Victory Vegas 8-Ball Project: "Evil 8" Part 3

[Sir_Angus]

Originally Posted by The_AirHawk

If they truly wanted it to be "Evil" - they should have left the sh!tty handling in, and hotrodded the motor to the Max so as to make it essentially unrideable (sorta like every Choppa' "manufacturer" out there).

Evil, Stupid Torque + Evil, Dangerous Handling = Exceptionally Evil Motorcycle.

By "Evil" I expected bada$$ mods pushing the existing styling to a new level; not making it look like every mass produced standard, and basically, showcasing the boring Vic OEM parts book.

I don't know which day they were passing out the koolaid that made most on motorcycle.com believe every bike must be like a sportbike, but I'm glad I wasn't here. The Vegas is a cruiser not a crotchrocket! It fills that gap between standards and prostreet. It'll never be a kneedraggin' 200mph thru the twisties machine. GET OVER IT!

[trenttheuncatchable]

Dude, lighten up. And that "made most on motorcycle.com believe every bike must be like a sportbike" statement is flat out wrong.

[Larry]

Originally Posted by Sir_Angus

There's a pro-street kit out there that'll give you a 45* rake without cutting the neck. Dare I bring up the air ride rear suspension option again?

Ummm... the object was to improve the handling, not eliminate all ability to corner.

Originally Posted by Sir_Angus

By "Evil" I expected bada$$ mods pushing the existing styling to a new level;

There's nothing badazzed about a bling bike. Nothing but azz-jewelry and you can't ride it. I'm not a sportbike guy, but most people's idea of "custom" is like "How to ruin a perfectly good motorcycle" to me.

Hey! Let's lower it to the bumpstops, rake it to 45 degrees, put on some apehangers, and make it really loud! Oh, and how cool would it look with a car tire on the back?!?!?

I do mods that IMPROVE the bike, not castrate it. I ride, I don't dress up like a biker and bar-hop.

[Larry]

Originally Posted by trenttheuncatchable

that "made most on motorcycle.com believe every bike must be like a sportbike" statement is flat out wrong.

I must have missed that memo too....

[Kevin_Duke]

Originally Posted by Larry

I think it was a good article and project. I'm certain that the bike rode/handled/stopped lots better than the stock 8-Ball. Although the performance enhancements didn't actually net any performance gains, that wasn't the fault of Motorcycle.com. Polaris/Victory owns that debacle.

If someone who was thinking of buying one of these bikes or already owns one got some insight into improving the suspension/brakes and learned not to buy their exhaust from the Victory accessory catalog, then the article was not a wasted effort.

You're on the right track, Larry. The ultimate goal of this series was to inform the reader about the kind of things that could be done to such a bike. Harley hop-ups are a dime a dozen, but the Victory angle is rarely seen. Bolt-ons from Vic were the easiest way for us or a customer to modify the bike.

As for the Evil part, the name came from its serial number, 666. We had originally planned for two more significant upgrades, with a Lloydz motor and modified bodywork and paint, but Vic needed their bike back before we could get that far.

[Larry]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Duke

We had originally planned for two more significant upgrades, with a Lloydz motor and modified bodywork and paint, but Vic needed their bike back before we could get that far.

It's a cryin' shame you didn't get to finish the project.

[Sir_Angus]

Originally Posted by Larry

I must have missed that memo too....

Then you guys aren't the intended audience for that comment.

It was towards the folks that can't seem to realize sportbikes aren't perfect, and aren't desirable to everyone.

[Sir_Angus]

Originally Posted by Larry

Ummm... the object was to improve the handling, not eliminate all ability to corner.

There's nothing badazzed about a bling bike. Nothing but azz-jewelry and you can't ride it. I'm not a sportbike guy, but most people's idea of "custom" is like "How to ruin a perfectly good motorcycle" to me.

Hey! Let's lower it to the bumpstops, rake it to 45 degrees, put on some apehangers, and make it really loud! Oh, and how cool would it look with a car tire on the back?!?!?

I do mods that IMPROVE the bike, not castrate it. I ride, I don't dress up like a biker and bar-hop.

I agree that having a pretty bike that isn't functional is pointless. But ultimately wasting print space on things like a windshield (that never got used again) when they could've dug into the suspension swap on the first article. Then the second part on the Llodyz motor rebuild. Followed by ... Whatever the next over-the-top mods they could think of.

When I read articles or watch shows about "project" vehicles my expectation is that the magazine/TV show/webmag is going to do stuff the average person can't easily afford or use innovative products not yet available in the marketplace.

The builds backed by corporate sponsors should inspire the reader. That's all I'm trying to get across by my comments.

[Duken4evr]

To my admittedly performance oriented eye, the slightly taller stance, inverted forks and 18" front wheel look great. They speak of direct steering and bike that wants to be ridden.

With the full engine treatment, the "Evil 8" is a bike I would want to own and ride. Pretty tough looking, but with peformance and handling to please me, the loose nut behind the handlebars. Been riding dirt bikes for so long now, if it can't snap, turn and pull like a bull, I don't wanna ride it. Hoo boy. This past weekend on the CR250 on some perfectly damp tacky mountain trails really fried my brain - hence the dirt bike reference to a cruiser article

[Buzglyd]

Originally Posted by Larry

It's a cryin' shame you didn't get to finish the project.

Lar, for all your yappin' you need a much better wheelie photo.

My 80cc Cuddymobile can pull that weeka$$ wheelie.