ManWithAVision
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Posts
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It's too bad that this video couldn't be shown on the local television stations and at high schools on a regular basis. Unfortunately the alcohol producers and those with a drinking problem in high places would make sure it was pulled pretty darn quick, if it were. The R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everwhere) program in Toronto recently announced that in spite of past downturns in the number of charges laid against intoxicated motorists, this year they are seeing an upswing in spite of all the politically correct advertizing we are exposed to. I think something like this would drive the point home much better.
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It's official, I am no longer a proud Royal Star owner. The Victory dealer came and picked up my RSTD today. My new 2010 Victory Vision will be arriving in two or three weeks. Therefore my old username has to disappear as well. As tx2sturgis recently suggested, ManWithAVision seems much more appropriate at this point in time. With those dual stage heated handgrips and seats and electrically adjustable windscreen, I'm hoping to get in a few rides this winter on the dry days. I will post a comparison thread about the two bikes along the way. 06RSTDRider over and out!
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That's it. My Royal Star days are over (for now). The dealer came and picked up my baby this afternoon. I would have liked to have ridin it there but it was just too darn cold and windy today. Suddenly I feel so bikeless:yikes::bawling:What a terrible feeling. My new Vision should be delivered close to Christmas time (maybe in time to park it under the tree). If anyone is looking for a really sweet ride it should be on the showroom floor this weekend at Peak Power Sports in Burlington www.peakpowersports.ca
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Initially the Motorkote and Amsoil oil seemed to quiet down my whining and chirping on my RSTD quite a bit, but it returned recently back to the same level as before. I'm starting to think maybe it depends on what day your motor was assembled at the factory. Originally it seemed to be worse on hot and humid days but my last trip was in mid November in southern Ontario, so that blew that theory. One of the things I always wanted in a bike was the ability to cruise along at 70 without feeling the motor work. I quickly traded in my Suzuki C50 because at that speed I had trouble keeping my feet on the floorboards due to the motor buzz. Keeping the revs up on the Royal Stars is a common theme, but doing 65 in fourth is not my idea of a relaxed ride. I only had a short time on the highway with the Vision. By the time I got it into 6th gear doing 70 my exit was coming up fast but it certainly felt comparible to driving along at the same speed in my F150. Smooth and quiet. Maybe my full face helmut helped to shave some decibels off the noise levels.
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The trunk on the Vision is large enough to accomodate two full face helmuts, so I would say it is comparable to the Venture's. The side bags may look smaller, but unlike those on the Royal Stars, they open sideways and there is additional room for items to protrude into the covers. The brochure claims a total storage capacity of 29 gallons. On one of the Visions in the showroom they had a fair sized aftermarket bag mounted on the pillion seat which fit quite nicely without interfering with the drivers seat. This is what my wife did on our trips. She just had the basic side saddlebags on her Suzuki C50 and would strap a Kuryakyn pack to the pillion. I carried an Areostich bag on my pillion in addition to the custom tour pack and OEM saddlebags. This gave us sufficient clothing capacity to have fresh duds for a week at a time. W.
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That's one thing I found very interesting. The dealer actually had two Visions and a few other models parked out front and they were all demos, and available to ride. During this past year, I walked into a H.D. dealership and checked out the Road King and Electra Glide, only to be told that they didn't have any demo bikes available to ride. Same storey at the Kawasaki dealer when I checked out the Voyager. In fact, same storey when I bought my RSTD. The first time I got to ride it was the day I showed up with the cheque in my hand. The 2010 model that I rode was loned out to the boys at Cycle Canada magazine for a 1,300 kilometer trip down the east cost this fall. They took four diffent makes on the trip and all four riders wrote glowing reviews about the Vision. The two main concerns they expressed were the positioning of the mirrors too low in the fairing (there is provision for optional handlbar mounts as well) and one of them thought the noise from the gear lash on the drive train was a little too loud. As a Royal Star rider, the first thing I listened for on the test ride was gear lash, whining, or chirping. I'm happy to say none was heard. I'm going to miss a lot of things about my RSTD, but the whining and chirping won't be one of them.
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COOL!
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Thanks for the link J.B. Looks promising. I would have loved to have kept my RSTD, but the cost of the subsequent divorce would have put me over the top financially. W.L.
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Victory has gone back to a two year warranty for the 2010's. The five year warranty was offered for a portion of 2009 to help boost sales during the recession and according to the dealer I am dealing with it worked. He said they did not participate in the recession at all. The standard warranty is one year, but they are now offering an extra year at no charge on the 2010's. One thing Victory does that a lot of others don't is to ensure that demo bikes are available for test rides. It took one hour in the heated saddle to sell me on the bike. In spite of the fact that it weighs about the same as my RSTD, I was blown away at the manouverability due to the low centre of gravity. The fuel tank runs down both sides of the front section of the bike, so I think this makes the difference. The clincher for me was the fact that they are also offering ABS and a electric reverse gear on the 2010's, which I went for.
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Ah gee, thanks for all the kind words folks. I do plan on sticking around this forum because it is full of great people and tons of information. And besides, what else is there to do in Toronto in January and February. I guess my handle will have to change in time. How about 10VVRider? W.L.
