HD Demo Rides Spring 2012

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by ponch

I rode the Ultra, Vision and Voyager before the RT. The Vision's luggage capacity is a lot smaller than it looks and the brakes weren't what I would call good for what the bike is supposed to be. Wooden and high effort. Other than those things, I think they make great bikes. Lots of suspension travel and the ride is good. With the list prices of the Voyager increasing, other options become more attractive. Who would have thought a Kawasaki would cost $20K american? I will disagree with one thing: Harley's shake at idle, but not at speed. The Voyager actually had more vibe at speed than the HD I rode, IMO.

The Vision bags are bigger than they look with the bags open but still not really "roomy" by any means. You should have checked out a Cross Country. They have the largest saddlebags in the industry. I don't know what year you rode but the brakes are pretty good. If you rode a demo bike, they've been rode hard and put up wet. Just for shits and giggles, go to a Vic dealer and test ride a new CC straight off the floor.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

The Vision bags are bigger than they look with the bags open but still not really "roomy" by any means. You should have checked out a Cross Country. They have the largest saddlebags in the industry. I don't know what year you rode but the brakes are pretty good. If you rode a demo bike, they've been rode hard and put up wet. Just for shits and giggles, go to a Vic dealer and test ride a new CC straight off the floor.

The cross country tour wasn't out yet when I did the test rides. This was 2 years ago...As far as the brakes go, the BMW has much better brakes. Luggage wise, the Vision has 109L of capacity. My RT has 113L with the optional topcase which I have. I think they could have done better for a touring rig. The cross country tour does have a lot more, 155L.

The thing is, once you get into the $20K+ range, a lot of options open up, like the Goldwing, the HD tourers and the K1600s. With all my requirements, I had to keep under 20K OTD, meaning taxes and everything.

[Monkeyman]

Originally Posted by ponch

The cross country tour wasn't out yet when I did the test rides. This was 2 years ago...As far as the brakes go, the BMW has much better brakes. Luggage wise, the Vision has 109L of capacity. My RT has 113L with the optional topcase which I have. I think they could have done better for a touring rig. The cross country tour does have a lot more, 155L.

The thing is, once you get into the $20K+ range, a lot of options open up, like the Goldwing, the HD tourers and the K1600s. With all my requirements, I had to keep under 20K OTD, meaning taxes and everything.

$20k OTD was my goal, too. I came within $200 of it and get $1500 worth of free accessories and apparel so it's all good. The Wing wasn't a comfortable fit (and would have ended up closer to about $25k), I wasn't at ALL impressed with the Harleys no matter what the cost (and I would have spent well over my goal price) and the BMWs, while very nice bikes, had me too crunched up. I also like the look and sound of a big V Twin. The Vic has gobs of torque although it's probably heavier than your Beemer. I think I'll be super happy with the Vision.

The ABS brakes on the '11 and newer Vic tourers are updated from the non-ABS on the '10 and older (ABS was an option in '10) brakes. I don't know if the newer Vic brakes are better or worse than your BMW. Most Vision owners seem to be disappointed with the storage capacity of the Vision. For Vics "flagship" (at the time...I think the XCT took the Visions place), it should have had alot more. I'm the only one on the bike, so it'll be more than enough for me. I could see it being a problem if someone rode 2 up all the time. One of the nice things about the Vision is the removable trunk. If you're riding 1 up and are willing to lose the extra tail lights and rear speakers, you can remove the trunk in about 15 minutes. You can cover the area where the trunk mounted with a plate Vic sells (for $100). The '08/'09 Visions came in a Street version which was without a trunk. Kind of a neat look if you're planning on riding around town alot.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

$20k OTD was my goal, too. I came within $200 of it and get $1500 worth of free accessories and apparel so it's all good. The Wing wasn't a comfortable fit (and would have ended up closer to about $25k), I wasn't at ALL impressed with the Harleys no matter what the cost (and I would have spent well over my goal price) and the BMWs, while very nice bikes, had me too crunched up. I also like the look and sound of a big V Twin. The Vic has gobs of torque although it's probably heavier than your Beemer. I think I'll be super happy with the Vision.

The ABS brakes on the '11 and newer Vic tourers are updated from the non-ABS on the '10 and older (ABS was an option in '10) brakes. I don't know if the newer Vic brakes are better or worse than your BMW. Most Vision owners seem to be disappointed with the storage capacity of the Vision. For Vics "flagship" (at the time...I think the XCT took the Visions place), it should have had alot more. I'm the only one on the bike, so it'll be more than enough for me. I could see it being a problem if someone rode 2 up all the time. One of the nice things about the Vision is the removable trunk. If you're riding 1 up and are willing to lose the extra tail lights and rear speakers, you can remove the trunk in about 15 minutes. You can cover the area where the trunk mounted with a plate Vic sells (for $100). The '08/'09 Visions came in a Street version which was without a trunk. Kind of a neat look if you're planning on riding around town alot.

The RT weighs 570 with a full tank of gas. That's 250lbs lighter than the Nomad and more so than the Victorys. The ABS is partial integral, meaning if I grab the front lever, both front and rear act as one, of I step on the rear, it's just the rear brake. If you are used to the Nomad, you would find these somewhat touchy. It's like power brakes.

As far as removable, my stuff comes off in seconds and they have carry handles. What I like about the K bikes is that they have central lock/unlock, which would be nice, but they are a lot more money and a lot more complicated to work on (but they haul ass like no other touring bike). If I had to do it again, I'd get the R1200GS Adventure and put Jesse panniers on it. The GSA is even lighter and the ergos are better for taller people. The stock RT would be like the C14 if it had bar risers and foot peg lowering kit. Still a little cramped for me, but it's a more neutral seating position than a sportbike or a cruiser. I may get a footpeg lowering kit for it, or not. It depends on what the new water cooled GS Adventure will be like. The only time I miss the cruisers are when my back is out of whack and it's a pain to swing my leg over the bike. Beemers are tall bikes. That and when there's a strong cross wind, and the maintenance is simpler on the cruisers too.

[Monkeyman]

570#? That's light! The Vision weighs about 900 fueled up. It doesn't feel like it. My test ride went through some pretty good twisties and I rode them almost twice as fast as on the Nomad and felt 10x more stable. Probably not like your BMW but it's a different class of bike. The Vision trunk comes on in a few minutes (from the videos I've seen, anyway) but it's not something you'd remove to take in your motel room. I'm sure, taking enough bolts out, you could remove the saddlebags.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Monkeyman

570#? That's light! The Vision weighs about 900 fueled up. It doesn't feel like it. My test ride went through some pretty good twisties and I rode them almost twice as fast as on the Nomad and felt 10x more stable. Probably not like your BMW but it's a different class of bike. The Vision trunk comes on in a few minutes (from the videos I've seen, anyway) but it's not something you'd remove to take in your motel room. I'm sure, taking enough bolts out, you could remove the saddlebags.

I've ridden the vision and it doesn't feel as heavy as it is. Other than the brakes and storage, I found no issues with it. I thought it was a well built machine. I could get over the storage, brakes, not so much. They needed more feel and to be less effort. After reading several reviews, I don't think I am alone on this.