#magnum

The original plan was to be in Calico to shoot the wrap video for last week’s “Bagger Brawl” four-bike comparo tour (which should get posted next week, maybe…), but you know what they say about best-laid plans. That goes double for MOron plans. Instead of being an hour-and-a-half from the barn, we wound up running low on daylight and needing to roll tape while we were still in Death Valley, four hours north. Motorcycles tend to make you think things are a lot closer than they are, even if you were just there last year. By the time the cameras were packed back up and the Harley Street Glide, Victory Magnum, Moto Guzzi MGX-21 and Indian Chieftain were ready to roll, the sun was setting and the “mega moon” was rising over one of the most desolately beautiful places in North America.

If you’re lucky, you’ve got at least one friend like this guy. You know, the one who’s always the ring leader, the one with the mad glint in his eye, always the center of attention, talking a little bit louder – OK, a lot louder – than everyone else, but unlike some people who behave the same way and seem obnoxious, this guy pulls it off. It’s the gravitational pull of his personality. Everybody gets along with him and goes along with him and, every so often, gets in trouble with him (though not as frequently as they did 10 years ago). Still, when it’s all over but for the storytelling, he wraps the narrative around all the participants, making the tale – and by extension, everyone involved – larger than life.

Baggers are a big deal these days, making up something like half of the cruiser market according to Victory’s experts. Victory’s newest attempt to supply what the market demands is this highly customized version of its pre-existing Cross Country, dubbed Magnum.