Victory Vision Tourer -
Chief
was designing at the time.
It has been described as a Road King meets a Gold Wing. I have a Gold
Wing and had a Road King. I would say, based upon what I have read so
far, that this is a good description.
It will have all the amenities of a Gold Wing but with a V-twin engine
and drive train, 6 speed transmission and a 6 gallon gas tank. The gas
tank is under the seat which will dramatically impact the "feel" and
center of gravity of the bike... like on the Gold Wing. The Wing feels
like a much lighter bike and handles wonderfully... partially because
of the positioning of the gas tank. The "tupperware" is very similar
to the GW. It will have more "carry" space than the GW.
While it will be hard to beat the 6 cylinder GW engine, the V-Twin
footprint allows for more conventional cruiser foot positioning which
is VERY important to us crossover types. I am comfortable on the GW,
but the foot positioning is hard to get used to and I still don't like
it. The Vision won't have this problem.
Victory also seems to know how to build anticipation and promote the
bike. Something Kawasaki has never seemed able to do. It also appears
that Victory did a LOT of homework in the development of this product
- 20 focus groups, a lot of miles riding competitors bikes, listening
to their customers and potential customers.
I think the Vision will give the GW a run for its money. And, it
appears it will be less expensive than the GW.
On paper this things looks very good - time will tell.