Victory Motorcycles

About Victory

Victory Motorcycles is an American motorcycle manufacturer based in Spirit Lake, Iowa. It began production of its vehicles in 1998.

Its parent company, Polaris Industries, created the firm following the modern success of Harley-Davidson. Victory's motorcycles are designed to compete directly with Harley-Davidson and similar American-style motorcycle brands, with V-twin engines and touring, sport-touring, and cruiser configurations. The first Victory, the V92C, was announced in 1997 and began selling in 1998. In 2011 Polaris bought the Indian motorcycle brand.

The first model, the V92C, was debuted at Planet Hollywood in the Mall of America by Al Unser in 1997. Production began in late 1998, and the first official model year was 1999. At 92 cu in (1,510 cc), the V92C was the largest production engine available at the time. All components for the V92C were manufactured in Minnesota and Iowa, except the Italian Brembo brakes and the British-made electronic fuel injection system. Victory engines debuted with five-speed transmissions (later six), single overhead cams, dual connecting rods, hydraulic lifters, and fuel injection; most fuel-injection components are standard GM parts. The V92C engine was designed to be easily tuned by the owner.

The 92 cubic inch Victory engine carries 6 US qt (5,700 ml) of oil in the sump, about the same as most automobiles. This is intended to minimize risk of low-oil damage, but also makes it dimensionally larger than other motorcycle engines, such as Harley-Davidson, which carry oil in tanks. The sheer volume of oil can also impede engine performance in a racing environment. Top speed is about 120 mph (190 km/h) at 5,500 rpm; the ECM contains a rev limiter which can be overridden by reprogramming the EPROM. The Victory engine is air-cooled, and also circulates crankcase oil through a cooler mounted between the front frame downtubes. A section of the rear swingarm can be removed to change the drive belt or the rear wheel.

The motorcycle's designers had approached several European manufacturers, particularly Cosworth, about designing and producing the engine, but ultimately decided to design and build it in Osceola, Wisconsin. Several variations on engine-frame geometry were tried until the best configuration was found, with the crankshaft geometrically aligned with the axles, a concept developed by Vincent Racing in the late 1950s.

The V92C weighed about the same as a Harley, approximately 650 lb (290 kg). The original V92C engine produced about 55 hp (41 kW) at the wheel; with high-performance cams and pistons, this could be boosted to 83 hp (62 kW) and torque of 86 lb·ft (117 N·m).

In 2002 company introduced its Freedom 92/5 V-Twin, a 92 cubic inch engine mated to a five speed transmission. The new Freedom Engine had rounded cylinders and a smaller oil cooler and provided greater power output than the previous mill.

Victory continued to expand its model lineup in 2005 with the introduction of its Hammer, a muscular power cruiser with a 250mm rear tire and the Freedom 100/6 engine. It also began offering its cruiser motorcycles with the blacked-out treatment, using the styling scheme on its Vegas 8-Ball.

In 2006, both Arlen and his son Cory Ness selected the Vegas Jackpot to customize for the Ness Signature Series. The custom-inspired motorcycle was equipped with the same Freedom V-Twin powerplant and gearbox as the Hammer.

Victory would again demonstrate its forward-thinking in 2008 with the release of its radically-styled, luxury touring motorcycle, the 2008 Victory Vision. With a chassis composed of three big castings and an integrated 11-liter airbox incorporated into its design, it also featured the company’s proprietary Air Victory Brakes. Designed by Lead Industrial Designer, Michael Song, the aerodynamic, futuristic-looking luxo-tourer created plenty of ripples when it hit the market.

For 2009, Victory offered a 10th Anniversary Victory Vision. With an Antares Red and Black paint scheme that pays tribute to its first motorcycle, the V92C, the limited edition Vision includes a reverse gear and tons of luxury touring amenities like heated grips and seats. Only 100 were made.

Victory has also made a point of offering various models in Low versions, with seat heights and controls better suited to smaller riders.

Moto blog

2013 AMA Supercross Houston Race Report

Ryan Villopoto captured his fifth-consecutive AMA Supercross win and sixth in seven rounds with a victory in the main event at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider passed holeshot-taker Mike Alessi on the opening lap and led the rest of the way for the win. Alessi, riding the Motoconcepts Racing Suzuki RM-Z450, remained in the hunt for the first few laps but soon gave way to a group including Team Honda Muscle Milk’s Trey Canard, Red Bull KTM‘s Ryan Dungey and Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart.

