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Going to pick up a new bike...

10K views 84 replies 24 participants last post by  Walrus 
#1 ·
Yep a 2013 Victory Vision. Found one for a really good price, so why not. >:) Only thing is it's in Arkansas. Going to do a fly and ride.

I rode one a few years ago, and was really impressed with the ergos. The 18" floorboards I think will be more comfy for my knees. I can ride with my legs fully extended, or on my balls of my feet, all without highway pegs. My knees never been happy on the wing. The real bummer for me, is the motor is a let down compared to the wing. If I like the ride home, I'll do cams, airbox/intake, Power Commander before spring. Now of days, air cooled bikes have relatively low lift/short duration cams in them from the factory, to please the EPA. You can get the Victorys up over 100 HP/TQ at the rear wheel, fairly easy.

So I'm going to be flying to Little Rock, AR tomorow. Plane leaves @ 0600. Should be interesting, gotta fly into Chicago and have a two hour layover. Plane will be touching down in Little Rock at noon. I haven't flown since 9/11, so I'm still a TSA virgin. I hope I get someone with small fingers. Maybe an Asian lady........:wink2:

Guy I'm buying the bike from is picking me up from the airport. He lives about 30 miles North of Little Rock. So the plan is, get the bike and make my way home Saturday, find a hotel then ride the rest of the way Sunday.

I'll have SPOT on when I get the bike. I'll post up some pics, shouldn't be too exciting. Probably just going to run I-35 home.

BTW Don't worry, I'll be keeping the wing. Spike won't let me sell it. Darn. :lol:
 
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#7 · (Edited)
Will do Murf. Thanks!

Keep us posted, some here like the Vision and would love to get your thoughts.
It'll be interesting to say the least, I never thought I'd own anything Polaris. Never been a big fan of anything that they made. I do like the Vision though, it looks so different than any of the HDs or HD clones, but I do admit it took me awhile to warm up to the looks.

More is better :wink2:
Safe travels and I will be spot watching .
Got room for it ?? Or I could be talked into cop bike of yours :smile2:
I will be safe, it's a new to me bike so I will be taking it easy. No Escort RD either, that's a must on the interstate if you're going to be naughty. Going to take all my gear on the plane. It is getting tight in the garage, going to try to do a Spring cleaning next year....but I been saying that for a few years now.

Wow i am quite surprised and wondering what's next on the Walrus list !!! Wonder if epa will be going after Victory like they did Harley ?
Ha! Yeah, I'm wondering that also. :lol:

I think Victory is safe, on the EPA getting after them. I think what got HD in trouble was their Race Tuners and Race Fuelers that was manufactured by HD. HD's Race Tuner actually allowed access to the ECU itself. The Race Fueler was a "piggyback device" that plugs in between the fuel injectors and the ECU. Victory doesn't have such items available. If you want to engine mods, you have to rely on aftermarket for a fuel injection "piggyback" tuner, such as Dynojet's Power Commander. Even if Victory had made tuners, I don't think there's $enough$ Victorys out there to make trouble for them.
 
#4 ·
More is better :wink2:
Safe travels and I will be spot watching .
Got room for it ?? Or I could be talked into cop bike of yours :smile2:
 
#10 ·
Thanks Allen. Same size tire front and back of the Vision as the Wing. So yep it'll be going Darkside. BS709 up front, don't know what I'll put on the back. It has new E4s on it now. I never met a Dunlop that I liked, but we'll see how they do. I'm going to try to wear them out.

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#9 ·
Congrats on your new ride! Looks like the weather is gonna hold for ya, So have a FUN, safe ride home.

I've always said that if Fred Flintstone & George Jetson got together & designed a motorcycle it would be the Victory Vision.
 
#15 ·
Congrats Don............ I think you will like the Vision. A friend of mine has the Arlen Ness blacked out Vision.
We have rode down to AR a few times and that bike really handle nice. Russ ....June's brother has done the cams and a bunch of stuff on his Cross Country. Now he love how the bike pull on the CC. Don't forget you have a place to stay on your as back. Just give me a call.


Lee
 
#19 ·
Good to know Lee. I talked to Russ a little at SCR. Too bad you gotta pull the motor out, to do a top end on the Vision. Otherwise I'd think about doing big bore and 11 to 1 pistons, if I really like the bike. Thanks for the place to stay option.



Here's Chicago. Landed in the dark, the city lights go for as far as I could see.



