Speaking of underappreciated touring bikes, the Victory Vision is a motorcycle that I feel never really got the love it deserved. Perhaps that’s because it looks like a spaceship. Or, perhaps that’s because it weighs about as much as a spaceship. But if you can get over those two things it’s a hell of a long-haul machine.
Several years ago, I rode one from Cardiff, Wales, to Milan, Italy, and back in November ─ detouring through Switzerland. Because why wouldn’t you take an 868-lbs bike on a twisty mountain road when snow’s starting to fall?
Actually, to that point. A quirky/useful feature of the Vision was that its floorboard mounts were so durable that they would “catch” the bike in a drop. So, the bike didn’t end up completely on its side and could more easily be heaved upright.
Victory Motorcycles was the homegrown brand of Minnesota-based Polaris. It ran from 1998 to 2017, ultimately being shelved after Polaris bought the Indian Motorcycle brand and found it was a lot easier to sell bikes that people had heard of.
Within the conservative world of cruisers, Victory was an innovative brand, and the 1731cc air-cooled “Freedom 106) V-twin engine that drove the Vision was more enthusiastic and capable of being pushed harder than the Twin Cam set-up that Harley-Davidson was using in its bikes at the time. The engine produced 92 horsepower and about 109 lb-ft of torque. The bike was stupidly more fun than something that massive has any right to be.
It was also excellent on the highway. Loads of fairing to hide behind in foul weather, decent cruise control, and a stereo that could be heard with earplugs in and helmet on at 75 mph. Manufactured from model year 2008 to 2017, the Vision went ─ to my knowledge ─ unchanged through the whole of its run.
You can find this Vision Tour with 19,500 miles on the clock for sale for $6,500 in Buda, Texas, here on eBay.