Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes Victory Test ride

Went out to Shark cycle in Vernon Ct Saterday, and test rode a Victory Vegas 8 ball and a Vegas Jackpot.

Started out on the 8 Ball, just me and guy doing the demos.
He started on the Jackpot,

8 Ball was a nice ride whole lot of power 60 mph 3rd gear not even close to winding it out, never got anyhigher than 4th through the whole ride.Handled well for a heavy bike.
One thing I noticed all through the ride heard this noise that sounded like blowing across the top of a beer bottle.

Went a few miles then swicthed bikes. Jackpot whole different story, Soon as I sat on it, vibration through the seat was rediculous. Felt like a loose motormount or somthin.Took off good power but vibration was intolerable.
Got up to about 50 into first turn, brake a little try to lean. Damn thing would not lean, had to muscle it over, almost over rode the turn, second turn same thing had to realy work to lean it. Screw this I said. slowed down and just keep the leader in sight. Could not wait to get off this death trap of a bike.

Got back to the dealer, got off the bike said to the guy "First bike was nice". "But this thing vibrates like a tank and handles like a dump truck". So the guy says, "Its the wide rear tire, you have to get used to it". yeah right get used to it or get killed trying to.

My friend said the same thing and he rides a Victory, so i know it wasnt just me.

went inside got my free t-shirt,(hey some guys wil do anything for a free shirt),Dealer says to me "I hear you didnt like the Jackpot". told him same thing I told the guide.

Anyhow hung out awhile and noticed they stopped giving rides on the Jackpot and brought out another 8 Ball...go figure.

what did the T shirt look like also the tire would not cause that vibration you complained about. Sounds like it handled like a dogsled

mike

A few weeks ago I test rode an 8-Ball and was really pleased to see how nice it handled. It had plenty of power and I never got out of 3rd gear!

Next is a Vegas!

I agree the 8-ball was a nice ride.,,,I didnt mention that the riding posistion was very comfortable and natural feeling also. ****** could be my next bike 14 grand though.

As for the vibration on the jackpot,,, no the wide tire would not account for that. Like i said i could feel it just sitting on the bike at Idle.And it was like the first thing I noticed.

the t-shirt basic biker black, says Vitory the new American motorcycle...

Back has like a white playing card with a picture of their v-twin motor on it.

Jack, I was really pleased with the feel of the 8-Ball too. And the black theme is very Speedmaster-esque. For $14K it's a steal. Plus if you look around you might get a great deal on a 2006.

But for the 6th gear and rear seat & pegs, plus more color options I might be swayed by the Vegas.

Victory has some of the best paint jobs in the industry in my opinion.

Don't all 3 of those bikes have the same motor? Shouldn't be a big difference with vibration... Fnny that rear tire makes such a difference, doesn't the rocket have one that wide? Unless there is more curve to the one on the rocket, no so "flat" ya know?

Benny, they all have the 100 inch engine.
The Rocket's a 240 rear tire, the Jackpot & Hammer have a 250.
That's a lot of rubber!

I think thats the key to the tire benny, the one on the jackpot was almost square, like a car slick. Its like you had to lean the bake far enough to get to the curve of the tire. It's all show. Would be graet in a straight line.

Yes same mototrs. and thye did take the jackpot out of the line up,. could have been somthing wrong with it.

Yeah aside from that rear tire and some basich changes (tins, forks,brakes,seats, etc) I think all those bikes are based on the same frame and motor. Right?

same moter for sure,dont know about the frames though, the Jackpot sits an inch lower than the 8-ball.

i think the frames may be the same with different suspensions, i may be wrong tho

I rode the ness version. I know someone who has it. It was OK I guess. It vibrated but didn't seem too bad plenty of power didn't handle well but wasn't too bad either. Had good stopping power. Just another V twin Hardley wanna be to me. I wasn't overly impressed I would ride it if I couldn't get a Triumph twin.Well unless that new Norton had made it to market.

The Vegas should not vibrate more than the 8 Ball. They are the same motor. Vegas has a 6 speed and I think 8 Ball still have a 5 speed. I think something was wrong with the Vegas, thats why they put it away.

As you said, they are very strong running bikes.

Benny, the Kingpins and Hammers have dual front brakes I believe.

So...your not gonna hold out a little longer and see what the new offering from Triumph is going to be?

Who knows if you get the Victory and then the Trumpet comes out and is everything that typically is wanted around here ....you may have a bad case of buyers remorse?

Kevin, we've been hearing about the imminent arrival of the Triumph "big twin" since I got my bike about 18 months ago, almost 10,000 miles ago. And I'm guessing the rumors were flying even before then.