Sidi, TSA approved footwear.

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#16 ·
So what will that bring the stable count to now, 5?

Be safe buddy.
 
#41 ·
Yup, five. Dang George, you're worse than Spike. :wink2:

Running bikes- 2013 Vision, 2008 wing, 2012 ZX-14
Non runners- 2002 KZ1000p, 2004 YZ450f

Did I read somewhere that someone rode 'round the world on the Vision? Oh well, I apparently didn't get many facts, did I? Congrats on the find.
I remember that around the world deal several years back, now that you mention it.

The bag is a Saddlemen BR4100, it was made for Harley's but they fit very well on a Wing and other bikes. Myself and BobWaldie have them.
Are they waterproof, or do they have a rain cover. I haven't searched the bag to see all what was in it.

My buddy has one identical, the trunk comes off relatively easily and makes a sportier looking ride :) Still has a hard time keeping up with the "Wing" :)
Mine won't... by spring. >:)

Happy to see you made it home safely Don. Tell us about your new ride when you have a chance. (Dad)
Will do I did a mini review a few years ago when I test rode one. I'll do a more through one, once I get a few more miles on it.
 
#18 ·
Wow I hope he is not on that plane. The wing is bent....LOL
 
#20 ·
Land vehicle Vehicle Motor vehicle Motorcycle Mode of transport


Got the bike. Spot batteries are dead I'll get some before I take off in the morning. Note to self, don't ride into Fayetteville during a Razorbacks game. Eating tacos at some taco stand with the most white people, I ever seen working in a Mexican restaurant.


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#22 ·
View attachment 157385

Got the bike. Spot batteries are dead I'll get some before I take off in the morning. Note to self, don't ride into Fayetteville during a Razorbacks game. Eating tacos at some taco stand with the most white people, I ever seen working in a Mexican restaurant.


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That's a very nice looking ride! :thumbup:You should have great weather riding back. It was 74 here today and tomorrow looks to be great as well, 70's. Tons of bikes out on the road today. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of them.:frown2::doorag:
 
#26 ·
I believe so, according to the guy I bought the bike from. It's a Saddlemen bag. Pretty good deal, he threw in a Victory modular helmet that looks like new. A 3/4 Bell, that's well....not so new. Service manual, and nice pair of Victory gloves. Bike has a few nice accessories as well, heated Corbin with driver backrest, a well thought out heel shifter (that's not in the way for a change) and lower wings.

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#28 ·
Like Spike said, interesting day yesterday. Getting ready to pull out of here. Gotta find some Allen wrenches for the Corbin backrest. Get gas, and some batteries for SPOT. Check air pressure, rear tire feels low. Didn't check it yesterday. Found a tire gauge in the Victory "tool kit".

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#35 · (Edited)
Bummer, I could've used a escort. :thumbup: Welcome to the forum! Every year there's two AR forum ride ins, one at Harrison, the other in Rogers. I been to both of them. Good time, good people.

Anyways, I had quite the adventure! Made it home last night, about 6:30pm.

I was pretty nervous, before I got on the plane in Minneapolis. While I was waiting for my first flight, I seen a little girl about two years old saying, "I'm going on a airplane!" By gosh, I figured if she can do it I can too! :p

At the O'hare airport when I was bored and taking pictures of my boots trying to kill the two hour layover, I talked to a nice lady. She was a nurse and just got out of a three day Diabetes seminar. Her and hubby both had their pilot's licence. I asked if she was flying the plane going to Little Rock. She was on my flight, but she was one of the passengers. Oh, I wish I would've taken a picture of the Harley Davidson store in the airport. Unreal! I was thinking of getting a shirt for Murf. :grin2:

Called the bike owner Tim when I landed in Little Rock. He was already waiting. Got my big blue Seal Bag with my Motoport and Arai in it. Not another piece of luggage like it, easy to find on the conveyor. :grin2: Got in his four door F350 dually. He had a buddy with, he introduced me. He wouldn't let me pay for parking. We got back to his place a little before 1pm. He lived about a half hour north of Little Rock. He introduced me to his two little grandsons and his wife. I took the bike for a little ride, ran it thru the gears. Got back and told him it's sold. Gave him the check, he signed the title. Done deal. Right? Nope! He said I have to stay and have a bowl of homemade chicken soup his wife was making. She said it was an old Swedish Lutheran recipe. They said a prayer for my safety, and we ate. Wow! Soup was dynamite. Reminded me of moms. Got out of there with a full belly. Time to head north.

