Victory Jackpot

Bikes like Victory’s Jackpot are always going to polarise opinion. When you see a Jackpot, you don’t just sigh, cast a faraway glance and think to yourself, ‘Yeah, it’s okay’ – because this is a ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ kinda bike. If the genre doesn’t push your buttons it’s unlikely this review will to change your view, but if you like what you see you’ll be pleased to hear the Jackpot backs up its custom-look appearance with an impressive engineering package and a high-quality finish.

Let’s begin at the end, so to speak – that fat rear end. When Victory first released the Jackpot in the USA in 2006 (it was then known as the Vegas Jackpot), fat rear ends were all the rage in the custom chopper scene. While trends these days have edged back towards more minimalist bobbers and bar-hoppers, fat-arse (or fat-ass for you custom bike purists) sleds still create a massive visual impact.

In the case of the Jackpot, we’re talking a 250-section Dunlop Elite 3. Also found on the Jackpot’s stablemates, the Hammer 8-Ball and Hammer S, it’s the widest hoop to grace any volume production chopper. It dominates the bike’s aesthetics and, along with the distinctive paint and acres of chrome, causes jaws to drop and people to point wherever the bike rolls. It’s impossible to blend into the background on this baby, so be prepared to answer plenty of questions at petrol bowsers, outside cafés or pubs or anywhere else you may roam.

While having ‘the look’ is a top priority on this bike’s agenda, in achieving it Victory hasn’t done things on the cheap. There’s a heap of chrome and the vast majority of it is metal, instead of the massive expanses of mirror-finish plastic you can find on some, ahem, non-American cruisers. The paintwork is simply beautiful, with the white base and tribal graphics complemented by a tasteful grey metalflake. The blacked-out engine with bare cooling fins completes the picture, while the overall standard of finish – the welds and brackets, the fit of the sidecovers and so on – is very high.

THE NUMBERS GAME
Critics of the genre will often claim such bikes are a triumph of form over function, so I was very interested to see how this mutha ship would perform on the road. It’s long and low, as you’d expect, with extreme dimensions well outside of those of mainstream bikes. The first thing you notice is the ultra-low seat height: at 635mm there ain’t going to be too many Jackpot riders who struggle to get a foot down at the lights. At the other end of the spectrum we have a container-ship-long 1684mm wheelbase. You invariably take a little more care when parking a Jackpot just so you can avoid any 32-point turns to get the thing out of tight spaces. It’s a heavy beast to push around in the drive, too, at 296kg dry, but that goes with the territory and it’s negated to some extent by the bike’s super-low centre of gravity.

Stabbing the starter produced a lovely throaty boom from the bike’s shotgun pipes. They’re Ness Shooter slip-ons from Victory’s factory accessories catalogue and while they’re “for race use only” they’re actually not too offensive. They retail for $550 fitted.

Thundering my way out of the Bikesales Network’s underground carpark, the Jackpot immediately impressed with its glitch-free fuelling, despite the cold morning. It’s not so easy to get the fuelling right on a big twin but in this respect the Jackpot was impressive even at low constant speeds, as I experienced in peak-hour city running. Add in a belt final drive and the entire drivetrain offers a very smooth run in any environment.

The other big surprise was the comfy ride position. The Jackpot may look all American Chopper from a distance but the ride position is actually pretty mild. The footpegs aren’t too far forward and my back was pretty much upright, with an easy reach to the flattish handlebars. The seat is particularly nice. It’s really well sculpted and compliant too. In general, it’s far comfier than its looks may initially suggest, and despite the slammed rear end the rear suspension softens the blow from potholes and bumps well.

The clutch lever requires a reasonable degree of pressure but not so much as to be a pain in stop-start traffic, while the gearshift is fairly noisy in the lower gears but responsive nonetheless. Really, the latter’s operation fits the style of bike. Around town it’s surprisingly manageable, not that any courier will be trading in a supermoto for a Jackpot anytime soon.

WHOLE LOTTA GRUNT
Get it out in the country, however, and that massive 106-cube (1731cc) V-twin really sings. Victory’s ‘Freedom’ V-twin is found across the range and while it’s been in use for some years it’s a highly capable, competent unit. There are lashings of torque and that promotes an easy, relaxed ride, with enough oomph on tap at highway speeds for fairly fuss-free overtakes. There’s no tacho so I have no idea where the rev-limiter kicks in – I never found it, because short-shifting to surf that wave of torque is the order of the day.

