Victory Motorcycle to Wind Down Production

[Guth_imp]

My guess is that this has less to do with the motorcycles themselves and more to do with the power of name recognition. In the long run, Polaris stands to gain much more from the money they'll invest in the Indian brand than if they had dumped that same money into Victory. It's not just the bikes, but all of the other accoutrements that go along them. I'm guessing that people will open their wallets much more eagerly for Indian-branded clothing and accessories than they would have for the Victory equivalents.

To look at it another way, try to imagine just what kind of success would be enjoyed by the likes of the Bloor Street Triple or the Bloor Street Cup. And just how many people would be clamoring for Bloor jackets and t-shirts, even if they proudly featured the Union Jack?

This is the hill that the likes of Motus have to climb.

[Roper_imp]

Probably doesn't help that the name of the company invokes imagery of thrash metal bands. Or maybe that does help...

[CBryder_imp]

It should also be noted that Polaris is struggling a bit financially. They survived the recession in spite of tremendous growth prior to it, but have gone through a couple good sized recalls...

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[Stichill_imp]

Probably doesn't help that the name of the company invokes imagery of thrash metal bands. Or maybe that does help...

Actually I thought Victory was a cool name, if they had made the motorcycle more retro instead of...whatever it was.

Imagine if the Victory looked like the [url=http://www.broughsuperiormotorcycles.com/home.html]new Brough Superior:

[CBryder_imp]

It should also be noted that Polaris is struggling a bit financially. They survived the recession in spite of tremendous growth prior to it, but have gone through a couple good sized recalls...

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Corrections:
....several recalls, mostly on their ATVs.
....substantial investments made prior to the recession resulted in phenomenal growth starting early in the recovery.

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[will866_imp]

Probably doesn't help that the name of the company invokes imagery of thrash metal bands. Or maybe that does help...

Actually I thought Victory was a cool name, if they had made the motorcycle more retro instead of...whatever it was.

Imagine if the Victory looked like the [url=http://www.broughsuperiormotorcycles.com/home.html]new Brough Superior:

Actually I thought Victory was a cool name, if they had made the motorcycle more retro instead of...whatever it was.

Imagine if the Victory looked like the [url=http://www.broughsuperiormotorcycles.com/home.html]new Brough Superior:



I need one of those!

[the Ferret]

I think the guy on the right has a broken ankle

[Cormanus]

^ or a prosthesis.

[AzBob_imp]

Motus: I've sat on one, very nice but may be too low for my long legs. One of the guys on the Guzzi forum bought one - loves it last I heard.

Chain drive: Once you hear about the catastrophic shaft drive failures chain does not sound so bad after all. 20K miles, new chain and sprockets - basically a very cheap rear drive complete over haul. I have two chain drive bikes now and they are not nearly the trouble they used to be in 80's. Like a lot of things in life, I think their negatives are based on old information. But hey, it's your money and we have choices.

Victory: Polaris can still bring out an Indian Victory down the line if Indian gives them the profits to experiment a bit. Although I think that motor is dead now. Or maybe they will think the Victory brand is bad juju and will use a different brand. I do think that if Polaris really wanted to keep making motorcycles, bringing out the Indian line was pure genius.

I have two chain drives and one shaft. The shaft is maintenance-free after the initial gear oil change at 500 miles (though I do change it when I change the engine oil anyway because it's so easy -- comes out the same color it goes in). The chains require maintenance every 500. If I go on a trip like I did last summer of almost 3,000 miles, I certainly do not want to stop EVERY DAY (I did 4-500 miles each day) to clean/lube the chain and adjust the position of the axle in the swing arm. Chains are fine for 'round-town bikes. The cost has nothing to do with it -- for me, it's the ride quality and maintenance required. No bike that claims to be for touring can run a chain. Another reason I also didn't buy a Ducati Multistrada. If I wanted to, I could certainly afford the Motus.

I forgot that the Motus doesn't have ABS or traction control... those are also non-starters, especially the TC on a bike with that much low-end torque. I very much wanted to love the bike, but it's missing what I consider key features for the segment it purports to be in.

