Victory. The Vision Of Arlen Ness.

arlennessvictoryvision

As you all know, both Arlen and Cory Ness collaborate with Victory to design limited editions. Cory did work on the  Vegas Jackpot and Cross Country models and Arlen  on the touring Vision. Manufacturer’s objectives are always to enhance the brand image, sell a few more customized models to a clientele ready to pay extra bucks for getting the “look at me” factor and incite others to customize their stock bikes.

Every bike has a customization potential and it’s the role of the Custom Builder to stretch it as far as he can. And it’s exactly what Arlen did. You are looking at his work on the 2010 model, a remarkable cosmetic only enhancement, the 106″/1731 cc engine and the 6-speed transmission remaining unchanged. About handling and control the main improvement is the fact that this limited edition has been lowered by 2″ making the seat at 24.5″ from the ground. Although the 2010 Ness Victory Vision retail price is still unknown, it’s probably the most aesthetically appealing touring bike available on the market, making it a direct competitor of the Harley-Davidson CVO’s touring models.

30 Responses to “Victory. The Vision Of Arlen Ness.”


  1. 1 Todd8080 Sep 17th, 2009 at 11:47 am

    From what I’ve read, Victory has an outstanding customer satisfaction record.

    And I’m a great admirer of Arlen Ness for his accomplishments as a pioneer in the custom Harley world.

    But I gotta tell you, I don’t find the Vision appealing at all. Not the stock Vision nor Ness’ custom version. Not even a little.

    Maybe if I was George Jetson…

  2. 2 Jeff Nicklus Sep 17th, 2009 at 1:09 pm

    The profile of this bike, in my humble opinion, is very Arlen.

    Over & Out,

    Jef

  3. 3 just my opinion Sep 17th, 2009 at 2:23 pm

    Jeff: you are right it is very Arlen and that is what most like about it. There are some builders that lead the masses by their designs. I think you would agree that there are very few builders that make bikes that when someone sees it they know instantly that is a Ness bike or that is a Perowitz bike. Most builders just simply wait to see what those guys create and wait to see what becomes popular then they all jump in and try to make the easy money. I have a lot of repect for you builders that create your own designs and then make them reality. I like this bike it is very futuristic looking but that is what makes it special. Good job team Ness.

  4. 4 J Sep 18th, 2009 at 7:26 am

    The link to the 2010 shows a grey bike that is much sharper, in my opinion- a bigger front wheel really helps the proportions

  5. 5 Chris Hunter | Bike EXIF Sep 18th, 2009 at 7:55 am

    Sometimes you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. It looks like an oversized scooter. What on earth are flames – and blue ones at that – doing on a motorcycle in 2009?

  6. 6 1550tc Sep 18th, 2009 at 10:12 am

    Ok lets see what we have here ????????

    Flames to me look like the rams, broncos and the chargers logos

    don’t believe go to their web sites…………..some dudes at Polaris must be sniffing some real white snow!!!

    Its plain B FUGGLY

    your walking down the street passing girls with a friend. As they pass you say either a 1 through 10, but sometimes 1 isn’t low enough. So you say b fuggly and its just understood!

  7. 7 just my opinion Sep 18th, 2009 at 11:14 am

    I bet when the first motorcycles were made people that were riding horses at the time said.

    “That damn thing is fuggly it will never sell, a person would have to be an idiot too ride one of those damn things.”

    When ever someone has the courage and vision to step out of the box and create something new there will always be those that say it will never work. But history has shown us time and time again that new ideas and designs do work. Remember something people; those that want the fruits of life must be willing to go out on a limb to get them. It is easy to be a nobody and do nothing with your life but to be an industry leader like Arlen Ness takes guts and determination and a willingness to look past the ney sayers and create your visions inspite of all the negative comments coming from those without the talent it takes to be a winner. Arlen has been a leader in this industry for longer than most of you negative commenters have been riding bikes, that fact speaks for itself. The man has vision perhaps thats why the bike was named the VISION. Ride your old horse if you want but don’t bash those that want to ride the toys of the future. Remember this as well no matter what kind of bike YOU ride at one point in time it was seen as futuristic as well.

  8. 8 Todd8080 Sep 18th, 2009 at 4:31 pm

    You seem a bit defensive for someone with a name like “just my opinion.”

    A concept that many people don’t seem to grasp is that “different” doesn’t automatically equal “better”. The Vision is certainly different, but the majority of opinions I’ve read seem to agree its styling is unnecessarily bizarre. The most common adjective used is “weird”.

    It could be the best handling, most reliable bike ever built, but sales will remain low because of its freakish appearance.

    For all its massive bulk, the Vision’s saddlebags and “trunk” hold substantially less than a Harley’s. If that’s the future, I’ll stay in the past.

  9. 9 1550tc Sep 18th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

    JMO

    I bet when the first motorcycles were made people that were riding horses at the time said

    NOPE ….. They probably said great, we don’t have to pick up shit and feed these damn horses anymore

    JMO most days I am smart enough to know that change and innovation usually comes from people who are on the fringe in our society.

    JMO, I like how Michael Prugh helped Lehman design their Polaris trike

    http://www.lehmantrikes.com/default.aspx?navid=14

    You do seem a bit defensive for someone with a name like “just my opinion

    no kidding……….i wasn’t taking a shot at Arlen and never would I do that!!

    BTW go and check their sales figures JMO, as they have actually gone down since they introduced this model, now with the economy tanked .

    On a recent 10,000 mile trip thru some big motorcycle states like all over NC, and thru parts of TN IL, WI VA KY we didn’t see one Vision!

  10. 10 just my opinion Sep 19th, 2009 at 3:31 pm

    Todd8080 1550tc
    Just because you don’t like this bike does not mean that others won’t like it. I bet Victory wishes they had you two experts to design bikes for them instead of someone with a proven track record like Arlen.
    I am not defensive I just don’t see any need to bash someones design and especially some one that has proven time and time again that he is way ahead of the pack of followers. What would you have the Victory look like a Harley? Just so you know Harley is not doing so well either. I don’t remember hearing about Victory selling a billion dollars worth of unsecured bonds That was the big HD. And as far as Victory cutting back so what, everyone has including the big HD. Just in case you have not heard HD cut back production on all models. Last I heard they shut down for something like 14 weeks, does that sound like they are booming to you? You may not like the Vision but so what. I doubt that Victory is concerned with your opinions any way.
    Let us know when your models come out so we can all see what a real motorcycle looks like.

  11. 11 fuji Sep 19th, 2009 at 4:29 pm

    The bike is real, my friends.
    The “failure” to realize it is the only reality

  12. 12 fuji Sep 19th, 2009 at 6:16 pm

    just my opinion :

    GOOD RESPONSE !

    How fortunate we are that some do not have to engage their brain to flatulate or they may self exlpode.

  13. 13 Todd8080 Sep 19th, 2009 at 8:41 pm

    just my opinion,

    Why so defensive of Victory? If the Vision’s styling is so superior, shouldn’t it be allowed to stand on its own merits? Is your opinion the only one that matters?

    I don’t see what the recession has to do with styling anyway. Ugly is ugly, in good times or bad.

    As far as looking like a Harley, except for the Vision, all of Victory’s models ARE clearly based on Harley’s designs.

    If Victory really wanted to be original they wouldn’t have started with air-cooled V-twins to begin with. It’s not like there are no other motor configurations.

    Face it, Victory started selling V-twin motorcycles in 1999 solely to cash in on Harley’s success, to ride their coattails. And they hired Arlen Ness because he built his reputation customizing – what? Triumphs? Hondas? Oh, that’s right, Harleys. More Victory coattail-riding.

    Now, as I stated above, I admire Ness for his accomplishments. But in my opinion, for every hit he’s had two misses. That’s fine when you build bikes one at a time, but when you’re a large corporation whose motorcycle division is moderately profitable at best, you can’t afford to experiment on a grand scale.

    The fact is, I’d very, very much like to see Victory become a huge success, but that simply isn’t going to happen until they conquer their one and only shortcoming: POOR STYLING.

    And in case you feel my opinion isn’t valid, I’ve been riding since ’68 and have designed and built numerous custom V-twins (not ‘paid a crew to build’). I know what looks good and what doesn’t.

    I’d post links so you could critique my work, but this isn’t my website.

  14. 14 Woody Sep 20th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    being built in Ohio wasn’t enough to make the Harley faithful line up to buy GoldWings. Being owned/made in MN won’t make them line up to buy a V-twin GoldWing. Sorry, huge Ness fan, but I’d sooner ride the ’57 Chevy bike.

  15. 15 fuji Sep 20th, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    WOODY.

    Dude, Let go of that bong.
    I had to light one up to understand what you be saying. HELL I’AM STILL CONFUSED
    Where in Minnesota? Minn or Mn
    Whats the engine size on that V-twin Goldwing ?
    You like ness bikes ?

    Pulling your leg man. Sounds like you had a party Sat night Ha ! Peace

  16. 16 Woody Sep 20th, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    And you’re havn’ one Sunday night?
    Polaris’ Victory Bikes are from Medina, MN and I was kidding, calling the Vision a “Victory GoldWing”.
    Yeah, I super dig all the early Ness stuff fell in love with the pair of ’57 chebbie bikes and a few others. Don’t care for the Victory stuff though, as far as the Ness influence. Just not me. Consider the source though-I ride a Valkyrie 😉 not exactly a good-looking bike according to many.

