Church Of MO – First Ride: Polaris Victory Vegas

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

This week’s Church feature takes us back to 2002 and the introduction of the Victory Vegas. The latest model from the “other” American motorcycle manufacturer, the Vegas is the result of new-age design and engineering. Designed from the ground up via computer programming, tweaks, changes and modifications could quickly be implemented before production began. The result? Well, here’s Calvin Kim to tell you how he got on with it.

First Ride: Polaris Victory Vegas

Calvin Wins a Trip to Vegas! (which turns out to be in Minnesota or some Godforsaken place)

Minneapolis, Minnesota— I was lost. A thunderstorm was brewing and I could smell it. But I could also smell something else. What was this pungent aroma anyway? Ahhh… delicious manure. They say one of the things that makes motorcycle riding so unique is that you can be immersed in your environment. Sometimes that’s not so good. Anyway, here I was at the corner of L and M or K and Q or somesuch, somewhere in the middle of Minnesota or Michigan or one of those states, and a storm was brewing.

At least the roads were good. Funny the things you think of when you’re lost. I panicked a little bit. I wondered what would happen if I ran out of gas or broke down, or worse yet, if the weather caught up with me. Hey, it snows here, doesn’t it? I thought about how much of a klutz I was for leaving my cell phone back at the hotel.

I also thought about why I was riding alone along one of the two-laners that threads its way around the many lakes and estuaries of this land. Left around one lake, right around another, over, under and through the woods. Rinse and repeat. And repeat I did. I didn’t have to think about that one for long thanks to the new Victory Vegas I was here to ride. From the Vegas’s sculpted and scalloped tank to its easy-access oil-filter, the machine I spent a day with turned out to be a very well thought out machine. Penned by Polaris’s own team of industrial designers, this newest Victory implements the latest in modern design and construction principles–things I got to see firsthand during a tour of Victory’s engine facility and R&D center.

Victory designed the Vegas from the ground up purely in the virtual world. Using computers to design the entire motorcycle allowed for rapid prototyping and quick and easy fitting exercises before any parts were ever cast in metal. This new-fangled method of design has been in use in the automotive business for years, and is now making its way slowly but surely into the motorcycle realm. Other automotive-like advances for the Vegas include its onboard computer system: A Visteon supplied OBD-2 engine management system ensures the fuel injection system injects the fuel at the appropriate intervals.
Freedom engine just prior to being tested. Two intake trumpets are located within the black, plastic airbox. It was reported that most of the power increase from this engine lies directly with this airbox and the changes to the timing that utilizing this airbox entailed.

The 1507cc Freedom engine–a single-overhead-cam four-valve per cylinder design–makes sure the engine is up to technological spec. Hydraulic lifters are used, thus allowing for a virtually maintenance-free valve train. That little radiator in front of the forward cylinder head is for the oil, which also has the task of lubing and cooling the transmission and clutch. The 50-degree V-twin utilizes an undersquare 97 x 102mm bore and stroke with a fairly conservative 9.2:1 compression ratio. A single 44mm throttle body feeds air into the engine. A counterbalancer is included to smooth out the works, enough so much that the engine can be rigid-mounted to the chassis. The linkage for the rear suspension is attached to the chassis by way of the engine, in fact, and only the bars are isolated via rubber grommets.

The Freedom engine isn’t new; it’s the same one that powered the V92 series of cruisers. The powerplant as found in the Vegas, however, has been tweaked to provide a more enjoyable riding experience. Gear selection has been improved by the use of a redesigned shift detent mechanism, and the previously oil-cooled engine has been redesigned for air/oil cooling. Transmission and engine are now morel solidly linked together, too, to provide a more rigid platform.

Notice the ridge that runs along the middle of the bike. Also, the rear taillight is powered by one LED. Clever reflector lens angles make the light seem just as bright as any other taillight. Benefits include super long life, little current draw and instant “on” time.

The chassis, on the other hand, is all new. Victory wanted a comfortable bike first, and a bike to perform well second. To do that, they researched the competition and came up with an “optimum” ergonomic profile. From there, they worked with their customers to provide a package that would be most comfortable for as much of their potential clientele as possible. A worthy goal no doubt, and a highly desireable one in a cruiser.

From shortest to tallest, none of the riders I was with complained about ergonomics. All control locations felt neutral. The only piece of ergonomic hardware this tester noticed was the vestigial backrest, during high-speed stints on straight sections of road where it made a great rest against the wind. Everything’s nicely tucked under a seat only 26.5 inches (673 mm) from your soles. The transmission — a weak link in some Victorys — proved to be seamless, and compared to some V-twin cruisers, is for all intents and purposes, perfect. While some testers would’ve liked a six-speed — and the motor could certainly pull a taller top gear — the five-speed should be fine for 99 percent of what the Vegas will be asked to do.

This is the only tool thats included with the Vegas. However, most of the bolts that a typical owner will need to access has been setup to use either the philips or the hex end of this tool.

