Victory Judge cruiser bike ridden

By A. NACHI | 17 July 2014


It is not often that you see a motorcycle designed or styled after a car.

However, the Victory Judge bucks the trend by being based on popular American muscle cars like Pontiac models or the Mustang.

I must say it is a good choice.

In fact the Judge is named after the popular Pontiac Judge from the 1960s.

This American cruiser’s rear fender has a distinct design with its almost fully sunken tail light and gray exposed bars.









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The Judge has very few shiny parts unlike other cruisers - most of the other parts of the bike are in matte black like the frame, single multi-function gauge, including the speedometer, tachometer, odometer, exhaust muffler (my test bike had a chromed X-Bow pipes), triple clamps, cases and cylinder heads.

The matte black gives the bike the edgy look and feel of a muscle car.

The Judge comes with 25.9” (65.79cm) seat which is accessible to many.

I realised that the sitting position makes you stretch forward to hold the handle bars.

Small-sized riders would have to stretch themselves a bit to reach the bars, making long rides uncomfortable as they would end up with an aching shoulder.

The firm saddle on this bike is definitely a plus point when you are riding interstate, but I thought to myself, will this saddle be comfortable after 200km of riding?

There have been many instances where firm saddles gave me a sore rear.

But I am happy to report that the Judge’s saddle was not the best but it was definitely not the worst.

Like most cruisers, ground clearance is always an issue, on few occasions when I was taking corners aggressively, I scraped the foot peg.

But this problem disappeared after I tackled the corners with a slightly slower speed.

On expressways, Victory’s latest 1,731cc 50-degree Freedom V-twin has so much of torque and smoothness.

The is due to the lethal combination of old fashioned air cooling and state-of-the-art fuel injection working together to deliver optimum power.

Just when I thought I had pushed this bike to the fullest, it still managed to surprise me with ample power at its disposal, especially when I took some not so smart decisions.

I know I should not have, but the Judge kept me safe and sound.

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On expressways, I felt some light vibration with the tachometer reading of 2,900rpm.

However, once the engine passed 3,000rpm, everything was fine and dandy.

So, the trick to vibration-free rides is to keep the tacho above 2,900rpm.

You can also ride it in the city, but I discovered it was really impossible to go beyond second gear.

That said, the Judge behaves very well in the city, with its slim body allowing you to tackle traffic jams without too much hassle.

Of course, the Judge feels much more at home on the open roads.

The scenic route in the ‘twisties’ around Ulu Yam provided the most fun, with the Judge at its best, digging into the corners and turns in third and fourth gear.

There were minimum gear changes as the big V-twin enters and exits the bends with ease.

The four-piston caliper mated to a 300mm disc at the front necessitates some extra muscle to bring the 300kg bike to a halt, but the rear brakes (a two-piston caliper paired to a 300mm disc) does a decent job.

The 2014 Judge is fitted with cartridge forks and a progressive single rear shock with pre-load adjustable for heavy riders.

Be mindful that over sharp bumps, the rear suspension does not give you the cushion that you need, though the front fork is able to absorb impact better.



Overall, suspension is decent, but needs improvement.

The Judge is a sound solution for anyone who is ready to shed his (or her) image as a sports biker, but is not prepared to take it slow.

In this regard, it will not be too far-fetched to say that this modern cruiser is definitely visually arresting and has enough street cred, which makes it worth considering as your next bike.

Victory motorcycles are distributed by Harmony Fabulous Sdn Bhd, a member of the Naza Two Wheels Division.

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