  17. 17 ezj Sep 21st, 2009 at 6:02 am

    blah, blah, blah..bike looks badass & futuristic all at the same time. Chargers have (agruably) the best uniforms in the NFL. Compared to an Ultra, more affordable? Yep. BTW: anyone commenting ever ride one? Folks i’ve talked to who own ’em – love ’em. (guess after plunkin down $23k they’re gonna say that.) All in all, pretty cool & I like the buzz they always seem to stir up when HD guard see ’em.

  18. 18 1550tc Sep 21st, 2009 at 8:07 am

    Todd8080

    until they conquer their one and only shortcoming: POOR STYLING.

    No kidding and I think that is why Lehman got Prugh involved just to bring some new styling to their Polaris trike. If Polaris has any sense of styling they should get Michael Prugh to be doing the design on the bikes not some sticker/decal guy in MN.

    And

    Ugly is ugly, in good times or bad,

    No kidding their bikes do have the bling for the, “I don’t have HD stamped on their forehead crowd”…………. bling is what is attracting buyers IMO.
    For BLING buyers $ for $ you get a lot more curbside flash/bling with a Polaris then you do with a stock Harley.

    All I know is that last summer there were some of these bikes on ebay dirt cheap.

    Luckiest guy and best Polaris story was a guy here who had an old v92?? In his garage covered up with a logoed HD cover……………imagine the look on the thief’s face when the found they found out they had a Polaris rather than a Harley.

    As for innovation they could have gone totally radical like the spyder lol, Todd in all honesty these focus groups that some companies use are just WTF groups and most of the time tell you what you want to hear. Those spyders will be a great buy on ebay for 3-5 grand in a few years if not sooner!! In traffic and 100 degree heat try splitting lanes on one in CA!

    I will say this about Polaris they will keep on picking away at Harley’s market for years or until they quit making these bikes.

  19. 19 Charles Strand Sep 21st, 2009 at 9:15 am

    As a Victory dealer, I will say that in our market, Dallas Fort Worth, the Victory Vision and the Victory 8-Ball are our 2 best sellers. We can’t keep them in stock and have bought our last 5 Visions from other dealers as the factory has been sold out for some time until the 2010s come out.

    Opinions are like A-holes, everyone has one, but the market determines success or failure. The Vision, like all Victorys, are mechanically the best American bikes on the road hands down. While even I thought the Vision was ahead of its time, I was happy to see that I was wrong. Talk to someone that owns one, they all love em.

    Good job Victory and Arlen!

  20. 20 Johny Sep 21st, 2009 at 10:00 am

    “…mechanically the best American bikes on the road hands down.” That is an opinion, straight from the dealer’s mouth. And right or wrong, customers ride for different reasons. Some ride for the soul, some parade for attention. Which do you think the Victory addresses?

    BTW…what do opinions have to do with A-holes?

  21. 21 Frank Howard Sep 21st, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    Johny,

    You need to cut poor Charles Strand some slack. He is the same Charles Strand that touted the wonderful qualities of the American Ironhorse as well and we all know how he faired on that one. He used to be Ironhorse of Ft. Worth (or something to that effect) and then he changed the name of the company to Renegade Cycles.

    If you are going to buy a Victory go over and buy it from Rick Fairless.

  22. 22 Charles Strand Sep 21st, 2009 at 7:25 pm

    Don’t need any slack Frank, we’ve “faired” very well with AIH… still am, buying repos from Textron and failed dealers and making more on them than ever. Didn’t change to Renegade because of a failure, we changed the name as a requirment to become a Victory Dealer… same compay, just a name change and a bigger facility.

    Every industry review ever done in the last decade shows Victory as the best “mechanical” bike, that’s how they can offer a 5 year warranty. Even Rick will agree, it’s “mechanically” the best American bike. Do your home work, you’ll see.

    Not sure what “soul or attention…” have to do with my comment, “mechanically the best…”.

    In my “opinion”, Bourget is the best designed factory custom and that is based on “soul and attention…”.

  23. 23 Woody Sep 21st, 2009 at 10:03 pm

    Yamaha gave a 5 year warr. on the Royal Star in 1996.

  24. 24 Olly the Aussie Sep 21st, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    I reckon all the knockers of the Vision are Harley riders. And I understand how you blokes feel.
    The Victory is hands down a better machine and you havent got a leg to stand on. And who said the Vics are a rip off of the HD? you gotta be kidding me.
    Where can you buy an HD with overhead cams, and 106 inch engines, right off the show room floor?
    These things develop 95 HP bog stock. Do a $1000 cam upgragde and it’ll make 112 at the back wheel. How many of the Harleys can do that?
    How many Harleys have that fabulous mono shock rear suspension, that wont wobble, wave or tank slap at speed? none.
    I took my FLHX to the dealer and said, mate, Ive spent thousands trying to get this thing to handle, whats wrong here?
    The dealer told me I was “over riding it”.
    Really ? I said, can you over ride a $32,000 motorcycle? ( thats what they cost in Australia).
    You cant over ride a Victory Vision. That bike will scare the shit out of R1’s and Busas on any mountain road. Take one for a spin and see for yourself. Our dealership in Melbourne Australia is struggling to keep up with demand. They have doubled their projected sales figures and thats a hard thing to do in the current GFC. ( Where did that pesky GFC originate BTW?)
    You boys are just jealous bitches. The styling of the Vision is very divisive, love it or hate it, it rides like a caddy, looks better than one and you can do 1200 miles on one, every day for a month.

