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

Anthony West Can’t Afford to Pay to Race MotoGP, Mulls Retirement

The 2012 MotoGP season is still months away and the world championship has already lost an entry, as veteran Anthony West announced his withdrawal from the series because he cannot afford to compete. The 30-year-old Australian racer was included on the provisional 2012 MotoGP entry list to compete for the Speed Master team on an Aprilia CRT machine. But with the official pre-season test at Sepang, Malaysia, coming up next week, West says he will not race because teams are asking riders to pay too much to race for them.

Polaris Reports Q4 2011 Results

Polaris Industries reported a record net profit of $227.6 million for 2011. Polaris’ on-road arm, which consists primarily of Victory Motorcycles saw a 79% year-on-year increase in sales. Sales from on-road vehicles, including Victory and Indian motorcycles as well as small electric vehicles from the newly-acquired GEM and Goupil brands, totaled $146.3 million in 2011, compared to just $81.6 million in 2010.

Ness Café – The Zach Ness One-Off Victory Judge [Video]

Alongside the official unveiling of the new 2013 Victory Judge at the New York IMS came the unwrapping of a custom Café racer version of Victory’s new cruiser by Zach Ness. The grandson of Arlen Ness and son of Cory decided to give the Judge a café racer makeover, completely re-doing the Judge’s rear including getting rid of the number plate area below the seat that seems to be hit-or-miss with critics. Ness is still tinkering with his custom Judge, and he says he intends to ride it into Daytona Bike Week.

AMA Supercross: 2012 Los Angeles Results

Chad Reed won his first race of the 2012 AMA Supercross season in Los Angeles but the victory was overshadowed by a first-lap collision that left Trey Canard and Ryan Morais with broken backs. Racing for Team Honda Muscle Milk, Canard was injured on the first lap after catching a piece of some signage. That forced him to single a triple jump, putting him in the path of Star Valli Yamaha rider Ryan Morais who landed on Canard from behind.

2012 New York International Motorcycle Shows Preview

The 2011-2012 International Motorcycle Shows tour hits the Big Apple this weekend with a number of debuts, Jan. 20-22 at the Jakob K. Javits Convention Center.

Another New Victory Coming 1/20/12

Hot off the trails of the Hard Ball’s release just last month, Victory Motorcycles is showing no signs of slowing down in 2012, as it’s set to debut yet another new model January 20 at the New York International Motorcycle Show. Details about the new machine are scarce, but if we were to guess judging on the graphic above we’d say it could be loosely based off the Vegas due to its conventional fork and lack of fairings. What we do know from the graphic is that it will be powered by the tried and true 106 c.i.

Lehman Trikes Founder Passes at 60

Lehman Trikes announced the passing of its founder and director, John K. Lehman, from heart failure brought on by an embolism. The 2009 Sturgis Hall of Fame member died Jan.

New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 – Motorcycle Manufacturers Draw Battle Lines for World’s Second Largest Market

In past years, the biennial Auto Expo in India slipped under the radar while the industry was focused more on shows such as EICMA in Italy and Intermot in Germany. But with India’s middle class starting to flex its financial muscle while other markets continue to struggle, the New Delhi show is becoming much more prominent, with major OEMs positioning themselves to claim a piece of the India’s 13 million vehicles-a-year market. We’ve already looked at India-produced Royal Enfield’s new Thunderbird 500 and Hero Moto’s hybrid scooter concept which debuted at the Auto Expo, and today we’ll look at what the major international OEMs presented.

Just Finishing is a Victory: Filming the Ironman Triathlon [Video]

A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2-mile run. That is what defines the Ironman Trianthlon, one of the most physically grueling competitions in the world, a race so harsh, the sport’s mantra is “Just Finishing is a Victory.” Victory Motorcycles has released a video showing a different side of the famous Ironman World Championship at Kona, Hawaii, taken from the perspective of the motorcycle-riding camera operators which film the  annual race. Victory sponsored some of the camera teams that filmed this year’s race for outlets such as NBC television and the 12-minute video shows some of the work that goes into this subset of motorcycle riding.

Nancy Sabater Named 2011 AMA Motorcyclist of the Year

The American Motorcyclist Association has named activist Nancy Sabater its 2011 Motorcyclist of the Year, recognizing her efforts in helping get the “lead law” ban on youth motorcycles overturned. Sabater helped organize the May 26 AMA Family Capitol Hill Climb which brought families to Washington D.C. to lobby in favor of overturning the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act’s ban on youth motorcycles containing trace amounts of lead.