Victory Vision 800 Concept promises a new era for American motorcycles

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Victory Vision 800 Concept promises a new era for American motorcycles

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January 24, 2006 Victory Motorcycles have traditionally crafted motorcycles of the big V-twin cruiser, Harleyesque genre, but the signs are beginning to point to a more diverse product range in the not-too-distant future. The boutique American motorcycle manufacturer is beginning to flex some of its parent company’s muscle and has released a concept motorcycle that is VERY different – a long-wheelbase, 800cc, 4-stroke, liquid-cooled, parallel twin with a cast aluminium alloy frame, constantly variable transmission and radical yet arguably very practical styling. Given that parent company Polaris recently purchased a 24% share in Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM, don’t be surprised to see a serious new player in international motorcycle markets before the turn of the decade.

The Victory Vision 800 Concept Motorcycle emerged at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach last month.

Firstly, let’s put Victory in perspective, because it’s easy to underestimate any motorcycle manufacturer you haven’t heard of. Victory motorcycles was established in 1998 and represents the first all-new American-made motorcycle from a major company in nearly 60 years. Its motorcycles are all of the big V-twin cruiser genre and with some exquisite styling and sound engineering, the company is making in-roads into the motorcycle cruiser marketplace pioneered by Harley Davidson and more recently joined by similarly-styled Japanese offerings from Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha.

Victory’s motorcycles are competitive in just one significant but limited slice of the overall two-wheeled mix, and though they are gorgeous – see the image library for some excellent images of the current range – the competition between Harley, the Japanese quartet and the muscliest musclebike of them all, the Triumph Rocket III means that even a startling sales performance will never grow the marque beyond the niche stage.

Victory Motoryccles is a small part of Polaris, a much bigger company with annual sales approaching US$2 billion and a significant slice of global snowmobile, recreational watercraft and all-terrain vehicle (ATV) markets and an obligation to its shareholders to continue to grow and create profits, so the Victory “cruiser” niche was never going to be enough. This was confirmed last year when the company purchased 24% of the Austrian Motorcycle manufacturer KTM, and there’s no doubt that Victory/Polaris sees itself as a future force in the two-wheeled marketplace. So the Vision is indeed a manifestation of the vision, or perhaps a subset of the vision, of the company. It is showing its intentions to diversify into new areas and the press statements of the company and representatives are all along similar vein.

The press release reads as follows: With its Victory Motorcycle division continuing to outpace industry growth, an ongoing strategic partnership with leading European motorcycle manufacturer KTM and a recent organizational expansion of its motorcycle and international businesses, Polaris’ commitment to its motorcycle business has gone global - and has never been greater. Driven by zealot-like passion to deliver on Victory’s positioning as “The New American Motorcycle”, the award-winning Polaris / Victory Industrial Design Team never pauses in it’s exploration of both form and function.

“We constantly study global design trends, as well as today’s motorcycle consumers to better understand, and deliver on, their expectations of the future,” says Greg Brew, Director of Polaris Industrial Design.

“Polaris has assembled a best-of-the-best team from around the world, and our mandate for Victory is to drive the future of custom-inspired American motorcycle design. The Vision 800 is but one example of the type of exploration our team pursues in order to continue to deliver the type of innovative design that fuels people’s passion for motorcycles.”

So watch this space – Victory, KTM and Polaris obviously intend to create some new motorcycles some time soon and the first concept is a doozy.

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