Victory's new Vision of American touring
By Bill Wood
If Flash Gordon had a motorcycle, it would probably look like this.
But it's unlikely it would work as well as the all-new Victory Vision.
Victory, the motorcycle division of Minnesota-based Polaris
Industries, has been known exclusively for its line of V-twin cruisers.
But over the past year, the company has teased us with glimpses of its
upcoming entry in the luxury touring class, in the form of a mockup of
the bike that appeared at motorcycle shows all winter.
This is a company that has built its business on a line of factory
customs that covers the motorcycle spectrum from A all the way to B. So,
underneath all that bodywork, we assumed we'd find another variation on
the theme that has produced the Vegas, the Kingpin, the Jackpot, the
Hammer and the Eight Ball.
Boy, were we wrong.
In late June, Victory invited journalists to the company's home in
Minnesota to peek beneath the plastic and then ride the Vision for the
first time. And what we discovered is that while we weren't watching,
Victory's engineers were reinventing the company.
OK, the Vision is still powered by a 50-degree V-twin engine derived
from the company's previous powerplants (although it's bigger, more
powerful and more refined than any Victory engine so far).
 But the shock comes in the form of, well, everything else.
Take
the frame, for instance. In place of the collection of steel tubes that
has held together every previous Victory, the Vision has a massive,
cast-aluminum, two-piece backbone that uses the engine as a stressed
member and does double duty as the airbox. That frame connects to a cast
swingarm controlled by a unique air-adjustable single shock with a
linkage that pivots at 90 degrees to the frame.
 Then there's the list of features, including linked brakes, an
onboard sound system and cruise control, standard on all Vision models,
plus add-ons like a CD changer, CB/intercom or GPS (left), along with heated
grips and seats. There are even a few industry-leading options
available, like a high-intensity discharge (HID) driving light or an
integrated connector that allows you to operate your iPod, safely tucked
into a lockable, waterproof compartment, from the audio controls on the
handlebars.
In other words, this is not like any other Victory before. And the
amazing thing is that, on the first try, the Victory guys have put
together all those brand-new bits into a unified package that works
really well.
The Vision comes in two forms -- the Street, with a fairing and
saddlebags, or the Tour, with fairing, bags and a massive tail trunk.
And the first thing you notice is that they're both big.
With a wheelbase of 65.7 inches, the Vision has nearly as long a
footprint as Honda's Gold Wing, while the flowing styling makes it look
even bigger in overall length.
It's also large in other directions, with a width of 44.9 inches and
a claimed dry weight (for the Tour model) of 849 pounds.
In spite of all that mass, the Vision comes with an extremely low
26.5-inch high seat that feels thick and comfortable when you drop into
it. The view forward, over the audio controls and white analog gauges,
is tasteful and refined. And that impression is reinforced when you fire
up the engine. Sure, there are two, huge 865cc cylinders firing away
down there, but the feel in the rider's seat is touring-bike civilized.
That's no accident. Realizing they were targeting a different class
of buyers, Victory engineers told us they spent lots of time on NVH --
noise, vibration and harshness -- issues when designing the Vision. Even
though the motor is bigger than previous Victory powerplants (up to 106
cubic inches -- 1,731cc -- from 100 c.i. on all other Victories), the
design incorporates reduced reciprocating mass, quieter engine
internals, a balancer shaft and rubber-mounted handlebars and
footboards.
Engineers even went after subtle sources of mechanical noise and
vibration, reducing the speed of the valves just before they close
completely to eliminate ticking and reworking gear ratios in the
transmission to avoid harmonic meshing frequencies.
But there's no disguising the fact that large chunks of metal are in
motion when you push the gearshift lever into first. The toe-only lever,
which is adjustable for height and can even be moved forward or backward
depending on your preferred riding position, has a fairly long throw
with a decided clunk at the end. To its credit, though, it worked
reliably and never failed to find neutral, even at a stop on a hot day.
 Once in motion, the Vision proved reasonably nimble at parking-lot
speeds. Yeah, it's heavy, particularly after you top off the twin fuel
tanks, located way up front on either side of the frame (seen in photo
at right). But the balance
is good, and a touch of the foot brake lever (which operates the rear
brake plus one of the three pistons in each front caliper) helps you
retain control in low-speed maneuvers.
If you do happen to drop the bike, the Vision has a feature that
could save you plenty. Tip-over plates at the front and rear are
designed to catch the machine before it rolls over onto all that
expensive bodywork. The company doesn't guarantee your bike will come
away without a scratch, but they showed us a video of an engineer just
letting go of a Vision and watching it crash to the concrete floor. They
said they were able to pick up that bike and ride it away.
Accelerating really allows you to appreciate the V-twin's massive
torque curve, which peaks at 109 foot-pounds and stays above 100
foot-pounds all the way from 2,000 rpm to 4,800 rpm. This is a lot of
motorcycle, but that's a lot of force, and it moves out well.
