Bribe all you want-your local Victory dealer won't be selling this model. (Underneath it all, though, lurks a Hammer.)
In the hinterlands of northern Minnesota winters can be long and unflinching. Days are short, and the choice of outdoor activities on your to-do list dwindles considerably when three feet of the white stuff is piled up for months on end. But after the ice-fishing and snowmobiling options have been exhausted, folks up there still find ways to entertain themselves-especially if they're motorcycle engineers. Case in point: The Axe.
This wildly customized rig was slapped together by members of the Victory engineering team after hours, using mostly parts that were destined for the crusher. Victory lead project engineer Gary Gray emphasizes that it wasn't a mandate from on high, sketched out and conceptualized to the nth degree: "It was just our chance to show how we'd build a bike if we could do it our way.
"We broke the vehicle up, and each person worked on an area they don't necessarily focus on in their day-to-day work with Victory. We never really had a sketch of what the final product would look like, which was kind of nerve-racking, but we're extremely pleased with the outcome."
And he should be pretty stoked; the result is a dangerous-looking, traffic-stopping study in ebony with some real puncture potential.
The Axe gets three 50-watt driving lights for illumination. The fork caps are a not-so-subtle reminder to keep your braking smoooth. Vlad the Impaler would've loved this bike. | 
Look familiar? That 250-section rear meat and transmission are straight off a stock Hammer. |  |
The Axe's girder front suspension is mounted on a curved black fork with a polished motor shimmering at its center. The bone-stock frame's downtubes have been chopped, so the engine (now a stressed member) and its snaking exhaust are clearly visible. If that's not nasty enough for you, how about two nitrous bottles strapped to the forks in case you need to boost power on that Stage 3 Freedom engine?
With a small chrome panel (with an LED screen) for instrumentation and three compact, high-powered lamps for headlights, the Axe's look is appropriately Spartan and hard-edged. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but we'll bet this project was a helluva fun way to pass the time. -Andrew Cherney
Victory Axe
Built on a stock '05 Victory Hammer.
Engine
Type: Polished Freedom 100/6 V-twin with Stage 3 kit, performance cams and valve modifications
Bore X Stroke: 101 x 102mm (1634cc)
Transmission/Final Drive: 6 speeds/belt-drive final drive
Chassis
Wheelbase: 65.7 in.
Rake/Trail: 52.9 deg./5.57 in.
- Girder front suspension on arcing block forks
- Shaved swingarm
- 250mm rear tire
- Radial-mounted front brake calipers
- Axe etched into handgrips
Performance
Horsepower: 120 @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 126 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm