American-V 29 preview by American-V

0 771746 851002

Issue: 29 £4.95

37#.+6; <1&+#% % !' " ! # " ! % #! " "" 70B E>;DC8>= (>5C08; BCH;4 7>DB8=6 7H3A0D;82 2;DC27 >?4A0C8>= 0=3 0= 8=C46A0C43 BD??>AC 140A8=6 8= C74 ?D;;4H 2>E4A <DBC 5>A C74 A40; 2DBC>< 1D8;34A (C0ACB 0C )

# " " # 8B 0 22 CF> 20< 4=68=4 C70C <44CB C74 2DAA4=C *'$ 4<8BB8>= BC0=30A3B )78B 4=68=4 20= 14 DB43 0B A4?;024<4=C 4=68=4 5>A 0;; )F8= 0< 4=68=4B >A 20= 14 DB43 C> 1D8;3 H>DA >F= 34B86=43 DBC>< 8:4 ,8;; 0;B> JC 8= 0= E>;DC8>= CH?4 5A0<4 85 >DA ">C>A ">D=C 030?C4A 8B DB43 (C0ACB 0C )

( " ! !' ! % #" 4B834B C74 4=68=4 0=3 CA0=B<8BB8>= H>D F8;; 0;B> =443 0 ?A8<0AH F74= 1D8;38=6 H>DA >F= DBC>< ">C>A2H2;4 ,4;; F4 6>C 0 JABC 2;0BB 7867 @D0;8CH 0=3 E4AH 2><?;4C4 ?A8<0AH 5>A 0;; (>5C08; <>34;B 5A>< C7AD (C0ACB 0C )

" " % " ! " "# ! 8B C74 14BC 5>A DB4 F8C7 "( B + (4A84B =>B4 2>=4 86=8C8>= F74= H>D F0=C C> AD= (8=6;4 8A4 )

" " % " ! " # F8;; 64C H>DA 0A;4H JA43 D? 0B B4;42C01;4 C8<8=6 2DAE4 D0; 8A4 >A (8=6;4 8A4 <>34 ,>A:B 0B :82: BC0AC >A 4;42CA82 BC0AC 86=8C8>= 8CB <>BC C7AD 0A;4H B )

$ ' " ' "$ !#! E4AH BCH;8B7 1;02: 24A0<82 B7>F >=;H 4G70DBC BHBC4< H>DA 0664A 70B 144= 14668=6 5>A E08;01;4 0C H>DA />3802 340;4A 5>A )

# "' " #! " "" ">A4 0=3 <>A4 ?4>?;4 2><?;08= 01>DC C74 =>8B4 >5 C74 0=3 ;0C4A B?443 CA0=B<8BB8>= (?42CA> $8;B 34E4;>?43 0 B?4280; CA0=B<8BB8>= >8; C70C A43D24B C74 =>8B4 3A0BC820;;H $DA 03E8B4 I,74= H>D CA0==H BC0ACB C> <0:4 =>8B4 8C 8B C8<4 5>A 0= >8; 270=64K )

*# $ + 8B 0 ;>03 10B43 5D4; 8=942C8>= CD=4A A40C 5>A 18:4B F8C7 0 ?4A5>A<0=24 4G70DBC 0=3 >A 08A 2;40=4A 8=BC0;;43 DBC ?;D6 8= 0=3 A>;; (C0ACB 0C )

,0=C 8C B<0;; $! "#! ! # # 8B >=;H 2< 8= 380<4C4A 1DC 0??A>E43 .>D 20= 64C 8C 0C H>DA />3802 340;4A 5>A )

! ! ' $! & ' # # "# ( # 0=3 58=3 C74 ;0C4BC 7>CC4BC 0=3 C74 2>>;4BC ?0ACB )74 8:4AB >>: 8B 0E08;01;4 8= =6;8B7 4A<0= A4=27 C0;80= 0=3 (?0=8B7 F8C7 >E4A ?0ACB 0224BB>A84B 5>A 0A;4H 0E83B>= +%!# 0 %(!& *),- $#

