Perhaps acknowledging that the key to long-term success is carving your own niche rather than following the crowd, Victory has unveiled its latest two-wheeler, this one hewing clearly toward the custom end of the market.
With the clean foundation of the Vegas as a starting point, the new Victory Vegas Jackpot liberally sprinkles muscle-bound elements of the Hammer into the mix to create what Victory calls an "extreme custom." The company sees this as an emerging segment in the industry, one that caters more to lavish styling cues and enhanced motors. Victory feels the buyers in this segment are more "biker" and less "motorcyclist" than the performance cruiser enthusiasts who flocked to the Hammer.
There's still an air-cooled V-twin powerplant at the heart of it all, but it's been beefed up to 103 cubic inches and now sports a 6-speed tranny-the same Freedom 100/6 powertrain on the Hammer. But Victory is quick to point out the Jackpot's not just a Hammer with a Vegas front end-the new bike borrows the Vegas' chassis, 21-inch front tire and sculpted fuel tank, but also introduces a new rear frame section, swingarm, rear fender, seat and headlight. Still, there's no mistaking that 250mm rear tire, the same rubber you'll find crouching under the Hammer's chopped fender.
When it's released in the fall, the Jackpot will also offer goodies like a removable passenger seat, a brilliant HID/halogen headlight and wild color options with the Custom Order Program. The MSRP was not given, but we speculate it will be in the $15-20K range.
Victory also unveiled two new limited-edition Ness Signature Series models based on the Jackpot. The Cory Ness model sports Evil 7 custom hoops, while Arlen's rolls on Jagged Ness rims. Throw in radical paint and graphics, color-matched frames, custom seats and a batch of Ness chrome goodies and you've got a bike that doesn't just blend in with the masses.
Victory has seen fit to upgrade the rest of its 2006 model line as well-the Victory Kingpin, Kingpin Deluxe and Vegas also get the Freedom 100/6 powertrain and a slew of new accessories and colors; the Vegas 8-Ball beefs up its engine bay with the 100-cubic-inch V-twin and shaves a few inches off the crankcase for increased cornering clearance; and the Hammer rolls on with a few new accessories and graphic options added to the mix. The Touring Cruiser comes back relatively unchanged save for new colors and graphics, offering the same spacious lockable hard bags, high windshield and light bar.-Andrew Cherney
2006 Star Roadliner, Stratoliner Bring New Elegance And DetailThe new flagships of Yamaha's Star-brand cruisers take detail styling to new heights and offer a clean, classic, elegant design drawn from the aesthetic trends of the 1930s. Dubbed the Roadliner and, with touring gear, the Stratoliner (we would have reversed the names), the bikes are powered by a new 1854cc air-cooled, pushrod, fuel-injected V-twin that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Road Star's motor. Yamaha hints that it's also the most powerful of the big twins.
The single-shock frame is made from aluminum, both to cut weight and to enable some of the fabrication, which wouldn't have been possible with steel. Wheels are cast alloy (no wire-spoke option), with three discs to stop them.
However, what you will probably notice about the bike is how artfully all the components have been styled. This bike has so many graceful lines and shapes on the details-pieces like the shift lever, fender braces and swingarm shape-that it's worth just studying it. The depth and completeness of styling is what sets these bikes above the rumbling crowd.
Each variant is available in three trim levels. The basic model ($13,580 for the Roadliner and $15,180 for the Stratoliner), the blacked-out Midnight ($13,880 and $15,480), and the S, with more chrome and polish ($14,780 and $14,980 for the Roadliner and $16,580 for the Stratoliner).