Harley Softail Rocker Vs Victory Hammer S

**damo** · 22nd April 2008, 13:52

Has anyone got either of these...?

I moving to Aussie in august, and am weighing between the two. I'm a huge fan of the Victory bikes, but the Harley Rocker is quite stunning for a factory bike (go the hidden seat!)

**firecrab** · 22nd April 2008, 18:37

Hey - please don't be mad at me asking this: seeing that you're riding a 250cc bike right now - have you ever owned a bike with a bigger engine? If you get the Rocker, you'll be riding a 1600cc engine and there'll be quite a bit of difference in power and engine behaviour. If you've only ever owned a 250cc bike, that displacement change might be quite exciting and might be attracting dents and scratches to your brand spanking new and awesome bike. But, I might be waaaay out of line so I already apologize for what I said and GTFO.

btw - the Hammer surely sounds insane with some nice pipes :O

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL4f8...eature=related

and sure is pretty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Smg...eature=related

**xknuts** · 22nd April 2008, 18:54

Yes, I have ridden the Hammer, an awesome piece of kit & the only Victory with twin disc brakes until the new "Vision". New Hammer is 1600cc, 6 speed. I think you will find the Hammer will be everything beyond & better than what you expect.
BEWARE that you will not buy one in Australia. The only way to get a Victory into Australia is to have owned one here registered in your name and take it with you. even then it would pay to look into it.
Polaris have not complied with Australian Vehicle Manufacturers Crash tests etc. So exports from USA to OZ are a non event.

Let me know if I am wrong about this

**1200custom** · 22nd April 2008, 19:49

would straight up go for the rocker, they are one nice bike and look even better in person than the pics....but they do look alot better when the pillion seat is out of sight.......but would have to agree with firecarb, if you have only ever riddin a 250 you may want to take smaller steps

**popelli** · 23rd April 2008, 18:26

down side of the Victory is each year they have a vastly better new model

second hand there seem to be none around so if you get tired of it you may find a limited market as everybody will want next years new improved model, the real cost of ownership ie depreciation could be a killer

harley on the other hand hold there values better than most - also easier to get parts service and accessories for them

**Toaster** · 23rd April 2008, 20:01

Shame... it would be great to see the Victory range in the southern hemisphere.

**scumdog** · 23rd April 2008, 21:37

Now I know where that post on PD came from!!

But as they others said: it's a quantum leap from what you're riding to what you seem to want.

IMHO: Go the Victory but as some have said there's a little bit of a downside owning one of them.

**xknuts** · 27th April 2008, 18:20

Originally Posted by popelli

down side of the Victory is each year they have a vastly better new model

second hand there seem to be none around so if you get tired of it you may find a limited market as everybody will want next years new improved model, the real cost of ownership ie depreciation could be a killer

harley on the other hand hold there values better than most - also easier to get parts service and accessories for them

Oh, they are around alright, to own one is to know where they are.
There has been changes in spec's (92ci to 100ci & 6 speed) but the model range is unchanged except for the addition of the "Vision".

Originally Posted by scumdog

Now I know where that post on PD came from!!

But as they others said: it's a quantum leap from what you're riding to what you seem to want.

IMHO: Go the Victory but as some have said there's a little bit of a downside owning one of them.

Downside? What Downside.
The only downside is hiding the smile on your face as you buy a better performing and handling bike than a Harley D for about $5K less than the equivalent HD bike with well under half the K's on the clock in the second hand market.

**scumdog** · 27th April 2008, 20:32

Originally Posted by xknuts

Oh, they are around alright, to own one is to know where they are.
There has been changes in spec's (92ci to 100ci & 6 speed) but the model range is unchanged except for the addition of the "Vision".

Downside? What Downside.
The only downside is hiding the smile on your face as you buy a better performing and handling bike than a Harley D for about $5K less than the equivalent HD bike with well under half the K's on the clock in the second hand market.

It's the resale is not as good (smaller market) and the not being able to walk into your local Victory dealership to buy your accessories and parts kind of downside.

**JimO** · 27th April 2008, 21:47

there is a nice one at the local honda shop a few weeks ago cant remember the price but it seemed reasonable

**Divot** · 28th April 2008, 09:01

Originally Posted by xknuts

BEWARE that you will not buy one in Australia. The only way to get a Victory into Australia is to have owned one here registered in your name and take it with you. even then it would pay to look into it.
Polaris have not complied with Australian Vehicle Manufacturers Crash tests etc. So exports from USA to OZ are a non event.

Why would you take a bike to Aust where there is no agent, service or parts back up?????

**damo** · 28th April 2008, 13:18

Cheers all, interesting comments

as far as my research has told me, Polaris have on the down-low sorted out their dealers for Aussie. The compliance is underway for the aussie market at the moment, and my spy in aus has told me its sweet.
there will be plenty of service agents in Aussie, but only a handful of dealers.
As far as the 2nd hand market goes.. im planning on holding onto either bike for a very long time, as both (especially the Harley) could become collectable when im in my 50's whittling wood on the front porch. Either way, its $25k investment im not planning on liquidising.

yeah I use a ho-bag as my daily commuting bike. have done for coming up two years now.. thrown up about 11500km+ on this with a couple of longer trips, and my Intruder had another 2000km on it as well. For the last year ive been aching for a bigger bike, cos trying to go whangarei and back in a day is bloody nasty on that bike (i'm about 2 inches too tall for it..)

have ridden a few larger bikes, VX1300, SV1000, 883 sportster and a M50. thought about getting a mid weight like the sportster 883... but frankly im not a fan.

I guess the only way to decide is to get on both and give them both a test run. From all accounts, NZ and Aussie should have dealers by may/june, and stock around then too. Fingers crossed, cos Victory bikes are freakin siiiiiick.

ps - if you ever get the chance, if you are in San Fran, take a trip out to Arlen Ness in Dublin CA. its about a 30-40min drive past oakland, but its incredible.