Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

2003 Victory Vegas option that many Vegas customers will surely opt for - what a huge visual difference they make compared with the stock wire wheels. One factor that makes the Vegas so good to ride is the lack of vibration, thanks to the rubber-mounted handlebar, though Hurd says there's lots of vibration damping in the chassis, too. Those harmonics, again ... There's also a much higher ride quality than I remember from any Victory I rode before and, to be honest, any Harley, either, especially the V-Rod which is ridiculously hard-assed. The Vegas isn't exactly sportbike-plush, but you can feel the Kayaba shock working beneath your butt - a fact the somewhat, er, reduced padding of the low seat that produces numb-bum syndrome after a couple of hours in the saddle, communicates directly to the rider. Victory has also paid lots of attention to working with Kayaba on producing comparatively lower spring rates at both ends for a more supple . ride, with firmer damping to offer enhanced control, and that's another reason the Vegas' handling seems so tight and capable on the road. It's especially improved over concrete freeway joints or surface transitions, where you don't get tossed up in the air over each one like before on a Victory - or on a Hog - and actually, I would say that with an aftermarket seat offering more padding, this could be a surprisingly capable bike for longer runs. You wouldn't exactly passable improvement. Off we go, noting the smooth, light clutch takeup, and - wow, second just slots into place the way it ought to, practically silently and without nearly as heavy and clunky a change as before. Then the same into third, and fourth - and now we're in top, cruising down the 405, going with the flow at 80 mph on a gloriously sunny So Cal December day, and suddenly the bright yellow taxi color of my Vegas loaner seems in tune with its surroundings, as the sun glints off the deep chrome of the big round headlamp, which, with the semi-stretch riding position of the pulled-back Vegas 'bars, seems like the prow of a vessel sailing down the freeway. Cruise time. Though the Vegas frame has been seriously stretched and raked to provide the Look, it's not at the expense of handling dynamics, either on the freeway or along the twisty stuff further south, heading along the Ortega Highway up and over to Elsinore. The 1690mm wheelbase and 33.1-degree head angle for the Kayabas·, coupled with a massive 134mm of trail, deliver a bike that is stable at speed on the highway, yet, thanks to the small footprint of the 21-inch front wheel coupled with the wide handlebar, the Vegas is quite nifty hustling through turns at cruiser pace, reveling in the smooth and torquey engine's grunt. It allows you to pull cleanly away in top gear from as low as 35 mph on the good-looking speedo, which, while pretty designer-esque, is easy to read, same as the cluster of warning lights beneath it on the upper triple clamp. Those incredibly sexy-looking wave-cut wheels on the test bike aren't standard, by the way, but the Victory aftermarket catalogue offers a Performance Machine billet-alloy Victory'S Vegas is a competent cruiser with a competitive $14,999 price tag. Only time (read: sales figures) will tell whether it stands up as a legitimate alternative to Harley·Davidson and the gaggle of metric cruisers on the market. want to go touring on it for a week, but in spite of its showcase looks, the Vegas is more than a ride you'd just want to take to the bike bar and back again. It's actually a practical, enjoyable motorcycle to go places on, aided by the fact that the stock riding position is not too extreme, the footrests are not overly far forward, nor are the 'bars too high and wide though Victory has a range of kits in its catalogue to deliver a riding position to suit any rider's tastes. 90 mph on the 1-5 (and still getting passed by a line of traffic) was just about bearable - 20 mph less, and you're feeling fine, going places and looking good, but with plenty in reserve for when you spot a gap and need to accelerate into the space. Seriously chilled ... But when you want to up the ante and cruise the curves, the Vegas is a willing partner whose low build makes it seem more easy-steering than before, enhancing rider confidence in spite of the greater rake and stretched-out stance, and not nearly as wayward in the handling department as previous Victory models. Downshifting into turns is much quieter and slicker than before, helping to make the Vegas a more satisfying ride, while there isn't as much fork dive as there was when you use the front brake hard, another indication that damping rates have been reworked, with no tendency to bottom out any more. This is a very capable and, by any standards, extremely good-looking motorcycle, available in a choice of five different colors but with a wide range of aftermarket addons. It has been well worked and is much more refined than anything else to come out of Minneapolis so far. This preproduction model also appears to be built to a pretty high level of quality - though when you're only making 5000 bikes a year, this is easier to achieve than when you're manufacturing forty times as many, like H-D. But what started out a decade ago as a diversification project for one of America's billion-dollar manufacturing companies has finally now come to good, thanks to some inspired leadership and dedicated work by Victory's key employees. Oh - and those deep Polaris pockets ... It may have represented Victory's final throw of the dice in the last-chance saloon, but the Vegas is a bike done right, and the company deserves to hit the jackpot with it - not just in the USA, where the advantages of a homegrown alternative to a Harley or a Jcruiser are most evident, but in Europe, Japan and Australasia, too. Moreover, if Victory is now capable of producing a bike like the Vegas, it's going to be interesting to see what other new models head off the Spirit Lake production lines in coming years. Victory is back on the road again with the Vegas, and we could be in for some unexpected treats along the comeback trail. eN Specifications ~@@{lJ \!ltJ@ft@fQJ 1}!J@[flfiJ[B Engine type A-stroke 50 0 V-twin Cooling system ...••• _•.••••••.••••••••••••••••••.••..............Air ( oil Displacement ...........................•.. _......•....92 cu. in. (1507 cc Bore x Stroke 97 x 102 mm Compression ratio 9.2: 1 Valvetrain Single overhead camshafts with 4 valves per cylinder, Self-adjusting cam chains, hydraulic lifters Fuel system Electronic fuel injection with 44mm throttle bodies Fuel capacity 4.5 gallons Exhaust system Staggered slash-cut dual exhaust with common volume Oil capacity ..........•...........................................6.0 qt. Charging system 38 amps max output Battery 12 volts ( 18 amps hours Primary drive Gear drive with torque compensator Clutch Wet, multi-plate Transmission ...• _.•• _••.•••..•..• , •.•...............5-speed constant mesh Final drive Fiberglass reinforced belt Wheelbase 67.6 in. Seat height 26.92 in. Ground clearance .5.92 in. Rake (trail .33.1°(134 mm Clalmed dry weight 616 pounds Suspension . Front: 043 mm telescopic forks, 5.2 in. of travel Rear: Forged and cast aluminum swingarm with rising rate linkage, single mono-tube gas shock, adjustable preload, 4 in. of travel Brakes Front: 300mm floating rotor with four-piston caliper Rear: .............•............. .300 mm floating rotor with two-piston caliper Wheels Front: 21 x 2.15 in., 40-spoke laced aluminum Rear: .....•.........•.•••••••••••..... 18 x 4.5 in., 40-spoke laced aluminum Tires Front: Rear: Color options 20 JANUARY 22,2003' cue I e n e _ s 80(90-21 Dunlop Cruisemax _ _ 170(60VB-18 Dunlop K591 Elite SP Solid Black, Solid Sonic Blue, Solid Solar Red, Solid Flame Yellow, Solid Vogue Silver, Vogue Silver with Black Tribal Flames

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