Anyone a Victory motorcycle owner?

[curlesw]

I am in the process of buying a motorcycle. I was originally considering the BMW 1150RT but decided to go with the cruiser style. I had pretty much decided on a Yamaha Vstar 1100, decent bike and good price point. Then I looked at the Victory Kingpin…nice! I don’t know much about them and am reading whatever I can find. Does anyone have any experience with them? Good, bad, indifferent? TIA.

V/r
Wayne C.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I was a 2001 V92C owner--but the seat permanently killed my tailbone after a 300 mile ride and I had to sell the bike. Of course I was probably predisposed to this problem and just didn't know it.

Anyway, I still occasionally shed a tear over having to sell that bike. The build quality is top notch, it handled really well, and I personally liked the way it looked (not everyone agreed with me!).

I rode it up to Prescott once via "the twisties" in the mountains up here and the only problem I had was throwing sparks off my floorboards!

[Rot 911]

Don't let a stock seat dissuade you from buying any bike. Many stock bikes have seats that suck. That is why there are so many after market seat manufacturers.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

The seat was quite comfortable for short trips--but the first long trip (>150 miles) with an entire half day in the saddle put me over the edge into coccydynia. There was no warning whatsoever.

I actually bought a Mustang seat after the problem arose, to no avail. Tried some homebrew seat mods. No dice.

So I sold it.

[curlesw]

thanks blue, that was the same response I received from someone else. I really like the styling but the seat on the Yamaha is VERY comfortable. However, they are a dime a dozen and the Victory is unique...going to ride the Victory next week...decisions, decisions, decisions.

Wayne C.

[Rot 911]

Mustang would not be one of the better aftermarket seats for comfort. Try one of the better ones like Corbin. Here is the selection they have for the Victory: http://www.corbin.com/polaris_victory/

In addition you lucky bastards in CA can actually go to the factory and they will make a custom seat for you!

[pbs911]

I'm sure the Victory is a nice bike. . . but

Would you drive a car that looks like someone took extreme efforts to look like a Porsche? (I know the answer. This is a Porsche site. ) Then why by a bike someone took extreme efforts to look like a Harley?

[curlesw]

Originally posted by pbs911
Would you drive a car that looks like someone took extreme efforts to look like a Porsche? (I know the answer. This is a Porsche site. ) Then why by a bike someone took extreme efforts to look like a Harley?

Have not really thought of it from that perspective. I don't have an appreciation of HDs like I do Porsches, maybe I should. It's been 12 years since my last bike, just looking for something fun/comfortable (first) and maybe something different (second) if it's not too expensive. I see HDs everywhere, don't see to many Victory's...not sure why, still a newbie in this area. Thanks.

Wayne C.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

Speaking of independent motorcycle companies, if you build a custom bike, how do you go about getting it titled?

[nostatic]

i don't get cruisers...

[vash]

you're young.

i went on a road trip once. me on a sportbike and my friend on a cruiser. every 100 miles or so, we would switch bikes. and damn, that first sit-down, didnt matter which bike, would feel so friggen good.

i get cruisers more than i get the harleys. "HONEY! get out the harley headband, tshirt, boots, beltbuckle, helmet, gloves, jeans, chaps, boxer shorts, socks, opps! sleeveless tshirt, to show off harley tattoo, harley wristwatch, pinkey ring, sunglasses, scarf......we are going to STARBUCKS!"

[BlueSkyJaunte]

LOL. We call those guys "chromosexual".

Anyway, Kurt, at the time the Corbin seat was something like $1100, and good luck getting Corbin to respond. At the time they were having SERIOUS customer service issues.

The Mustang for the Vic had gotten rave reviews amongst the Vic cognoscenti. After the initial injury, the problem wasn't the seat--it was the whole geometry of the bike. The mods that would've been required to make it tolerable for my tailbone would've cost me 1/2 the price of the bike.

It's why I'm building a shovelhead-based rigid to my own specs.

Now FWIW, Harley did not invent the aircooled v-twin motorcycle. They have simply become the American stereotype of the v-twin cruiser through a combination of extremely good luck and the wannabe factor.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

BTW: http://www.thevmc.com/start.html

[Steve Carlton]

Everything I've read about Victory, especially the Vegas, has been very positive. I think Victory has improved quite a bit since they came out, and being owned by Polaris insures their stability.

I don't think you'd be considered a step down from Harley. Personally, I'd prefer to avoid all the Harley baggage.

I like the 8-Ball:

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte
LOL. We call those guys "chromosexual".

Last Sunday there were two HD guys at our local Starbucks who were busy sipping their lattes and detailing their bikes right there on the sidewalk.

[RickM]

Originally posted by Steve Carlton

I like the 8-Ball:

Hopefully others will as well when it comes time to sell.