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Victory drop for Indian name

7K views 81 replies 19 participants last post by  rodhotter 
#1 · (Edited)
Victory closing out the Victory name and sticking with the Indian name.

Waiting for someone to buy the Victory name over n India or China and building a 200cc example.

The writing on the wall with this move.
 
#2 ·
#5 · (Edited)
Neither do I. Polaris has all that tooling setup to build bikes. I can't see them flushing it and selling the name. Polaris does not need the money. They have a successful line of snowmobiles, ATVs, commercial vehicles, and the Sling$hit.

India, probably. They're into this name-buying thing at the moment, examples:

Mahindra buys the BSA name for £3.4 million:

They've also bought JAWA:
those were two (near?) defunct companies. The Indian name was recently bought and tooling set up for a "premium" line of motorcycles.
 
#9 ·
This is the bike Polaris needs to develop into a street version for the rest of us:
I second that motion!

I saw this machine at the December 2016 IMS in NYC.

It's a slimmed down Scout 1000 - DOHC, 4 valve, V twin.
The engine is a real jewel to look at.
Knowing Polaris, it is probably counter balanced too, but no one at the show had specific technical details on it.
Put this motor in a sporty street bike frame, keep weight down, and they fly out the dealer's doors.
And maybe provide competition to the SV650's on the race tracks.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Excuse my ignorance but where in the world is the Victory Name considered a Good Product that sold well that would generate interest in a name buy out? I know a lot of numbskulls that are Brand Fan Bois for different brands and they only time they agree is when the Victory name would come up and they would all laugh together. The few Victory owners I have spoken too all start with the same "I bought it because it's not a Harley" and a normal person asks "Ok, do you like it?" "I like that it's not a Harley" and you stop talking to such a moron who cannot actually answer a question.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I have a very different opinion. No question, HD still rules the cruiser market and Polaris will forever be swimming up hill in trying to capture some of that market. However, Polaris is building some very good quality machines. I have toured the plant in Spirit Lake, IA and I have had a face-to-face conversation with two of their engine design engineers. They are fully committed to making quality machines, and many would agree they have been successful in that pursuit.

I never cared for Victory styling. Quite frankly, I think their bikes are just plain ugly. But the loyal Victory buyers I know did not buy them simply because they weren't a Harley. For many, they actually liked the styling.....Hey, some people actually liked AMC product....:jawdrop

It would seem that Polaris has simply decided to focus their energies and capital on the Indian brand, which I think makes perfect sense. Indian was once a GREAT brand and I am thrilled to see Polaris help restore it.

:beerchug
 
#10 ·
i have a 2013 Hammer + find it to be a great bike that outruns + out handles any stock comparable hardly but the now gone V-rod, things happen so it is what it is. although nice the ****** are way big except the scout with the big ugly radiator, tractor sized tyres + poor suspension + braking!!! yes i tested one. heres an opportunity for someone to pick up a fine line of not very known motorcycles due to minimal advertising. i spotted an 08 Hammer @ a car dealer before buying my preowned 13 in thirteen, when i seen the 08 i thought WOW what a beauty but what is it!!! could not deal with the used car dealer as i wanted to get rid of my 06 porkster, so i ended getting a great deal on an 8xx mile 13 in 13 + trading my hardly as the hammer was at a hardly dealer!! fat + skinny i love them both!!
 
#53 ·
Add me to the list of people that will miss Victory.... mine has been great. Not just an Anti- Harley (I own few older HDs). It was a different riding experience, especially the Hammer model that I own. These bikes definitely had a separate niche--- but it takes a lot of volume $s to make a brand profitable. I also own a 2014 Indian, which is a great bike but again--- very different cruiser experience than the Vic. I doubt if we will see anything in the marketplace like them for a long time. If nothing else, they brought some extra folks in our pastime, and gave some niche aftermarket suppliers some jobs. Losing on both points diminishes us all...
 

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#12 · (Edited)
I traded in my 2012 Tiger for a 2016 Indian Springfield back in August. While I loved my Tiger, I love the Springfield even more. Anyone who says they are bloated, slow, poor handling machines with bad breaks has never actually ridden one. And this is coming from a guy who up until buying this bike has always hated cruisers. This is the machine that turned me to the dark side.

Now Victorys have never appealed to me. I think their styling is fugly as all sin but from everything I've heard from their owners, the motors are bullet proof and they handle well. They are far better bikes than HD's and have a hard-core, loyal fan base - albeit a small one. I've heard Victory was only selling one for every ten Indians sold. Easy to do the math on that one.

Go to any of the Victory forums and you get the feeling many of those guys should be put on suicide watch. They are super pissed at Polaris for giving up on Vic and going with Indian. What they fail to understand is that this is strictly a business move. Victory may have a hard core fan base but that didn't translate to sales.

