[RedChieftain]

After reading TONS of posts that basically say 'Victory dealers SUCK and Polaris turns a blind eye' I'm starting to re-think my decision to buy an Indian. It was originally scheduled for delivery around mid Oct, and it seems that is slipping, so the dealer hasn't incurred a cost. The more I read about Victory and Victory dealer responses to issues, the more I question getting involved with Polaris motorcycles at this point. Really considering checking out. I was impressed with the bike on my short, restricted demo ride but Polaris dealer development and support has me really worried.

 

[mjw930]

Obviously you read a lot here about poor dealers but honestly, it's not that much worse than most other brands. What you don't hear are the praises for the dealers who do a great job. I think the Indian franchise will also change some of this. The dealers getting into Indian have a different, more long term business model so they will be investing more from the beginning looking for the long term payoff and most of them know service is how you build a loyal customer base.

Another thing to consider is Victory's as a whole require a lot less service aside from maintenance than Harley's historically do.

Personally, I'm lucky to have a great Victory dealer local and one of the best Victory mechanics 60 miles away so the bad dealer threads never phased me.

 

[bikendad]

People tend to post negative experiences on the internet but not positive ones is what I have found. Read some negative reviews of a Samsung microwave after I bought it, that was a few years back and it's the best damn microwave I've ever owned. The 2 Vic dealers I use have been awesome and so has my 2010 XC that has over 27,000 trouble free fun filled miles!

 

[spider]

After reading TONS of posts that basically say 'Victory dealers SUCK and Polaris turns a blind eye' I'm starting to re-think my decision to buy an Indian. It was originally scheduled for delivery around mid Oct, and it seems that is slipping, so the dealer hasn't incurred a cost. The more I read about Victory and Victory dealer responses to issues, the more I question getting involved with Polaris motorcycles at this point. Really considering checking out. I was impressed with the bike on my short, restricted demo ride but Polaris dealer development and support has me really worried.

Not all Victory Dealers are crap, Polaris definitly dropped the ball with a lot of Victory issues, good thing the bikes don't need Dealers.
Now as far as Indian goes, I am buying my bike for me, not because of my experience with the factory or the Dealer, but I can only hope Indian keeps tabs on the Dealer network and keeps true to the ' whole package ' spiel, I would hate to walk into an Indian Dealership and be ignored after the sale like i've heard happen to so many Vic owners.

 

[keithgrey]

Obviously, the choice is yours, but even when I rode HD I didn't rely on dealerships much. I still buy parts on line and do a lot of my own wrenching.

Remember that most Internet commentary is from folks that are looking for help with an issue or a chance to vent.

What seems to be lost in all this complaining and blaming is that we are riding tremendously reliable, well designed Motorcycles.

My Vision has been a joy to ride, and while I don't know how reliable the new Indians will be, I do know they used the engineers and designers from the Victory 106/6 team. These guys have been very successful, and are now a well seasoned team.

As I said originally, either choice you make only has to make sense to you, but I try to trust my initial input from test riding and looking the bike over.

Goodluck, and if you decide to get the Indian, I look forward to your review.

Kg

 

[conklij]

I also have had great experiences with three dealers in my area. The dealer I bought the Vic from has been first class since day one. He has gone out of his way to deal with any issues I have. I will buy from him again. The newest local dealer has treated me great as well. I stopped in one day with a sticky throttle issue to make an appointment. He took the bike right then and had the mechanic look it over. He charged me nothing on top of it. Dropped my bike off at the Gainseville dealer to have the problem checked out before a road trip. KevinX road tested it for a few days, gave it a clean bill of health, and charged me $0.00.

 

[RedChieftain]

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to respond and give your input. It's good to read some positive input on Victory dealers. Are any of them big city, multi brand dealers? I change fluids and do very basic stuff on my bikes but I'm definitely no wrench. I need a good dealer for most bike issues. Hopefully, of course, there aren't many issues and dealers aren't needed too often but things happen and when they do the last thing a rider wants is a disinterested dealer with no parts, who denies warranty claims, who doesn't have a competent tech, etc., all traits that seem to represent most, not all, Victory dealers I've read about on VOG. My only experience with Victory, admittedly very limited, is demo-ing the bikes over the years and visiting dealerships that carry Victories; all of which in my experience, my area, are multi brand dealers with 6-8 brands. I didn't think too much about that until I started visiting VOG after placing my Indian order but after reading the huge preponderance of negative Victory dealer posts I can see where those multi brand Victory dealers are spreading their parts inventories 6-8 ways, very well may not have a tech who spends much time on Victories and therefore doesn't build competence with them, and who's interest in Victory, only one of their 6-8 brands, is limited. I was impressed with the Little Rock dealer I placed my order with, but he is 475 miles from me! I won't have the luxury of going to him. We'll see.
Again, I really appreciate the input. Thanks.

 

[USrider]

Not all dealers are bad. I had a very positive response in Boise, Id, at Carl's Cycle Sales, correcting a failing rear shock under warranty, in the middle of a road trip. Link to post:
http://www.thevog.net/forum/thread/20707/excellent-service-at-carl-039-s-cycle-sales-in-boise-idaho/

 

[begjr2]

Where in TX are you because i can tell you allot of dealers here in TX that have been amazing for me.

 

[Brentt]

There's not a chance I would give up my order.

