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Victory-HD

42K views 148 replies 45 participants last post by  Tiwodogis 
#1 ·
I'm a new guy here and I'm not trying to start bashing of any sort, but I have read several threads where people have said goodbye to HD and went to Victory, and vice versa.
I want to know for those of you that made the jump, how many went back to and why.
Thanks, Willy
 
#112 ·
Interesting to read back on them. Seeing how with Motley fools money and press behind them Victory put HD out of business.
Oh wait that did not work as planned. Motley Fool is still pushing a lot of bad Hd press. They don't mention Victory anymore.
HD's last days may be coming someday , but it won't be at Victory's hand.
 
#113 · (Edited)
I got a 2002 Touring Cruiser and went back to Harley. The VIctory was junk. Later ones looked like Bozo the Clown.

Victory was mismanaged, poorly designed, bad looking, wrongly motivated from the git go and thereafter.

IMO Polaris never had any soul for motorcycles. IMO Still don't.

Here's a photo of my Victory Vegas Signature Series Crapshot:
 

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#116 ·
Have you ridden a new Indian? They're really not that bad. Getting better every year. They developed new motors for the Scout and the Big Twins. They didn't just slap a Victory motor in it. At least they didn't just slap the name on a Vic, like Kawasaki before them.

If the aftermarket gets better, I might end up buying one as my next bike.

I'm actually pretty sad they dumped the Victory line. I like my friend's Gunner. A few mods would have made it very daily ridable. I really wanted a Cross Country Tour, but was worried about resale after I had it paid off. Might still buy one used, if Lloydz sticks around.



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#134 ·
I owned four victory motorcycles. A Vegas 8-Ball, Boardwalk, Judge, and a Gunner.

Got them all "leftover" and for cheap, and the $1,000 Veteran discount on top of all of it.

Aftermarket accessories were very expensive, extremely limited, or non-existent. And mostly UGLY.

Had to fabricate backrests, sissy bars, rear racks, etc..... Make modified mounts so that something other than a OEM $$$$ Victory windshield fit the damned things.

And more.

I am not surprised that the Victory line is closed.

I got reasonable $$$ when I sold each one - owing to deep discount of the original purchase price. The last one got sold just a month before they made the announcement. I got lucky, there.

Our local service manager hates Polaris. :laugh:
They have issues getting parts and warranty work.

Last time I was there - a Slingshot had a nasty transmission leak - and there was another - a snapped-in-half Slingshot swingarm on the work bench.

Then they were talking about some of the Razors catching fire.

Yikes !

There are lawsuits - to be sure. I can't help but wonder if any of this had to do with dropping the Victory line because of cash flow.
 
#135 ·
I've wonder how long it will be before Polaris drops the Indian line, or if it will. I've only seen a hand full of Indians on the road around here.

Would it be a good move for HD to pick up the ***** line of bikes??
 
#136 ·
Enough haters of HD around to sell some Indians to those that can afford them. I Saw a 2017 Indian traded in at HD dealership two weeks ago. Indian sales are up 16% but that's not hard to do when you start at zero.
I made the mistake of buying a Polaris ATV in 2013. From day one it did not run right Of course Polaris basically said warranty does not cover that.
Son in law and a friend of his both have Polaris 4 wheeler's the bigger ones . Both have blown engines and are not that old.
Polaris seems to claim they were not meant for off road use.
Seems water and mud can enter intake. funny dealer already had a full parts list of what was need to rebuild it. Seems they seen it often.
Warranty issue was one of the major problems Victory had.
 
#137 ·
Can't stand the looks of any Victory bikes. I do like their engine designs but the bikes themselves just dont tickle my fancy. I'd never buy a new bike it isn't something I've ever done or will do. I search for older ones with certain features that I like. Reason i have an 01 for the forged steel crank, bearings and tighter crank run out spec. Might not matter to some but to me it does . I wouldn't buy a used Victory either they just have no appeal to me in any way shape or form. A lot of Harley bashers yes but I do all of my own work so it's therapy and self gratification for me working on my ride. Harley has the look, feel and sound and suits me well. An older Indian would work as well but that's about it for my choice in bikes. I prefer old school kick start or earlier but as I get older creature comforts are nice. Anyway that's how I feel about the subject...

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#139 ·
Went past a few Victory/Polaris/ we sell anything dealers on this last trip.
Signs say Make offer
Half price on new motorcycles
Make offer
We finance anyone
Motoly Fool is cranking out the HD hate spam as fast as they can. Hoping Indian recovers what they lost on Victory. Polaris still sucks.
Son inlaw and a friend have the same Polaris ATV side by sides. Both blown engines. Almost new. Polaris response. Don't go off road with them your fault. No warranty.
 
#142 ·
The boomer customer base are dying of old age and already have full garages. Ugly chopper-fad styling sold Victorys until the Recession smashed a lot of old guy toy budgets. Those same guys will be dead in a few years and pedestrians before then.

HD will survive but I'd love to see someone like John Bloor take it over. Bloor did an epic job rescuing Triumph from the dead while producing profitable sport bikes (Harley are congenitally incompetent at diversification and their failure list is long and distinguished) and legacy machine based on the 6T and Bonneville styling. The current marketroids piddling with electric bikes will IMO be early adopters just in time to get steamrollered by EV tech progress. Maybe they'll have speakers playing Panhead exhaust notes for the cosplayer market.
 
#145 ·
On our trip to TN and back unoffical results. Saw two Indians one was on a trailer.
Saw about 5 Victory's . A lot of HD and BMW's . Fair share of Honda's. A lot of CanAm spiders. A bunch of Polaris Slingshots but Betting they were mostly rentals from the area.
 
#147 ·
My 2017 Indian has been totaled and was a Decent Ride .. Only good thing to come out of it was a postal Truck is at fault for it's destruction .. With their offers so far which have refused will definitely have some extra cash to to 95" my 05 Dyna 88" so starting on it but meanwhile want something to ride and as ugly as some think the Victory is I decided to take this 2011 Victory Cross Country Garage Queen with 21,000 Miles for the reliability factor so won't be without a Ride as going to take time doing the Dyna .. Took for a 114 mile ride and ran perfect.. Being no stranger to Victory having owned a 2012 Cross Country that gave me 80,000 Trouble Free Miles not the least bit worried about having something Reliable and even if do have an issue or two I have one of the Best Victory /Wrencher/Builders in the Country 20 miles away from me .. For the price I got this almost 9 year old Victory think was a good choice .. Was considering a Beautiful 2016 Road King for 15,000 but got this Victory for less than half that .. At my age and income to my eyes and thinking was the better choice to have the money I need to make this 95" done the right way without having to be in a rush to get back riding .. Rode it 114 miles yesterday and Rode just as good as any new one I ever tested and tested many .. If decide I don't want to keep the Victory should get most if not all my money back for it .. Not asking anyone to agree but I thought this was the Right Option for me ..
 

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#148 ·
jay just because your insurance and you settle on a price does not mean you can not go after The fault party for what you feel the bike should have been worth. Simple thing many forget It is about making you whole. Were you were before the crash.
 
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