Decisions, decisions, decisions.

[gearheadfla]

I been getting a growing itch to add another bike to the stable, well today Lori and I went for a little ride to a couple dealerships. Of course we went to Kawasaki first and found this sweet 2013 1700 winking at us from across the room.

And a price tag that wasn't real heavy I think.

I'm thinkin if I show up with a bag full of cash, I could get those small print add on's I hate so much to disappear.
After talking to a salesman that really didn't seem to know much about the bike (I know more about it just from reading the forums here) we went up to my friends Victory dealership (it helpsto know people in high places) lol and found this ride.

A 2013 Victory Vision Special Edition ( another name for a two tone paint job) lol. It's sticker is $21.999 and that's before the "I'm buddy's with the owner" talks start. The reason I'm sorta leaning toward the Vision is last month I helped out with some Victory test rides and got to put on a couple hundred mile on a Vision, granted, I would have to get use to the way it looks (not my Favorite bike to look at) BUT, this thing rides like no other bike I have ever rode. My 6'3" 280lb frame was VERY comfy on it. The 1700 V-Twin had lots of power and didn't shake my teeth out. On board air compressor for the forks and shocks, elect adjustable windshield went from a shorty to a I'm looking through it at the touch of a button, sound system rivals the one in my car,cruise control, heated grips and seats, E-3 radials
and a 6 speed trans, but I don't know when you would ever use 6th gear, on our test rides we twisted them up to 90 at on point and it didn't mind doing it in 5th at all, so this would be a highway cruising masterpiece I think, it weighs in at 900 lbs but was well balanced and handled great. The only draw back I could find was the trans shifted with a LOUD clunk in every gear, but it was a solid shift too, and sorry but it is just UGLY in my opinion, but then again you can't really see it when your riding. lol OH did I mention the 6 disc C.D. player tucked away in the trunk? I really wish Kaw offered test rides that you could take it out in the real world like Victory does so I could put a couple hundred miles on a 1700 so I wasn't pulled to the Victory so much. Can some of you 1700 owners please chime in with your good and bads of the 1700. I'm not worried about the finance side of it as this will be a cash deal, more about the warranty issues you may have had and the fight at the dealers to get it fixed.

[gearheadfla]

I have no idea why those links showed up in that post.

[gearheadfla]

Now it's really getting tough, my buddy just called and said he would give me a free two year extension on the warranty, that's 5 years unlimited miles on the Victory.

[mountainman]

Must be a spring is coming soon thing! I was looking at a new wing today. I looked at a Vision once when our dealer here carried them. Only two things that I didn't like, not liquid cooled and saddle bag space didn't seem like they were very big. Dealer wanted me to ride it but I didn't, he said you will love it everyone that rides it does. The looks are different but you would get used to that in a short while.

[Mr Jensee]

So what is so wrong with the Victory's looks? It looks like the Voyager should have! Awesome in Red. I don't know what you're confused about.

[ttowdaddy]

Jim,
Don't know if you considered the Victory Cross Country Tour. It doesn't have the adjustable windshield but looks a lot better (IMO).

Rick in Orlando

[tinsailor]

I had put a lot of study on the Vic's a little while back because it was on the short list of possibles. They seem to be really well built bikes that require a minimal amount of maintenance. I rode a Cross Country demo at the local dealer and was impressed with it. Read up on their owners group forum and you don't see a lot of problems with em. Most of em are talkin about chrome and farkles and stuff like that, not many mechanical issues or desisn flaws. Ya dont have to do much to them, oil and filters, tires "Gold Wing size" and brakes and thats about it.And it goes without saying it is American made if thats important to you but so is my XII. I just thought it was a bit more than I wanted to spend on a bike so I got me a Voyager XII instead and have been mighty happy with it. You probably wouldn't be disappointed.

[gearheadfla]

I did spend some time on the Cross Country too, it is a great bike also but I found the Vision "fit" me better, I'm a big ole boy. Another thing I liked about both of them is the floor board are long enough that there is plenty of room to move your feet around on long trips. Now my XII IS NOT going anywhere, just will have company in the stable, it's a great bike and a part of my family. Given time I could get use to looking at the Vision, it just looks different from any other bike out there, maybe that's a good thing.

[Mr Jensee]

Look at this thing Jim. It looks like a 21st Century motorcycle. You want something that turns heads, is totally different and shouts individualality. This is the machine. Isn't that what you liked about the XII?

[gearheadfla]

Here's a couple shots of a naked Vision (does that sound right?) very different frame design.

One thing among many I found interesting is the air box is the top frame rail, the air filter is located right behind the headlight, good for cool air induction.

