2003 Victory Vegas Reader Feedback
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Nice story. I have only rode two cruisers in my life a Sportser and a Honda Shadow. I share JB's opinion on cruisers in general. However, the Victory Vegas is pretty girl. Love the pictures guys especially the "shimmering pool is somewhat diluted by the parking stripes" shot. Good to see some American competition for HD. If I was going to buy a cruiser I certainly would look at Victory.
My good friend owns a dealership, and one of the brands he sells is Victory. I work there on the weekends, and we recently held the "Polaris National Open House". I had ridden the Vegas demo a few miles, and during the open house I rode it few times around the same course, leading demo rides. It is a VERY nice crusier, and got a lot of positive feedback, about the style, and how nice it rides. I think Victory has it's first (I hope not last!) winner.
I dunno... the styling is definitely good, and it seems to go, stop, and handle like it should from the story, but 15 large is some serious cash for this bike- I could buy a Standard Softail or a Super Glide for a bunch less, not to mention the Japanese competition. I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a bike that won't hold its value. Then again, I'm probably not the customer they're aiming at.
Yeah, You can buy a FXD or FXST for a couple grand less but you'll always be watching the tail lite of the Vegas! Now, invest that couple grand back into the H-D's (for motor enhancement) and you'll be able to stay with the Vegas....unless he installs the Stage 1 or 2 kits.....then it's back to the ole tail lite syndrome again! I'd rather have the Vegas and not have to look at my reflection across the intersection at a stop lite.......The Kid
Finally Victory has a bike with style and substance. Too bad they priced it too aggressively in a down market. What's left of Victory's dealer body has been encouraged to "custom order" each Vegas driving up the price. I believe my local dealer has yet to deliver a new Vegas from his initial shipment last month. To successfully compete against H-D (and others), they need a compelling value story and a stronger dealer organization. Low APR financing and/or accessory credit will go alot further than a free t-shirt. In today's fierce competitive environment you can finance or lease a new luxury car for less than a "good" motorcycle. ie. Jaguar's X-Type is only $279/mo. w/$2800 down. JB, why bother with nasty headbolts -- new is better.
Cap'n is selling Jags to bikers now?
Who gives a hoot what you can lease a Jag for? A gilded cage is still a cage and I have nothing but pity for the air conditioned, Bose stereoed, rich Corinthian leather seated losers who dump $30K, $40K, $50K on a rolling prison cell. I only own a car for trips to the grocery store and rainy days, and I'll never spend more than $5K on one. I'm interested in comparing bikes to bikes and it sounds as though when you consider the Vegas' target market, which is obviously the American-made-or-bust H-D crowd that is used to spending $15-20K for a stock bike, that at least there is now a viable Plan B.
Who gives a hoot what you can lease a Jag for? A gilded cage is still a cage and I have nothing but pity for the air conditioned, Bose stereoed, rich Corinthian leather seated losers who dump $30K, $40K, $50K on a rolling prison cell. I only own a car for trips to the grocery store and rainy days, and I'll never spend more than $5K on one. I'm interested in comparing bikes to bikes and it sounds as though when you consider the Vegas' target market, which is obviously the American-made-or-bust H-D crowd that is used to spending $15-20K for a stock bike, that at least there is now a viable Plan B.
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94 Posts
I also attended the San Mateo show and thought the Vegas was the most compelling new bike there... and this from a guy who's never owned a cruiser-styled bike.
I'm still not a fan of riding with my feet streched out in front of me, but relative to some of the other bikes like this on the market, I thought the pegs were at least a manageable distance forward.
I love the sanitary lines of the bike in person.
I'm still not a fan of riding with my feet streched out in front of me, but relative to some of the other bikes like this on the market, I thought the pegs were at least a manageable distance forward.
I love the sanitary lines of the bike in person.
Joined
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94 Posts
Re: 2003 Victory Engine Paint?
Some of the pictures I've seen of the Vegas show it with a blacked-out engine with polished fins and others, like in this story, show the engin in gray. Do they make the entine in different colors depending on the color of the bodywork or are these all just photos of pre-production bikes and they haven't made up their mind?
Some of the pictures I've seen of the Vegas show it with a blacked-out engine with polished fins and others, like in this story, show the engin in gray. Do they make the entine in different colors depending on the color of the bodywork or are these all just photos of pre-production bikes and they haven't made up their mind?
Eric has to do all the cruiser testing for MO from this day forward, because he has "the look" down cold. Nobody else on the MO staff comes close, so Eric is the lone cruiser wolf at MO. Same with the Victory. It has "the look" down cold, but lacks all the other necessities to make it sell well making it a lonely wolf of a bike. Marketing, dealer support, price, heritage, and name recognition are most of the problems with backup. A nice motorcycle alone won't sell if it doesn't have the rest of the package. Sportbikes sell on numbers. Win at the drag strip, track, or top speed and you have a winner. Cruisers sell on all the intangibles that can't be copied in a factory. Ask any confused Japanese cruiser engineer. The Vegas is the best effort that Polaris has made to date. Sadly, the owners will probably spend more time explaining that it isn't a Harley, than actually explaining how nice it really is, and that's a shame. The bike deserves more support.
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