2015 Victory Gunner
2015 VICTORY GUNNER
IGNITION
FIRST RIDE
A bobber or just another way for Victory to spin its barrel full of big twins?
Jamie Elvidge
During Bike Week at Daytona, I had the pleasure of riding one of the most aesthetically elegant, quietly sexy cruisers on the market today: Victory’s 2015 Gunner. Sure, it’s basically a Judge wearing new 24-spoke cast-aluminum shoes and a tiny skirt instead of a robe, but this Victory is its own animal—a dark, muscular one that turns heads.
Victory is calling the Gunner a “bobber,” in salute to the trend of chopping without lengthening that was big in the ’40s and ’50s. But the claimed 649-pound Gunner, with its huge Freedom 106 V-twin, is borderline too big to be called a “bobber,” a designation typically reserved for agile, lightweight bikes like the HarleyDavidson Sportster and Star Bolt.
But what the heck. Less can be more. Bigger can occasionally be better. And this is a chassis and drivetrain I know very well, so I loved running the Gunner around Daytona. The Freedom 106 is a very lovable motor, with heaps of hair-tingling torque (we measured 96 pound-feet from our 2014 Judge on the Cycle World Dynojet dyno, along with a respectable 81 horses). It’s a real head-snapper, the 106, and the sweet snarl emitted by the blacked-out, stock dual exhaust encourages you to abuse the throttle just for grins.
Although the bike looks low and has a 25-inch seat height, the Gunner doesn’t grind pegs as easily as some of Victory’s more chopper-esque models. Steering feel is not at all heavy, and tracking through corners is good for such a big cruiser. The transmission has an industrial feel, but it shifts well, and there’s no hunting for neutral. Braking, though decent, would be much improved by an additional 300mm disc up front. A single 300mm disc slows the rear wheel.
And those black cast-aluminum wheels help quantify the bike’s aggressive styling, while helping the Gunner weigh about 10 pounds less than the Judge or arm-draping Highball. What’s more, the solo saddle was comfortable all day, and the black, swept bar was within easy reach for this 5-foot-io rider.
I rode several accessorized versions, but none felt as comfortable (or looked better) than the stock Gunner. The few parts I would add, though, include the red Solo Mission seat, red plug wires, and the optional tachometer. And if I spent most of my days rolling straight-up and cozy, I’d shell out for floorboards and cruise control. All told, a good buy at $12,999.
SPECS
VICTORY GUNNER
PRICE:
$12,999
ENGINE:
ohv air-cooled V-twin DISPLACEMENT:
1731cc
SEAT HEIGHT:
25.0 in.
FUEL CAPACITY:
4.5 gal.
CLAIMED WET WEIGHT:
649 lb.
