2012 Victory Vision Tour Cruiser Style Review

2012 Victory Vision Tour 

I was punting the 400kg behemoth as fast as I dared along the twisty road when former MT editor
Greg Leech shot past on the nimble Triumph Street Triple. I knew there was no way I could keep up
with him, but I thought I’d try for a little while, at least. To my great surprise, “a little while” became “quite a while”, because the capabilities of the Victory Vision Tour were far greater than I expected. Greg had pulled me through my mental barrier, allowing the big V-twin to display it’s true potential.

None of the full-dresser Harleys I’ve ridden over the years have felt quite as sure-footed, so easy to flick from side to side or so stable through the sweepers, without a hint of a wallow. Coupled with convincing brakes and a gloriously punchy engine, this Victory revealed what could be achieved with modern design and technology (more on that in a moment) in a cruiser-style arrangement. The 2012 Victory Vision Tour is by no means a sportstourer, though. A mass of 400kg (when fully fuelled) still deserves a great deal of respect, and I doubt the plot would be easy to rectify if things got out of hand. It’s just that the point of no return seems to lie a lot further out than appearances initially indicate.

2012 Victory Vision Tour

2012 Victory Vision Tour

Chappo reviewed the base model Vegas (2012 Victory Vision Tour MSRP $22,595 plus ORC) on these pages in MT #215. The model we’re talking about here is the flagship Vision Tour, with the topbox and everything else, which goes for $36,595 plus ORC (the Vision Street without the topbox starts at $32,995 plus ORC). The Vision range has a stroked version of the Vegas’s 100ci engine, with a bore x stroke of 101 x 108mm resulting in 106ci, or 1731cc.

The Vision’s outrageous design with the ‘V’ themes front, back and side is none too subtle, but it does grow on you and the controls are very clean and almost minimalist. The high-perched topbox is generous and holds two full-face helmets, though the panniers are rather small. When you ride this thing, the feel is spot-on. It’s got guts and you know you’re riding something special. It’s quite unlike the Japanese cruisers I’ve sampled, which do everything right at significantly lower cost, but somehow just buzz along and often leave me cold.

And as you’d expect just by looking at the Victory Vision Tour, it’s incredibly comfortable, with a plush seat and brilliant pillion accommodation, a very effective fairing with an electrically-adjustable screen, adjustable air suspension in the rear, cruise control and a good stereo system (with CD changer and iPod interface). Unlike the current Harley tourers, however, there’s no ABS (yet). Some people say that a ‘proper’ cruiser has to be a Harley and to some extent I can sympathise. But now I’ve ridden all four mainstays of the Victory range, I can only say the brand presents a serious alternative. If I had a lazy 30 something grand and I was after a modern cruiser with all the trimmings, I know where I’d look.

2012 Victory Vision Tour ENGINE 
Type: Air/oil-cooled, SOHC, eight-valve, four-stroke, 50-degree V-twin

Bore and stroke: 101mm x 108mm

Displacement: 1731cc

Compression ratio: 9.4:1

Fuel system: Electronic fuel injection

2012 Victory Vision Tour TRANSMISSION 
Type: Six-speed
Final drive: Belt

2012 Victory Vision Tour CHASSIS AND RUNNING GEAR Frame type: Tubular steel cradle
Front suspension: 43mm conventional fork, nonadjustable
Rear suspension: Monoshock, air adjustable
Front brake: Single 300mm disc with four-piston caliper
Rear brake: Single 300mm disc with twin-piston caliper

2012 Victory Vision Tour DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Dry weight: 365kg
Seat height: 673mm
Fuel capacity: 22.7 litres

2012 Victory Vision Tour PERFORMANCE
Max power: 67.7kW (92hp) at 4500rpm
Max torque: 14.7kg-m at 2500rpm