Home
Bike Reviews
Victory Hammer Test Ride Review
By Ren Withnell
Oh it's so tough trying to write this one up. I'm all of a dither.
Victory's Hammer. It's a fair looker innit.
Call me old school. Call me blind to practical reality. Call me a dreamer. There's something rather special about the way the Hammer S looks. It's a cruiser like a Harley or a Dragstar. It's a bit sporty too with the minimalist sleek design and red stripe. It's mean and tough with that 1.7 something litre motor and that HUGE rear tyre. It's a pin up bike much like a Lambo is a pin up car.
I recall being a kid when you looked at a car or a bike you'd look first at the speedo. The one that had the biggest numbers on the clock was obviously, without question, the fastest and therefore best. The back tyre on the Hammer follows that same mentality. It's bigger, fatter, wider and therefore BETTER than any other bike in the showroom. Of course as an adult I know you can have a speedo that reads up to 350mph on a CG 125 if you so desire, doesn't mean it will go that fast.
Bigger is surely better? 250 section rear rubber.
So on an open day at Orrell Motorcycles I grabbed the opportunity to test ride this dreamy pin-up with both hands. Hell yeah, me on a 1.7 litre bike, big V-Twin, fat tyre, lookin' like a million dollars just cruisin' around and soakin' up the admiring looks. Oh yeah I know there's nowhere to put me tent and gear for travelling. I know it'll drink too much juice for commuting but can ya just imagine turnin' up on this thang at the local biker hang outs? Coooooool
Right, that is quite enough of that. I have read enough sport bike magazine reviews to know that bigger tyres make the steering a little slower but I've never ridden anything hard and fast enough to really notice the difference. So when I attempt to pull out of the rather awkward junction from the bike shop I almost plough into a car waiting at the lights. I suspect there may be some truth in this after all.
What a strange sensation. I like a stable bike, I don't like them to be all twitchy and fall into corners but this thing is something else. It will not corner. Approaching a tight left at a mini roundabout I'm not just careful, I'm terrified. Hauling it around a bumpy bend on a hill has me sweating. Imagine if you will you're holding a gyroscope, maybe a fast spinning bicycle wheel or a large spinning top. It WANTS to stay in it's current plane of rotation and to move it off it's axis is like wading though pea and ham soup. The Hammer is the same. Upright is fine but tipping it into a bend requires a massive haul on the bars and the movement of my 12 stones to the fullest I can muster. Maybe it'll be better at high speeds.
It is...well...better but not easy. It requires some heft and heave to get it tipped in and a constant force to keep it there. As I navigate a roundabout I also notice the front end is not as firmly planted as I'd like and there's some twitching going on.
So I don't like the way it corners. I'll have to do some more research to see if it's just me and that it's something you get used to. What about the rest of the ride? Well the next thing is the suspension. Damn this thing is hard! With a bike this style and with tyres this fat I can't imagine Victory were expecting it to be used solely for track days. Yet I'm reminded of a short but painful ride on a hardtail in my younger years. I can see the spring, I can see the trick upside down forks, but I'll be damned if they're working. I wonder if American roads actually have potholes, repairs, manholes and grids?
Pretty trick for a cuiser...rising rate linkage and monoshock...I didn't notice while riding.
So it doesn't corner and it's too hard. Next? According to the blurb there's around 95 bhp trying to get out of the engine and a ridiculous 100 and something torques. Yeah, yeah I guess there is but with a bike that weighs in at 305kg dry there's a lot of work for it to do. But with that many cubes and that much torque this thing ought to pull my arms right out of my sockets. It doesn't. It will certainly shift and speed can be gained rapidly if you rev it a little (4,000rpm...not that much). I am surprised at the lack of outright punch. My fave bike I've owned for sheer punch was my SLR 650. 39 bhp, that's all, but open the throttle at say 3,000 rpm and it just went! It felt like I'd been rear ended. The Hammer's hammer feeds in and rises, it doesn't kick you.
106 cubic inches means it's a massive lump but where is the punch?
Anything else? Noise. According to the sales bod this one has none standard pipes. I love a good V-Twin rumble but this was droning in my helmet. I'm sure there's a bunch of kids staring at the big noisy fat tyred motorcycle wobbling around the corner and thinking "Wow!" but I can't hear myself complaining any more. Give me a deep subtle rumble over deafness. Give me standard pipes please.
So what is good?
