THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Polaris decides to streamline their motorcycle business .
Contributed by TRO
Polaris Industries shocked many when they announced on January 9th that they would be immediately begin “ winding down its Victory Motorcycles brand and related operations ”. For diehard Victory riders , fans , and even some dealers – there seemed to be complete disbelief .
Polaris began producing the first Victory motorcycle , the V92c , back in 1998 from a production line in Sprit Lake , Iowa . It was an American-made cruiser being introduced as an alternative to the clear industry leader – Harley- Davidson . While there was clearly a learning curve to be conquered – Victory scored some early success with the motorcycle press and built a loyal following of owners . Polaris seemed dedicated to not only competing in the motorcycle market , they were willing to blaze their own path with their own style and some truly unique designs . Probably nothing said this more than the introduction of the Victory Vision in 2007 .
Previously introduced in 2005 as a concept bike , the production version was no less groundbreaking with a design and presence unlike anything else on the road . The result of a reported four years of R & D and a $ 20 million dollar investment by Polaris , the Vision was a clear statement that Polaris was focused on creating their own interpretation of “ the motorcycle ”. In the case of the Vision , the fixed fairing touring bike has an almost fanatical following . I ’ ve never once met a Vision owner that didn ’ t swear it was the most comfortable bike they ’ d ever ridden . This is further supported by the fact that you almost never see them for sale . At the time of writing this , ebay
motors has only 6 of them listed for sale across the entire country and craigslist came up with 2 in the state of Ohio .
This passion for Victory Motorcycle amongst their riders is further evidenced by a 2015 Consumer Reports survey that rated Victory as the motorcycle brand with the highest owner satisfaction , besting even Harley- Davidson . In fact , eighty percent of Victory owners responded that they “ would definitely buy again ,” versus 72 percent of Harley-Davidson owners . ( Of course , Harley owners dispute the relevancy of this survey by simply asking “ Why would I ever want to buy another motorcycle , I ’ m happy with my Harley !”)
Victory ’ s final lineup of motorcycles included 12 models spanning the cruiser , touring , bagger and electric classes : Octane ; Vegas 8-Ball ; High-Ball ; Gunner ; Vegas ; Hammer S ; Vision ; Cross Country Tour ; Cross Country ; Magnum ; Magnum X-1 ; and Empulse .
A New Addition to the Family Victory ’ s future may have been sealed though , when Polaris acquired the name and heritage of
Indian Motorcycle in 2011 . This gave Polaris possibly the one thing that Victory lacked – a history and a legacy of success . At the time of the purchase , Polaris affirmed that they would be continuing the Victory line as an independent brand . This was supported with the launch of the actual new production Indians - designed from scratch and produced without any real crossover from the Victory line . Three years later , Indian now has nine models with even more promised even this year . Each completely distinct from the Victory models from development to production . Certainly , though , the success of the Indians seemed to dominate the industry buzz and draw sales from everyone in the market – including Victory .
This past year , an attempt was made to further distinguish the Victory and Indian brands for consumers . Indian would be the heritage cruisers , more traditional and nostalgic . Victory would transition to more of a power cruiser , the embodiment of “ AMERICAN MUSCLE ”. Polaris invested heavily in Victory race bikes – both gas and electric , and introduced exciting new concept
6 Thunder Roads Magazine Louisiana | March 2017 | www . thunderroadslouisiana . org