Victory Tour

Welcome to the Tour!

2009-12-24T15:38:00.002+13:00

The plan is a loop of the Majestic South of New Zealand aboard the fabulous Vision and to have a chance to put it through a good tour in testing conditions and properly evaluate the vehicle. Plus we figured it gives a lot of folks an opportunity to see a unique bike and add a little something to the festival. If there’s anything that captures the ‘ornate’ part of the spirit of the Indian better than the Vision - I’d like to ride it. Sweeping valances and organic curves included. It's being fitted with the luxury 'throne' pillion seat and stylin' top box too.

For more info on the Burt Munro Challenge click here

Victory reckon it will stimulate interest in the brand and put their product in front of a lot of people looking at bikes. The unit we’ll be on is the only one of its kind in NZ and is for sale. (Don’t worry we’ll be treating it like our own!)

I reckon I'm incredibly lucky. We'll do our best to give the event, the place, the roads and the machine the coverage it deserves.

We're picking the bike up in Christchurch and heading to Dunedin, the BMC, and then pootling around Fiordland for a few days – weather permitting. Otherwise we'll head over to the other side of the Island

We'll post up any opportunities to view the bike as we confirm them. It will be at all the events at the Burt Munro Challenge.

It’s worth checking out - even if it's just to hear the stereo.

I'll also have some info about the Victory bikes with me and a few KR goodies as well.

When we get to the BMC, results and reports that I can glean on the ground will be posted up here as soon as I can plug in and upload them.

All things going well, the first opportunity to see the bike and say g’day will be in the Octagon in Dunedin at about 8.00pm tomorrow night.

Watch this space!

BD

About The Bike

2009-12-21T12:51:00.000+13:00

State Highway 94

2009-12-19T22:34:00.000+13:00

Travelling from Milford Sound towards Te Anau.

Bluff Hill Climb Video

2009-12-19T19:30:00.000+13:00

Some sights and sounds from the Hill Climb:

Teretonga Sprit Races Video

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Oreti Park Speedway Video

2009-12-19T18:25:00.000+13:00

Wyndham Street Race Video

2009-12-19T17:02:00.003+13:00

Photo Set: Selected '09 Images

2009-12-07T12:01:00.001+13:00

Some favourites of the bike and the Winners and Placegetters:
Click on the four arrows - bottom right - for full screen.

Wyndham Street Races

2009-12-06T19:45:00.004+13:00

View Full Size

Oreti Park Speedway

2009-12-05T22:06:00.000+13:00

View Full Size

View Fill Size

Teretonga Sprint Races

2009-12-05T19:15:00.005+13:00

View Full Size

Bluff Hill Climb

2009-12-05T11:40:00.007+13:00

View full size

Vision Portraits

2009-12-04T22:32:00.005+13:00

Some of our favourite portraits of the machine:

Here's the URL for the slideshow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwirider/sets/72157622807514565/show/with/4156934841/

Day 8 - Akaroa wins again.

2009-12-03T01:12:00.004+13:00

Day 7 concluded with a nice Thai Meal in the Village and settle in to an early night at the Peppers Resort in Lake Tekapo.

It was a great day and the conditions were close to 'perfick'.

Day 8 unfortunately didn't follow suit.

Grey, overcast, back to being a bit windy and in parts the co-pilot said "the type of rain my mother would describe as 'teaming'".

Subsequently, we didn't get the cameras out at all on day 8 - but I do have some nice grabs from the evening before.

As for the day's ride, we just headed back to Christchurch via the shortest direct route with the intention of making it out to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula for the first time.

Easy, straight running out to the East coast above Timaru, trying to skirt the worst of the weather, with a stop for lunch at Pleasant Point. Worth stopping for the name alone - and the food at the Railway Cafe is good.

Also worth noting were the four - yep four - highway patrol cars in or near Fairleigh. 3 marked - one Mufti.

Hunker down, turn up the iPod, hit the cruise control where suitable - there were some long straight stretches today - and we made it to the Akaora turnoff in good time.

Twice before on our tours of the Mainland we have ventured that way, and twice before we were beaten back by sheer filthy weather, and for the third time in as many attempts I said f*** this, and headed back to the city.

