Victory Motorcycle to Wind Down Production

[Cormanus]

Motus: I've sat on one, very nice but may be too low for my long legs. One of the guys on the Guzzi forum bought one - loves it last I heard.

Chain drive: Once you hear about the catastrophic shaft drive failures chain does not sound so bad after all. 20K miles, new chain and sprockets - basically a very cheap rear drive complete over haul. I have two chain drive bikes now and they are not nearly the trouble they used to be in 80's. Like a lot of things in life, I think their negatives are based on old information. But hey, it's your money and we have choices.

Victory: Polaris can still bring out an Indian Victory down the line if Indian gives them the profits to experiment a bit. Although I think that motor is dead now. Or maybe they will think the Victory brand is bad juju and will use a different brand. I do think that if Polaris really wanted to keep making motorcycles, bringing out the Indian line was pure genius.

I have two chain drives and one shaft. The shaft is maintenance-free after the initial gear oil change at 500 miles (though I do change it when I change the engine oil anyway because it's so easy -- comes out the same color it goes in). The chains require maintenance every 500. If I go on a trip like I did last summer of almost 3,000 miles, I certainly do not want to stop EVERY DAY (I did 4-500 miles each day) to clean/lube the chain and adjust the position of the axle in the swing arm. Chains are fine for 'round-town bikes. The cost has nothing to do with it -- for me, it's the ride quality and maintenance required. No bike that claims to be for touring can run a chain. Another reason I also didn't buy a Ducati Multistrada. If I wanted to, I could certainly afford the Motus.

I forgot that the Motus doesn't have ABS or traction control... those are also non-starters, especially the TC on a bike with that much low-end torque. I very much wanted to love the bike, but it's missing what I consider key features for the segment it purports to be in.

I can see that, and I do appreciate the belt on my F800GT. But I've never believed that motorcycling is about ease and convenience....there's a lot about riding that is downright uncomfortable and inconvenient but that seems to be an inseparable part of the experience.

It's a bit like the hi-fi guys who still listen to vinyl. Not as convenient as an MP3 playlist, but the ritual of cleaning the record, adjusting the tracking force, setting the platter rpm via strobe, etc. is part of the enjoyment.

Motus: I've sat on one, very nice but may be too low for my long legs. One of the guys on the Guzzi forum bought one - loves it last I heard.

Chain drive: Once you hear about the catastrophic shaft drive failures chain does not sound so bad after all. 20K miles, new chain and sprockets - basically a very cheap rear drive complete over haul. I have two chain drive bikes now and they are not nearly the trouble they used to be in 80's. Like a lot of things in life, I think their negatives are based on old information. But hey, it's your money and we have choices.

Victory: Polaris can still bring out an Indian Victory down the line if Indian gives them the profits to experiment a bit. Although I think that motor is dead now. Or maybe they will think the Victory brand is bad juju and will use a different brand. I do think that if Polaris really wanted to keep making motorcycles, bringing out the Indian line was pure genius.

I have two chain drives and one shaft. The shaft is maintenance-free after the initial gear oil change at 500 miles (though I do change it when I change the engine oil anyway because it's so easy -- comes out the same color it goes in). The chains require maintenance every 500. If I go on a trip like I did last summer of almost 3,000 miles, I certainly do not want to stop EVERY DAY (I did 4-500 miles each day) to clean/lube the chain and adjust the position of the axle in the swing arm. Chains are fine for 'round-town bikes. The cost has nothing to do with it -- for me, it's the ride quality and maintenance required. No bike that claims to be for touring can run a chain. Another reason I also didn't buy a Ducati Multistrada. If I wanted to, I could certainly afford the Motus.

I forgot that the Motus doesn't have ABS or traction control... those are also non-starters, especially the TC on a bike with that much low-end torque. I very much wanted to love the bike, but it's missing what I consider key features for the segment it purports to be in.

I think some riders would be interested in these features (BMW sport touring riders) but possibly more in this segment (dedicated two-wheeled fanatics) would be repelled by any electronic brain between them and total control of the machine. Motus likely did their homework on market research in these two areas.

Well we could go back to breaker points and condensers, kick starters, spoke wheels, tubed bias ply tires, silver soldered ends on cables, carburetors with manual chokes, drum brakes.... that would certainly up the lack of ease and convenience factor.

The fact is each thing they do to make riding more convenient adds to the enjoyment. Having to clean, adjust, lube and replace chains is just another unnecessary inconvenience that takes away from the time we could spend enjoying our motorcycles.

8 years and 84,000 miles on a shaft drive bike.= $8.95 worth of 80 wt fluid and about an hours labor spread out over 8 years.

Same miles on a chain drive bike = $1200.00 worth of chains and sprockets (if you do the labor...add another $400 or so if you have a shop do it) plus untold hours of cleaning, lubing and adjusting and probably 4 or 5 cans of chain lube at $8.95 each

if you don't ride very many miles...no big deal. The average motorcyclist rides less than 2500 miles a year. 1 chain and sprocket set every 10 years. If you are a rider..25, 30, 40,000 miles a year, a chain is a huge detriment.

Taking my truck is a LOT more convenient and more comfortable to boot.

Says the guy with a shaft drive Moto Guzzi in the garage

I'm with you on this, Ferret. If the CB had a shaft drive and water cooling, I'd still have bought it, but, be blowed if I'll let you get away with this outrageous assertion. What you say (...each thing they do to make riding more convenient adds to the enjoyment) is not a fact; merely your opinion.

There are three kinds of people who own motorcycles (and let this ridiculously simplistic view fuel a discussion):
[li]those for whom it's all about riding;[/li] [li]those for whom it's all about making the bike better: adding a farkle or two or three, persuading themselves they can make the bike look better or go faster; and[/li] [li]the tinkerers who spend most of their lives staring happily at the bits on the workshop floor and wondering where on earth that last bolt goes, or getting off to adjust and lube their chain every 500 kms 'cause that's what you have to do.
[/li] I offer no criticism of any of these approaches. Whichever camp you inhabit is surely all part of the rich and diverse experience of motorcycling, isn't it?

If folk get their jollies from chains, oil and bits they have to figure out what to do with, and grease on their hands, good luck to them I say. But not me. No chance. I make no apology for the fact that I just want to get on it and ride even if I have no real idea what I'm doing. It's about the journey. It's about the ride. Getting out there with my bum on the AirHawk, burning through the fuel, adding to the carbon footprint and eating up the miles. Not worrying about the bronzing headers, the dirt or the hints of rust. Just riding.

If I never had to clean or service or attend to the thing at all; if all I had to do was get on it and ride it, I'd be a happy munchkin.

So, clearly I vote for option one. The rest of you? Discuss.