2012 Victory Hard-Ball

With approximately $2 billion in revenue, the Minnesota based Polaris company is obviously doing quite well in terms of nabbing a lion’s share of its chosen market niche. With a history that stretches back to the post-war economic boom of the early 1950s, Polaris was one of the earliest companies to manufacturer snowmobiles. Since then the company has diversified its lineup to include ATV’s, as well as various other types of neighborhood-friendly electric vehicles. More recently, Polaris has thrown its hat into manufacturing motorcycles under their Victory subsidiary located in northwestern Iowa.

Looking to steal a bit of thunder from the Harley-Davidson lineup of internationally recognized motor bikes, Victory launched its own canon of bikes in 1998 with the release of their V92C. The 1999 version of the Victory V92C featured a 92-cubic inch, 1500cc engine which at the time was the largest production engine available and a solid testament to Victory’s strategy of assembling big, powerful cruisers and tourers, which was more than enough to give American motorcycle giant Harley-Davidson a run for their money.

Fearlessness is almost a companywide motto for the mid-western manufacturer, with Victory unafraid to take plenty of styling risks as it’s shown over the years by releasing bold new bikes like the Vegas, Kingpin, Vision, Hammer, and High Ball designs. Victory also offers special Ness Signature custom model motorcycles such as the Arlen Ness Victory Vision, Zach Ness Vegas, and the Cory Ness Victory Cross Country.

As the company’s second venture into the realm of the ‘high-bar’ bike, their first attempt being 2011’s steel frame Vegas platform High Ball, Victory unveiled the Hard-Ball a year later in 2012. Sharing the cast aluminum structure used for the Cross Roads tourer, the Hard-Ball is a visually striking, all matte black with sleek red pinstriping, retro-looking beauty that’s about as bad as a motorcycles comes . . . ""bad"" as in good. Loaded with a modern engine that packs a good wallop of power, excellent brakes with ABS, an impeccable fit and finish, and an eye-catching design sure to turn heads, Victory’s Hard-Ball is genuinely ""bad to the bone.""

• As a member birthed from the Victory’s decade old touring family, the 2012 Hard-Ball relies on a different chassis design than the brand""s previous cruiser models, with the rake angle now tighter (29 degree), which improves the vehicle’s road agility.
• 106 cubic-inch Freedom V-Twin engine, packing 97 horsepower and 109 pounds of torque.
• Victory’s Hard-Ball black-spoked wheel size also differs from the High-Ball, with an 18-inch front hoop and 16-inch rear.
• Dual 11.8 disc brakes both up front and in the rear, which allows the driver to stop the weighty Victory Hard-Ball with minimal pressure from the index finger and right foot.
• Height adjustable ape hangers.