Entirely shrouded in fog and persistent rain. So we had a stop at the Pub at Little River and made our way back to Town to return the bike. From there it was by Taxi to the Airport and we're home wading through gigs of pics now.

What a place the Southern Alps of New Zealand are. It's no wonder that vast tracts of them are World Heritage listed. It's humbling, it's epic, it's an amazing experience to sit outside in a fantastic arm chair and watch it all roll by.

And that's what the bike is. It's a delightful big arm chair for two. It goes around the 70kph posted corners at 100kph easily, 2 up, with all my cameras and gear and chargers and batteries and 2 dozen Kiwi Rider Hats and a heap of Victory Brochures in the 'Trunk' - and it does it with supreme comfort. In the way it handles, brakes, and the way it hauls arse past back to back tour buses - or the way it just purrrrrssss along and the torque of the thing in sixth.

It's ornate, it's extensively blingy and the logos on the side panels are illuminated. It's both illogical and sensible, fascinating, we found it captivating and highly desirable, remarkably efficient and....damn I wish I could afford one, Captain.

No 164 of 200 - long may she roam. Talk to the guys at Silver Fern Takaninni if you want to find out more - or you can email me on webmaster@kiwirider.co.nz if you have any questions about the machine.

Bliiiiing!

Thank you:.

Co-pilot. 30 years a double act.

Victory Motorcycles. Man you guys are turning out SOME vehicles. Elaborate hand gesture of thanks. It was run-in by the book, had an early oil and filter change and I checked the oil this afternoon and it's like honey. So's the rest of the bike.

Venture Southland. Put the trip together for us. Thanks Kerryn. I'm telling all I can what a great place it is to visit.

NZ. The people who came and said g'day, and the ones we met along the way. Some mighty fine folks ride motorcycles dontchaknow.

More summary later. Going to sort some pics - looks like I got some good un's - Burt's Nephew Lee:

Day 7 - Te Anau to Undecided.

2009-12-01T23:40:00.004+13:00

A week on the road and we’re starting to really get the most out of the bike.
We’ve done around 1200km now and it’s turning out to be a real special. It’s run in beautifully and the fuel economy has got better and better by the day.
It’s now averaging around 16.9km/l – 2 up with a heap of cameras and gear. I know because I’ve come to grips with the array of functions available from the on-board trip computer. Also handy today was the readout for range left in the tank.

We left Te Anau reasonably early with the day’s destination ‘undecided’.
After the terrible weather that prevailed for most of the first few days on tour, the day’s sunshine and 20c temperatures were most welcome.

By the time we were skirting Lake Wakatipu, South of Queenstown, conditions were close to ideal. Sunny breaks and virtually no wind prevailed.

The ride along the lake, in the shadows of ‘The Remarkables’ (mountain range, was one of the great sights of the tour.
We decided to by-pass Queenstown and push on to the middle of the Island, stopping at Cromwell for lunch instead.
From Cromwell we made excellent time through Lindis Pass and on to Central Otago and the Mackenzie District. Lindis is probably the least spectacular ‘Pass’ on the Mainland, but it is a great ride nonetheless, and its long sweepers are ideally suited to the big V and the crossing was a delight.
For such a big bike it really is a joy to chuck around and its handling is really confidence inspiring.

Beyond Lindis the landscape in Central Otago is completely different to anything we have encountered on the trip so far. Brown and relatively dry, the vast plains are ringed on all sides by towering peaks. The snow capped Southern Alps lie to the West and the Hawkdun Range and Benmore Peak (1863m) to the East.

The bike purred along with the now fully run-in engine providing good overtaking power for dealing with the many tour buses and camper vans on the road. Then after putting the obstacles in the mirrors, it a just a matter of engaging the cruise control and sit back and watch more of the amazing landscape roll by.
We arrived at our tentative destination of Twizel at around 4pm but with conditions still ideal we decided to push on to Mt Cook.

Unfortunately at 3,754m the Mountain makes its own weather and it wasn’t playing ball. Shrouded in mist and light rain, only the bottom half was visible.