%4A542C 8C<4=C s ,834 %A>3D2C '0=64 s 0BC 4;8E4AH &D0;8CH G24;;4=24 s #> #>=B4=B4 ,0AA0=CH

% $ $- ()'$* ! . % $# - # *()' , '" " ' ) ) # ) '! # ( % $# -

$A868=0; />3802 ?0ACB 0=3 0224BB>A84B 0A4 >=;H 0E08;01;4 C7A>D67 0 />3802 A4C08;4A =>C 38A42C;H 5A>< />3802 1H <08; >A34A

)+ && +&#/ , (" '#+%! ( .%(, .# +#!)''#("

Contents

Issue Twenty Nine 38: SUCKIN’ EGGS TECH TIPS

Maybe the first in a series of reminders: that’ll depend on what feedback is – I’ve got another one for next issue already.

40: IRON HORSE

We’ve seen plenty of Evo Sportster bobber in recent issues, but this is a very different bike, even if the cycle parts are familiar.

After three issues of shooting detail components and dry-builds in workshops, it’s nice to see the two bikes out playing together in the sunshine. Which is your favourite?

55: AGINCOURT ALL OVER AGAIN

Do you have any idea how tired I am by this point in the production process? I’m allowed to be flippant, it’s the only thing that keeps me sane, and linking Arrow and Victory made me titter

57: VICTORY COMPETITION

Loads of goodies up for grabs, including a stunning, highquality leather jacket!

58: FLYRIGHT BOBBER

We didn’t get time to put any miles in on the Bobber BuildOff Flyrite, so we made up for it on its big brother. Hardcore riding for the committed traditionalist

4: NEWS & NEW PRODUCTS 13: REVIEWS

Red Line Synthetic Oil, more on Scorpion Racing’s Dyna Beads and CruzTools MiniSet for H-D

16: BOOKS REVIEWS

Round-up of Harley books from MBI: Sportster Performance Handbook; 101 Evolution Performance Projects; Everything Harley-Davidson; How To Restore Your Harley-Davidson

18: 2008 HARLEY-DAVIDSON XR1200

Hi pigeons: this is a cat: proof positive that Harley-Davidson can build a modern European Roadster using the best of American Engineering

28: ACE HARLEY NIGHT

A quick stop-off at London’s iconic motorcycle Mecca.

30: INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM BIKE SHOW Earls Court plays host to a new pro Custom show in the country’s capital

35: WIN A PANHEAD PHOTO COMPETITION ROUND 3 Rolling onwards, ever onwards. Editor: andy.hornsby@american-v.co.uk Features Editor: rich.king@american-v.co.uk Contributors this issue: Nitro, Simon D, Steve Jones, Punktur II, Mr McHenry Proofing: Amanda Wright (At last! Someone to blame!) Design: design@american-v.co.uk All editorial enquiries to: editorial@american-v.co.uk Advertising Manager: Emma Howl EmmaHowl@warnersgroup.co.uk 01778 392443 Advertising Sales: Andy Fraser 01778 392054 Advertising Production: Joanne Osborn: 01778 391164 joanneo@warnersgroup.co.uk

Trade Sales: Natalie Cole: 01778 392404 nataliec@warnersgroup.co.uk Subscriptions: 01778 392484 Annual Subscriptions UK: £24.75 EU: £36.75 RoW Zone 1: £38.55 RoW Zone 2: £42.75 (all include postage) Published by American-V, PO Box 336, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 7WY. Tel: 0207 993 8002 Printed in the UK by Warners (Midlands) PLC, Bourne. Distribution by: Warners Group Publications Plc West Street, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH Tel: 01778 391135 Copyright 2008 American-V.

64: THUNDERSPRINT 2008

The great and the good assemble to race round one of the most demanding sprint circuits in the world: a supermarket car park. We joined them.

70: SHOVEL TRIKE

Classic custom trike that’s been round the block more than a few times over the last twenty years.

76: TALGARTH 2008

Worth visiting for the trip there and back; worth it for the vibe in the town centre that is overrun with Harley riders’; and ultimately worth it because it can be almost anything you want it to be.

