| You are currently not logged in. Logon or register to access more features. Vision-Riders.com is a FREE service provided by Victory Riders Network. | |
|
| |
 New Rider - New ChallengeJump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] | View previous thread :: View next thread |
| Discussion -> Vision Discussion | Message format |
falcon 269 |
| ||
| Hi everyone, Like the title says, I'm new here and new to the cruiser bike world. Very new. Be gentle with me, please.  I have a challenge ahead of me next week. Quite a big one, in fact. The top-selling UK bike magazine has asked me to fly back to the UK - I live on the south coast of Spain - next Monday to collect a Victory Vision from a dealership in Cambridgeshire, England. On Tuesday, I'm to ride the bike to Calais in France, via the Channel Tunnel, in company with 2 other riders on other bikes. We will stop overnight in Calais and then at 8:00am on Wednesday, we each set off in different directions. The other 2 riders will head for Moscow and Istanbul respectively, while I'm tasked to head south through France and Spain. We are to ride as far as we can within a 24hrs period and then stop at 8:00am on Thursday. After a brief rest/sleep, we're to turn around and head back to Calais aiming to arrive back in the UK by Friday evening/Saturday morning. Obviously we're to write up our experiences on our return and these will be published in a future edition of the magazine. Now, my riding background is sports bikes and sports-tourers. My current ride is a 2002 Yamaha FZ1 which I bought new and to me, it's the absolutely perfect all-rounder. It will tour, scratch, stunt or whatever I want it to do. I've tuned it, modded the suspension and seat and can do 12-14hrs a day with no real difficulty. I have, though, never ridden a big cruiser and the closest I've gotten to it is sitting on one in our local US cruiser import dealership. So, next week is going to be a real challenge and a new experience in every respect. In essence, I will be doing two Ironbutt rides with about 8 - 10hrs break between them. Or, put another way ... fly from my home to the UK; ride back to my home; ride back to the UK; fly back to my home ... all in the space of 6 days.  So, any advice you might care to offer would be greatly appreciated. I'll take it as read that the sane ones will say "stay at home ... don't pass Go" but trust me, if I don't feel safe in the saddle, I'll stop wherever I happen to be at the time and the heck with the mission brief. In particular, what should I be aware of with the bike itself - I'm hoping I have a full dress Tourer but I won't find out until tomorrow - with regards to cruise speeds/fuel consumption/handling and comfort? I'm not a big guy (5' 7" and 160lbs) but I'm not intimidated by the size and weight of any bike. I certainly don't expect to throw it around like the FZ1, that's for sure ... steady as she goes is the intention. Anyway, that's enough from me ... I'm about to turn in and start storing sleep but I hope to awake to some helpful and encouraging replies here in the morning. Cheers and many thanks in anticipation, Mike | |||
| |||
| cjnoho |
| ||
| |||
| SongFan |
| ||
| |||
| autiger2 |
| ||
| |||
| Spock |
| ||
| |||
| GAgirlTrixie |
| ||
| |||
| Breaker |
| ||
| Greetings Falcon, If you're looking for sane people, you might have come to the wrong place. All I could do as I read your post was think, "Oh. . .that sounds like SUCH a good time." I think you'll find the bike extremely comfortable. We, (the wife and I), did a 14 hour tour last week with minimal stops and I can honestly say I've never climbed off a bike feeling better. No soreness, no stiffness - it's just a great ride. With the big floorboards, the ability to change your foot and leg position is extremely beneficial. By pulling your legs all the way back you can get your feet underneath you, more like a dual-sport position, to really hit the curves. You can also stretch your legs all the way out for a more relaxed cruiser position. Other than that, I can't add to what others have said other than to say ride safe, have fun, and be sure to post back here letting us know how it went. | |||
| |||
| badnvegas |
| ||
| |||
| badnvegas |
| ||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| Well, good morning and thank you all for the warm welcome and the encouraging feedback! In reply and in no particular order ... Yes, I am a lucky SOB. I did a comparison road test with the 'Bike' team two years ago (old FZ1 vs new model vs Honda CB1000F), a gig I got because of my long-time association with the original model. That was a blast - literally - around England and northern Scotland and included some hard-riding days. The final day saw us ride nearly 700 miles in total, including numerous stops for photo shoots ... about 16 hours saddle time all told. I guess my endurance was noted. Actually, I think I really got the call because I'm available and cheap. I'm thinking the Vision I'll be taking will be a dealer's demo bike, so hopefully it will have a few extras. Sat nav would be good, but I don't see it listed as an option. No worries, I can read a map and once I'm south of the Pyrennees I'll be on home turf I'm very excited about trying something completely new to me in bikes, especially a large capacity V-twin. I've noted the comments about comfort, handling and fuel consumption - most encouraging. The advice on tyre pressures, shock settings and known technical gremlins is particularly valued and I will certainly give the bike a thorough going over before I set off. Thanks My provisional plan is to hit mostly autoroutes (European SuperSlab  ) on the outbound leg. If you're interested, go to Google maps (http://maps.google.com/) and select Get Directions. Start point: Peterborough, Northamptonshire, UK. Destination: Torrevieja, Spain. It's around 1400 miles each way between the 'Bike' magazine office and my home on the Costa Blanca. I'll route back via Zaragosa, as I hope to have a little more time in hand for the return trip and can take a more scenic route to explore other aspects of the Vision's performance away from pounding straight concrete. A particularly neat feature of the outbound leg is that it will take me over the Millau Bridge in France, the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. It's something I've been planning to visit and now I'm being paid to do it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct I'll pop back here regularly to share my plans and pick your brains until I leave next Monday. I will certainly get back to you with an account of the adventure after the event. Please keep the ideas and advice coming Cheers! Mike Edited by falcon 269 2008-05-22 1:57 AM | |||
