Victory Kingpin Tour

WHAT WE LIKE

NOT SO MUCH

OVERVIEW
It's not easy being the new kid on the block, and sometimes it takes a while to gain acceptance.

Victory Motorcycles is currently going through that phase. A fully owned subsidiary of Polaris Industries, Victory has been around in America for a decade now, but only just made its way to Australia in 2008 - as the global economy started to go belly up.

So not only was it faced with freshman status, it also had to push on through the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression to sell the virtues of its six-model range of V-twins, starting with the base level Vegas all the way through to the luxury Vision Tour tourer.

It's a credit to Victory that it's faced up to the challenge head on, and it's proved that a little knowledge can go a long way.

In the first four months of this year, Victory sold 42 bikes which, while only a minute slice of the Aussie market and light years behind its American rival Harley-Davidson, is not as bleak as it seems.

It's certainly a pass mark, and doubly so when you consider that Victory is currently only being retailed through five stores, including its flagship company-owned outlet in Melbourne. That situation will change, but developing a national dealer network will take time as Victory embarks on a course of due diligence - appointing poor dealers can sometimes be more counter-productive than industrious.

So my point is? While Victory is probably financially bruised from its entry into Oceania - and maybe just a little spooked after such a whirlwind 12 months -- it's pushing on and will come out the other side as a well respected brand.

The Victory range comprises several base models, with a number of variations of each. There's the Vegas, plus the Vegas Low, and the Vegas 8-Ball.

Then there's the Kingpin, the Kingpin Low and the Kingpin Tour, plus the Hammer and Hammer S. There is also the Jackpot.

The Vision Street and the Vision Tour are the marque's full dress tourers, which are powered by 106ci (1731cc) engines, as are the Hammers and Jackpots. The 100ci (1634cc) engine is found in the Vegas and Kingpin ranges.

There are also wild versions of the Jackpot and Vision Street, designed by custom cruiser maestros Arlen and Corey Ness, known as the 'Ness Signature Series' models.

We've already tested the Vegas at BikePoint, so a good place to follow up is with the Kingpin Tour, which has the same engine but is more dressed up - with panniers, top box, footboards and screen.

The 'Freedom' V-twin is equipped with electronic fuel injection and is air/oil-cooled. There are four-valve heads and Victory says it's good for 85hp at 4500rpm, and a meaty 144Nm at 2500rpm.

The power is transferred through a six-speed gearbox with overdrive, and it's belt-driven.

The suspension consists of an USD 43mm fork, with a largely concealed rear monoshock down the back, adjustable for preload.

There's a 300mm disc brake at both ends, gripped by four and twin-piston calipers respectively.

The instrumentation cluster is analogue, save for an LCD inset, which features a trip meter and clock. The blinkers are self-cancelling.

There are five separate liveries on the KT, three solid colours and a couple of two-tones. See specifications panel below.

The leather top box and panniers are standard fare, as is the non-adjustable screen and passenger back rest.

The 18-inch wheels are alloy, and have three sets of swoopy spokes. The tyres are long-haul Dunlops.

The KT comes with a retail price of $27,995 plus ORC. Buyers can also “go shopping” with a big accessories catalogue, which includes more chrome and exhausts.

The KP is in positive territory, and it's no slouch. It offers a quality ride, and there's a load of grunt to keep you on the go.

However, when you consider the KT has a dry weight of 330kg, it tempers the performance equation just a little. To put it into context, the bike has a torque-to-weight ratio similar to the 675cc Triumph Street Triple R.

However, peak torque on the KT is delivered at a delicious 2500rpm. That makes overtaking, and general riding for that matter, a breeze.

It also has a surprisingly good turning circle and a low centre of gravity, so don't be afraid to do a U-turn.

The overdrive certainly lives up to its name, and it's probably just too tall for the draconian speed limits in Australia. In overdrive and with the stock pipes, the KP is bloody quiet - so much so that I once found myself humming Air Supply songs to fill the aural void. I don't want to repeat that too often.

There is a fair bit of mechanical noise on the KT, especially from the gearbox, which has a few shortcomings. Neutral is sometimes very hard to find.

For a machine that's well over 300kg, has a 1666mm wheelbase and very conservative geometry, the KP cuts a swathe through turns. Ground clearance is good, and it certainly didn't wallow, even when the tarmac became a little uneven.

Nice work, and a lot better than most other cruisers.

Riding the KT is all about being relaxed, which is a nice change from the frenetic pace of most other motorcycles. And with a screen and mirrors you can actually see out of, it sets off the package. It's got a nice soft perch, too.

The suspension is a little on the soft side, but it still didn't stop me having some serious fun.

The brakes do a decent job, and in this case the rear one packs the most punch. The initial application is quite 'soft' - probably a function of the pedal, which has a bit of lateral movement in it - before it grows some teeth.

Combined, the front and back brakes are certainly adequate, and that also applied when I had a rather robust pillion on board.

That pillion certainly appreciated the back rest, although he became a bit agitated when I told him to open the top box. The locking mechanism is a bit cumbersome, which really shouldn't be the case on a 27K motorcycle.

I recorded an average fuel economy of 6.7 lites/100km while aboard the KT, which was a mixture of both town and highway work. With a 17-litre tank, that gives you an effective range of around 240km, which certainly isn't bad for this genre.

The KT certainly isn't ostentatious, but its styling is certainly unique. The engine is brawny, and the two-tone paint work on my bike looked great.

My first sample of Victory tackle was a real eye opener. It's a great product, and one that I would certainly short-list of I was heading into cruiser ownership.

Obviously, brand loyalty counts for a lot in this genre, but if you want a machine that can hold its head high in any company, at a good price, then look no further than the Kingpin Tour.