Got to test ride a few Victory's today

[throttlejunkie]

The local BMW/Victory dealer had test rides yesterday and today, I was able to ride just about their entire lineup. If anyone is in the market for a cruiser I would defiantly give Victory a look, great riding bikes, good suspension, great breaks, and plenty of power when you want it. Ive been on test rides put on manufacturers before, and this one by far was one of the best organized one I have been on, about 20 miles long with a mix of back roads, major highways, and every thing in-between. The best part was there were no sales people pressuring anyone to buy, a few factory reps there to answer any questions you might have about the bikes, and the guides.

[fineout]

Victory does seem to be on top of their game lately, they actually have modern tech in them and aren't dinosaurs like HD and they look pretty nice for cruisers.

[Stoneman]

I actually dig their cruisers. READ: NOT tourers...

[01xj]

I actually dig their cruisers. READ: NOT tourers...

Their version of the baggers are honestly some of the ugliest bikes on the road IMO.

[Stoneman]

I actually dig their cruisers. READ: NOT tourers...

Their version of the baggers are honestly some of the ugliest bikes on the road IMO.

It's rare that ANY touring type bike like those appeal to me. But they have that one - I forget what it's called, it looks kinda 'futuristic'. I can't fuckin' stand to look at those...

[DesmoTull]

You are thinking of the Vision.

[GearHd6]

Their new Cross Country is actually very normal looking, nothing like the Vision, thankfully.

[Sheppo]

As ugly as it is... The vision is one of the best motorcycles I've ever ridden. I'd love to do a track day on one.

[zombie]

It's rare that ANY touring type bike like those appeal to me. But they have that one - I forget what it's called, it looks kinda 'futuristic'. I can't fuckin' stand to look at those...

I test rode one of them things and as bizarre as it is, it's one of the best handling of that type I've ever
ridden. Great brakes and suprisingly good suspenders on it.
Still wouldn't buy one unless it's cheap.

[Tunertype]

I tested a bunch of victory bikes at Myrtle Beach bike week. I really liked the Vegas 8 Ball. They are alittle boring in the engine department since they all have the exact same engine. Its a good engine though.

Compared to a Harley, Victory are smoother, handle better, are much more comfy and generally have more power. Harleys do have more "character".

[JohnnyV]

Yep, still dig the Hammer-S

[oVTo]

As ugly as it is... The vision is one of the best motorcycles I've ever ridden. I'd love to do a track day on one.

It's been done - we had one last year at NHMS. I'd like to do a lot of two-up long distance touring in a few years, and the Vision is on my short list of bikes I'd do it on.

[jwm2k3]

Having worked at a few different bike shops, i can honestly say that Victory is by far the best cruiser out there, in my never humble opinion. Sure the Yamaha Raider is pretty balls too but for the market segment Victory is in, they make HD look silly, slow, clunky and serioulsy lacking in performance.

And yes, the Hammer S and the Vegas are my favorites!

[throttlejunkie]

the Hammer S was by far my favorite bike to ride, very comfortable, tons of power and it handled very well. I also rode the Vegas and the new Judge, both nice bikes, but I'm 6' and the pegs were a little to high for comfortable riding for me. I don't think I heard one complaint of the bikes all day long.

I did get to watch some guy who had very little control of a full bagger. at first it was kind of interesting watching him try to negotiate a few corners, I first thought that the bike was just way bigger then he was used to but quickly realized that he was very inexperianced and probably shouldn't have been on such a large bike that he clearly couldn't handle. The guides stopped the ride a few miles into it because of him and one of the guides took him back to the dealership and asked my gf and I to run "sweep" for the group because we had already been on 4 or 5 other rides and knew the rout. The guide later told me that this guy made a scene back at the dealership saying that he had just gotten his license and was going to buy a full bagger even though he had such a difficult time handling one. They had suggested a "smaller" bike, something to get some experience on for a year or two and then get a bagger. Apparently he stormed off across the street to the HD dealer where I am sure they were more then glad to take is money.

One of the guides gave us two passes to the motorcycle concourse next month at the world golf village in St. Augustine. apparently there are more then 4500 classic, custom, and rare motorcycles registered and all of the money raised goes to the wounded warrior project. He said they raise over $25,000 last year and have a goal of $40,000 this year.

[oVTo]

The most common gripe the bike mags have seems to be the transmission, but they usually say they're much better than they used to be, but still not great. What was your impression? Notchy? Any missed shifts?

[nhbubba]

Any brand that hires R. Lee Ermey to do ads can't possibly suck.

But man, that's a lot of bread they are asking for!

[jwm2k3]

The most common gripe the bike mags have seems to be the transmission, but they usually say they're much better than they used to be, but still not great. What was your impression? Notchy? Any missed shifts?

Well...the magazine guys are not wrong. It is a little notchy. But, i ask you this....Have you ever ridden a Suzuki M109R??? THAT bike has a seriously notchy transmission.

I would wager that after 50 or 100 miles on the Victory, youd never even notice the transmisson. The issue is there, but hardly noticable after you get used to the bike.

[throttlejunkie]

The most common gripe the bike mags have seems to be the transmission, but they usually say they're much better than they used to be, but still not great. What was your impression? Notchy? Any missed shifts?

I did at first, but I am going from a GSXR that shifts very easy and has a short movement to shift, to a cruiser that needs more pressure and has a longer movement, once I got the hang of being more deliberate with my shifts I had no problem. I did get neutral shifting from fist to second/second to first a few times at first. It really wasn't any worse then any other cruiser I have ridden, but thats a limited number to begin with...I do think the gearing of the transmissions were right on, but you defiantly get a workout with the clutch, they were damn heavy. All of the gauges had an integrated gear indicator which was nice, with the exception when you had the clutch pulled it showed a dash.