The ride in along Route 80 was worth the effort many fold anyway.
We considered checking in to the Hermitage hotel at the foot of the Mount, but at $200+ per night and with little chance of the cloud that encased the upper half of the slopes unlikely to clear before Thursday we headed back towards Twizel.
When we got to the Route 8 junction we decided to push on to Lake Tekapo instead - and that’s where we’re hunkered down in the brand new Pepper’s Resort for night 7.

The lakes in the district are an amazing azure blue and Tekapo is no exception. Quite stunning.
Tomorrow we’re heading back to Christchurch to (reluctantly) return the motorcycle. We’ll take in a few more sights and snap a few more pics on the way back.
More soon
BD.

PS - how about this for a job - this cliff overhangs the main road near Queenstown and this Helicopter was flying very close to it so as to dislodge any loose rocks whilst the road is temporarily closed.

Day 6. Manapouri – Milford Sound – Te Anau

2009-12-01T00:38:00.008+13:00

With the Burt Munro Challenge done and dusted our attention turned to a bit of serious sightseeing.

The road to Milford Sound from Te Anau is one of our all time favourites, partly for the ride and partly for the amazing, epic landscape.

We set off reasonably early and headed North along route 94 into the World Heritage Listed Fiordland National Park.

From the first glimpse of the towering, snow capped Alps beyond Te Anau Downs the terrain becomes more and more spectacular and the road does likewise.

Beautiful tunnels of native bush snake along the fringes of the escarpments occasionally opening out to a narrow plain, with the road hugging the valley floor, between the Earl and Livingston Mountains. The scene is awe inspiring.

Past Lake Gunn the road climbs toward the Homer tunnel with Mt Christina (2502m) looming on the right.

Through the kilometer or so of rough hewn Tunnel, and on to the descent of switchbacks on the Milford side, the big Victory really was a delight.

It’s not a sportsbike, but it handled the conditions admirably and I still haven’t scraped anything or had anything touch down on tour so far.

Admittedly the place and the scenery make going through it at rapid pace a bit of a waste anyway, but as a grand tourer we’re both very impressed. It hooked into the corners nicely when asked and it was like sitting back in a favourite lounge and watching a true natural wonder roll past.

Conditions were overcast for most of the day and the temperature climbed to 17c on the Valley floor and dropped to 5c in the high country.

We had a quick look around and shot a few pics out at the Sound, (Mitre Peak – 1692m – close to a mile – and the Fiord is a mile deep too!) but with the grey skies (and a stunning motorcycle waiting) we decided against the Boat cruise as we’ve done it before in better conditions. It costs around $NZ75 for a 2-hour cruise (Gilligaaannn!) and if you haven’t done it – do so.
We concentrated harder on the photo shoots and had a few relaxing stops on the way back to base chatting with a number of bikers on the way.

Our new theme for the ride is ‘you’re never alone with a Nessie’ as we’ve been swamped with questions and new friends every time we have stopped the bike.
‘One of two hundred – only one in NZ – around 1700cc – Cruise control – etc etc etc’. We love telling it too and have me some great characters along the way. Like Darren from Custom Shadez and his mate the ‘The Albatross’.

Darren makes a range of custom Stainless steel motorcycle components (www.customshadez.co.nz) and we hooked up several time during the ride. When last we saw them, their bikes were parked beside the road and they were headed for a beautiful babbling stream – fishing poles in hand.
We got back to Te Anau mid afternoon and settled in to very amenable accommodation at the Lakeside Motel and stared to process some of the images.

The Motel is very good with separate living spaces, kitchen and amenities but the highlight is watching the sun set over Lake Te Anau and Flat Mountain in the distance. Co-pilot says ‘ Definitely recommended – thumbs up’.
What a day.
Tomorrow were off to see NZ’ s tallest peak - Mount Cook.
More soon.
BD.

You're never alone with Nessie!

Day 5 - Wydham & Fiordland

2009-11-29T23:44:00.005+13:00

Winds were still quite strong as we set out for Wyndham and the Street Racing around the hay-baled streets of the rural township.
Steven Croad backing it in:

The local community gets right behind the day of celebrations and the competitors obliged by putting on some spirited racing, thrills and quite a few spills.

