Victory launched the original Hammer as a power cruiser with a fat rear tyre for the 2005 season. This year Victory has gone all mean and moody with a blacked out sports version. New handlebars allowed us to develop some muscle too.
Words: Tor Sagen/Photography: Kevin Wing
It was a hot day we rode the new Hammer S from Victory motorcycles in the Santa Rosa Mountains in Southern California-Just bearable in the cooler mountains, but meltingly hot in the desert around Borrego Springs. Some of the journalists called it hell, but I found it refreshing coming from England to ride the new metal from Victory. The route consisted of 200 miles of everything from motorway, mountain passes to endless straights in the hot desert. Perfect to test a motorcycle to its fullest and we did. I arrived a day early due to the long flight to LA and got the privilege of riding the whole route twice. On day 1 I rode with Victory’s Engineering Manager, Stacey Stewart that was scouting the terrain ahead of the press day. I picked a Hammer S whilst Stacey was on a Ness signature Vegas Jackpot.
The 1634cc air-cooled V-twin engine provides instant punch and the 250mm rear tyre needs clutch abuse to come close to loosing grip. All set for a great day in sunny California on big twins. It got very twisty almost straight away which allowed me to check out the sporting ability of the S.
Hammer S is still very much a cruiser, but with some cornering ability that is down to the USD fork and new handlebar. Compared to the standard Hammer it’s only the handlebars and paint that is different, but those new wide handlebars really make a big difference when cornering. The handlebar on the S gives better leverage through the bends and allows quicker directional change compared to the Hammer with the V-drag bars. You need the extra leverage to force the flat profiled rear tyre on to its sides. It takes some muscle, but muscle is what the Hammer S is all about. It’s the motorcycling equivalent of the all-American muscle car. Hammer S was designed to steal traditional sportsbike customers, but the handling characteristics are very different from a sports bike. Victory’s own Kingpin handles much better than the Hammer and it’s mostly down to the gigantic rear tyre. So a lot has to be achieved by looks and torque alone. Not a bad combination, but it’s when you add that Stage 1 kit to the equation things starts to brighten up seriously for the Hammer S.
In standard trim the Hammer S suffers a bit from excessive mechanical noise from the engine and transmission. $800 transforms the Hammer S from a pretty cool ride to a fantastic ride. 800 Dollars is the asking price for the Stage one drag system fitted to one of our test bikes. The kit includes a K&N air filter, vented air box cover and EFI calibration. The bike transformation is like night and day. This is only excerpts from the full length article.
Video Hammer S, Hammer S stage 1, Hammer, Ness signature Vegas Jackpot, 8-Ball S&S 106 here
From the world launch in Palm Springs, California.
