Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | I like to poke around other Forums to see what they are saying about the Vision and just to get a feel of the motorcycling community in general. This is a post from HDForums.com. There are 64 pages of replies on this one subject. I get the feeling that this may be the last straw for a lot of these guys, especially since they are not talking about Sportster 883's here. The thought of what these guy are having to put with makes me want to puke. If you know one, be nice. If you are one, my condolences. Seriously. http://www.hdforums.com/m_654370/tm.htm |
Puddle Jumper
Posts: 14
| I feel bad for the guys, too, but quite a few of those of us who own 1999-2001 Victory Motorcycles also had to deal with a faulty transmission. I was lucky enough to have it happen in my extended warranty period...but many of those guys who only put 1000-2000 miles on a year (that has been me lately, but I used to get 15-18K a year) are walking into a potential need for a transmission in the coming years. Yes, Victory is currently offering a discount on parts to those folks, but the cost of labor is still there.
Not that I want to re-hash that topic, but I want to make the point that it happened to Victory as well, and I've even heard of a few Kawasaki 1500s and 1600s that have similar (or other) problems. Basically, if the local dealer treats the rider correctly through these issues, chances are the customer will stay. In the case of H-D, I know too many people that won't even consider owning something else...it's that American "Mystique," and you know what? It's their money. So I'm okay with that. There will be a percentage of open-minded folks, but at the same time, I'd say a majority of "H-D only" out there. So they'll fix their bikes, or buy a new model.
Victory, with the models after the TC, has been targeting the individuals with open minds, as well as riders from other brands who would like to support an American option in the motorcycling world, without having to give into the H-D dominance. And it's working.
So, again, I feel for these guys with the Ultra problem, but I've been there, too. |
Visionary
Posts: 3204
Memphis | I know a lot of guys feel like I'm slamming H-D with some of the stuff I write but it's really not the case. I know there are a lot of Goldwing riders who were considering a class action lawsuit because of a front end wobble. My best friend had a BMW R1200CL that pulled so hard to the right that he had to put 22lbs of ballast in the left saddlebag to compensate and he could never take his hands off the grips. BMW denied there was a problem. Every bike company has it's issues, including Victory. I just feel like they are really committed to getting the Vision as right as humanly possible. This is the Alpha Bike of their line-up and it is one of the most high profile releases in american motorcyle history. They are extremely proud of their J. D. Power rating (rightfully so) and the feedback they get from us as new owners can make or break that rating. I will hold them accountable and I think they want that. My beef with H-D is the arrogance they have. It carries over to their relationship with their most faithful buyers. We all have stories of people we know who have had to put up with shoddy workmanship and terrible customer service just to own an american made bike. H-D has had 105 years to make the best bikes in the world but they don't. If their quality lived up to their marketing I would have had one 20 years ago. Victory has been around 9 years and has learned it's lessons in a hurry. To you guys who have been Victory owners since the early days, hats off. I know what your motivation was. Thanks to your perseverence and loyalty plus the desire of Victory to put together a world class management/design/engineering team we are now looking at a young company who is really trying to make a mark for the better. I appreciate the option to choose now. May the best bikes win. |
A Wave of New Buyers