The programme saw large fields of Classics, Post-classics, BEARS, Motards and Formula classes going flat strap through the town.

Andrew Stoud on his GSX-R 1000 was again in good form (when isn’t he!) in F1 he also had plenty of close company from Nick Cole on his ZX600, which confirmed how well the F2’s are suited to the tight street circuit.

Huge fields contesting the motard classes saw some equally great dicing. Gavin Veltmeyer leads Jason Feaver, Mitch Rowe, Darcy Prentergast and the rest of the field down the back straight.

The classics were a great walk down memory lane and suitably there was a number of Indians in the fields. Like Peter Jones form Christchurch’s 1922 gem (love that sticker Peter!)

Some of the tightest racing on the day was between the Triumph Daytona crews in the BEARS events. And some have had better days – like Tony Campbell from Hawera.

A great day and the weather held off nicely.

After the day at the track, and the conclusion of the Burt Munro Challenge events, we headed West and our first real opportunity to punt the Victory up some beautiful back country roads.

We headed for Fiordland and our overnight stop at Manpouri once again impressed by the comfort and capability of the bike. It rolled away the foothill country delightfully, until we were in the shadow of the Alps for the night.

If you are looking for a Touring biker friendly place to hang your hat for the night our current stopover is great. Check out the Manapouri Motor Inn. Our host Dave rides a Yamaha TDM and attended the Challenge as well. Good food, nice Bar and clean and tidy rooms at a reasonable Tarriff – plus one of the nicest outlooks from the rooms and Restaurant anywhere – watching the Sun set over the Cathedral Peaks (1590m) is worth the ride on its own.

Tomorrow we’re off to Milford Sound. Can’t wait!

More soon.
BD.

Day 4 - huge

2009-11-29T00:45:00.009+13:00

Bright sunshine punctuated by brief drizzle patches were the order for Saturday.
Winds were still quite strong, but not nearly as extreme as Friday.

First up Teretonga Raceway hosted a full programme of racing and that was followed by a full-on Speedway meeting at Oreti Park.

At Teretonga raceway Andrew Stroud and Hayden Fitzgerald put on a great show in some of the earlier heats.
Andrew also got the Britten out for a few parade laps, much to the delight of the large crowd.

We'll get the results for all classes and more pics online first chance we get.

The circuit meet was followed by the popular Speedway celebration at Oreti Park.

We'll get those results online and a heap of pics to match soon too.

We just got back from third event of the day, the big party and prize giving at the rally site so we'll get onto processing some more images at the next available opportunity.

Tomorrow we're off to the Street Racing at Wyndham and the forecast is quite good.

Meantime, check this classic 'highs an lows of Speeday Racing' set.

Kevin Mcdonald and Karl Hosie, representing Oreti Park, had an indifferent start,

and it got worse...

after a series on tumbles, Karl brushed himself off and walked back to the pits unaided.

They were right to start the next heat and...

Brilliant.

More soon.

Beach Racing Cancelled

2009-11-27T20:01:00.003+13:00

'We couldn't keep the cones on the sand' one of the organisers told me when we turned up to photograph the event.

Earlier in the day winds were forecast to reach 90mph - I think everyone was relieved it was off.

Of course - as is usual after the decision was made, conditions moderated and the forecast for the rest of the event and tour is much more promising. Sunny but still very breezy here now.

Off out for dinnner with the Auckland crew..

BD.

Tour Map

2009-11-27T12:02:00.001+13:00

View Victory Tour in a larger map

Day 2 - Hill Climb and da Boys

2009-11-27T11:37:00.016+13:00

'That was some of the worst conditions we've had down here for a long time' said Gary, a native son of Gore (one of the towns of Southland) as we pulled into the Hill Climb.
Very strong winds and horizontal rain prevailed all the way down to the 'Roaring 40's' from Dunedin. We're pretty close to 45 degrees South at our hotel - and it felt like it!