Imagine if instead of getting the Speedmaster I decided to wait for the Big Twin. After all, I was told it would be here any day. Now we're being told 18 months MORE.

And to top it off, it's entirely likely it'll be made in Thailand!

Hey look, if they make it in 12 months, in Hinckley, I'll be VERY interested. But I really would like a bigger cruiser for next riding season and I'm not willing to wait until 2009 on a "maybe".

I love my Speedmaster and I would never sell it.
But buyer's remorse with a brand new 100/6 Victory? Hardly.

Yea. I can understand that. Theres times I would like to have an "American" scooter and since I have not the slightest love affair with any Harley standard issue the Victory lineup would have to do that.

Funny this weekend in Tucson is a big Az HOG (Harley Owners Group) rally in town dubbed Tucson Thunder. One of the organizers of the event stated in the AZ Daily Star that there are two kinds of Harley people...those who own one now and those who will. Quoted the whole Harley mystique issue.

Probably true for the masses but I for one have yet to be brainwashed by the Harley Mystique

I would agree if it wasn't for Vento!! Gotta have a Vento!!

Seriously If it wasn't Triumph or Norton the next on my list would Probably be Victory.

Yep, and it may turn out to look like a 2/3 Rocket. bleh. $14k is less than a Harley Deuce, right (which is what I would compare it to)?

**Warning, derailment**

I was at a Harley dealer before I got my bike, aside from some CRAZY expensive bikes, the only one I liked that was reasonably (sorta) priced was a blain white police special they were selling for 14K. Hey if you're gonna go custom paint, that's a nice blank canvas!!

Yep, there went the Victory thread

Larry, try the 8-Ball up to 80. After 2nd gear you won't be able to even read his license plate. He turns the 1/4 more than 2 seconds faster than you out the door with no mods.

And looks good doing it.

Onejack and Speedmaster, I agree with you that Victory is making a great looking bike. My next will be a Vegas but won't sell the Triumph to get it, meaning will be a bit longer.

Hi Guys - I also like the Victorys, but I am also going to wait and see the new Indians that are going into production this fall. But Speedy is just way too much fun to ever sale. So what ever I do will be an addition. Tommy

i wouldnt mind an 8 ball, but i love my america and all the little things i wish were better i can improve, so for now i cant see any reason to get something else.

Frank

Tommy, I'd be interested in the Indian if they were to make the Scout instead of the Chief.
Plus, I think they're going to be very pricey.

Are they actually going to make an Indian this time or a Hardley with some tins and call it Indian again?

Dog, I'm waiting to see that too. Didn't they use an S&S engine last time?

yes. I was very disappointed when they came out last time. I also think it helped them fail. It was a Hardley with a couple different cosmetics and nothing more.I think that is part of the success of the Triumph twin. Our bikes are Triumph not a copy of something else.

Dog, I agree. People look at a Triumph and the response it almost always overwhelmingly positive.

Just last week, a guy on an Yamaha pulled up alongside me and said, "that's a great bike, that's what I want!"

Part of the attraction with the Victory bikes is they, like Triumph, are unique. Although a V-twin, it's not a HD or riceburner cruiser wannabe.

Kevin -I agree the scout would be a better fit for me personally. They say they will be a quality bike and priced accordinally. I think that means mid $20s. Is it just me, or does it seem to be getting more expensive to have fun nowadays.

Indian sucked when they were in business. They sucked in 2003 as a Harley knock-off too. They were never a good bike, Triumph was high tech to them. They were just bad. Why anybody would ever try to make them again is beyond me.

A new Indian would be a knock-off only in names sake mostly because it will run and start contrary to the originals lol.

I don't know about that I know of 2 owned by friends of mine that ride them all the time one is a big V twin the other an inline 4 and they both run fine. There is another guy here who has both an old Scout and an old Chief and he rides them both. I don't know the guy really so I don't know how much work he does to run them but I know he does. I see him from time to time.

You are right, prolly not fair to say they were bad. Just nobody wanted them.

I grew up in northern Delaware, was just a young man at the time. You couldn't give them away 10 years after they were out of business. There was NOS available to fix em. Everybody in the 50s was buying Harley or Triumph and the bike market had not caught on fully yet. Everybody in the 60s wanted Triumph, Norton, BSA etc. Indian was the last thing they were looking for, even as a used bike. Took my brother 6 months to sell his Chief for a bit of money. He almost had to give it away. They did try to team up with Enfield and Matchless but that didn't work.

Atlas Manufacturing did absolutely nothing to improve the bike after 1950. It was still late 30s technology.

Seems like a common theme. Fail to invest in technology and go out of business. Harley and the Brits did the same thing losing to Japan Inc.