I have no personal experience with Viking Mixers, but I do have a Viking
oven and would never again own a Viking product. My oven, only about two
years old had a burned out element that to 4 months or so to resolve. My
difficulty was in getting authorized service. And I live in a major
metropolitan area where there are a lack of authorized Viking repair
persons. Even the corporate office was difficult and unhelpful. I think
they spend allot of money hyping their product and making it look
"professional" and very little on quality. Since you're responsible for
feeding a lot of people you need to be very certain there are authorized
repair centers near you who will work on the item in a timely manner.
I had the same problem as you and many other people who bought a newer
Kitchenaid. I still have the one I bought 22 years ago and it's going
strong, but I bought an additional one about 6 years ago and the motor
burned out the first day I used it. Relative to the cost of the thing the
repair was expensive.
These days I use a DLC-X plus Cuisinart for bread dough so I can't
recommend a mixer specifically but I will add that allot of people rave
about the Bosch. The Pleasant Hill Grain Company (I'm just a customer - no
affiliation) from who I purchased my pressure cooker and immersion blender
(1-800-321-1073 - pleasanthillgrain.com) also features the Bosch. I'm sure
if you gave them a call they'd be happy answer any questions you might have
about these mixers. Their website also has a lot of detailed info.