Victory: Bike hits the Jackpot with style

It's not often I feel like a comic-strip superhero, but Victory's Jackpot did it for me. Big, bad and bright orange with a skinny front and super-fat rear tyre, it feels like a two-wheeled caricature, though it doesn't behave like one.

Victory is an American brand allied to Polaris ATVs. Its initially short-lived presence Downunder was blighted by a dodgy reliability rep, but all that's changed. There's a new, committed Aussie-based distributor and a series of favourable independent reliability surveys from JD Power to reassure the punters - plus a range of truly eye-catching bikes.

Eye-catching, and rather effective, this one follows the Harley-Davidson recipe of a huge V-twin engine packed into a cruiser package. But it delivers efficient suspension to cushion you from road bumps; equally efficient brakes and a mighty 1.7-litre engine that's still got plenty of poke from open-road speeds.

It's also got a seat-to-pegs-to-bars set-up that'll suit a wide range of folk, and is comfy enough to ride until the 17-litre tank runs out. But there's just one problem. The handling compromise mandated by the front to rear wheel mismatch.

It works all right on wide open, American-style roads. But on tighter bends or bumpy surfaces that super-size rear wants to go its own way - and the skinny front has next to no show of directing you. The result isn't confidence-inspiring.

That said, you don't ride a custom cruiser because it works. You ride it because it looks good, and the Jackpot undisputedly fits the bill, as it should for the $32,995 price tag. The paintwork is eye-catching and the huge rear tyre merely seals the deal. The fact there are fewer performance and comfort compromises than most cruisers demand is a welcome bonus.