The 2009 Victory Hammer

Victory is a company that has close to no history when compared to its competitors – the Indian and Harley Davidson. Victory’s parent company, Polaris, was better known for making snowmobiles and water-skis when they entered the market with their first offering – the V92C. It has been a characteristic of the Victory bikes that they take what is best about American motoring and put it into each one of their bikes.

The Hammer was first released in 2005 and was based on the Vegas design, for the most part. The Hammer is available in 2 trims – the Base model and the custom Hammer-S. The engine has been upgraded from the weak 1634cc one to a brute force of a 1731cc engine.

The Hammer-S is the more desirable of the two and at just an extra $1,000 I would recommend the awesome styling on it. At first glance you will immediately notice the custom paint job and awesome wheels. There is a 2-in-1 exhaust which keeps it upto speed with its competitors in terms of the tone it produces.

To move away from the classic total-chrome look, Victory moved to black. The black engine and handle-bars lend a bad-guy image to the bike. Coming from the 2007 Hammer S there may not be such a big change, but the looks are heavily modified with the color.

Looking at the competition next! The Harley’s first – with their V-Rod Muscle and its puny 1250cc engine isn’t exactly great competition but it is a great machine. At $17,200 you are facing a tough decision since the engine is pretty powerful, though small.

The Suzuki Boulevard M109R is a cut price solution. At $13,099 you will get 1783cc , four-stroke, liquid cooled engine which is very attractive. Of course, it doesn’t qualify as an American cruiser though, and it is a bit too lifeless and reliable. I know thats a good thing but too much of anything is bad!

The biggest competitor is definitely the Star Midnight Warrior. It is all-black and has a very sporty 1670cc engine and is air-cooled. At $13,390 it hits right in the category of the Hammer. A tough call again.

Now moving back to the Hammer-S and it’s drop dead gorgeous looks. When you look for the first time, it would appear as if they have changed almost everything. But closer examination yields only the color scheme has changed. The Blue and white color scheme implies a strong accent when you park the bike and begs to be looked at. Overall, the looks are like custom cars – low and sleek with a big grin and a look-at-me attitude.

It costs $18,499. That makes it the most expensive bike in the class. The specs and looks, though, really make it worth the time and money. I strongly suggest that you take this bike for a test-drive before you consider buying anything from this class. It is totally worth the extra money.