The gas tank is located way up front and high. but it rode very balanced and handled like a 500 lb bike. It is also designed not to fall over even if you kick the stand out from under it. it goes over on some brackets and just sets there. no damage, someone my buddy Jim was riding with had to dump to avoid a car, he came off the bike and it spun around about three times on the brackets and never went all the way over, he just stood the bike back up and rode away, a can of black spray paint later to the under side and it was good as new.
http://youtu.be/aAxnSk94Wec

[jn1200]

The new voyager is so overpriced for what you get.. Boring V twin

If you plan to spend that much, you might as well get the best touring bike made-- a Goldwing . 10 times the bike.

I saw a 04 with 17,000 on it for $12,500 at a dealer Very tempting.

Winter is a great time to look at bikes.

[gearheadfla]

The new voyager is so overpriced for what you get.. Boring V twin

If you plan to spend that much, you might as well get the best touring bike made-- a Goldwing . 10 times the bike.

I saw a 04 with 17,000 on it for $12,500 at a dealer Very tempting.

Winter is a great time to look at bikes.

I have looked at a 2012 Wing, but with all the toys I would want it cost more quite a bit than the Victory, then add in the "I'm friends with the dealership owner price that he ask me not to tell" and the FREE 5 year unlimited mile warranty, that I know Honda or Kaw won't give me it's real hard to walk away, now the hardest part is getting off the wallet in these times. Gotta check Ins. prices now, in Florida motorcycles are not required to carry any, but with a 20k machine that is just stupid.

[Gator Mike]

Look at this thing Jim. It looks like a 21st Century motorcycle. You want something that turns heads, is totally different and shouts individualality. This is the machine. Isn't that what you liked about the XII?

Sent the pix Mr Jensee posted to my daughter in Colorado. Her comment: "Looks like the unwitting child of a chrotch rocket and a touring bike." Her next comment: "If you want people to notice you, this will get it done." ..............Gator Mike

[David (N. Alabama)]

The new voyager is so overpriced for what you get.. Boring V twin

If you plan to spend that much, you might as well get the best touring bike made-- a Goldwing . 10 times the bike.

I saw a 04 with 17,000 on it for $12,500 at a dealer Very tempting.

Winter is a great time to look at bikes.

I tested out the wing before I bought the Voyager. It just didn't do it for me. I guess that is why they make so many different bikes. Talk about overpriced. The Honda touring bikes in general are way overpriced for a plastic motorcycle.

The Hondas require a couple thousand in improvements if you are a heavy guy or ride it hard. suspension and seat improvements alone for that $2k.

The Victories have the highest cargo capacity so they are better for larger riders.

The Vision out handles the Cross Tour by a wide margin. Saw a guy do 12' circles on the Vision.

I have seen 2010 Voyagers with under 10,000 miles on them for under $12,000.

[gearheadfla]

The new voyager is so overpriced for what you get.. Boring V twin

If you plan to spend that much, you might as well get the best touring bike made-- a Goldwing . 10 times the bike.

I saw a 04 with 17,000 on it for $12,500 at a dealer Very tempting.

Winter is a great time to look at bikes.

I tested out the wing before I bought the Voyager. It just didn't do it for me. I guess that is why they make so many different bikes. Talk about overpriced. The Honda touring bikes in general are way overpriced for a plastic motorcycle.

The Hondas require a couple thousand in improvements if you are a heavy guy or ride it hard. suspension and seat improvements alone for that $2k.

The Victories have the highest cargo capacity so they are better for larger riders.

The Vision out handles the Cross Tour by a wide margin. Saw a guy do 12' circles on the Vision.

I have seen 2010 Voyagers with under 10,000 miles on them for under $12,000.

The Vision did out handle the Cross Country big time, I rode both on the test rides, and it just fit me better. The Wing does look "cramped" for my body size, Haven't had any time on the Kaw 1700, the dealer here didn't even want me to sit on it on the showroom, had it packed in too tight with the other bikes to even walk between them and wasn't really interested in even moving it out for me, I hate this dealer and always have (30 years of trying to deal with them) and it probally cost Kaw yet another sale, I'm going to try the Dealer in the town south of me this weekend. But so far I'm having a real hard time walking away from the Vision. Just because of the way the Kaw/Honda dealer has treated me through the whole thing, all I want to do is give them a bag full of money. P.S. After reading this I have to edit and add, Kawasaki Corp themselfs have not done anything AT ALL WRONG, LOVE MY XII but the Dealer itself I don't like.
I asked the saleman, "Does it have KAMS? (2013 they all do) He said "what's that? I asked "is it ABS?" He didn't know, I was pulling on the Pass back rest pad, it seemed loose to me, he said, "they are all like that so it don't damage the paint under it" REALLY?