Polaris didn't go about this lightly. They've invested millions
Of dollars and spared no expense to bring the brand back to life.
They are In this for the long haul. Take their dealer requirements for instance.
You need $500,000 before they will even talk to you. They know it takes
Deep pockets to get any new business off the ground and keep it afloat
During the initial startup. With these requirements it will take a while to develop
The dealer network but they will have a stronger company In the end.

Keep your bike on order, you'll be glad you did.

This is from Indians web site and pretty much sums it up.

Quote: 'we are well aware that we only have one chance to make a first impression, both to longstanding devotees of Indian bikes and to dealers and prospective customers who have witnessed the brand’s series of struggles. We at Polaris pledge that Indian Motorcycle will be reborn with the technology, performance, quality, and class that are the hallmarks of this storied brand.'
'We will not rest until this brand is back on top where it belongs'

 

[bbm32]

Where in TX are you because i can tell you allot of dealers here in TX that have been amazing for me.

X2 on that. I bought mine out of Houston and they have been great everytime I call them about anything.

 

[Creek_IP]

And when I rode a Suzuki, I read horror stories about dealers. Never needed one. When I was researching Star, I read horror stories about dealers. When I was researching HD, I read horror stories about dealers. ( But that was supposed to be Okay since there's a dealer on every corner.) When I was researching Victory, I read horror stories about dealers. I've found several great ones but haven't needed them yet. If you let Internet chatter sway your decisions, you'll be hard pressed to be at peace buying ANY motorcycle. As stated above, there is a lot of good commentary on good dealers. But, you'll have to dig because as stated, most people with bad experiences are looking for help. Most people with good experiences are riding or trying to provide help.

 

[bigfoot]

There are two very good dealerships in Ohio that I know of.
There is one dealership that is totally crap, and Victory is dropping them.

I was on a trip to Phoenix recently when I had an 'issue' that needed a dealers attention.
I used the Victory app on my phone to find the nearest dealership and they kept a mechanic after hours to effect my repairs.

So, there are good dealerships and crappy dealerships.
You'll find the same is true with automobiles too.

 

[Hey_Yu]

last thing a rider wants is a disinterested dealer with no parts, who denies warranty claims, who doesn't have a competent tech, etc., all traits that seem to represent most, not all, Victory dealers I've read about on VOG

I have read various threads on the VOG regarding anything with dealer comments. I also did the same thing for the H-D forums when I owned a vehicle from that brand. Both sets of forums suffer from the same problem, misrepresentation of an issue. The number of riders on the forums represent a small MINORITY of a brand's riders. Those people making negative comments is a small portion of that small portion. To reach the conclusion above is an injustice to the many good dealers. The traits listed above are those of a few dealers (all brands by the way) not most (this implies more than half of the dealers) of the dealers as you stated. For the problem to be as you make it out to be, neither Victory nor H-D (and a whole bunch of car manufacturers (i.e., VW and Toyota)) would be out of business.

 

[Lostintexas]

Where in TX are you because i can tell you allot of dealers here in TX that have been amazing for me.

Do tell. Haven't found one of those yet.

 

[mybmwk1200rs]

The two dealers that I frequent have been awesome to work with. Very knowledgeable and willing to help any way they can. Those would be Strokers Dallas and Freedom Power sports in Hurst. Freedom Power sports is starting the remodel for the Indian brand.

 

[RedChieftain]

Where in TX are you because i can tell you allot of dealers here in TX that have been amazing for me.

I'm in Sugar Land, just southwest of Sugar Land. I'd really appreciate hearing about the good Victory dealers in the Houston area, or even in a 200 mile radius, or more. Thanks.

 

[RedChieftain]

There's not a chance I would give up my order. Polaris didn't go about this lightly. They've invested millions Of dollars and spared no expense to bring the brand back to life. They are In this for the long haul. Take their dealer requirements for instance. You need $500,000 before they will even talk to you. They know it takes Deep pockets to get any new business off the ground and keep it afloat During the initial startup. With these requirements it will take a while to develop The dealer network but they will have a stronger company In the end. Keep your bike on order, you'll be glad you did. This is from Indians web site and pretty much sums it up. Quote: 'we are well aware that we only have one chance to make a first impression, both to longstanding devotees of Indian bikes and to dealers and prospective customers who have witnessed the brand’s series of struggles. We at Polaris pledge that Indian Motorcycle will be reborn with the technology, performance, quality, and class that are the hallmarks of this storied brand.' 'We will not rest until this brand is back on top where it belongs'

I appreciate that, Brentt. Thank you. I've looked and looked for something like that but couldn't find anything. I loved the bike the couple of times I rode it at Sturgis and the power, throughout the range and in any gear, was the most I've ever experienced on a big cruiser style bike, modified or stock. I was pumped, and I didn't need another bike. I read about the nearly $100,000,000 Polaris spent on the Indian, to date, and that gave me confidence too. Having no dealers in a HUGE state like Texas announce pending openings, not even announce(!), the delays in shipments, and reading a lot of negative posts on Victory dealers weakened my resolve a bit, admittedly. I'm still hanging in there though. Thanks again.

 

[satxron]

Freedom is going to sell Indian. That is good news for Texas. Kent in San Antonio is talking about it a little but they don't seem very serious.

 

[apd4209]

yes, please cancel your order, maybe that way my bike will get here quicker!!

Just messin with ya. I would never cancel my order. I dont care if it gets delayed until christmas and I ride the thing home in the snow!!

I have had VERY good luck with Polaris/Victory and have a tremendous dealer. I have zero complaints about anything when it comes to Polaris/Victory/Indian