A ride on Minneapolis freeways provided a test of the wind
protection. All Visions come with an adjustable windshield, but on the
base models of the Street and Tour lines, the shield is manually
adjustable by popping off a body panel at the front. The
higher-cost Street Premium,
Tour Comfort or Tour Premium models, add the electric-windshield option,
in addition to features such as heated grips and seats. The electrically
adjustable windshield is really convenient, since you can
dial it down for more airflow on city streets, then crank it up to
create a bubble of still air on the highway. All models also feature
manually operated wings on each side of the fairing that direct air to
your chest when opened.
Out on country roads, we got a better chance to test the handling. In
tight turns, the Vision Tour isn't exactly light, but it's predictable.
In higher-speed sweepers, though, it's downright impressive. You can
just set a lean angle and forget it until it's time to rotate back to
vertical at the end of the turn. Ground clearance is quite good for a
touring bike, with no sounds of scraping metal, even in tight corners.
 Without the tail trunk, the Vision Street is actually fun on
backroads, driving in and out of corners like a much smaller machine.
The tradeoff comes, of course, in carrying capacity. The integrated
saddlebags look enormous, but the actual storage space inside is on the
small side.
On
the other hand, the Tour's trunk is every bit as big as it looks, easily
holding two full-face helmets. Plus, it provides a curving backrest for
a passenger, and two additional speakers for the audio system.
For those times when you are headed long distances, comfort is key,
and the Vision measures up very well. The rider's seat is a typical
bucket which doesn't allow for a lot of fore-aft movement, but it's
well-padded and very comfortable.
Plus, the Vision comes with extremely long floorboards that give you
a variety of leg positions, from laid-back to upright. And moving your
legs that much essentially puts your weight on a different part of the
seat, extending your range between rest stops.
The cruise control and stereo system also make the miles roll by more
easily, although, as with all exposed speakers on motorcycles, the sound
that reaches your ears inside a full-face helmet is hardly concert-hall
quality. You can order an external speaker connector and pipe the sound
right into your helmet.
The design is full of great features, including the waterproof audio
player box that locks automatically every time you lock the forks, or
the convenient holder for the fuel cap inside the fuel door. But there
are also a few issues to deal with, like the fuel door that pops up
right in the way of the handlebars. Turn the bars with the door open,
and I'm guessing you'll be buying a new door.
Overall, Victory says it's shooting for an automotive level of fit
and finish with the Vision, although the early production test bikes we
rode came up a bit short of that goal. Admittedly, these machines had
been flogged a bit in the development process, but some edges of the
body panels were a bit rough and there were a few glitches in the audio
switchgear after we ran through a hard rain. Victory later said the
switchgear problem was due to missing rubber plugs on some
pre-production switch clusters, and the issue will be corrected before
consumer models hit the market.
In addition, some of the
bikes exhibited a groaning sound when coasting to a stop that we were
told resulted from a bad batch of drive belts which were being replaced.
In spite of those developmental issues, the Vision is an exceptional
effort on the part of a company testing itself in a new part of the
market. Admittedly, two days of testing are hardly enough to evaluate a
touring bike, but the new machine proved comfortable and competent on a
range of roads.
 The touring market has been a tough neighborhood in recent years,
littered with the corpses of bikes that couldn't catch on against class
leaders like Honda's Gold Wing or Harley's Electra Glide Ultra Classic.
In functional terms, the new Victory Vision appears to have the stuff to
compete, but that's a long way from a guarantee of success.
One of the elements that may make the difference in the Vision's
acceptance is, of course, the bike's visual design, which is, well,
distinctive. And that, says Mark Blackwell, Victory's general manager,
is entirely intentional.
"The looks aren't for everybody," Blackwell admits. "Our idea is to
get a certain group of people very excited about this motorcycle."
Once the Vision hits showroom floors this fall, we'll find out how
well the Victory team has succeeded.
|
2008 Victory Vision Tour
|
 |
|
Engine
|
Air/oil-cooled 50-degree V-twin
|
|
Displacement
|
106 cubic inches (1,731cc)
|
|
Bore x stroke
|
101mm x 108mm
|
|
Carburetion
|
Electronic fuel injection
|
|
Compression ratio
|
9.4:1
|
|
Transmission
|
6-speed
|
|
Final drive
|
Belt
|
|
Tires
|
130/70-18 front, 180/60-16 rear
|
|
Front brake
|
Dual 300mm rotor, 3-piston calipers
|
|
Rear brake
|
300mm rotor, 2-piston caliper
|
|
Front suspension |
43mm fork |
|
Rear suspension |
Air-adjustable single shock |
|
Seat height
|
26.5 inches
|
|
Wheelbase
|
65.7 inches
|
|
Fuel capacity
|
6.0 gallons
|
|
Dry weight
|
849 pounds
|
|
MSRP
|
$18,999 Street
$20,499 Street Premium
$19,999 Tour
$20,499 Tour Comfort
$21,499 Tour Premium
|
© 2006, American Motorcyclist Association
|
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