Indian has come on incredibly strong since its rebirth through Polaris. They invested a lot of time, talent and money into the design of these machines and its paid off handsomely. For my part I am happy polaris has dropped the Vic line. I'm hoping they invest the monies saved back into Indian and introduce even more models.
 
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#13 ·
I traded in my 2012 Tiger for a 2016 Indian Springfield back in August. While I loved my Tiger, I love the Springfield even more. Anyone who says they are bloated, slow, poor handling machines with bad breaks has never actually ridden one. And this is coming from a guy who up until buying this bike has always hated cruisers. This is the machine that turned me to the dark side.

.
Given their engine displacement and compared to a sport bike, yes they are underpowered, and they are over weight. Cruisers are all about form over function, and that is only one of the reasons I will always hate them.

For my part I am happy polaris has dropped the Vic line. I'm hoping they invest the monies saved back into Indian and introduce even more models.
I just hope it is not more cruiser models...
 
#25 ·
there are a lot of variables in bike choice, some by brand HD no natter what while others myself included buy what fits me + looks + functions decently. Indian being relatively new has a lot of room for growth as many riders with ample $$$ change bikes often for something different. i wish Indian all the best, but i will continue enjoying my 13 Hammer, a bigger bike i "thought" i would never want! it feels lighter than it is + handles similarly, maybe i will test a big ***** one day as a new dealer recently opened closer to me in muncy PA, part of Best Line equipment
 
#31 ·
I think it's a real shame that Polaris dropped Victory though I get you have to make money and Victory wasn't doing enough of that for Polaris.

Having owned both a 2014 Judge and 2012 Cross Roads, they were good bikes. The Cross Roads did bore the hell out of me, though out on the open highway it was a smooth machine due to it's air suspension. The Judge was a great 1-up bike, my only complaint was the pegs touched rather quickly even in the slowest of turns, it needed a lift of about an inch or two. I'd likely still be on the Judge had I not traded it for the Cross Roads. I never found either under powered, I kept up with most bikes without trouble. Sure, the Victory line wasn't a 0 to 60, go like hell bike at every stop light bike if that is what you need, but no slouch either! The bikes pull like freight trains but I had no delusions I was gonna stand a chance against bikes outside of the cruiser class. For what the Victory motor and transmission does, it does well. Rock solid from my experience and I know a number of Victory owners that all say the same thing.

Okay, so how come I stepped away from Victory if I am such a "fan boy"? That's a long story but it has hardly anything to do with lack of power, performance and such. Short answer, I walked away from the Judge because I wanted a two up bike as I thought my wife would go out riding more. The Cross Roads turned out great for that but when she only went like once or twice in a 6 month period (plus I just didn't like the weight of the Cross Roads) it wasn't enough to justify keeping it for how infrequent she went. You gotta love what you ride and I didn't love the Cross Roads.

Victory suffered from what many of you have already talked about or alluded to. Styling and appeal. Most of their bikes were too similar and were boring. They were just starting to weed out much of their line-up but it was too little to late. The Octane gave the impression of a Scout wanna be, my opinion, it was a much better bike. Had it come out before the Scout, I don't think Indian would of had as much success with the Scout.

Indian suffers badly in my opinion in one area. They lack a solid V-Twin in the $14K-$15K (USD) range and the Scout isn't it (Victory had too many in that range). Don't get me wrong, I like the Indian brand and think Polaris has done an outstanding job resurrecting it. I had a Scout on order when it was introduced but gave up after the long delays (that's how I ended up on the Judge). Buddy of mine owned a Scout and traded within 6 months for the Dark Horse and said "I am so glad Allan I did it." and he often goes on to say "you wouldn't have been happy on the Scout for very long".

After all that talk... I am very happy with my Triumph T120. It's an unbelievably easy bike to ride. Nimble, quick, excellent tech, compared to the Victory bikes, has more bang for the buck. I don't feel the T120 is great as a two up bike and I know others might well disagree with me on that. I didn't buy the T120 with that in mind. I bought it because I felt it was the right bike for what I want it for.

My apologies for the rant... Stay safe out there! :D
 
#32 ·
You gotta hand it to the "it ain't a harley" crowd. Seriously where did all these people come from and what are they doing picking up a sport as dangerous as motorcycles for a hobby at such a late stage of life? I thought victory offered blue collar riders a path to cruisers while Indian is as or even more expensive as HD, what is becoming clear is the hd snobbery attached to the brand by the riders that buy the brand only because it's expensive. Polaris learned what they needed to from vic's failure but had enough resources to start over. 2 of 3 triumph dealers by me are in a corner of big HD dealerships and the folk buying HD's couldn't care less about any other brand until the financing falls thru then vic, triumph, etc become options, the other side of the coin is Indian and this brand may be for the educated, well heeled more experienced rider again not the majority of HD buyers.
 
#34 ·
You do realize that a lot of those picking such a hobby this late in life are doctors and lawyers are an educated bunch, if not experienced.

