Victory Vision Tour

106 CUBIC-INCH FREEDOM® V-TWIN

The Victory® Freedom® 106/6 V-Twin is a 106-cu. in. powerplant that delivers 108 ft-lb of torque for smooth, powerful, confident touring. It’s a counter-balanced, fuel-injected engine that delivers impressive performance for touring riders who like to lead, not follow.

6-SPEED OVERDRIVE TRANSMISSION

The best-performing transmission on the open road syncs up with the impressive power of the Freedom® V-twin and keeps the Victory Vision Tour ride smooth and strong. The transmission’s helical-cut gears ensure that each shift is smooth and clean.

DUAL ZONE HEATED SEATS & HANDGRIPS

Extend the riding season with the heated handgrips and heated seats. The driver has Hi & Lo settings on the hand controls to ward off the chill, and the seats provide the driver and passenger with individual Hi/Lo controls. Add a month or more on both ends of the riding season with the flip of a switch.

29 GALLONS OF TRUNK & SADDLEBAG SPACE

Integrated in the smooth-flowing Victory Vision Tour bodywork are convenient side storage compartments and a spacious trunk. These storage spaces combine to offer one or two riders ample space for their touring gear. The side compartments and trunk are weather-sealed and lockable. The trunk also provides a padded passenger backrest and two audio speakers.

LINKED ABS BRAKING

Victory Vision Tour riders enjoy the peace of mind of the premium Victory Linked Anti-Lock Brake System. It monitors the wheels and when it senses compromised traction, it instantly and automatically provides braking for quick stopping under control.

CRUISE CONTROL

Out on the open road, go ahead and activate the cruise control for an easy, relaxed ride. This automotive-qualify cruise control is easy to activate and set, and it reliably maintains the desired speed. To de-activate it, simply press “Off” or engage the clutch lever or either brake.

POWER WINDSHIELD & FULL-COVERAGE FRAME MOUNTED FAIRING

Control the airflow that reaches the riders by raising and lowering the windshield with the push of a button. The full, frame-mounted fairing of the Victory Vision Tour provides the best wind and weather protection of any bike in the world and lets riders enjoy the ride in all conditions.

The Vision is powered by the same 106ci (1731cc) V-twin as the rest of the range, a smooth, flexible and torquey engine. However, it feels a little noisier and rougher in this model, simply because the vibe and noise is focussed back on the rider by the massive fairings. The same goes with the transmission. Victory has gradually smoothed out all the clunks from the six-speed overdriven transmission over the past few years and this is the same. However, the fairing does make it sound clunkier than it really is. Gears are actually easy to selected, feeling positive with a light clutch pull for such a big bike, although neutral can be a bit tricky to find.

Throw a leg over the Vision and you will be awed by the size of the bike that sits in front of you. The big truck-like wing mirrors make the bike 1140mm wide. At least you can slip through the traffic knowing that the mirrors are the widest part as the panniers are about 300mm narrower. The seat feels higher than 673mm because it is wide at the front, but I can still get my legs down fairly easy at 187cm tall. In fact, you don’t have to throw a leg over the bike. You can actually stand on the front or back floorboard and it won’t roll on top of you. it’s very sturdy on its sidestand which has a rubber foot so it won’t scratch your garage floor or slip on a shiny surface.

Flick up the side stand and the bike doesn’t quite feel its 400-odd kilogram of fuelled weight. Even at standstill, it feels nicely balanced and with wide ramhorn handlebars it is easy to control at walking speed and you can do feet-up u-turns fairly easily. There is a lever down by your left leg to switch the bike into reverse which is controlled by the ignition button and works a little slower than the Honda Goldwing.

The dashboard looks more like a car dash with two big analogue dials, two small dials outside those, two screens in the centre and even a big centre console up the fuel tank for the audio controls. There is a host of information available on the LCD screens including range, ambient temperature, economy etc and you can toggle through them via a handlebar mounted button. The left handlebar also has audio controls so you don’t have to take your hands off the bars to control your sounds and there is a cruise control below the right grip. All these controls are easy to use and are placed in convenient positions.

Running in traffic is easy as the bike feels very balanced and the engine is smooth. However, pretty soon you are feeling a fair bit of heat from the rear cylinder right between your legs. Unfortunately, the heat doesn’t blow away at highway speeds, but tends to pool around your thighs. On my journey into a heatwave it was very uncomfortable, but I wore a BMW Airflow suit that allowed too much hot air in. Leathers may have been cooler as I rode on one occasions wearing sandshoes and my feet got very hot, but when I toured I wore genuine leather Stylmartin boots and they protected me from the engine’s heat. Steer away from wearing synthetic boots. It would be a great bike for the winter months with plenty of heating as the electronically adjustable windscreen keeps all the elements off you. I rode through a brief shower and didn’t cop a drop. it also cuts all buffeting except at its lowest setting. That made the environment quiet so you can listen to the four good quality speakers.

Compared with the Harley tourers, it steers a little slowly and cornering actually requires a little bit of weight shift. However, if you counter steer and lean a little, it feels light on its feet and will flick from side to side quite easily for swift movement through a series of corners. Aided by higher clearance than the Harley, it will nimbly carve up a series of twisties without scraping on every single bend. When the floorboards do touch down, they scrape at the back of the boards which flex up. I couldn’t get any of the hard furniture to touch down, so it won’t lift a back wheel unless you are really overdoing it. The Vision also rides plusher than the Harleys which tend to crash through the bigger hits and will hit the bump stops easier than this. In fact, I couldn’t get the rear air-adjustable shock to bottom out even on some harsh roadworks bumps. On the highway it feels quite stable, but turbulence behind a big truck will make it rock slightly from side to side without affecting the steering or your control. At first it was a little unnerving, but I got used to it.

The linked brakes are simply awesome. While some people may not like linked brakes, they are almost essential on a big heavy bike like this. I had to do one panic stop and it worked a treat. The cruise control felt clunky at first, but I also got used to it and used it all the time. it works from fourth gear at 40km/h and has a button for on/off, accelerate and decelerate, set and resume which is as comprehensive as most car cruise controls.

This bike is made for long days in the very comfortable and wide saddle. Pillions will also like the rear seat with its big grab handles, wide seat, huge backrest and separate audio speakers.