82: JUDGE DREDD MEETS DAN DARE We’ve finally got something to pitch the Electra Glide Ultra Classic against: how will Victory’s new Vision Tour fare against Harley’s flagship.

94: AMERICAN-V EVENTS CALENDAR 2008 It’s that time of year to plan what you’ll be doing for the rest of it: here’s our best attempt at rounding up the most relevant events.

98: RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS

The Bros embrace the modern age to win over the rest of motorcycle kind ... with inevitable results.

www.american-v.co.uk

48: THE GREAT BRITISH BUDGET BOBBER BUILD OFF: ENDS

American-V American-V # ONE

News & Products 105-INCH POWERPLUS

ELLIPSE THREE WHEELER Talk about a wildcard entry, this is something that caught our eye while wandering round the Earls Court bike show, and I want one as an American-V staff car … or something like it. Dave Kennell, whose name will be familiar to those who know Planet Engineering, has got together with father and son Alan and Guy Pitcairn to create a modern Morgantype three wheeler – now generically known as a Carcycle for purposes of SVA. With a space frame beneath its modern body, using the known geometry that gave those early three wheelers superb handling and stability, it uses a 96-inch T-series S&S motor for its motive power and drives a single rear wheel through a Ford 5-speed gearbox.

Given the time and the money, the contest to replace the Budget Bobber Build-Off would be a build an American-V staff car for those times when I really need more than two wheels, using an aircooled American V-twin motor and with two wheels at the front and one at the back: Rat Rod or Morgan Aero Racer style, either would do fine. What a brilliant use for an X-Wedge motor! www.planetltd.com

S&S X-WEDGE ENGINES SHIPPING Want an X-Wedge motor? You can get one now because Zodiac tell us they’re shipping. We’ve carried more info o this motor than any other new V-twin since it’s announcement and I don’t propose to repeat it, but the major bullet points are: new generation motor; closed-loop EFI only, 98hp / 110ftlb 56.25-degree 117-inch (1918cc) long-stroke (4.125x4.375inch) air cooled v-twin that bolts up to most existing primaries and transmissions, but will not slot straight into a chassis designed for a Harley – or a V, T, SH or P-series S&S – motor: not only is it too wide an angle, but the motor mounts are different. Each engine comes complete with a 2 1/16” single bore throttle body, S&S VFI Fuel Injection module, closed loop fuel management and knock sensing ignition control. Zod. 750834 S&S 117ci X-Wedge Silver paint finish Zod. 750835 S&S 117ci X-Wedge Black paint finish Zod. 750836 S&S 117ci X-Wedge Polished finish

American-V.co.uk

News is filtering slowly out of King’s Mountain regarding the new Powerplus, and as it drip feeds to us, we’ll pass it down the line. The “all-new Powerplus 105 engine” looks uncannily like the Gilroy Powerplus but with a further two years in development, any gremlins from the rush to production of the original will have been ironed out, and they reckon they’re about happy with it now. In these times when buyers end up being the manufacturers’ beta testers, it’s reassuring that Indian are taking their time to get it right before they launch, and demonstrates just how serious Stellican are in recreating this iconic brand. Chiefs will be delivered from day one with a closed loop EFI system, three way catalytic converter, 6-speed transmission and state of the art engine management system, and every one of the fourmodel Chief line-up will be using Brembo brakes: 4pot front and 2-pot rear. That’s your lot for this issue: all things are subject to change so I’ll resist the temptation to rattle them off parrot fashion. For more, details check out their updated website. www.indianmotorcycle.com

BILTWELL SOLO SEAT The shape and curvature of this solo seat was hand hammered by Chris Collins to be functional and comfortable, its styling cues including a narrow profile, a short supportive nose and gently sloping sides. The pan is stamped from heavy gauge high-tensile steel and features ribs and indents for added rigidity and stiffness. The four threaded mounting bosses were TIG welded into position and then the entire seat pan powder-coated for beauty and longevity. The medium-density polyurethane padding is custom-moulded to each pan and the covers for both are made from black vinyl.

