Hard-Ball touring bike shows Victory’s dark side

Victory Motorcycles is tired of playing nice. For years, it’s lived in the shadow of Harley-Davidson, but with its new, ultra-dark Hard-Ball introduced Friday at the International Motorcycle Shows expo in Long Beach, the company that’s long been known as the other American cruiser maker is taking off the gloves.

Its latest is a gritty, blacked-out touring bike that won’t give anyone a chance to check out their helmet hair simply by looking at their reflection in the chrome.

There is no chrome.

The Hard-Ball is almost entirely matte black, with a touch of red pinstriping to keep it from getting lost in the dark. The tank, fenders and frame are practically soot. So are the bags, crash bars, ape hangers and headlight housing.

“We took what’s happening in the custom world, especially in Southern California,” said Gary Gray, Victory’s director of product planning. “You can’t help when you’re running on the 405 seeing all the bikes out here with laced wheels, or, as we like to say, all murdered out. We thought, let’s do it. It’s been a while since we did a wild and crazy touring bike.”

And so they did. It took just six months to put the Hard-Ball together, Gray said, because at its core, it’s based on an existing model. The chassis was lifted from Victory’s Cross Roads, with a cast-aluminum frame. Like all Victory products, the Hard-Ball is powered with an air- and oil-cooled, 106-cubic-inch V-twin with a six-speed overdrive transmission.

The Hard-Ball is the fifth touring bike to be launched by Victory in almost as many years. The plethora of touring bikes, Gray said, is largely attributable to a demographic shift, as baby boomers age and demand more comfort and performance from their cruisers for longer and longer hauls.

The Hard-Ball has adjustable foot controls and adjustable handlebars, and 21 gallons of storage in its sidebags.

2012 Victory Hard-Ball

Base price: $18,999

Available: January

Powertrain: Fuel-injected, air- and oil-cooled, 50-degree V-twin, SOHC, four valves per cylinder, six-speed overdrive

Displacement: 106 cubic inches

Wheelbase: 65.7 inches

Seat height: 26.25 inches

Dry weight: 750 pounds

Fuel economy: Not yet announced