We left Dunedin and headed down to the famous sign at Bluff for the photo opportunity via State Highway 1. The original plan was to go via the Catlins and the Scenic route, but the weather was even filthier closer to the coast so we stuck inland. Next time.
After a brief stop and chat to several fellow two-wheeled travellers at the End of the Island - isn't that a great part of motorcycle touring - the way everybody bonds - maybe it was going through the unpleasantness of the day's ride together.
From the lookout we headed to the hill climb.

The event was on the lee side of the hill and conditions were the best we saw all day. Occasional passing showers and fine breaks were the order with bikes tearing up the 1.4km climb at pace.
Burt Munro actually won the event in 1940 and set a record for the climb. 2009 is the first time the event has been run as part of the BMChallenge and Southland local Jason Feaver emulated Burt by taking his 2007 Honda CR600 to a new record time of 49.01 seconds and the overall win in the Under 600cc class as well.

Aaron Green from Gore rode his Kawasaki ZX10R to the top of the hill - and the Podium for the open class win with a time of 50.11 seconds. Shane Livingston was Second and Andrew Stroud, making his first appearance at the BMC took third on his Gixxer 1000 in what was also his first Hill Climb.

Kevin Ryan's Bonneville was quickest up the Hill in the classics class and Tim George took the Quads in another first for the event. The four wheelers were quite spectacular going up the gradient, with several seriously crossed up moments in the action.

We'll have heaps more pics of the event to upload once we get back to home base.

Excellent Evening with 2 AS's

The next event was an 'Evening with Aaron Slight and Andrew Stroud' put on by the Southland Motorcycle club. It was great to hear these two Kiwi legends talking about their careers in a relaxed environment and they fielded questions from the floor into the evening, which we followed with a few beers.

Also of great interest at the event was the launch of a fabulous new book about Burt. Roger Donaldson has put together a simply marvelous pictorial ' The World's Fastest Indian - Burt Munro - A scrapbook of his life'. The 288 page, large format publication is simply beautiful, full of fascinating pics and anecdotes. We happily paid the $49.99 after hearing Burt's son John talk about the process.

The Bike.

Co-pilot has been keeping an eye on the dash mounted thermometer for most of the Journey. She informed me it was 28c at Rakaia yesterday, 6c pulling into Dunedin and 10c when we were crossing the Bluff causeway. Cool.

The bike continues to generate much interest and we've been doing lots of talking about the machine. 'It looks so much better in the flesh, rather than in pictures!' has been the almost universal response - or they just don't 'get it'.

I do - it's been excellent so far and now has 820km on the clock, it's loosening up nicely and has had an excellent run in. Varied speeds and no lugging or over-revving.. The shotgun pipes on the 106 coooobic inch engins are sounding superb and it's getting better with every kilometer.

The bodywork was very good in the howling gales and big unit 'yawed' less than I actually expected. The small Arlen Ness logo-ed screen works well for me too. Just the right height at 'up' for touring speeds and dropped down for cruise mode it is small enough not to be too noisy.

Right now we're waiting for the local Service agent to give us a call that the oil and filter has arrived and we'll do the first oil change before we set off on the next leg.

Beach racing from Oreti is the next event. Conditions have improved - overcast and slight drizzle patches currently.

More soon.

BD.

Additional info: Southland Times

Day 2 - Dunedin to Bluff and Invercargill

2009-11-26T17:38:00.001+13:00

Day 2 started wet and with gale force winds in Dunedin and conditions got worse the further south we travelled.

The bike performed really well. Considering it was about the worst weather that you could specify for the region we just settled down behind the bodywork and took the straightest route down here.

Good test for the machine and it passed nicely.

We took in the Hill Climb at Bluff and are just getting ready to go to an Evening with Aaron Slight and Andrew Stroud put on by the Southland Motorcycle Club in Invercargill..

Update later.