| |||
| RedRider |
| ||
| Enjoy your trip. I don't have my Vision yet but I have taken 5 demo rides. The one thing I feel that is important to get used to on all Victorys is using the throttle at slow speeds. Giving her a little gas will make her stand up straight and tall. Take a ride around the parking lot when you first get on and you will see what I mean. Get your feet up and go. Ah yes, I would love to ride along with you guys. Stop at a local street side cafe in Spain for cheese and wine. I can picture the locals coming over asking lots of questions but respecting your space. | |||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| Man from 'Bike' magazine speak with forked tongue Having tempted me onboard with the offer of doing the southbound route through France and Spain (where the sun will be shining), I've now been allocated the Istanbul route. Oh well, I've never been that way before and I can do France easy enough from where I live at any time, so accentuate the positives, eh? The weather forecast isn't too good through Central Europe but the eastern end of things looks better. Istanbul is 1770 miles from Calais, so I will not be getting that far in 24 hours, that's for sure. However, I think Zagreb, Croatia is well within safe range and quite possibly Belgrade, Serbia. Figure around 2300 miles round trip Calais - Belgrade in 3 days, if all works to plan. Of course, no plan survives contact with the enemy (in this case, my navigation and the weather ) but I reckon I'm in for a fun week and I'm really looking forward to trying such a totally different bike to anything I've ever ridden previously. I'm ready for all the questions at fuel stops, but my French/German/Serbo Croat/Italian leaves a lot to be desired. Pics and report to follow on my return ... again, many thanks for the information and confidence-inspiring feedback on the Vision. I'm open to more of the same until I launch from home next Monday morning, so please keep it coming. Cheers! Mike PS. The Moscow-bound guy is on a BMW1200GS and the southbound rider has been given a Kwak ZZR1400 ... somehow I think I got the best deal for this kind of trip. Edited by falcon 269 2008-05-22 4:55 PM | |||
| |||
| SongFan |
| ||
Falcon, The leg with the lousy weather will make you appreciate the Vision even more. The FZ1 is a great bike but you will find yourself comparing it's shortcomings to the Vision when conditions are less than perfect. The power windshield, heated grips, heated seats, huge floorboards, excellent tyres (euro spelling) and cushy seat will have you redefining what the "perfect" bike is. You will surprise yourself on curvy roads. ("No way this thing weighs 850lbs!" The nastier it gets the more you will be amazed. You will need less layers of clothes than you think. You will probably overdress because of previous rides. Don't dress for the "wind chill". There won't be any. You will comfortably ride in 20 degree (F) colder weather than ever before. You won't believe it. | |||
| |||
| autiger2 |
| ||
| Let it rain!!! not much need for rain pants unless you're standing still or it's raining cats and dogs... Oooooh yes... you are going to have an enjoyable ride... | |||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| I like the sound of this bike more and more I love my FZ1 and to me, it's the perfect bike for the sort of riding I do ... very mixed, in other words. I tour on it but know and accept its limitations in that capacity relative to dedicated tourers. Owning one bike that is required to do many things is all about compromise, isn't it? Thankfully, I seem to have drawn exactly the right bike of the three on test for this particular challenge. Living somewhere that enjoys 320 days of sunshine a year, I'm deeply relieved to learn that wind chill and rain will be no real factor under most circumstances. Route planning is taking shape nicely and I hope to learn more about the particular bike I'm taking later today. Catch you all later, too Cheers Mike | |||
| |||
| Miles |
| ||
| |||
| lowtone9 |
| ||
| |||
| lowtone9 |
| ||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| Hi Lowtone, I've checked today and I've been lined up with a Vision Street model. No big top box (no big deal, I'm travelling real light) but no satnav, either. Oh well, I've some old Bomber Command maps that should see me OK through Germany ... I've also spoken to the dealer supplying the bike and asked him specifically to set the shock for my weight and my intended light luggage load. It would be a help if someone could give me an idea of how much can be fitted in the side panniers. I've seen 14.6 galls quoted but how does that translate to stuff like spare lightweight bike jacket/jeans/shoes and a half dozen T-shirts? Oh, and without a satnav, it would be good to have somewhere to put maps and route directions, like the clear panel on a tank bag. Will the Vision take a normal tank bag? Cheers, guys - the countdown continues and the excitement is building nicely Mike | |||
| |||
| space_cwboy |
| ||
| |||
| sandman |
| ||
| Welcome Falcon 269 get a g.p.s even a cheap one is worth it's weight in gold on any trip. keep the rubber side down.  Edited by sandman 2008-05-23 5:38 PM | |||
| |||
| GAgirlTrixie |
| ||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| Thanks all, SC's info on baggage space puts my mind at ease; shoes, no boots will be the plan. The tank bag is clearly a no-go but I'll stow it on the rear seat as Trixie suggests to me a bit extra free space in case I need it. Paper map/directions in dash will do it for me this time but this could well be the trip that persuades me to get a satnav ... Cheers! Mike | |||
| |||
| falcon 269 |
| ||
| |||
| DesertJim |
| ||
| |||
| Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] |
| Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
| Copyright © 2007-2025 Victory Riders Network™ |