Josh Herrin Won At Daytona Wearing A Bell Star Carbon Helmet

Josh Herrin wasted no time in 2013 getting his first AMA Pro American Superbike victory after falling short on several occasions during his rookie Superbike campaign in 2012. He earned it at the very first race of the season at Daytona International Speedway. And he earned it while wearing a Bell Star Carbon helmet.  “Herrin stepped up to the Superbike class last year and immediately proved that he was a serious contender, surprising a few of his competitors along the way.” said Bell Sports Marketing Manager Patrick Houlihan.

Rainy BSB tests are nothing new

THE combination of bad weather in the UK and a European testing ban means that most BSB teams will now start the season with very little track time. This sounds like a disaster for the top teams but history has proved this isn’t necessarily true and it sometimes doesn’t matter how much pre season preparation has taken place.  Back in 2002 Sean Emmett won on the IFC Ducati at the opening Silverstone round after first riding it in unofficial practice the same weekend. Steve Hislop took the other win on Pauls Bird’s well sorted Ducati. More recently in 2009, Leon Camier took an untested new model R1 Yamaha to victory at the Brands Hatch opener after GSE took delivery of the bike just the week before. Sylvain Guintoli won the other race on a well developed, well tested Crescent Suzuki. You could argue if no one has had testing then it is a level playing field but you have to feel for riders moving up to the superbike class in the world’s toughest national series.  Tyco Suzuki’s PJ Jacobson is one such rider but having spent some time with him over the past few weeks he seems to be taking it all in his stride. It may be the confidence of youth or maybe the fact he has won in every other class he has entered in his short BSB career, but I suspect he fancies at least standing on the Superbike podium at Brands (He also does a bit of ice racing which is not dissimilar to the this year’s UK testing).  The testing ban was implemented with all the best cost cutting intentions and if it had been any other year in the past decade all would be well. The teams may be feeling frustrated but the fans should be excited. With so many unknowns, the 2013 BSB opener at Brands Hatch could be the best ever!

2013 AMA Supercross Indianapolis Race Report

Ryan Villopoto continues to be in championship form, taking his third consecutive victory and sixth of the season with a win at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis round of the 2013 AMA Supercross Championship. The Monster Energy Kawasaki rider had a calculated, methodical race to take the win and expand his championship lead to nine points ahead of Davi Millsaps. Millsaps took the holeshot in a chaotic start to the main event that saw several riders go down at the opening corner.

2013 AMA Superbike Daytona Race Report

The story leading up to the opening round of the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike season was whether anyone would be able to keep up with defending champion Josh Hayes. After all, the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider dominated the competition last season winning 16 of 20 races including a string of 10 in a row. The season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway appeared to start on script with Hayes qualifying in pole position.

2013 AMA Daytona 200 Race Report

Cameron Beaubier led a parade of Yamaha YZF-R6 racebikes to win the 72nd running of the famed Daytona 200. The Yamaha Extended Service Graves Yamaha rider started from pole position and led for 50 of 57 laps before winning by a 22.254-second margin. Behind Beaubier were four other R6 riders including his teammate Garret Gerloff who finished second.

Victory Offers Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee

Victory Motorcycles stands behind its products, and is taking great efforts to prove it. In recent years, Victory had been running a promotion where people can test a Victory motorcycle and, if they end up buying a competitor’s product, Victory gives them $100. Victory is taking things to a higher level offering a full money-back guarantee for 2013 models.

2013 AMA Supercross Atlanta Race Report

James Stewart captured his first AMA Supercross win in nearly a year, leading every lap in front of 68,987 fans at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in his most consistent main event showing so far this season. The Yoshimura Suzuki racer was dominant in Atlanta, posting the fastest qualifying times and taking the holeshot to lead his eight-lap heat race before doing it again in the 20-lap main event. Stewart’s previous win was March 10, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway.

The Making of Victory Motorcycles’ 2013 Brochure … Including a Visit to the Playboy Mansion – Video

Victory Motorcycles has released a series of videos showing a behind-the-scenes look behind its 2013 product brochure. This year’s brochure was notable for Victory‘s tie-in with Playboy magazine, including a photoshoot at the famous Playboy mansion. The brochure featured three Playboy models, Miss November 2011 Ciara Price, Miss January 2011 Anna Sophia Berglund and Miss April 2012 Raquel Pomplun.

Polaris to Launch Victory in India

Polaris plans to bring its Victory Motorcycles brand to India by the end of the year, says Pankaj Dubey, managing director of Polaris India. “Yes we have decided to launch in the market by the end of 2013,” Dubey tells the Press Trust of India. The American company entered the Indian market in 2012 at the New Delhi Auto Expo.