The front-end of the Hammer features
twin Brembo four-piston calipers and
300mm rotors . The op tional billet
wheels are shown here.
The gauge cluster is a
combination of analog
tach and speedo faces,
and leo screens.
verything is big in Texas - or at
least that's what Texans like to
preach to anyo ne who will listen. So maybe it was per fectly
appropriate for Victo ry Mo to rcycles to introduce its new 2005 Hammer
to the press in the hill country just outside
of Austin. Texas. a cou ple weeks ago.
The Hammer is all about big. as evidenced by the key features that jump off
the spec sheet - namely, the 2s0mm- (10inch-) wide rear tire , the 99.7 cubic-inch
( 16 J4 cc) motor, dual 300mm floating
brake discs with four-piston Brembo
calipers , and the six-speed transmission
(the current rage in cruiser circles). Those
numbers are all big, in a big way.
The one big thing that isn't on the spec
sheet. however, is the big attitude that the
new Victory Hammer has. This bike doesn't hide the fact that it's a braw ler and a
E
www.cyclenews.com
bully Everyth ing is out in the open fo r the
.
wo rld to see.
If you've never ridd en a "fat tire" cruiser, it's quite weird at first, es peciallyat t he
fi rst corner you co me to , rea lizing you
need to give the handleb ars a ser ious
amount of counter steer ing to make it
turn. The feeling is w hat you might imagine a Pro Stock drag bike feels like when
the rider tries to turn onto the return road
at the end of the quarter mile. After a
wh ile, though, you become totally com fortable with the feel. Other than making
U-turns for the photographer, I forgot
about the funny feel completely. The fat
tire is all about image, and it fits the
Hammer to a tee .
The Hammer looks right in more ways
than one, combining styling elements from
the Vegas, throwing in some fresh ideas of
its own - such as the re movable passenger
CYCLE NE WS • NOVEMBER 10, 2004
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