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Forgive me fellow V4 riders for I have sinned. Yesterday I took a 2010 Victory Vision for a test ride and by the end of the day I was making arrangements to turn over my 06 RSTD Midnight to the dealer. I have read several reviews and watched several You Tube videos about this bike and every one of them says that Victory got it right with the Vision, so I had to find a reason to hate this new spaceship on two wheels. Unfortunately my mission did not succeed and I am now on the factory delivery list. Perhaps it was those heated hand grips and dual control heated seats. After all it was only thirty-five degrees at the time of the test. Perhaps it was cruising along at 70 in 6th gear with my face shield up on my helmut behind the electrically adjustable windscreen and being hard pressed to know that the motor was really running. Or maybe it was those more common new bells and whistles like ABS brakes and electronically controlled fuel injection that Yamaha just doesn't want to give us V4 riders. At the end of the test ride I reluctantly decided to turn over the bike that I loved and invested heavily in over this past year for this unorthodox looking spaceship on two wheels. If any of you are looking for a very nice and very well pampered 06 RSTD Midnight with less that 5000 miles (8250 Kilometers) on the OD, my baby should be on the showroom floor at Peak Powersports in Burlington Ontario in about a weeks time. It comes with a custom tour pack c/w top rack, Mustang seats, Kuryakyn grips and highway pegs, passing lamps, HD Road King muffs, a Baron handlebar tach LED tail lights, licence plate light and rear turn signals, Strebel horn, and various other OEM and aftermarket accessories totalling close to $5K. The dealer gave me $10K on the trade-in value which also saved me $1,500 in taxes on the Victory. I am also going to have a number of accessories that I will be posting for sale that won't be turned over with the bike such as the lifting cradle, shop service manual, OEM seats and mufflers, a still in the package OEM front fender trim rail, and possibly the OEM detachable backrest c/w luggage rack (need to confirm this one with the dealer). I will post the items in the classifieds once the bike is turned over, but feel free to PM me in the mean time. http://i46.tinypic.com/2vj2bdi.jpg
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Floor Board Foot pegs
ManWithAVision replied to starkruzen's topic in Royal Star and Royal Star Tour Deluxe Tech Talk
I have the Kuryakyn pegs that mount on the crash bar and they work great, but I had to drill and tap them and the bar and install a stainless steel bolt. It just wasn't possible to get them tight enough to stop them from twisting on the bar if I applied too much foot pressure. This fix solved the problem and now I spend a lot more time with my feet up on the pegs than I do with them on the floorboards. -
Last year as I left for my last ride of 2008 around this time there was snow on the lawns in my neighbourhood. The high for that day was 3 C. or 37.4 F. Needless to say it was a short ride that day. Today in Toronto it was about 55 F. My wife and I took our bikes out to Milton and up the Niagara escarpment. About a 75 mile return trip. Wind came up enroute and we had to break out the riding pants and warmer gloves, but it was still a nice ride for this time of year in southern Ontario. Saw lots of other hearty cruisers out there trying to squeeze out a few more miles before it's time to hybernate.
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I have been running the prescribed amount of Motorkote in my crankcase for three months now in my 06 RSTD and can say it has definitely made a difference in the level and the tone of the whine / chirp that I had pre-Motorkote. I am also now using Amsoil synthetic and it has further improved the noise levels IMHO. I am also running with drilled out Road King pipes which has made the bike sound a lot more like a bike should sound (again IMHO). I find I spend a lot less time focusing on the noises the engine is making and a lot more time enjoying the ride. I still get some whining in the mid range of third and fourth gear, but not nearly as bad as I used to. The only negative I have encountered is I have had a couple of situations under quick excelleration in first gear where it sounded and felt like the clutch was slipping a bit. With only eight thousand kilometers (4.2 K miles) on the bike I am doubtful that I have a clutch plate problem, but I also can't say for sure if the Motorkote has anything to do with it either. It only happens once in a while and one would think if the Motorkote was the culprit, others would be reporting similar troubles by now and the problem would be more consistant.
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A year ago, after a 30 year hiatus from riding (for me), my wife suggested the idea of buying motorcycles. We were nearing the end a disastrous boating holiday which gave us daily thunder storms for 80% of our two weeks on the water. But she emphasized that we would have to buy two as she didn't think I would be willing to ride on the back of hers! Lynn had never riden before except for one short ride on the back of one when she was much younger. I used to ride and race motocross in my younger years but then I met my first wife, and my second, and had two daughters, and started a business, and, and, and. So at the ripe young age of 55 we embarked on a new hobby. Lynn headed off to MC school and I went bike shopping. Lynn graduated from bike riding school last Mothers Day weekend and now owns and rides a Suzuki C50. I am now the proud owner of an RSTD. This past summer we did two one week trips around northern and southern Ontario putting about a thousand kilometers on each time. The only incident was having the O.P.P. pull us over because my sweety was going too slow and holding up a transport truck on Manitoulin Island. The cop couldn't stop snickering as he told her this would probably be the only time she would have a cop tell her to go faster. For our friends and relatives who all tell us we must be crazy, my response is that when my time comes I would rather go out on the front of a bus than lying in a hospital bed with a tube down my throat. We don't take needless chances. We both ride within our own personal limits. And we always worry just enough about one another everytime we ride. But on the plus side, we both feel years younger, in spite of all those new aches and pains at the end of a long days ride, and we are having the time of our lives. We also have an intense mad on about the cold white months that show up at this time of year. Know anybody that wants to buy a 29 foot sailboat????