EXILE BIKE KITS

W&W 40-424: W&W 40-425:

Biltwell Solo Seat: Tuck-and-roll Biltwell Solo Seat: Diamond pleat

Did you know that Exile Cycles now offer any of their superclean custom bikes and trikes in Complete Bike Kit form? In fact, they can supply you with anything from a foot-peg to a turn-key machine, but their most popular Bike Kit request is for a project with all the fabrication completed, ready for paint. You simply paint it and bolt it together! It can even be supplied with a wiring kit and a hardware kit if required, to ensure you have every last thing you need to build your dream-machine, which will cost you from a little over $20,000, and with the US dollar being so weak at the moment, that makes them extremely good value, which is probably why Russell and his crew spend a good deal of their time shipping Kits all over the world these days. Exile Cycles: 001 818 255 3330 www.exilecycles.com

GUILTY CUSTOMS RELEASES LINE OF 100% AMERICAN MADE FENDERS. Eager to offer an alternative to foreign made motorcycle products, and frustrated by not finding products that met owner, Carl (cj) Hanlon’s own quality standards, Florida-based Guilty Customs has released a new line of custom motorcycle fenders and gas tanks that meet the rigorous demands of custom builders. The fenders are stamped using 14 gauge metal, measure 36” from point to point and are available in 8.75”, 11” and 13” width with 4-inches of skirting for the rear and 4.67” with 5-inch skirts for fronts. Guilty is also offering two gas tank kits: the traditional “Chopper Gas Tank” (8” Tall, 12” wide and 22” long and the “Tear Drop Chopper Gas Tank”. Each made using .070 gauge metal with a 2” tunnel and holding 4.5 US gallons. Says Hanlon: “Some people may have lost faith that America can’t produce quality products priced competitively, but I haven’t”. All rear fenders (regardless of size) are priced at $150 and front fenders are $130 – all prices plus shipping. The Chopper Gas Tank is priced at $140 or it’s $209 for the Tear Drop Tank. A $20 discount per fender for more than four will be offered throughout June. Guilty Customs, Florida: 001 407 453 0844

www.guiltycustoms.com

American-V.co.uk

Roadtest: XR1200

XR1200 Evolution isn’t a simple, smooth curve; not for humankind and not for technology. It has a tendency to leap forwards from time to time, and then play catch-up with itself before the next surge forwards. In terms of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the general impression has typically been one of gradual improvement, at least until the huge leap forward signalled by the V-Rod, but I’m about to tell you that the general impression is wrong.

American-V.co.uk

Event: International Custom Bike Show. Earls Court

INTERNATIONAL CUSTOM BIKE SHOW.

EARLS COURT I think it is fair to say that Custom bike shows in the UK have never had the same profile as they do in the USA, or Europe, for that matter. OK, we have some good custom shows over here, but high-profile stadium shows like the AMD championship events in Europe or the International Motorcycle Shows in the USA are relatively new to the UK.

Built by Nick Gale, this muscularlooking Exile bike was for sale. Don’t wrap it up, I’ll ride it home…

American-V.co.uk

If you’re going to trailer your bike, this is how to do it. Matching car, trailer and bike all built by Krazy Horse Customs, and pretty damn nice too…

Custom shows are big, nay, enormous in the US, as are most popular bike events. They can get 20,000 people turn up at a toy run, for goodness sake. The International Motorcycle Show series visited 13 cities in 2007, pulling in an average of 45,000 visitors per show, consequently there is a lot of big money involved, with big prizes and TV coverage for the top bikes. But here in the UK custom bikes are not as mainstream as other countries, with cruisers accounting only for a small percentage of bike sales. The prestigious custom shows in the UK are generally held at big music and rally events such as the Bulldog Bash and the Rock and Blues; but there was little for the average nonrally-going punter to nosey around. In recent years we have had the excellent Pro Custom shows at Newark and Doncaster, but bad luck and low attendance dogged the last one of those which clashed with an England qualifying game in the World Cup tournament and it wasn’t repeated in 2007. This year, however, the inaugural London International Custom Show was held at Earls Court in London. So would a big, dedicated custom show ﬂourish in the UK? Well, I was hoping so, and was

American-V.co.uk

Xl1200C Vs Dyna Low Rider It’s been a few months now that we’ve been banging on about budget bobbers based round Sportsters but it might have escaped your notice that they’ve all been Evolution powered machines, even if one or two have found their way into old-style Ironhead Sportster chassis.