[Stichill_imp]

Motus: I've sat on one, very nice but may be too low for my long legs. One of the guys on the Guzzi forum bought one - loves it last I heard.

Chain drive: Once you hear about the catastrophic shaft drive failures chain does not sound so bad after all. 20K miles, new chain and sprockets - basically a very cheap rear drive complete over haul. I have two chain drive bikes now and they are not nearly the trouble they used to be in 80's. Like a lot of things in life, I think their negatives are based on old information. But hey, it's your money and we have choices.

Victory: Polaris can still bring out an Indian Victory down the line if Indian gives them the profits to experiment a bit. Although I think that motor is dead now. Or maybe they will think the Victory brand is bad juju and will use a different brand. I do think that if Polaris really wanted to keep making motorcycles, bringing out the Indian line was pure genius.

I have two chain drives and one shaft. The shaft is maintenance-free after the initial gear oil change at 500 miles (though I do change it when I change the engine oil anyway because it's so easy -- comes out the same color it goes in). The chains require maintenance every 500. If I go on a trip like I did last summer of almost 3,000 miles, I certainly do not want to stop EVERY DAY (I did 4-500 miles each day) to clean/lube the chain and adjust the position of the axle in the swing arm. Chains are fine for 'round-town bikes. The cost has nothing to do with it -- for me, it's the ride quality and maintenance required. No bike that claims to be for touring can run a chain. Another reason I also didn't buy a Ducati Multistrada. If I wanted to, I could certainly afford the Motus.

I forgot that the Motus doesn't have ABS or traction control... those are also non-starters, especially the TC on a bike with that much low-end torque. I very much wanted to love the bike, but it's missing what I consider key features for the segment it purports to be in.

I can see that, and I do appreciate the belt on my F800GT. But I've never believed that motorcycling is about ease and convenience....there's a lot about riding that is downright uncomfortable and inconvenient but that seems to be an inseparable part of the experience.

It's a bit like the hi-fi guys who still listen to vinyl. Not as convenient as an MP3 playlist, but the ritual of cleaning the record, adjusting the tracking force, setting the platter rpm via strobe, etc. is part of the enjoyment.

Motus: I've sat on one, very nice but may be too low for my long legs. One of the guys on the Guzzi forum bought one - loves it last I heard.

Chain drive: Once you hear about the catastrophic shaft drive failures chain does not sound so bad after all. 20K miles, new chain and sprockets - basically a very cheap rear drive complete over haul. I have two chain drive bikes now and they are not nearly the trouble they used to be in 80's. Like a lot of things in life, I think their negatives are based on old information. But hey, it's your money and we have choices.

Victory: Polaris can still bring out an Indian Victory down the line if Indian gives them the profits to experiment a bit. Although I think that motor is dead now. Or maybe they will think the Victory brand is bad juju and will use a different brand. I do think that if Polaris really wanted to keep making motorcycles, bringing out the Indian line was pure genius.

I have two chain drives and one shaft. The shaft is maintenance-free after the initial gear oil change at 500 miles (though I do change it when I change the engine oil anyway because it's so easy -- comes out the same color it goes in). The chains require maintenance every 500. If I go on a trip like I did last summer of almost 3,000 miles, I certainly do not want to stop EVERY DAY (I did 4-500 miles each day) to clean/lube the chain and adjust the position of the axle in the swing arm. Chains are fine for 'round-town bikes. The cost has nothing to do with it -- for me, it's the ride quality and maintenance required. No bike that claims to be for touring can run a chain. Another reason I also didn't buy a Ducati Multistrada. If I wanted to, I could certainly afford the Motus.

I forgot that the Motus doesn't have ABS or traction control... those are also non-starters, especially the TC on a bike with that much low-end torque. I very much wanted to love the bike, but it's missing what I consider key features for the segment it purports to be in.

I think some riders would be interested in these features (BMW sport touring riders) but possibly more in this segment (dedicated two-wheeled fanatics) would be repelled by any electronic brain between them and total control of the machine. Motus likely did their homework on market research in these two areas.