Victory Motorcycle to Wind Down Production

[the Ferret]

http://www.polaris.com/en-us/company/article/victory-motorcycles-important-announcement

IMO Victory made a big mistake by not diversifying into an American Standard, ADV, Sport Tourer, Sport bike producer. The only reason the Japanese survive in this country is that they don't rely on cruisers as their only market place product.

* Note the title of this thread originally was" Harley crushes another one" but that was confusing. When Pete Erickson posted a thread about the same subject I changed the title of this thread to match his

 

[TCBronson_imp]

I would have to agree with you.

 

[Stichill]

Me three.

Once Polaris acquired Indian, I thought Victory would morph into naked standards, sport, ADV, and small-medium-large sport touring bikes. Essentially, become an American BMW.

 

[Capo]

Totally missed the market. I always said that Victory should have made a 'Jeep Grand Cherokee' of ADV bikes, American take on the exploding category. And when they took on the TT with the electric bike and Pikes Peak with the 156, I thought, for sure, they would succeed as a brand. But things must have turned negative quickly.

But I don't think this is as much Harley taking them out (Harley is struggling a bit too) as much as a decline in their kind of heavy cruiser bike in general as tastes evolve. Honda, Triumph, and others are also moving away from the Metric Cruiser/ Harley clone market, which was totally saturated and staid.

If they focus on Indian, which seems to be doing well, and expand that brand accordingly, probably a good move. Victory = Pontiac/Oldsmobile/Mercury. Once strong brands, now memories.

 

[the Ferret]

Capo I agree with you and when I titled this Harley crushes another one, it wasn't specifically anything Harley Davidson did, it's just in the world, and in the US in particular, when someone wants a V twin cruiser their first choice is Harley Davidson. Harley is so strong, that there wasn't really room for 3 mainstream American V twin cruisers, and with Indian coming on board with a pretty good line up, well received and well advertised I might add, something had to give and Victory with no other type model to sell in 18 years was the weakest one and had to go.

 

[emptysea]

I haven't read a detailed article on this, but I'll toss in one observation that may be relevant. I know of at least three friends of mine who traded their Victories for Indians. It makes me think that the Victory line was too closely aligned to the Indian line and that perhaps Polaris figured it was better to focus on just the one brand. I think this has been coming for some time because, again based on only my personal observation, I have seen much more press given to Indians than to Victories over the last year or so.

I'm not sure if it would have been successful, but it would have been interesting to see something different (ADV or Sport Tourer) from an American manufacturer.

 

[Stichill]

Motus is a pretty awesome ST...but $$

 

[the Ferret]

I imagine they are, but have never seen one. Never seen a Motus dealer, never talked to anyone that has ridden one. So, I can't say for sure.

At least Victory had some dealers, I've seen em, sat on em, and known a couple guys who actually have ridden them.

Motorcyclists have been begging for an American sport tourer for years. Maybe someday someone will step up. Harley could do it easly but won't. I have a feeling Indian never will either.

 

[kballowe_imp]

DISCLAIMER: I'm a Victory owner, but you won't offend me it you have a poor opinion of Polaris, and choose to express it here. In fact, it's my God-given RIGHT to be offended ! Let me have it !

I am on Victory motorcycle #4. Every one of them - I bought for cheap..... so I probably have no bitcch - but here goes....

In my mind, Polaris made motorcycles as an afterthought, and with virtually no aftermarket support.
I could dig you up detailed photos of accessories that I had to fabricate myself.

Aftermarket exhaust and tuning was a specialty that was spotty, at best. Factory support SUCKED. Ordering parts was an adventure. Many times, I would get the part and the correct part number on the package, and the wrong part number inside.

On my 2013 Victory Judge, there wasn't even an aftermarket seat available. Corbin made one model for the 2014 Judge.
You have to buy the way-over-priced and poor quality windshields from Victory - because nobody else made any.

I don't know if anyone EVER figured out the problem with buffeting on the Cross Country bikes.

And there's a lot more.

Here's a picture of my 2015 Gunner. I like it, and it handles decent, except that it drags the pegs way too soon
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Previously owned "Judge"
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Previously owned Boardwalk w/home made rack/backrest/bag mounts/etc
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Two of those bikes "pinged" even on 93 octane fuel. The dealer was sympathetic, but no resolution.

The transmissions were like shifting an old Massey Ferguson combine.

I WILL say that the motors pulled good and got fairly decent fuel mileage, even tho they ran on the higher octane fuel.

Still - even with all the warts, I have confidence in this Gunner and will not be selling it anytime soon.
The bike fits me, and it's fun to ride and I ain't getting any younger.
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RIP Victory Motorcycles
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[Pete Erickson_imp]

http://www.polaris.com/en-us/company/article/victory-motorcycles-important-announcement

This popped up on my FB page.

Sorry to see it happen.

 

[pdedse]

A brand I always wanted to to like, but visually the lines just didn't seem right to me, too curvy? Something off. The bike either immediately looks good or it doesn't for me. If the latter, I could never buy it.

 

[uscgmac_imp]

Even motorcycle.com had a review with the cross road magnum and three other baggers and it was their least favorite. Harley street glide won that review hands down especially after they came out with that new Milwaukee 8 motor and upgraded suspension. I've seen tons of guys trading I their one and two year old Harleys for that. They must be doing something right. One of the main things that has always kept me away from Victory and Indian is lack of dealer support and a poor aftermarket.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I'm very sorry to hear this news. However, I'm not completely surprised -- I agree HD owns the American cruiser market, and I agree the demographic of this market is only getting weaker and leaner as the years roll on -- but I wasn't expecting this. I don't care for the bikes, but I hope Indian continues to be successful and can become a major player once again. Around here, it's a niche brand, with limited appeal to the mass market. I rarely see them on the road.

 

[uscgmac_imp]

I'm sure they will be dirt cheap now.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

 

[Mikestib1_imp]

About time. Since Polaris owns Indian and produces snowmobiles, watercraft, and ATVs, they cut off the dead wood. Nobody will miss Victory. The Indian Scout engine will surely appear in new models. No one out Harleys Harley at their game.

 

[Vic_imp]

kinda sad about Victory. There were several folks from the Suzuki forum that rode Victory's over the years. One trip there were 2 Victory Visions in the group, a blue one and the other silver. The vision is a large motorcycle! If a guy can't stretch out and get comfortable on one of those, . . . maybe a Triumph Rocket would be the next choice?

 

[nhawk7504_imp]

I rode the Indian Scout and liked it. Modern motor. I liked the Victory Octane too. Saw the Octane at Daytona and really thought they were onto something there. I rode some Harleys and they were ok but I liked the old style Harleys with the tractor seats on em.

 

[rboe]

Benchwarmer analyst here: No bike guy in charge. You can't diversify if your core line in not selling. Cruisers are the American market; everything else is a small niche. Hard to make money in a small niche. Ask any Guzzi dealer.

To hit Harley hard in the market; Indian was the way to go. Props for trying with Victory, but the market (that be us), for the most part were not ready for it. Once they decided to add Indian to their line they pretty much shot themselves in the foot. Although, I think they are lucky THEY are the ones that made a go with Indian. i think they hit Indian out of the park. I think they did some good stuff with the Victory and it's a shame the market could not support it.

 

[Stichill]

I imagine they are, but have never seen one. Never seen a Motus dealer, never talked to anyone that has ridden one. So, I can't say for sure.

At least Victory had some dealers, I've seen em, sat on em, and known a couple guys who actually have ridden them.

Motorcyclists have been begging for an American sport tourer for years. Maybe someday someone will step up. Harley could do it easly but won't. I have a feeling Indian never will either.

It's here...

 

[CB1100DLX_imp]

It's cannibalism. Indian over Victory any day of the week. It was just a matter of time before Polaris made this business decision. Hope Polaris/Indian keeps producing quality bikes and keeps the pressure on HD.