Will Victory ever be a threat to Harley?

[GrayWolf]

Some of us here just don't like the japs or jap vehicles. They could be better faster stronger, but they are just rice burers to me and I say "no thanks not interested".

I agree with that, and it is a real oxymoron of philosophy.... as a lad I was part of (brit bikes) the jap shit school of thought in England. I ended up riding Jap bikes, for exactly the reason's you give... reliable and faster. (Faster), as a sprog, is sooooo important innit
HD know that the cruiser market is a narrow one way street, hence the V rod and XR series of bikes. Buell for all the arguements for and agin', did show that there is a market for big inch V twins that have reasonable performance yet retain the characteristics of a low revving big block.... The Yamaha MT was badly handled by Yamaha, too pricey and actually released too late.. 6 years after the unveiling at Tokyo(1999). By then Beull, V rod, M109 etc were well established and yamaha really lost the head start the MT had on the rest.
Triumph have now proven that you can/need to produce both types of bikes, sporting and cruisers... I would be really interested to see how big a percentage of the US market triumph have acquired now.

What for many of us is the big 'anti's' are the attitude and snobbery of many HD owners, and I have watched it grow since the introduction of the Evo motor 30 yrs ago... and the overpricing when compared to other bikes of the same value when you look at the technology available. BMW is the classic comparision, around the same price bracket, not japanese HUGE as a manufacturer, but for the same prices (high spec tourers) offer massive levels of technology/performance/handling/ability even on the boxer twins. That is where HD will in the end HAVE to pick up their game... even the Italian marque's like Guzzi have realised this and improved exponentially over recent years.

[george formby]

I have the T-Shirt...

Unfortunately it has a 'My Little Pony' motif.

Er, is that the one that looks pink in bright sunlight?

[Maha]

Er, is that the one that looks pink in bright sunlight?

....no, more apricot I think you'll find..

[george formby]

....no more apricot I think you'll find..

Salmon


According to the KB colour chart

[Maha]

Salmon


According to the KB colour chart

YES!....Victory to the scaly one!

[avgas]

Thats because they build cruisers not sportbikes. They did however hold the land speed record for 20 years. Harleys are not my favorite bike but I don't hate them either and I think the world would be a much duller place without them.

Really.
So all those harley race bikes are a figment of my imagination?
I actually like Harley. But I think they need to look at the range, they changed it 30, 50 and 80 years ago........don't see why they can't do that again.
Hell they could even release it under the "Buell" name if they wanted too (not sure if they still own Aermacci as well).

Victory can do the same simply by selling the Kore.

[avgas]

Salmon


According to the KB colour chart

Not Coral?

[Paul in NZ]

The marketing genius that manages to out sell, out brand HD (assuming HD don't implode) will write a book about it and retire on the proceeds. Its a formidable product and selling machine.

[george formby]

Not Coral?

Nope, that's verbatim from the colour chart.

I would like to see Victory take enough market share for Harley to branch out with their designs, particularly snow mobiles.... Nah, it would be interesting to see what Harley would do, though. The V-rod needs a big update.

[sinfull]

If you're looking for personal opinions (ya aint but i have the time so will add mine)

I just dont like the look of the victory, but for that matter nor do i like the look of the V rod .


I seen a late model kwaka cruiser a few months back and liked it, not sure on comfort but looked great ! Not that my FXR is overly comfy at high speed lol but at the speed limit (or just over) i can ride all day and get back on fresh at 7 am !

Sport bikes i have trouble riding all day, even higher bars like on the speed triple have me wanting to get off after a few hours !

I do agree with those that say HD need to bring back a buell or a lookalike to keep things fresh and apeal to the sports bike freaks !

[george formby]

I do agree with those that say HD need to bring back a buell or a lookalike to keep things fresh and apeal to the sports bike freaks !

Be nice to see a challenge to the Ducati Drivel from the masters of Heavy Metal. I guess that would depend on the impact the Ducati has in Mercka.

[ducatilover]

Really.
So all those harley race bikes are a figment of my imagination?

Yeah, that awesome 1000cc rip-snorting beast from the 80's is just lies, we've been had!

[wysper]

What for many of us is the big 'anti's' are the attitude and snobbery of many HD owners, and I have watched it grow since the introduction of the Evo motor 30 yrs ago... and the overpricing when compared to other bikes of the same value when you look at the technology available. BMW is the classic comparision, around the same price bracket, not japanese HUGE as a manufacturer, but for the same prices (high spec tourers) offer massive levels of technology/performance/handling/ability even on the boxer twins. That is where HD will in the end HAVE to pick up their game... even the Italian marque's like Guzzi have realised this and improved exponentially over recent years.

Snobbery of some owners, yep, but a lot of makes, models and types get that.

Harley seems pretty well priced at the moment, probably one of the reasons they are everywhere.
As for the technology, funnily enough, for me, the lack of it was part of the attraction. Just seemed to appeal to what I was looking for in a bike. Didn't need engine mapping, ABS, GPS, EFI (although they are now and all the other gizmos. Didn't need luggage space to rival a station wagon, didn't need fairing that made me look like a small car. So with all that, the sportster was pretty much perfect for me. The Triumph America and Speedster were there too, but they were more expensive and didn't give me the same grin. So HD it was.

I don't care about the whole Family and Merchandising Machine, but they do some good accessories, and with 50 years of sportster, the accessories just work.

Not for everybody and thats cool. The Victory will be like that too. Different market, more niche than that HD market.

[ratusratus]

If you're looking for personal opinions (ya aint but i have the time so will add mine)

I just dont like the look of the victory, but for that matter nor do i like the look of the V rod .


I seen a late model kwaka cruiser a few months back and liked it, not sure on comfort but looked great ! Not that my FXR is overly comfy at high speed lol but at the speed limit (or just over) i can ride all day and get back on fresh at 7 am !

Sport bikes i have trouble riding all day, even higher bars like on the speed triple have me wanting to get off after a few hours !

I do agree with those that say HD need to bring back a buell or a lookalike to keep things fresh and apeal to the sports bike freaks !

Hey did you happen to notice my xr1200 on the memorial ride(awesome ride)....bring back the xr!!!!

[sinfull]

Hey did you happen to notice my xr1200 on the memorial ride(awesome ride)....bring back the xr!!!!

Yeah mate you were in camo type gear ? You never stayed for a feed did ya ?

Make sure ya stay on next time man the feed was only 30 min after we got back to the club