for the most part. Without getting into a long debate even the waivers you sign don't relieve liability. This said I was having a discussion with a friend the other day who sells polaris but not victory and I asked him when he'd be picking them up? He said never and proceded to explain how BAD of a reputation Victory has in the dealer community. He said he's be damned before he'd treat his customers the way Victory does. He provided a pretty lengthy explanation, but suffice to say it explained all the constant dealer swappings/closures. This guy has been a Polaris dealer for as long as I can remember and he's considering dropping them as well. His biggest criticism was the constant change in product. He emphasized the importance of improve their product, BUT he said they constantly "redesign" making the previous obsolete which is a problem for customers and dealers. I immediately thought about how the reverse mechanism won't work on the 08 and why... So he has a valid point.
I will say the BIGGEST selling point for me was the rider ergo's. I had been riding a 1999 RoadGlide which I loved, but whose mileage had gotten very high. I ride all over the states and hate to leave anything to chance, so I decided a "newer" bike would lessen the chance for ending up stranded. What I didn't know when I purchased an 07 last summer was Harley had made some rather drastic changes in ergo's of the Rglide since 99. I couldn't get the new bike to fit at all. So within only 9 months of purchasing the RG, I sold and bought the Vision.
Like I said I love the Vision, but I have my days when I'd gladly trade her to get a Road Glide back. Part of that is dealer network, part of it is familiarity. In other words you can't truly KNOW what bike is better "FOR YOU" until you've owned it a few months. Thats the shortcoming with shootouts, everyone gets taken in by shiny bobbles. |
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Tourer
Posts: 562
SC, Bluffton | If I could put my Kawasaki's engine in the vision, and my Goldwing's stock intercom/stereo
& storage in the Vision, the Vision would be everyone's favorite. The close to pefect bike
ain't been made yet. Lucky for the motorcycle magazines I guess.
Edited by g1nomad 2008-08-15 1:34 PM
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Iron Butt
Posts: 742
North Orange County CA | Seems to me that liability is an issue only if the dealer is unwilling to do the appropriate front end stuff. I have rented HDs and Gold Wings in a number of cities and while not all dealers will rent, there is certainly no logical reason that they cannot utilize the same proceedures to handle test rides.
My Victory dealer allowed me to test ride only after securing copies of my insurance, my DL and making me sign waivers, I dont remember if they took a credit card for the rental insurance or not; but it would wouldnt surprise me.
I rode, I bought. My buddy who went in with me did not. If the averages play out, on test rides converted to bike sales the dealers would be nuts not to offer them every day to anyone with the appropriate credentials.
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Sept. Motorcyclist magazine Touring shootout.