Day 1 - Christchurch to Dunedin

2009-11-26T01:36:00.013+13:00

There's something a bit fishy about this photo!
We picked up the bike from Gary in Christchurch this afternoon
and after a quick de-brief we hit the road.
Very warm in the City of Churches and we headed south in excellent conditions.
We stopped at Rakaia to take a few snaps of the bike while it was still in pristine condition and grabbed a bite to eat at the Salmon Farm Cafe.
No fish on the menu surprisingly, but the chicken salad was nice - just don't stop there if you are in a hurry - 45min for a salad!
After the break we pushed on to the south.
Beyond Ashburton the wind started to pick up and it was quite hot. The big bodywork on the bike coped pretty well with a strong Westerly cross-wind. It does pick it up a little bit, but it was blowing pretty hard in parts of the ride, most of which was across the Canterbury Plans. The Plains might be 'The Breadbasket of the Pacific' because of the rich agriculture, but they are pretty boring to ride across. However it did give me a new appreciation of the benefits of cruise control. Mounted on the RH switchblock are the same controls as in a luxury sedan and it worked great.
To be able to sit back in the lounge chair and watch the world go by is ideal in conditions like todays.
At Timaru we caught up to a few showers and conditions cooled off.

I was wearing leather jeans and kept thinking to myself ‘next opportunity I'll pull over and put on my wet weather pants’, but I never did.

The bodywork and screens did such a good job keeping the weather off that I stayed quite dry all the way to Dunedin.

Where we're currently hunkered down at the Mercure and are looking at a windy and occasionally showery trip to Invercargill Tomorrow. It was great to catch up with some of the KB crew tonight in Dunedin too. Thanks for coming out to say g’day guys.

A big day beckons tomorrow, we’re off to the Hill Climb at Bluff via the Catlins.

Will try and get some good grabs on the day.

The bike has been fantastic.
Marvellously comfortable and a real delight to ride – and talk about turning heads – so far I’ve had to given at least a dozen people the run-down on the machine – so taken with it are they.

There are only 200 Ness Visions worldwide and it really is a talking point.
More reports next time we stop. Right now I’m re-enjoying a lovely Italian meal from downtown Dunedin and studying the map for tomorrow.

BMC Images Archive

2009-11-23T19:06:00.004+13:00

Pics from the last 2 Challenges:

Victory Vision Tested

2009-11-23T17:44:00.004+13:00

Here's my draft of the KR test. First Published in KIWIRIDER Nov 2008

Victory produced their first motorcycle on the Fourth of July 1998. Now, not long after their 10th anniversary, Silver Fern Imports in Takanini offers the range of custom styled bikes to Kiwi riders.

NZ is the second export market the parent company has officially entered – after the UK. By the time this edition of KR is in hand they will be available in Australia as well.

Our introduction started at Hotel Du Vin, South of Auckland, with a private KR showing of the new and impressive range.

After a briefing on the company and their marketing strategy, I had an opportunity to throw a leg over several different models for a punt through the Hunuas and up the Pahutukawa coast.

The Vision is available in two models – the Tour, which features the top box and integrated passenger throne (what else would you call it?) and the Street – which has a more convention rear end. If you can call anything about this bike’s styling conventional.

Victory says that their research shows that buyers of this type of motorcycle crave individuality and comfort as their main priorities. The Vision surely delivers.

I saw plenty of old school Cadillac in its presentation and really enjoyed the individuality. It is quite a stunning looking thing.

Arlen Ness is often referred to as the ‘King of Choppers’. He has produced some of the most outrageous, outlandish and some of the most drop dead gorgeous pieces of two-wheeled art ever, and his influence runs throughout the styling of the Victory range.

Victory says that it took ‘over six years to develop’ the bike. I didn’t find that surprising. They have produced a very refined motorcycle.

It’s ‘probably’ the best handling and has the best ground clearance of any of the Full Dressers (‘Supertankers’ in Big Dave speak). It is quite a nimble motorcycle for one so large.

At its heart is a delightful 106 cui (1,731cc), air and oil cooled, 4 valve Vee twin with a bore and stroke of 101 x 108mm. It’s finished with heaps of chrome and attention to detail. With the way the engine is showcased by the bodywork, it’s a fabulous looking unit as well as having some decent grunt.

It’s fed by closed loop EFI system and it develops 109ftlbs of torque at and 92 usable horsepower close to its 5,500rpm redline.

Pushing all 365kg along is a carbon-reinforced belt that runs from a 6 speed gearbox that incorporates a genuine (better than 1:1) overdrive. The gearbox is like most of the super units, reasonably noisy, but the changes are firm and positive and belie the clunks it makes.