  25. 25 1550TC Sep 22nd, 2009 at 12:07 am

    “…mechanically the best American bikes on the road hands down.”

    wonderful qualities of the American Ironhorse …….. there is an oxymoron if i ever did read one!!

    ok once again time to put the crack pipe and step back from your keyboard for a couple days 🙂

    and just when you thought it was

    That bike will scare the shit out of R1’s and Busas on any mountain road.

    WTF wont a m BUSA out run a Vision in FIRST GEAR?? With an R1 and its rider tied up behind it with the brakes on and climbing up I-70 going to Eisenhower Tunne????????l

    Ok mate you must have typed that after downing a 6pac of 2 liter cans of Fosters……iam sure sport bike riders in deals gap are getting out their 250 ninjas to level the playing field against the auzzzzzie Visons

    NOT A SHOT, BUT……..Yeah Opinions are like A-holes, and thank god you don’t have to be one to recognize one!

  26. 26 Olly the Aussie Sep 22nd, 2009 at 1:39 am

    I said scare the shit out of, not out run, settle down mate, and did you just call me an arsehole ?
    Charming way to speak to your upside down brothers.
    I can do things with my Vision on, say the Great Ocean Road, that I could never even attempt on my Street Glide or my Sopftail.
    Just making a point.
    I wouldnt drink that fosters crap if they gave me a truckload of it for free, it tastes too much like American beer.

  27. 27 1550tc Sep 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 am

    Olly

    Yo upside down brother from another mother, nah I’am not calling you or anyone an arse, just a figure of speech

    and yeah Foster is like sub 5% alcohol American Beer, its good as a short term rental beer

    Olly your bang on, the GRAPHICS on that bike will scare the shit out of R1’s and Busas on any mountain road

    Olly if your looking for the ultimate, non jap or non v2 touring bike , take a 2007 BMW K 1200 GT for a ride.

  28. 28 just my opinion Sep 22nd, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    1550tc; obviously you have never looked into just how reliable the Victory really is. The joke is how guys like you will defend HD and their design. Does HD give a five year warr.? Victory does. Does Harley have a liqiud cooled motor that never over heats? No they don’t in fact if you have ever been stuck in traffic on that 1550 twin cam of yours, you already know that it will get hot enough to burn your legs. Don’t get this twisted I like Harley’s in fact I own two and the wife also has one but they don’t even come close to the Victory in performance and dependability. You would have to do major motor work to get a HD to run as good as the Victory does stock and even then you would still be over heating in traffic. Ride a Victory some time I think you may be surprised. Unless you are one of those guys that bought a Harley just to be one of the cool kids.

  29. 29 Olde School Sep 26th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

    Let’s get one thing straight first. Ness did NOT design the Vision, or ANY other Victory. Every bike since the 03 Vegas has been designed by Michel Song. All the Ness family does is come up with a paint scheme, and add a bunch of chrome baubles to them. In the case of the Ness Vision he also lowered it.
    These Visions also are big sellers. Park one somewhere, and watch people flock to it. Sure you will hear some negative comments, but the overwhelming sentiment is that it is clean, original, and good looking.Yes you are right the Vic sales went down since it’s intro, but guess what. SO HAS HARLEY’S. Fact is Vic sales are off by about 40% while HD is down almost 90%. It’s the economy stupid. It has nothing to do with the bikes, and everything to do with discretionary funds, and credit availability
    You want something more then opinion about how well made a Victory is. Just go check out JD powers. Victory is, and has been NUMBER ONE for 4 years running.
    You may have guessed by now that I ride a Vic. In fact I have a 00, an03, and an 06 in my Garage. They share space with my all original 74/74″ AMF FLHPS because EVERYBODY knows. Real HD’s have iron cyls. I have had Pan’s Shovels, Rubber Shovels, and they were all great bikes. The only HD I ever had that sucked was my 86FLHTC. Could not keep a base, or head gasket in the thing for more then a couple thousand miles. You newbies can talk all the smack you like, but remember that the best thing to happen to the MoCo in 20 years is Victory FORCING them to advance

  30. 30 Olly the Aussie Sep 28th, 2009 at 3:47 pm

    Yeah.

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