IRON HORSE

American-V.co.uk

Custom: Iron Horse

American-V.co.uk

THE GREAT BRITISH BUDGET BOBBER BUILD-OFF:

FINAL After months of seeing these bikes in their component, dry build and ﬁnal assembly forms, it’s only right that you should be able to see them in the full glory now that they’re complete.

American-V.co.uk

Technical/Project: The Great British Budget Bobber Build-Off: Final

American-V.co.uk

Xl1200C Vs Dyna Low Rider

American-V.co.uk

Quickspin: Flyrite Bobber

This could be called the Great British Budget Bobber Build-Off part 4b but for the fact that this particular bike wasn’t built for £5k, is the big brother of the Boneshaker entry, and represents what you can get when you forego the simplicity of the XL motor in favour of the bottom end grunt of a Big Twin. The truth is, I had the chance to ride the Thundercity entry in a run-up to the Thundersprint finale for the shoot elsewhere this issue, but didn’t really get chance to put the sort of mileage onto the Boneshaker build. And there’s something else too: we really needed a big twin. Thankfully, as Flyrite’s UK distributor, Benny had put this big twin together largely for his own use but also to give an idea as to what can be achieved if flat black just wasn’t good enough. Beneath the Benny-fications lives a Flyrite Choppers “Bobber” rolling chassis which, like their “Smokin’ Gun” Sportster roller, provides the vast majority of what you’d need to build a bike, but can also come as a complete bike, with a fair-few options that will satisfy most people looking for an off-the-shelf bobber. Based round a rigid frame with a 33-degree rake and 2-inch stretch in the front downtubes, the Bobber is Flyrite’s basic model; and without frills or anything that isn’t necessary to make it start, run and stop, it’s the archetypal blank canvas that you can dress up to suit your tastes, whether a simple flat plaint job or something more ambitious. Apart from the engine, the main difference between this and the Smokin’ Gun is scale and especially ground clearance. The XL version really is slammed: you could almost measure the gap between the frame and ground with a feeler gauge, which makes it a bike that makes you think when riding, especially where kerbs and traffic calming measures are concerned. That’s because the overall size of the Smokin’ Gun is designed to be proportional to the Sportster motor which extends to the 4-inch under Springers but thankfully because the XL motor is so narrow, cornering clearances are less of an issue. Inexplicably, it’s only now that the irony of Harley’s small range being called an XL has occurred to me. The proportions of the Big Twin engine – and Flyrite’s frames are designed to take anything from a Panhead to an Evo – means the Bobber chassis can sit higher without looking gangly. That extra ground clearance makes a lot of difference to the practicalities of the ride, but in every other respect it is very much along the same hard-core, nononsense principles of the Sportster we’ve seen grow over the months.

FLYRITE BOBBER If you haven’t twigged as to why it won’t take a Twin Cam motor, it’s because standard Twin Cams – and indeed Dyna Evos – have a bolt-up engine and gearbox, and the Flyrite big twin chassis is designed as a classic double-diamond with a seat stay between the engine and gearbox, which demands separate components. And the astute among you will know that you can use a TC providing it’s either an S&S T-series motor or a Harley motor in a pair of S&S cases designed for just such an application. American-V.co.uk

Xl1200C Vs Dyna Low Rider

THUNDERSPRINT

2008 64

American-V.co.uk

Event: Thundersprint 2008

It wouldn’t sound terribly exciting if you asked people to come and watch some old blokes on motorbikes ride them round a supermarket car park, even if you told them that some of those old blokes are legendary stars of the racetrack, and that most of the bikes were the fastest things on two wheels in their day.