Clutch actuation was fine, as are the bike’s Brembo brakes. Victory de-tuned the front brake to salve the fears of, presumably, uneducated riders. Initial bite is somewhat lacking as a result, but a healthy tug on the right hand lever does an adequate job slowing the machine. Try as I might, I wasn’t able to get the front wheel to lock up. No big deal, and I bet replacing the stock pad with something more aggressive would result in more aggressive front brake feel. The rear brake is fairly typical cruiser fare.

Special attention was given to the suspension, with progressive springs up front and a straight-rate spring with a rising-rate linkage out back. This linkage is actuated via an aluminum swingarm. In order to provide a plusher, more forgiving ride, damping was increased while spring rate decreased. The only adjustment available is to the rear preload, via threaded collar.

The internal bits. Do you see the counter-balancer?

While the technical bits combine to make a cruiser that handles superbly and consistently, the style bits are what really set this bike apart. The separation between the seat and gas tank is one such area that deserves a second, if not third look. The scalloped tank, and for that matter, the ridge that runs along the middle of the bike from the front fairing straight through the tank, and all the way to the LED taillight, all provide for a decidedly custom appearance. In fact, so custom is this process Victory has applied for patents on the manufacturing procedure.

And, typical of the cruiser marketplace, Victory is already tooled up and ready with a host of accessories. From aggressive pipes to an optional tachometer kit, Victory has its bases covered. In fact, they also have the only HID (High Intensity Discharge) light kit as an industry-first option if I’m not mistaken.

Polaris has extensive testing equipment that Victory can benefit from. For example, check out this two-post shaker rig, where they can simulate 10,000 miles of abuse per day.

Victory did a good job keeping the center of gravity as low as possible, a thing that makes the bike feel a lot lighter than its listed 615-pound dry weight would lead you to believe. While 33.1-degrees rake and 134mm trail aren’t going to win any sportbike performance contests, for a cruiser the Vegas handles very nimbly and tracks nicely through corners. Dragging hard parts is again too easy, and if there is anything that can be said against the handling of the bike, it’s that it’s too confidence inspiring for its own ground clearance. The chassis gives a lot of feedback, and seems content to lean much farther. Must remember it’s a Cruuuuuiser… maybe a performance footpeg mount should also be in the list of accessories?

Victory by Design

— meanwhile, back in Osceola

This is whats under the right side panel. Notice the OBD-2 interface plug to the left of the fuse block. The pre-drilled and tapped hole to the left of the OBD plug, is where the optional saddlebags can mount to. Once again, the simple tool thats included with the bike is all you need to install and remove such accessories.

If the R&D and engine facility is any indication as to how serious Victory is about its motorcycles, all I can say is that these guy’re extremely serious. Victory personnel highlighted numerous points during our tour of these facilities. For example, rods and cranks are “matched” by tolerance. Nothing manufactured is perfect, so upon receipt of connecting rods and cranks, each is measured and matched–looser big ends with bigger crank journals, etc. This keeps tolerances between these two critical parts as tight as possible. To aid in construction, tolerances are split into three ranges and color-coded.

So what happens if, heaven forbid, you throw a rod or need a new crank? Well, just by knowing your engine case number, Victory can print out a specification sheet that lists all the vitals about your particular engine. Want to know how much torque the third case bolt from the right was tightened to? They have it. In fact, all of the tools utilized in construction of the

It’s the little things that matter.

Freedom engines are monitored by a central data control system. At each engine build station, there is a bar code reader that scans the engine before any work gets done to it. From there the computer is kept apprised of what is going on with each engine, step by step at each and every station.

Specifications

Engine: Oil/air cooled, 50° Freedom V-twinBore x Stroke: 97x102mmDisplacement: 92cu. in. (1507cc)Compression Ratio: 9.2:1Vavle Train: SOHC, 4 valves per cylinder, self-adjusting cam chainshydraulic liftersFuel Delivery: EFI/44mm throttle bodiesFuel Capacity: 4.5 gal./17.0 lOil Capacity: 6.0 qts/5.7 lCharging System: 38 ampsPrimary Drive: Gear drive with torque compensatorClutch: Wet/multi-plateTransmission: 5-speed constant meshFinal Drive: Fiberglass reinforced belt driveFront Brake: Brembo 300mm floating rotor with 4-piston caliperRear Brake: Brembo 300mm floating rotor with 2-piston caliperLength: 96.3 in/2445mmWheelbase: 66.5 in/1690mmSeat Height: 26.5 in/673mmGround Clearance: 5.8 in/148mmRake-Trail: 33.1°-5.28 in/134mmDry Weight: 615 lbs/280kgFront Suspension: 43mm diameter, 5.1 in/130mm travelRear Suspension: Triangulated swing arm, 3.9 in/100mm travel,single shock prelad adjustableFront Wheel: 21.0x2.15 in/40-spoke laced aluminumRear Wheel: 18.0x4.5 in/40-spoke laced aluminumFront Tire: 80-90/21 Dunlop CruisemaxRear Tire: 170-60VB/18 Dunlop K591 Elite SPColors: Vogue Silver, Sonic Blue, Black, Solar Red, Flame Yellow
Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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