Thought about checking tires on my departure from Tim's. It felt okayish, on my little test drive. Screw it, I don't have a gauge anyways. Ended up running up I-40 to I-49, thinking it was just a matter of time before I get pulled over with no license plate. I waited two cycles at a red light with a camera. Then I thought, who cares if they take my picture, I don't have a plate anyways.:thumbup: After a little while, I figured I'm going to get off the interstate and take in a few of these hilly roads. Ended up pulling off on 74. Shortly after I pulled off the interstate, I seen a bike broke down on the side of the road with a guy laying under it. So I stopped, it was a kid maybe 18 years old. His chain blew off his ratty old Honda Nighthawk. He just got the chain back together when I stopped. He lived five miles away, so he said he was okay. He said there was nothing around here, your best bet for a room is Fayetteville. So I went 74 to 170 thru Devil's Den state park and back North on I-49. It wasn't but a few corners on 170, I noticed my tires were pretty low. Oh well, it's cool out, I'm by myself, loaded fairly light. I'll try to find a pressure gauge and some air, first thing before I take off in the morning.

I finally found a place to stay, Saturday night. In Fayetteville there was a Razorbacks game. Duh! I wanted to turn around and find the Nighthawk kid's momma and slap her. Anyways, stopped to wait for traffic to die down, at a Mexican restaurant and got some of the blandest tacos I've ever ate. My grandma was Swedish and she would've said they were on the mild side. And she thought ketchup was too spicy. So, the heat definitely wouldn't offend anybody. While I was eating and doing some people watching. All I could think of is that piece of crap, "Scary Movie" with the Wayne's brothers, saying, "I see white people.":lol: So I'm thinking of opening up a taco truck in Fayetteville and have some Mexican's run it, and make a killing. Jeez, I didn't realize I was so worked up over them tacos.

After stopping at three of four hotels North of Fayetteville looking for a room. I ended up staying in Neosho, MO at the Best Westren, really reasonable, good breakfast. Slept like a rock, got up at 6am. Took a shower got my Motoport on, got some breakfast. Went up to the room grabbed the rest of my stuff and went out to the bike. I'll open up the Victory "tool kit", maybe there's a allen wrench in it for the Corbin backrest. It was much too far forward. Wham! Air pressure gauge, but no allen wrench small enough for the backrest. Off to the Wal-Mart that's across the street. I mean, gotta support the hometown business, right? :coffee1:

Got some batteries for SPOT, some gum, allen wrenches. I need air and gas yet. So, I bought the bike back to the service center. Asked one of the workers if he could get me some air, "Just a minute." Okay ten minutes pass, so I ask the guy at the desk. He said, one of the guys out in the garage will help me. I told him they are busy putting in a transmission. He looked puzzled and said, "We don't do that kind of work here." I'm thinking, "Thank Gawd!" Anyways they finally got that tranny or whatever in, and gave me a line to fill the tires. About 28 psi in the rear, 30 psi in the front. I should've checked them earlier. :banghead: Oh well, nobody died.

Made it to I-35, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. Enjoyed the beautiful weather, just cruisin'. With air in the tires, the bike ran great! :wink2: I got someone asking about it, and complimenting me on it just about every time I stopped for gas. When I take a trip on this thing, I'll have to plan on adding another day for gas stops. :) I thought Tim may been stretching the gas mileage figures a little bit. He was spot on! I got 42.0 mpg, averaging 69 mph. Wow! Only thing, it takes premium. I read with cams and power commander, you can get by with 87 octane and supposedly even better gas milage. I guess, I'll find out. Knees felt great, butt hurt a little. It was still sore today. I think that Corbins, is fairly new. I'm thinking it was a last ditch effort for Tim to see if it would help his back. I know those Corbin need a few thousand miles to break in. It felt softer on the last tank and a half of fuel. Or my butt gave in and started going soft.:shrug:
 
#36 ·
Now that's an adventure Don ,,, I am so jealous .
 
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#37 ·
Awesome trip report! O'hare, one of the world's busiest airports. Terminal 3, not a bad place to have a HD boutique clothing store. When I demoed a Vision, it reminded me of a Buick Electra 225; big, heavy, and made for eating up the miles in comfort. Get it up to speed, set the cruise, and the miles fly by. Those big forward floorboards are very nice.

Looking forward to seeing the new addition to the stable.:doorag:
 
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