That’s why they don’t call this unique event the Northwich NCP Dash, but “The Thundersprint”: much more emotive, loads more exciting and, if you’re lucky enough to get a circuit-side seat – or better still one on the circuit itself – it lived up to that billing. And even if you couldn’t get within sight, the sound of unsilenced, race tuned motors added to the carnival atmosphere away from the circuit. Loud? I should say so; I could barely hear my Shovelhead over the crackling exhaust of Jim Redmond’s CR750 Honda, the throaty rasp of Keith Heckles’ full-on Manx Norton, or the angry ripping of Peter Kent’s TZ750 Yamaha. The Thundersprint is a truly exceptional event that combines all aspects of motorcycling to create a genuine family experience, and the positive contribution that it makes towards motorcycling’s positive image shouldn’t be underestimated: if we’re going to engage a new generation of motorcyclists, it’s events like this that will grab their attention and destigmatise motorcycles in the eyes of their parents’ generation … and of the police, government and society as a whole. You think I’m over-egging it? I don’t blame you: I would if I were sitting where you are, but in a year where the future of many bike rallies hangs in the balance we really do need something as all-embracing, exciting and engaging as The Thundersprint to present a wholly positive image to the world at large. To that end, regardless of your politics, it was encouraging to see minister Hazel Blears and former transport minister Steve Ladyman both publicly supporting the event and ‘coming out’ as motorcyclists: indeed Ladyman competed in the Thundersprint on a Laverda 750. Up until last year, The Thundersprint was a Sunday event but now nearby Winnington Park Rugby Club site plays host to a bike show with trade stalls on the Saturday, and this year that started to live up to its potential with Harley-Davidson, Aprilia and Ducati all offering escorted test rides throughout the day. Sadly Harley’s current demo ﬂeet is between model years and they only had VRs and Buells available, but hopefully next year they’ll be able to offer the new XR1200 as well as their more traditional range to this incredibly broad cross-section of riders. They were joined on the Sunday by Victory, but there is absolutely no chance of running test rides on the main day of the event, purely American-V.co.uk

Xl1200C Vs Dyna Low Rider

American-V.co.uk

Custom: Simon’s Trike trike

I’ve been wanting to shoot this since meeting up with Simon to shoot his slammed Softail about a year ago, not least because I remember it as a cover bike from the European Custom Bike magazine about twenty years ago, but also because it takes the clock back to the time when a trike was more than a bike with an F1 back end in it, and to be honest I miss those days. I’ll let its owner, Simon, tell you its story.

SIMON’S TRIKE My New Year resolution for 1987 was to get my arse into gear and buy the fi rst Harley that I could fi nd that would be suitable to use as the base for a trike: it had been nearly four years since I’d been involved in an accident on my Bonnie that had left me partially disabled and defi nitely unable to ride a solo again. I had actually tried to put a Bonneville outfit together a couple of years before, but decided against it before it was fi nished and sold it on to a mate: I’d really decided that I wanted a Harley. As it happens, I came across that Bonnie again a couple of years ago and bought it back, after hearing that it was languishing in a lockup, and it looked pretty sorry for itself but it’s now got another new owner who’s putting some life back into it. But I’m rambling … the trike! So there I am, scanning through the classified ads in MCN that January – it didn’t take long back then and I think there were just three Harleys in total that week – and one bike stood out: a 1977 1200 FXE at £3,500. I rang the number to make sure it was still there, and shortly afterwards I was heading towards Telford, I seem to recall, with a couple of mates and a wad of notes. The seller was bringing

American-V.co.uk

Xl1200C Vs Dyna Low Rider

American-V.co.uk

Event: Talgarth 2008

It was a fairly sensible idea: leave London around mid-day Friday and head west down the M4, shoot the Ultra and the Vision in some wonderful location overlooking the twin Severn Bridges, and then get to Talgarth in time to set up in the last moments of daylight, and then off to one of the bars in this friendliest of small towns.

TALGARTH2008

It didn’t happen like that, obviously: we cleared London in the mid afternoon, crossed the Severn at dusk – having cut our losses and photographed the bikes at a motorway service station … again! By the time we rocked-up at Talgarth’s gate, from a completely different direction to normal, and a revised gate at that, Amanda was ready to kill me. It didn’t help that we’d become separated on arriving in town, or that I was running around trying to ﬁ nd her while

she was wondering why I was making impossible turns and then disappearing off without explanation … thinking either I’d lost her, or that she’d found the entrance and was waiting there for me. Dusk had long since passed, but thankfully with the Ultra at the front and the Vision at the back of the proposed pitching location, and all lights running, we turned night into day and got the tent up with remarkable ease and made friends again over a stiff drink and sticky cake from the Region 7 food court. All we had to worry about now was whether the batteries on the bikes would be forgiving the following day, when we had to hurtle across to Alcester, North of Stratford, to take the Vision to a Victory open day. It’s a strange event is Talgarth, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. Relaxed, informal and spread out across a good sized site as well as taking over the majority of the town, it suits the party animals as well as those who’d be as comfortable sitting in the same bar all weekend, and while we were too late to make sense out of hitting town on the Friday night, there was a laid-back atmosphere in the gazebo on site to soothe away the last few frantic miles. One day we’ll get it right: Friday nights are for serious partying, because nobody has got to ride the following day, Saturday is a little more leisurely because the breathalyzer doesn’t accept excuses. Still, we couldn’t have had a skin-full on the Friday anyway, because we’d be on the road again by 8am the following day – robbing those who missed it arriving, the opportunity to pore over the Vision. Hurtling due east in the morning meant we lost out on the rideout, but with seventy miles of open country roads through Hereford to Worcester, and back via Leominster, we still got the chance to revel in one of the event’s major bonuses: empty sweeping roads American-V.co.uk

There is one major problem for a specialist magazine such as American-V, notably that we deal with American motorcycles in glorious isolation and take very little account of what else is going on in the wider world. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t care, frankly, how a Gold Wing, Venture Royale or even a K1100LT compares with an Ultra Glide, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a decision that we, or most of our readers will ever face.

American-V.co.uk

Head to Head: Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic vs Victory Vision

That sounds incredibly narrow-minded, but actually it isn’t: we’ve bought into the way American engineers do things and know from previous experience how that differs from the underlying principles of the Japanese and European manufacturers. I’ve run three Gold Wings in the past (in various stages of decay), ran a big Jap cruiser for a couple of years, and have put many miles on a K1100 and Pan European round England and northern France, and while I can’t deny that they have all been excellent machines, they were just machines. Actually, thinking-on, the Gold Wings never failed to disappoint me, and the VN1500 was so dull that I probably didn’t travel as far in those two years as I previously and have subsequently covered every three months, unconsciously choosing to use a car instead: a damning indictment. So it’s great that we don’t have to ride the bikes that don’t float our boat, but it does make it difficult to set a context for something like an Ultra. What we really needed was something to put Harley’s grand tourer up against that would make a worthy comparison. In Victory’s (Dan) daring new 106-inch Vision Tourer, that’s precisely what we’ve got. Based round a stroked version of the 100/6 Freedom motor – which makes is a 106/6 – it’s safe to assume it will have an American power characteristic, and with Victory’s build quality and engineering it’s obviously Victory’s answer to the Ultra but visually they could hardly be more different. Visually, the Vision makes the current Gold Wing look boring, and the previous incarnation like a pair of them provided Mr and Mrs Noah with wheels once they’d grounded, which might sound like a stupid thing to say when there’s an Ultra lurking in the background but nothing ages more quickly than last year’s state-of-theart, design award-winning creation, and nothing is more timeless than a design classic. The Ultra hasn’t changed fundamentally since the early eighties, and even then was easily recognisable from the Electra Glides of a decade earlier. The Wing is on its fourth major restyle since 1975, each makeover rendering the previous design dated while still failing to be arresting; its busy flat four 1000cc motor has grown to an 1800cc flat six which will undoubtedly help its smooth running, but will mean it’ll sound like it is spinning three times faster than a v-twin at the same revs, and still needs to be spinning at 4k to deliver peak torque ... hmmm, relaxing. In fairness, that six-cylinder is silky smooth and any sensation of a fi ring stroke is lost in terms of mechanical and aural feedback, which is fi ne if you like that sort of thing, and it has got an enormous amount of luggage space, an electric reverse gear and the option of an air bag (yes, seriously), but guess who doesn’t want a Gold Wing?