Standing next to the bike there is one obvious thing about it. Looks. And not just the obvious looks you see in the brochure but a very high build quality. It's not the precise detail engineering of Japanese machines it's a solid, deep and rugged quality. The paint looks deep and the bolts look solid and the polish looks polished. It looks like it was built to last. That does appeal to me a lot.
There's trick stuff like upside downies and a solid depth of quality in the finish.
Although the transmission is at best agricultural both the motor and the gearbox again give that sensation that they'll still be running after the nuclear holocaust. It's a shame I couldn't hear the motor working over the daft loud pipes but I imagine it would sound like a steam engine, maybe the odd rattle but endless and reliable. According to some other blurb the Victory "Freedom" (oh dear) engine has the least moving parts which means there's a lot less to go wrong. That does appeal to me a lot.
A big motor hewn from a solid lump of granite it seems. Built to last they reckon.
Is it me?
I have to ask this because I know someone who owns one. He loves it. He loves it more than the string of sports bikes he's previously owned. He also reckons he has no trouble hustling the big beastie with sporty friends and that it's as fast as...well...you know. I've taken the time to read some other reviews too. The general consensus is that the big rear tyre does affect handling but with practice and experience you learn to deal with it. It seems most agree about the firm suspension too.
So it's up to you what you make of my review. This is NOT a bad bike but it's not to my liking. If you must have the biggest tyre and those gorgeous looks then I suggest you ride one and make your own mind up. But if you've just stepped of a lithe sporty or a light commuter just be careful as you exit the car park onto the road, or should I say highway.
Thanks to www.mcobikes.co.uk for their open day and the opportunity to learn about this bike!
Reader's Comments
Tom McQ said :-
I'm not going to make any of my usual disparaging remarks about cruisers and I'm not even going to talk about silly wagon tyres. I'm just going to say one thing that should have stopped you (and anyone else) from even bothering to look at such a beast - 350kgs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Tom....305kg not 350kg...was that a typo?
Even at 305kg it's heavy. But then I know you drive a Jaaaaaaag which weighs over 2 tons when you could have a Fiat 500 that weighs less than a ton. I'm sure you'd believe your Jag is a better car and faster too. Weight does matter but it's also how the machine handles it.
As for the rest of your preconceptions about cruisers...you're reaching that age now Tom where sports bikes will make your back sore and scare you. Feet forwards and easy rider Tom...face it this is your FUTURE!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Tom McQ said :-
Hmmph!! It will NEVER be my future. Cruisers, Ape Bars, Leather Chaps, Tassles, Roll Bags, Sons of Satan badges, errr, no thanks. LOL. Lean, mean, sporting machine!
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Mike said :-
Well i just bought a Hammer S & i got used to the rear tyre within a handful of corners. Was tentative for the first few corners but as my confidence grew so did my cornering speeds. Am 64 & have been riding since 18. Have aftermarket pipes, hotter cams and a Power Commander. It has plenty of GRUNT & really "hammers" when the throttle is twisted. Just love this bike. Every time i ride it, i can't stop grinning from ear to ear. In addition, it looks awesome. Definitely better looking than my previous bike - VStrom 1000.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Hi Mike. Glad you're loving the Victory. With 1.7 litres and a big slow running engine grunt is never going to be a problem. I'd be interested to know what it's like with the tuning you've done to it.
It wasn't the bike for me, I think I'd have preferred the VStrom myself but that's a big old heavy beast too. Enjoy your rides and may the sun shine on you.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Mark Marcelis said :-
I love the Victory look. I ride a 2002 yamaha warrior with the 103 cubic inch motor. It also has the 250mm rear tyre. It takes a few hours to get used to the track it takes in corners. After that.. I love it.
I will be buying a Victory very soon.
21/05/2016 17:09:08 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Cheers Mark Marcelis. I always kind of guessed the big rear tyre would be fine once you adjusted to it. It's like the feet forward thing or the high bars, you adapt.
Now which Victory will you be buying? The hammer?
22/05/2016 04:52:05 UTC
Brett said :-
The standard Dunlop tyre is a flat profile makes tipping the bike in hard, if you change it to a higher profile Metzler or the like it transforms the bikes handling...little more bump absorption too
04/07/2020 06:21:19 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Thanks Brett. The Dunlop is very flat ain't it, more like an over-inflated car tyre than a motorcycle tyre. I'm figuring the Metzeler has a more round profile. Being higher profile is there any issue with the tyre reaching the mudguard (fender)?
04/07/2020 10:23:31 UTC
Name
Comment
Add a RELEVANT link (not required)
Upload an image (not required) -
Uploading...
Home
Bike Reviews