ROAD TEST VICTORY HAMMER
It’s Hammer time! Victory’s Hammer combines currently fashionable wiiiiide rear end with sportsbike-spec front end.
YOU CAN’T TOUCH THIS (WITH APOLOGIES TO MC HAMMER!)
WORDS & PICS: Big Dave (and the Co-Pilot)
Victory is back. And joining the fulldress Vision in the American company’s local lineup is the custom Hammer cruiser. Which Big Dave has just spent an enjoyable weekand-a-bit riding.
The sales literature that came with Victory’s hard-hitting (had to get that one in early) Hammer is peppered with the use of the word ‘unconventional’. Maybe it is that lack of convention that attracted me to it, or it was the absolutely gorgeous growl from its aftermarket exhausts or the extremely tasty motor, the comfort . . . or the Arlen Ness inspired lines . . . or . . . that it takes an extremely nice cruiser rear end and hangs a tasty sports bike front end on it. I had mates who were grafting GSX-R front ends onto American bikes 10 years ago and they made fabulous road going motorcycles. With the standard Hammer off the showroom floor I had all that, and I didn’t need to be an engineer like Rusty to achieve it. The cruiser rear end and sports front end intersect at a 1,634cc (100 cubic inch), air and oil cooled, SOHC, 4
valve, 50º V-Twin that is simply a big ol’ torquey pleasure. It revs slightly harder than its bigger brother, the 107 cu. in. Vision, but it’s as smooth as a big V-twin can be at cruising speeds. Like big brother, there is a very reassuring pulse when its 92 horsepower and 109 ft lbs of torque are called into play. LOOKS GOOD, GOES GOOD! Despite eschewing liquid-cooling Victory hasn’t exactly stinted technically inside either, the big ol’ engine featuring self-adjusting camchains and hydraulic lifters, all fed by a smooth EFI system with 45mm throttle bodies. It really is a lovely motor. To look at as well as ride. There is a nice symmetry to the whole setup. Look forward and aft. The overall lines of the bike worked really well for me and I found it was a KIWI RIDER 29