The riding position, which places your feet slightly forward on pegs, remains comfortable after a couple of hours on the highway, with the capacious 4.5-gallon fuel tank delivering nearly 36 mpg on longer stints for a range of approximately 170 miles. But if your highways are as riddled with expansion joints as California's are, your spine will be crying uncle. Thank the Jackpot's shortened and therefore overly firm rear suspension for doing a less than admirable job of soaking up road irregularities in that case; the mono-tube damper out back has only 3.0 inches of travel in order to maintain the bike's low profile (though you can adjust the preload).
The nicely curved handlebar is set on risers and pulled back enough to make operating hand controls a no-brainer, but a few of our testers encountered issues when it came time to gas up-the bar's extreme pullback didn't allow for the nozzle to fit cleanly into the fuel tank. There were also a few complaints about loose cables running outboard of the bar-a $22,000 motorcycle should have a clean front end to match the rest of the bike, our testers reckoned.
The Ness Jackpot pretty much kicked butt on the boulevard, running stoplight to stoplight with aplomb. However, in the curvier country roads, it was a handful and a half. That bar's long pullback did add needed leverage when initiating a turn, but that was where the fun ended. That wide rear rubber may look cool, but fighting it into a turn is like dancing with Mike Tyson. Don't even try to lead.
Because of this, the Jackpot proved unwieldy at low speeds, and you were reminded of its custom pretensions. Muscling the bar and weighting the bike with your body while still in the turn became standard procedure for getting the 'Pot to lean with any urgency. And if that move became a necessary evil on long sweepers, it never felt quite right on short, emergency maneuvers in town; small bumps would knock the bike off its line, probably due to the narrow footprint of the front tire.
The urban portion of our test was also weighed down by some of the Jackpot's custom accessories; billet grips simply don't jive with high-effort clutch and brake levers. On the stopping front, though, the brake system proved up to the task. With its 300mm disc squeezed by four pistons, the front brake provided amply progressive feel if not the immediate power of Victory's dual-disc equipped bikes. For real results, you had to stomp on the Jackpot's rear brake as well, which luckily wasn't just for show-it also boasted a 300mm disc. In fact, the rear brake's bite was more dramatic because of the rear tire's much larger contact patch.
The power, refinement and finish of this bike were quite impressive, and the whole package makes for a unique statement. If Victory was aiming for bikers rather than riders, then the company has hit the bullseye-er, jackpot-with this bike. It's a straightliner for sure, more concerned with good looks than sharp turns, but at least Victory makes that clear up front. The company tells us that the level of traffic in dealer showrooms has reached new highs, which it attributes to interest in the Jackpot.
In addition to the Ness versions of the Jackpot, a new owner can also select from a variety of custom Extreme Graphics available only through the Victory Custom Order Program. Potential customers can go online and sift through a number of options for any Victory bike and place the order from their office or home during the custom order period, which starts each summer. A pretty neat feature, we think, and one that could make a well-sorted Jackpot a true custom.
Specifications
Ness Signature Series Victory Vegas
Jackpot (Cory Ness Edition)
Suggested price: $21,999 ($22,249, CA)
Engine & Drivetrain
Type: 4-stroke, 50-degree tandem V-twin
Valve Arrangement: SOHC; 2 intake, 2 exhaust valves per cylinder
Displacement, bore x stroke: 1634cc, 101 x 102mm
Compression ratio: 9.8:1
Carburetion: EFI, 44mm throttle bodies
Minimum fuel grade: 92 octane
Transmission: 6 speeds
Final drive: belt
Chassis
Wet weight: 697 lbs
GVWR: 1155 lbs
Seat height: 25.7 in.
Wheelbase: 66.3 in.
Overall length: 96.3 in.
Rake/trail: 33.5 degrees, 5.12 in.
Wheels: Cast aluminum
Front tire: 21 x 2.15 in. Dunlop tubeless
Rear tire: 18 x 8.5 in. Dunlop tubeless
Front brake: 300mm disc, 4-piston caliper
Rear brake: 300mm disc, 2-piston caliper
Front suspension: telescopic fork, 43mm stanchions, 5.1 in. travel
Rear suspension: single cast-aluminum damper, 3.0 in. travel, preload adjustable
Fuel capacity: 4.5 gal.
Handlebar width: 33.5 in.
Electrical & Instrumentation
Forward lighting: HID headlights; position lights
Taillight: LED
Instruments: Speedometer, LCD odometer, tripmeter; lights for high beam, neutral, low-fuel signals
Performance
Fuel mileage: 31-41 mpg, 35.9 mpg average
Quarter-mile performance: 13.00 sec. @ 101.39 mph