MKO
Well-known member
The local Triumph/Victory dealer had an open house yesterday so my better half and I stopped in to check out the new Victory Vision. They didn't have one. Their first one was sold sight unseen and the next one isn't due in until next month. I did take the opportunity to ride the Triumph Sprint 1050, Rocket 3 and the Victory Kingpin Tour. Here are a couple of comments.
Triumph Sprint 1050
After sitting on the Triumph 675, this thing felt comfortable. The Sprint ergos are more aggressive than the feejer but not bad. I only felt a little weight on my wrists where the 675 made me feel like I was getting ready to do some push ups. The Sprint sport fairing manages to keep the wind blast off your torso at speed, but I missed the Cee Baileys on my FJR once the needle swept pass 90 mph.
The big triple sounds great and the throttle response was spot on. It's such a pleasure to blip it during down shifts and get an immediate and visceral response. It was also very smooth shifting. In both areas it performs slightly better the the feej. It is lighter than the FJR and it feels like it in the turns and slicing through traffic. The tripple has nice torque down low and made nice power approaching redline which is in the neighborhood of 10K, if I recall. I remember thinking that our 1300-four seemed to churn out more power throughout the rev band, but didn't seem to provide the same level of thrill. Not sure why. I also noticed a fair amount of heat eminating from just below the tank although the tank remained cool.
Trumph Rocket III Touring
After jumping off the Sprint it was time to recallibrate again. The Rocket is big and stable up to 100 mph and then it begins to feel out of its element even going in a straight line. There is a noticible lag from when you want to initiate a turn and when the behemouth decides to comply. The fat rear tire probably contributes to that and it was a little scary at first when I was trying to whip over to a turning lane to avoid running over a cager. There is no denying this thing has something in excess of 125 ft lbs of torque. The mill is smooth, given it's 2.3L size and protests less than my 1800 VTX when the throttle is cracked open at low rpm. Another advantage over the VTX is that it actually has a tach that shows its 6500 redline. Like the VTX however, you sense that you need to shift before the rev limiter reminds you you are not on a Sprint or FJR.
The local Harley dealer was having some kinda event as well so I couldn't resist the temptation to cruise through their lot on the big Trumpet. My attempt to be the big dog on the block was soon squashed by the annoying high-pitched whine that came from the engine as I putted through. This is one bike whose bite is worse than his bark...whimper. The dealer said I'll hardly notice that once I swap out the exhausts - which still look a little funky to me, having two cans on the right and one on the left. I much prefer the three coming together under the tail on the Sprint. The FI seemed to stumble off idle and the shifter was a little clunky. It definitely reminded me more of the VTX than it did the smooth Sprint, but I was about to find out it could be worse.
Victory Kingpin Tour
The Kingpin needed a little maintenance before the test ride started. The oiler cooler had done a nice job of spraying oil all over the left side engine cases and saddle bag. There was a noticible gap of oil behind where the previous riders leg would have been. A couple turns on the hose fitting cured the problem. Once I gave up on where the key went and had to ask (middle of the air cleaner cover) in front of the small group of onlookers, I fired that 100" motor up. It idled for a couple of seconds and then stalled. There was a lotta (too much IMHO) play in the throttle cable, but even compensating for that didn't help the terrible of idle performance of the FI. The engine would cough and sputter or not react at all to throttle blips for down shifting. Once it was done gasping for air it ran great and sounded great for stock pipes. In typical cruiser fashion, the ground clearance is lacking but I have never riden a cruiser that hanled so well. I'm telling you it gave the Sprint a run for the money in the flickability department and it blows the VTX and Harleys outta the water. The engine and tranny were ok but nothing to write home (or here) about. Seat of the pants say it's on par with the 96" Harleys I test drove in June but a notch below the 110" Screamin' Eagle bikes and the VTX (109"). The cruiser ergos and seat were comfortable but there wasn't enough room for the pillion with the positioning of the rear trunk and integrated passanger pad forcing them forward. It was even worse than the Yamaha trunk on the FJR! I do like the Ness styling of the pricey Victories. They even look better in real life than the pictures and IMHO better than the other American marque. That's what they're saying about the Buck Rogers Vision too, so I'll have to wait-n-see.