[Me Again]

I asked the saleman, "Does it have KAMS? (2013 they all do) He said "what's that? I asked "is it ABS?" He didn't know, I was pulling on the Pass back rest pad, it seemed loose to me, he said, "they are all like that so it don't damage the paint under it" REALLY?

[biggersm]

I will agree that most people over 6 foot feel a little cramped on a Wing. Our Wing is still stock from a suspension standpoint and it rides better than our XII did (and our XII had Progressive Springs up front and shocks in back). I get a little annoyed in 20-30 mile corners when the handlebars shake but otherwise I don't expect sport bike handling from such a heavy bike (however faster corners are smooth again, I guess the gyroscope effect of the wheels is in full effect at higher speeds). Some Wing riders have too much money and will spend several thousand for the full blown Traxxion setup. We might try roller bearings out and put a fork brace on just to experiment but it is not high on our list of concerns.

Since you and Lori ride two up so often and plan to tour I would look at load ratings. This is from memory but the Voyager 1700 has about a 379 pound rating, the wing a 410 pound rating and I would have to look up all the other ratings. One thing that concerns me about the Victory bikes, the Voyager 1700 and all the Harleys is the belt drive. I had a friend break a belt once on his HD when we were on a ride (I will admit that he was a MSF instructor and used his Road King on the course and was constantly dragging footboards and otherwise abused that bike). Usually a shaft drive will give a little warning before leaving you on the side of the road.

The list below is some of my thoughts from three years ago when we were at a similar crossroads. A great deal has changed since then but we went with the Wing primarily for economic reasons, in other words we got 2008 Wing in 2010 that only had 4 miles on the odometer and was $4,600 under MSRP (they were expecting a brand new Wing about that time; certainly everyone was surprised at the slight change to the same bike as they had in 2001). We also got a .99% APR. About the same time Kawasaki was offering a $ off per cc and 4.99% interest (a pretty good deal in it's own right). By the way we get 35-40 MPG on the Wing and the Wing has a 6.6 gallon tank). Anyway enjoy our thought process from a few years ago.

Kawasaki Voyager 1700
The Good
1. The least expensive way to get into a luxury touring motorcycle
2. Up to date technology for the 21st Century
3. We are already involved with the AVA
The Bad
1. We know about many of the problems (but this may be because we are already in the AVA)
2. Not a big fan of the local dealer (who ironically just became the only dealer within an hour of the house)

Honda Goldwing
The Good
1. Marcia likes it
2. Smooth is nice
3. That engine is fun to play with
4. Great sound system
The Bad
1. Gas Mileage
2. Very expensive
3. Not a big fan of the local dealer (who ironically just became the only dealer within an hour of the house)
4. Side bags open to the side

Harley Davidson Electra or Ultra
The Good
1. The Electra with a 96 c.i. engine can be bought new for less than $20K (more $ for a 2010 Ultra)
2. Simple design, no worry about things like water pump going out
3. Accessories galore
The Bad
1. Harley folks tend to be parochial and narrow minded

Victory Vision
The Good
1. Nothing else like it around
The Bad
1. Dealer network is smaller
2. Rather expensive

Yamaha Venture
The Good
1. Second cheapest way to get into a luxury touring motorcycle and better accessorized for the price, still less than $20K
2. It has been around for a while, parts are available
The Bad
1. No tachometer
2. Not a big fan of the style (especially the dash)
3. Old technology

BMW K1200
The Good
1. The sport bike of Luxury Touring motorcycles
The Bad
1. No dealer in the immediate area
2. Expensive

[gearheadfla]

Well I heard the 90% of Harley's are still on the road, the other 10% made it home. I don't want to bash my friends I ride with down here, but on our trip to the Cherry Pocket a couple weekends ago, 2 out of 4 of the Harley's didn't make it home. JS. I really don't mind the drive belt, as you know I am high on maintenance and ALWAYS tinkering with my bikes, I'm thinking it's a sickness and I may need a support group soon. The Victory will come with a free 5 year warranty with unlimited miles,I am long time friends with the dealership owner and the price he offered is right at the 1700 price but I can't tell anyone that so don't read what I just said (it's good to know people), Don't get me wrong, I like the Wings, but you've seen me, will I fit on your bike and then put Lori on it too? Granted I could haul her in the saddle bag. lol I really like the Kaw 1700, but the dealer here just plain sucks, I'm going to go to another Kaw dealer next weekend and check one out there. When it comes down to it I really don't need a big long haul bike, I have one now that ain't going anywhere and it still only has 17k on it, and I'd bet my life that I couldn't get any better service for it if needed than a man that's just 2 hours away from my house.

[biggersm]

Some have commented on the rather unique looks of the Victories. I guess we could get used to the idea but this is how someone from a different forum views the Victory look.

[David (N. Alabama)]

My favorite Vision.

Arlen Ness edition