The upper gearing is rather tall, however – which is to say that even at 100km/h on the highway I often found myself in fourth rather than fifth or sixth. The ratios of the lower gears were fine around town but out in the country to be in the sweet spot in fifth or the overdive sixth you’ll be pulling gaol-bait speeds. There are gobs of torque for decent acceleration when you need it and there’s nothing in the way of nasty vibes – just an addictive, intoxicating pulse as you lope along down the road, all to the aural backdrop of a spine-tingling V-twin tattoo.

On a winding road that fat back hoop takes some getting used to. It understeers through bends, wanting to push wide, and so you need to muscle it over to get that massive Dunlop on its edge. If you’ve never ridden such a bike before tipping into the first corner can be alarming, but you acclimatise soon enough and come to accept that if that’s the look you’re after, it’s an unavoidable compromise. Having said that, mates with more experience of fat-rear-end choppers than I tell me the Jackpot is actually a very accomplished engineering work in this respect, and I was amazed how much ground clearance there was to play with once the bike was heeled over.

The suspension in general does a thoroughly good job on the open road, as do the steel-braided-line-equipped brakes. The bulk of the latter’s power stems from the rear stopper – par for the course on bikes with this sort of steering geometry – and there’s good feel at the pedal. The front four-piston stopper also provides useful power and together they can arrest this significant lump of metal surprisingly quickly. I’d have liked to have seen ABS on this package, though. Increasingly it’s a standard feature these days and there’s even an ABS icon on the face of the speedo – sadly it’s only there because the clock gets used across a host of models, but ABS isn’t available on the Jackpot.

THE DETAILS
Speaking of the instruments, the speedo with inset LCD display and idiot lights adds to the bike’s quality feel. On the LCD display you get a single trip meter, an odometer, a clock and a gear indicator. It’s backlit by a ghostly blue light at night which looks trick but I found it a little difficult to read the small digi clock on the LCD display. The headlight is a winner, throwing a very broad low beam and a powerful, searching high beam, and the horn is suitably loud for a bike of this style – you can’t have an in-yer-face ride like this emit a tinny, apologetic toot when someone cuts you off, can you?

Fuel economy isn’t the Jackpot’s strong suit and over a variety of riding situations I recorded an average of 15.1km/lt. With a 17-litre tank that adds up to a working safe range of around 230km, which is probably fine for most owners’ intended usage.

Other odds ’n’ ends? The mirrors work well and give a clear view to the rear unless you’re winding on the power, when they blur significantly. Oh, and the sidestand is on the shorter side, so the bike takes on quite a list at rest. The ignition is located on the left too, which means it’s tricky to get the key into the ignition unless you’ve actually sat on the bike and lifted it upright – to my mind it would be far more convenient if the ignition was placed on the other side of the engine. A minor quibble.

SUMMING UP
Priced at $24,995 (rideaway), Victory’s Jackpot is a whole lot of bike for the bucks. I’d have thought three or even four grand more wouldn’t be excessive given the all-round quality of this package, but then Victory has been making steady in-roads into the Australian market with aggressive pricing across the range. Once seen as a highly ambitious backdoor attack on Harley on its home turf, the ‘other’ American V-twin manufacturer looks like it’s dug in its heels and is here to stay, thanks to an attractive range of well-built, good-looking and keenly priced machines.

They’re a viable alternative to the sea of bikes bearing the Motor Co’s bar and shield and that in itself will attract anyone who likes to do things a little differently. The Jackpot embodies all these qualities, so if the wild styling does it for you, you’ll be rewarded with a great bike that will turn heads like nothing you’ve ridden before.

TRANSMISSION
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Belt
Clutch: Wet, multi-plate

CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR
Frame type: Tubular steel cradle
Front suspension: 43mm conventional telescopic fork, non-adjustable
Rear suspension: Monoshock, adjustable for preload
Front brakes: Single 300mm disc with four-piston caliper
Rear brake: Single 300mm disc with twin-piston caliper
Tyres: Dunlop Elite 3
Sizes: Front 90/90-21, rear 250/40-18

DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Claimed dry weight: 296kg
Seat height: 653mm
Wheelbase: 1684mm
Fuel capacity: 17 litres

OTHER STUFF
Price: $24,995 (rideaway)
Colour: White Extreme with graphics or Orange Madness with graphics
Test bike supplied by: Victory Motorcycles Australia
Web: www.victorymotorcycles.com.au
Warranty: 24 months, unlimited kilometres