Up front it sports a 130/70 tyre and the rear is 180/60 with a longish wheelbase of 1668 mm. Coupled with its low centre of gravity and 130mm travel front forks and air adjustable rear suspension, it really does handle exceptionally well for a large motorcycle.

Wheeling it around town, or Osborne during the photo shoot, was a breeze and its open road manners are relaxed and precise.

The large slab of front bodywork does pick up some dirty air turbulence when travelling behind a truck on the freeway, but open road touring is a sit back and relax, fold out the adjustable air deflectors and roll away the distances in comfort and luxury.

Victory claims the Vision has the lowest seat height in its class - something us ‘full size’ men usually can find a disadvantage – but the comfort of the Vision is really outstanding.

It has four inches of padding in the heated seats. They remained comfortable and the bike begs you to sit in it for full days on end.

Heated grips are also standard – as is the electronic windscreen. It has a button adjustment for up and down and is also available in aftermarket shorter or taller versions.

It really is a matter of dialing in and sitting back – or upright. The vision has the best foot accommodations I’ve used on a bike. The large adjustable footboards give great flexibility in the positions the rider can adopt. If you feel like giving it the berries, (don’t worry – you can) then it’s a matter of perching toes on the rear edge and it’s quite a sporty attitude.

Cruising down the Waikato freeway to a photo shoot I had heels resting on the leading edge of the boards and it was laid back lounge room comfortable.

The unique swept back handlebars put the rider quite rearwards on the machine and the bodywork is mounted further forward than the other full dressers. It feels like there is a lounge room space between you and the dashboard. The ability to move legs around and the spacious feel is a really big plus for days on end riding.

I found a lot of hot rod/muscle car in the dashboard and cockpit. It’s minimalist and very styley. Most of the stereo controls are mounted on the tank top with the cruise control and volume switches hung under the switch blocks. It was all very easy to come to grips with.

The engine is reasonably quiet and remarkably smooth in cruise mode. It has a lovely pulse that a massive Vee Twin develops when you gas it up, but on cruise it takes a conscious effort to find even the slightest tick from the donk. I was incredulous at times.

The range on a tankfull varied with how sportily I pushed the bike along, but it was about ‘big tourer’ standard. It rides harder than you might expect, it’s an enjoyable bike to toss around too.

Stopping is taken car of by a set of 300mm rear brakes. Twin floating discs with 3 piston callipers up front and one 2 piston unit aft. They are linked, provided good feel and were confidence inspiring, even when doing low speed manoeuvres on the gravel.

But that isn’t what the Victory Vision is about.

It’s about a unique motorcycle that can roll away days behind the handlebars. The top box behind the throne and rear speaker assembly can accommodate two full face helmets. The integrated panniers have several storage compartments to give a total of 111 litres of cargo, plus it has a nice glove box for iPods and phones to wire directly into the stereo.

GPS and a ton of custom options are available from the substantial Victory catalogue. The range of clothing looks sharp and the whole product range has the Arlen Ness look style about it. One that this hairy biker found very attractive. I took the Vision to the Howick bike show and thought it stole the show.

The Vision is available in Black, Super Steel Grey and Midnight Cherry and there are Touring and Street (Sans top box) models available with different ‘premium’ or ‘comfort’specification levels and prices ranging between $33,995 and $35,995.

For that you get a mega comfortable tourer that is a super cruiser and show bike as well. It’s enjoyable to ride, has celebrity cred and looks like Star Wars crossed with a Cadillac.

Co-pilot rated the passenger comfort as ‘Best Yet. Best foot position and all round comfort. Loved the headed seat.’

It has some good innovations too. The crash protection system that stops the bike from entirely tipping over is great. The integrated bars also provide extra foot space.

I suspect you’ll start to see a few more Victorys on the road shortly. The 10th Anniversary Special Edition sold out online in 7 minutes.

What we saw with the Vision is a unique looking motorcycle that does the job it was designed to do very well. Lovely engine and road manners, tourability and cruisability.

If you are in the market for a large tourer or just a unique bike…a Vision is well worth looking into.