Yamaha or Victory opinions

[trvler48]

All,

I am looking for some opinions on two bikes that I am looking at to add to the stable - the FJR AE is going nowhere.

Question is has anyone ridden the Yamaha Raider or the Victory 8-Ball/Vegas? These are both beautiful bikes and I can see pros and cons to both. I really like the lines on the Victory, but with the potential move overseas, I don't want to get screwed trying to find parts. I could always get it by mail but I don't want it to be a common practice. And, the nearest dealership where I live is 100 mi away. I know Yamaha - they are everywhere and great reliability but I don't know anyone who has one and can tell me about the ride. I sat on one at the dealership and it felt good and not as heavy as it looks. The Raider is not sold in Europe when I last checked, so parts may be an issue. However, I expect plenty of Yamaha dealerships over there that can do special order.

I have had nothing but luck with Suzuki. I like their cruisers as far as ride and reliability, but have some issues with the designs.

I do have couple friends with Victory's (all just refuse to even look at HD) and they truly love their bikes. None have had reliability issues but they both have had it for less than a year.

Anybody with some experience on these bikes?

Thanks in advance.

 

[smokeFJR06]

I don't own one, but I did a long demo ride on a Raider last year. I liked it very much and would have one if I could afford it and had the room in the garage. The bike has tons of power and handles really well with that fat tire on the bike. If I was buying another cruiser, I would consider the Raider and the Stratoliner. Personally, I think Yamaha builds the best looking cruisers out there. I used to own a V-Star 1100 Classic and wish I had it back.

Sorry I can't help you on the Victory thing. I haven't even tested one. They do have unique styling, some good, some not. Not sure where you're located, but if you can make it to one of the large bike events...Sturgis, Liconia, Daytona, etc. they are all there to do a demo ride. It's the best place to ride all the models at one place and time.

Good luck on your quest and decision.

Smoke

 

[jmdaniel]

My best buddy works for Polaris, so I have ridden them for all of the ten years they have been making bikes. They have improved greatly, but I would never buy one, unless all of the metric bike builders went out of business at the same time. To me, the value isn't there. Face it, their target competition is the most overpriced bike on the planet, Hardly. The whole idea behind Victory was to price around that level, and siphon off about 5% of that market. When is the last time anyone ever talked about the value of a Hardly? I rode a Vision on a 5 day trip last summer, around Michigan's UP, and couldn't wait to get back on my Feejer...

 

[krashdragon]

All,
I am looking for some opinions on two bikes that I am looking at to add to the stable - the FJR AE is going nowhere.

Question is has anyone ridden the Yamaha Raider or the Victory 8-Ball/Vegas? These are both beautiful bikes and I can see pros and cons to both. I really like the lines on the Victory, but with the potential move overseas, I don't want to get screwed trying to find parts. I could always get it by mail but I don't want it to be a common practice. And, the nearest dealership where I live is 100 mi away. I know Yamaha - they are everywhere and great reliability but I don't know anyone who has one and can tell me about the ride. I sat on one at the dealership and it felt good and not as heavy as it looks. The Raider is not sold in Europe when I last checked, so parts may be an issue. However, I expect plenty of Yamaha dealerships over there that can do special order.

I have had nothing but luck with Suzuki. I like their cruisers as far as ride and reliability, but have some issues with the designs.

I do have couple friends with Victory's (all just refuse to even look at HD) and they truly love their bikes. None have had reliability issues but they both have had it for less than a year.

Anybody with some experience on these bikes?

Thanks in advance.

If you really like cruisers, you'd pbly like the Victory 8-Ball/Vegas. I took a nice test ride two years ago. Way more power than Harley, handle much like the V* 1100 I had, but better. To me they're engineered nicely, you can take the whole thing apart with a handlful of tools.

If I didn't already have a Harley, I'd have a Vegas low for a cruiser.

totally different animal than an FJR, tho. I need a a backrest on a cruiser...

Good forum... https://forums.delphiforums.com/victory2003/start

Virg's had one for quite a few years. Honest opinions there.

Mary

 

[painman]

Best idea IMO is to go out and test ride. While you can get other's ideas on a new ride the best way is to test ride and decide for yourself.