After munching some burgers and listening to a little live music, we jumped back on the FJR and headed home. By the second light I leaned back and told my wife that the FJR was still better than all three.
Triumph Sprint 1050
After sitting on the Triumph 675, this thing felt comfortable. The Sprint ergos are more aggressive than the feejer but not bad. I only felt a little weight on my wrists where the 675 made me feel like I was getting ready to do some push ups. The Sprint sport fairing manages to keep the wind blast off your torso at speed, but I missed the Cee Baileys on my FJR once the needle swept pass 90 mph.
The big triple sounds great and the throttle response was spot on. It's such a pleasure to blip it during down shifts and get an immediate and visceral response. It was also very smooth shifting. In both areas it performs slightly better the the feej. It is lighter than the FJR and it feels like it in the turns and slicing through traffic. The tripple has nice torque down low and made nice power approaching redline which is in the neighborhood of 10K, if I recall. I remember thinking that our 1300-four seemed to churn out more power throughout the rev band, but didn't seem to provide the same level of thrill. Not sure why. I also noticed a fair amount of heat eminating from just below the tank although the tank remained cool.
Trumph Rocket III Touring
After jumping off the Sprint it was time to recallibrate again. The Rocket is big and stable up to 100 mph and then it begins to feel out of its element even going in a straight line. There is a noticible lag from when you want to initiate a turn and when the behemouth decides to comply. The fat rear tire probably contributes to that and it was a little scary at first when I was trying to whip over to a turning lane to avoid running over a cager. There is no denying this thing has something in excess of 125 ft lbs of torque. The mill is smooth, given it's 2.3L size and protests less than my 1800 VTX when the throttle is cracked open at low rpm. Another advantage over the VTX is that it actually has a tach that shows its 6500 redline. Like the VTX however, you sense that you need to shift before the rev limiter reminds you you are not on a Sprint or FJR.
The local Harley dealer was having some kinda event as well so I couldn't resist the temptation to cruise through their lot on the big Trumpet. My attempt to be the big dog on the block was soon squashed by the annoying high-pitched whine that came from the engine as I putted through. This is one bike whose bite is worse than his bark...whimper. The dealer said I'll hardly notice that once I swap out the exhausts - which still look a little funky to me, having two cans on the right and one on the left. I much prefer the three coming together under the tail on the Sprint. The FI seemed to stumble off idle and the shifter was a little clunky. It definitely reminded me more of the VTX than it did the smooth Sprint, but I was about to find out it could be worse.
Victory Kingpin Tour
The Kingpin needed a little maintenance before the test ride started. The oiler cooler had done a nice job of spraying oil all over the left side engine cases and saddle bag. There was a noticible gap of oil behind where the previous riders leg would have been. A couple turns on the hose fitting cured the problem. Once I gave up on where the key went and had to ask (middle of the air cleaner cover) in front of the small group of onlookers, I fired that 100" motor up. It idled for a couple of seconds and then stalled. There was a lotta (too much IMHO) play in the throttle cable, but even compensating for that didn't help the terrible of idle performance of the FI. The engine would cough and sputter or not react at all to throttle blips for down shifting. Once it was done gasping for air it ran great and sounded great for stock pipes. In typical cruiser fashion, the ground clearance is lacking but I have never riden a cruiser that hanled so well. I'm telling you it gave the Sprint a run for the money in the flickability department and it blows the VTX and Harleys outta the water. The engine and tranny were ok but nothing to write home (or here) about. Seat of the pants say it's on par with the 96" Harleys I test drove in June but a notch below the 110" Screamin' Eagle bikes and the VTX (109"). The cruiser ergos and seat were comfortable but there wasn't enough room for the pillion with the positioning of the rear trunk and integrated passanger pad forcing them forward. It was even worse than the Yamaha trunk on the FJR! I do like the Ness styling of the pricey Victories. They even look better in real life than the pictures and IMHO better than the other American marque. That's what they're saying about the Buck Rogers Vision too, so I'll have to wait-n-see.
After munching some burgers and listening to a little live music, we jumped back on the FJR and headed home. By the second light I leaned back and told my wife that the FJR was still better than all three.
Last edited by a moderator:
