It's big, bold, heavy and looks as if it has been carved out of a block of metal. It's the Victory Classic Cruiser voted "Cruiser of the Year" in the US two years running. It's the "all American" type of motorcycle, writes John Wheeler
The huge, 1,502 cc fuel-injected Vee-twin engine produces awesome torque. Add a cable-operated clutch which has less than 1 mm movement between fully in and fully out, and this is a beast which takes off like a carthorse stung by a bee.
It's not a machine we would choose as a "commuter". Nor is it a viable "tourer". The standard seat - there are more costly after-market options - meant that after 80 miles we began to wish for a physiotherapist!
The massive, very wide handlebars make you look as if you are an angler describing the one that got away.
Made in the US by Polaris, an established snowmobile and jet-ski manufacturer, this is a "recreation vehicle", rather than a motorcycle as we understand it on this side of the Atlantic.
Most of the US road network was built after the car became popular - roads are generally wide, straight and stretch to the horizon. Throw in low speed limits, 55 mph in most states, and the result is cars and bikes which burble along effortlessly in a straight line. Add fuel costs around a quarter of what we endure and economy is not a consideration.
All of this makes for machines which, to us Europeans, look anything but nimble, sound like tractors but certainly draw heads. It's all about buying into a lifestyle.
The makers of the Victory offer a huge range of Arlen Ness Signature Series after-market add-ons so you can, at a cost, customise to your heart's content. And with its own comprehensive, distinctive range of clothing that even includes a Spandex Sports Bra and you get the picture. Many would regard this machine as a posemobile or a hunk of driveway jewellery.
We liked the fact that it has excellent Brembo brakes. The large headlamp mounted speedometer includes an LCD display which, at the touch of a button on the right twistgrip, scrolls through a mass of useful and interesting information - slightly spoiled by the fact that between 40 to 80 mph, the speedo needle partly obscures the LCD window. On the left hand grip another button dims or brightens the idiot lights, so you can have several degrees of bright or dullness depending on the conditions. The indicators are self-cancelling. The wide and deeply valanced mudguards, fenders in USA-speak, do help keep the machine cleaner.
Start the engine and there is no doubt that this is all muscle; it rattles and snorts into life with a beat reminiscent of a marine diesel. The gears engage with a majestic clank. Let out the clutch and, unless you have applied some rear brake, this beast, simply on tickover, tries to canter away over the horizon. It is not the easiest of machines to ride in traffic.
With 90 ft lbs of torque at a mere 3,000 rpm it laughs at hills and gradients. Such is the torque that, frankly, it does not need a five-speed gearbox. It feels as if it could do most anything you ever wanted with just two or three gears.
The engine is surprisingly smooth, thanks to having proper balanced shafts, so whilst it sounds distinctly agricultural you are not vibrated out of existence. With a 1,608 mm wheelbase and 288 kgs dry weight it feels, when asked to change direction, to be distinctly ponderous and tight bends can become "interesting".
On the straight, it is at its most happy at around 55 mph. A mere 2,750 rpm gives 60 mph. Ask it to do more and, of course, it will. Top speed ought to be around 115-120 mph but, on anything less than a perfect surface and on a windless day you would need to be a fully paid up member of the "No Fear" club to try. On a typical Irish road even legal speed overtaking can cause one to ask "do I really want to be doing this"? On standard settings the suspension is too hard for Irish roads, but with softer settings it would wallow even more.
Thanks to the fuel injection, electronic ignition, SOHC and 4-valve per cylinder layout it is reasonably economical at legal speeds, giving 38-43 mpg. Being traditional American cruiser, comparisons with Harley Davidsons are inevitable. Victory currently has just a three-model range of which this one falls between the Vegas - a Harley V-Rod look-a-like - and a less extreme Roadster. Harley, however, has 18 or more variants on the same theme. In terms of price, looks, quality of finish and refinement the Victory seems to have the edge over the nearest Harley equivalent.
TechSpec
ENGINE: Oil/air cooled 50° V-twin, 1,507cc (92 cu.in) 9.2:1 compression. SOHC/4 valves per cylinder, electronic fuel injection 90bhp @ 5,500 rpm, max torque 100 ft lbs @ 3,000 rpm. 5-speed box, belt final drive.
BRAKES: Front - Brembo 300mm disk 4-piston calliper; rear - Brembo 300mm disk - 2 piston calliper.
SUSPENSION: Front - 45mm telescopic forks, 130mm travel. Rear - triangulated swinging arm, single shock, 4" travel with adjustable preload.
DIMENSIONS: Lenght 2,388mm, wheelbase 1,608mm, seat height 720mm. Dry weight 288kgs (634lbs). Fuel capacity: 19 litres.
PRICE: €17,740.