I did purchase the 06 FJR having never ridden one but I just knew in my gut I wanted that bike. And I never regreted that purchase. Personally I think the Victory's are over priced but I have never ridden one but I know people who do and they have no regrets and are reliable.

If I were personally looking for a new cruiser I would find a slightly used HD (Cycle Trader) that has had reputable work done to improve the performance of the engine and usually if the previous owner had done that they added some more goodies as well. In my experience of over 40 years of riding, I have seen people go out and spend the big dough on the HD and have either been scared because of an incident or the bike they always wanted when purchased just wasn't what they expected it to be and sold it after having added the after-market items. So now you don't have to and have saved a bunch of money....

I have ridden the Stratoliner on demo's and while it has good power I wasn't really impressed with the bike overall. The suspension and just the quality didn't feel as good as a HD. And I've heard the same feedback with a Victory cruiser. I would think the Stratoliner would be very comparable to the Raider. But then again I ride a HD and really if the motor on the HD has been improved it is not dissapointing even with the stage 1 kit. But bigger is better. And naturally you can't compare the FJR to a cruiser. Two different animals. Speaking of different animals, you might want to wait and check this out released this summer 2009..... New Thunderbird

Good luck and keep us posted on your outcome. PM. <><

 

[trvler48]

Thanks for the input here guys.

Test drove the Victory. Very nice. Great gear box. Very well balanced. I couldn't get a real feel for the suspension because the road was smooth everywhere I went. The long term reliability issue still sits in the back of my mind.

They wouldn't let me test ride the Raider, but it felt pretty balanced. I tend to get frustrated when I can't take it out if I am ready to plunk down money. But then I looked around to see a bunch of 20 somethings oogling the sports bikes all asking for test rides, and I guess I understand why they felt they had to say no. I was amazed how long the Raider is.

Tomorrow I will head out to one more shop to check out the Raider and see if I can get a short test ride. From there, I will decide if I pull the trigger or wait until something better comes along. I also decided I am going to check out a Honda VTX1800. This should cover all the bases to make a good decision.

I will let you all know if I ride away on one.

 

[3000psi]

Thanks for the input here guys.
Test drove the Victory. Very nice. Great gear box. Very well balanced. I couldn't get a real feel for the suspension because the road was smooth everywhere I went. The long term reliability issue still sits in the back of my mind.

They wouldn't let me test ride the Raider, but it felt pretty balanced. I tend to get frustrated when I can't take it out if I am ready to plunk down money. But then I looked around to see a bunch of 20 somethings oogling the sports bikes all asking for test rides, and I guess I understand why they felt they had to say no. I was amazed how long the Raider is.

Tomorrow I will head out to one more shop to check out the Raider and see if I can get a short test ride. From there, I will decide if I pull the trigger or wait until something better comes along. I also decided I am going to check out a Honda VTX1800. This should cover all the bases to make a good decision.

I will let you all know if I ride away on one.

My buddy and I just got back from a weekend riding trip in AZ. Got tired of the sub-freezing weather around here so we rented a couple of HDs and rode around the Mohave Valley. Anyway, while in Lake Havasu City we took out a couple Victories for a test ride down to Parker Dam. I was on a Vegas with the 100ci engine and while it was fine, I really could not tell any appreciable difference from the HD Fat Bob I had been riding for 2 days.

For me cruisers are very subjective. My FJR is a do-it-all bike for me and my VTX-1800F satisfies other more primitive urges. Every time I ride a different cruiser I come back to appreciate the VTX.

Again, I believe it is very subjective and to each their own. But do give the VTX a look as it has a unique combination of raw power and smoothness.

SS

 

[SouthernCruizer]

There's the recent discussion on the Raider that may help>> Raider discussion

 

[Randy]

I have had nothing but luck with Suzuki. I like their cruisers as far as ride and reliability, but have some issues with the designs.

Really?? I think the M109R Limited is one of the best looking cruisers out there and I think it's got some pep.

 

[Toecutter]

I have boycotted Victory/Polaris since they did their wet-bike trick....

V-Max!