BATTLE OF THE

SUPER TOURERS American-V.co.uk

5IVOEFSDJUZ .PUPSDZDMFT 5IF"VUIPSJTFE%FBMFSGPS#JH#FBS$IPQQFST /FXMZBQQPJOUFE"VUIPSJTFE%FBMFSGPS 4 4BOE"SMFOO/FTT 'PSBMMZPVS)BSMFZBOE7JDUPSZOFFET 4 45SBJOFE5FDIOJDJBOT b );':* FXVWRP SDLQWZRUN ZLWK QHZ 6 6 Âµ PRWRU

b %LJ %HDU &KRSSHUV 'HYLOV $GYRFDWH 3UR 6WUHHW PLOHV RQO\

6SRUWVWHU &XVWRP 7KLV ELNH LV EHWWHU WKDQ VKRZ URRP FRQGLWLRQ

b VKRYHOKHDG LQ SDXJFKR KDUGWDLO IUDPH

b b

YLFWRU\ EDOO ZLWK VWDJH RQH DQG WZR \UV ZDUUDQW\

b 8QUHJLVWHUHG +DUGFRUH &KRSSHU 5HYWHFK Âµ PRWRU 7RR PXFK WR OLVW

%RXUJHW Â´-RNHUV :LOGÂµ FX RQ 0RWRU 6SHHG 7UDQV 2QO\ PLOHV 7KLV LV D (YR 6RIWDLO &XVWRP ZLWK PLOHV ZLWK D IXOO 6HUYLFH KLVWRU\

9LFWRU\ +DPPHU 6 ZLWK VWDJH RQH WZR \U ZDUUDQW\

b );5 +HDYLO\ FXVWRPLVHG ZLWK ORWV RI RQH RII SDUWV

9LFWRU\ +DPPHU ZLWK :DU RI WKH ZRUOGV FXVWRP SDLQWZRUN PLOHV LPPDFXODWH

U FF ZLWK EXE LQWR

8QUHJLVWHUHG 5HYHQJH &KRSSHU ZLWK 5HYWHFK Âµ PRWRU 7RR PXFK WR OLVW

&XVWRPLVHG 9LFWRU\ -DFNSRW

6, T/P 4 7 " 4QFDJBMJTU

5IVOEFSDJUZ .PUPSDZDMFT 6OJU )BJOFT 1BSL (SBOU "WFOVF -FFET -4 22 5FM t XXX UIVOEFSDJUZ DP VL t UIVOEFSDJUZ!UJTDBMJ DP VL

,"(% ! & %

$,5 ),/7(5 &/($1(5

$,5 ),/7(5 2,/

%,.( 32/,6+

&+$,1 &/($1(5

&+$,1 635$<

%(/7 635$<

*%3

.)7

*%3

&203/(7( &/($1(5

63(&,$/ *(/ &/($1(5

*%3

.)7

&+520( 32/,6+

35,0$5< &+$,1&$6( /8%5,&$17

02725 2,/ :

*%3

.)7

*%3

9 %$77(5< 0$,1 7(1$1&( )5((

(1*,1( *$6.(7 .,7

*%3

.)7

+($9< '87< &+$,1

.)7 &&( &$7$/2*

*%3

2,/ ),/7(5

25*$1,& %5$.( 3$'

.)7

*%3

&XVWRP &KURPH (XURSH LV D PDQXIDFWXUHU DQG D ZKROHVDOH GLVWULEXWRU DQG GRHV QRW UHWDLO 7R ILQG \RXU ORFDO &XVWRP &KURPH (XURSH GHDOHU FDOO RU VHH ZZZ FXVWRP FKURPH HXURSH FRP

6XJJHVWHG UHWDLO SULFHV LQFOXGLQJ 9 $ 7 &XVWRP &KURPH (XURSH 3ODQLJHU 6WUDVVH %DG .UHX]QDFK *HUPDQ\

3KRQH )D[

H PDLO LQIR#FXVWRPFKURPH GH ZZZ FXVWRP FKURPH HXURSH FRP