 |
|
By Michael Dapper
VRA Page Webmaster
What’s your impression of the 2008 Victory lineup? How do you like the Kingpin 8-Ball and the Vegas Low?
If we would have had a truckload of Vegas Lows at Victory Demo Site at Daytona Bike Week this year, we could have sold them on the spot. So many people love the bikes, especially the Vegas with its smart styling, but shorter-legged riders don’t feel comfortable enough to demo ride nor buy one. The Vegas Low will take them from tip toes to flat-footed on the street, and they’ll love riding a Victory that really fits them.
We were looking for the Kingpin 8-Ball a year ago. We didn’t know what Victory had coming for 2007, but thought it would be a natural to give the Kingpin the 8-Ball treatment. They have done so for ’08 and it looks good.
We’ve read in the VMC forums a lot of rave reviews for the new Ness Signature Series models. They are sharp, and they make quite a departure by replacing the tank badge with a painted brand name.
Let’s hear what you think about the ’08 lineup.
victorymailbag@polarisind.com
NEW FEATURES
In recent years the main requests Victory has heard for styling upgrades have centered on three component areas: the air box, the oil cooler and the control cubes (the handlebar-mounted switch housings). All three have been restyled to great effect (we feel) for 2008.
The answer we get from Victory engineering is “no,” the new frame-integrated oil cooler cannot be retrofit on a pre-’08 model because of where the oil exits the engine. Sounds like a challenge to us, fabricators and customizers.
We’re awaiting confirmation from our engineering sources on whether the control cubes will fit on pre-’08 handlebars, and whether the new air box will retrofit.
We learned earlier that the new handgrips will not fit on pre-’08 handlebars, nor will the electric heat element that’s available for the ’08 grips.
EASYRIDERS HONOR
A magazine that we buy for the articles – Easyriders – has included the Vegas Jackpot among its Top 10 Production Bikes (August 2007 issue).
A Ness production custom, the Highliner, was also among the award winners.
FASHION REPORT
You see a lot of great Victory T-shirts from Pure Victory, and plenty of sharp-looking, collectible T-shirts for Victory events and from Victory dealerships. What’s the best-looking Victory T-shirt you own? Let’s see a photo of you wearing it.
We’re partial to older shirts with the Victory script logo. And the shirt for the American Victory Rally 2-3 years ago – no writing, just tribal graphics on the front; Hammer graphic and rally info on the back – is among our favorites.
How about the worst Victory T-shirt ever? We nominate the Victory Challenge T-shirt from about three years ago, the one with “Before” on the front with an angel’s halo, and “After” on the back with devil horns.
Pullleeez. So, if we’ve got it straight, that shirt tells us a rider is Urkel before taking a ride, and after riding a Victory, becomes a regular Bluto, a real tough guy.
Every motorcycle brand – Victory included – is guilty of creating ad and promotional campaigns that use way too much tough guy, bad biker, “I’m a rebel, I’m an outlaw” (Peewee Herman, anyone?) images and tag lines.
Look at today’s ad or brochure photos and you ask “why are these beautiful young models in brand new clothing riding these beautiful new bikes in rain-soaked inner-city alleys? That’s not where we really ride! Seems like the open road would be greatly preferred for such nice bikes. And hey, Pretty Boy, let’s see if your T-shirt’s still ironed and your hair still moussed just so after riding 650 miles to Sturgis on a sweltering summer day.”
That Before/After T-shirt was so bad, we almost didn’t steal one.
End of diatribe. Let’s hear your views of favorite – and least favorite – Victory T’s.
victorymailbag@polarisind.com
GET LOST
It was a fair question. Someone read my Victory Blog with Victory Vision riding impressions and questioned my math: “You said ‘350 miles each way,’ yet you rode 750 miles. Where’d you get the other 50 miles?”
They come from getting lost – despite the fact we had only one significant turn and despite the fact I had a GPS unit on my bike.
Plain and simple, we thought we were following the signs but missed our significant turn. I didn’t have the trip plotted into the GPS, so it never indicated we were off-course. I had the GPS in tracking mode, and was just enjoying the animated view of the road we were on. Amazing stuff.
But then I saw a highway sign with the wrong road number and wondered why. I saw a second one – also wrong – and confirmed with the GPS that, yep, wrong road.
No prob. We put the Victory Visions through some straight line speed runs on empty country roads and made it to the wedding on time. All in the name of compiling thorough riding impressions, of course.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|