Will they drop the Victory line or just re-badge those bikes?

The victory line is going away. The Indian motors look totally different than what is offered by Victory.
 
#36 ·
little effort was put into making Victory successful as i never heard of them in the early years. wanting to get rid of my 06 porkster i went shopping, no dealing on the 2012 bonnie i ended buying outright, as the Xl1200L with mods was close in value. i ended trading on my 2013 Hammer 8xx miles still in 13, all i can say is their slogan "ride one own one" was right on! a bigger + 100 lb heavier bike handled better + of course 106" moves it quite well! their engines + overall design with less unsprung weight, nikasil coated cylinders + an engine designed for FI leaves the HD's in the dust. rumors are that Polaris may utilize that technology, with the Indian logo on it + time will tell.
 
#37 ·
Interesting article posted on Revzilla

https://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/indians-victory

Excerpt

...I talked to Derek Peterson, a spokesman for the company, and he didn’t mince words.

“Victory accounted for 3 percent of Polaris revenue in 2015. That’s after 18 years. Combined, Indian and Slingshot accounted for 12 percent in 2015, after just a few years for each,” Peterson said.

Now, that doesn’t mention profitability, but you can draw your own conclusions there. Derek told me one more key piece of info. “Victory has been unprofitable three of the last five years, and most of the other prior years as well.”.....


No wonder they pulled the plug......Hope with the focus on Indian they can make it happen.
 
#46 ·
Victory Owners - Not To Worry

The Victory brand now has that secret ingedient to value - it's obsolete! A few years from now, because you can't buy any new production Victory Motorcycles, they will be morphed into the "collectible" class. Um, have you noticed what Buell's are selling for? (I'm right on this one, I know it!) WEEDIE
 
#49 ·
Opinion's are all over the place. What one person likes ten others will trash.

Victory was a good bike, I found both of the ones I owned comfortable and I put some miles on with no issues with my tailbone or wind on my chest. My arms weren't locked straight out and I was able to move my legs around just fine and feet forward wasn't much of an issue. It took me a few tries to get things adjusted the way I wanted on both bikes. Heck, I'm still trying to get my T120 adjusted to be comfortable for the way I ride.

Victory had too many bikes that looked to similar. They seemed focused on being a "cruiser" company and had that nailed down, just couldn't find the variety within their line-up.

I'm sad to see them go. It's less competition (LOL, maybe not much less based on the sales figures and money lost) and that's not a good thing in the world. Competition makes companies do some wonderful things and some dumb things too. In the end, we typically all benefit. Again, just my dumb ass opinion which is probably meaningless to many. :D

Stay safe out there!
 
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#51 ·
Opinion's are all over the place. What one person likes ten others will trash.
Yes. It is what keeps the internet running. :D

Victory was a good bike, I found both of the ones I owned comfortable and I put some miles on with no issues with my tailbone or wind on my chest. My arms weren't locked straight out and I was able to move my legs around just fine and feet forward wasn't much of an issue. It took me a few tries to get things adjusted the way I wanted on both bikes.
Why should I have to adjust a bike? Why can I not just ride it, "out of the box"?

Victory had too many bikes that looked to similar. They seemed focused on being a "cruiser" company and had that nailed down, just couldn't find the variety within their line-up.
Yes they had too many similar models, but they did have a touring bike, but it was (f)ugly.

I'm sad to see them go. It's less competition (LOL, maybe not much less based on the sales figures and money lost) and that's not a good thing in the world. Competition makes companies do some wonderful things and some dumb things too. In the end, we typically all benefit. Again, just my dumb ass opinion which is probably meaningless to many. :D

Stay safe out there!
A company that is losing money is not much competition. It is just a money drain on the parent company.
 
#52 ·
I have a few friends that ride Victory. We just rode to Key West this past weekend. One has a Cross Country Tour with over 75K miles...loves the bike. There is another one that just got a Vision a few days before the trip. They will ride them until the wheels fall, lol. They are very happy with them. I hate to see the brand go away, but a business is in it to make money. If they were not selling, got to redirect that to the line that is moving better (Indian).

Ride what you like...
 
#70 · (Edited)
It is good to have choices... wife tells me that she rather see me change bikes instead of her... but she still changes the color of her hair front time to time just to be on the safe side lol :grin2:







When we had his and hers...



Then she stopped riding and I took over...



The only time she got on the bike with me.... she prefers to ride here own ride and never rides as a passenger... This was just for the photo!





And my current rides... I have to admit, I was looking at the Victory equivalent of the Indian Scout... but once I got the Thruxton, I think I will be okay for many years...






Ohhh and @Luxlamf you killed me with that photo of the His and Hers Lamborghini!!! Sweeeeeet!!!
 
#73 ·
Luxlamf, You and I have meet different hd riders on our own paths and when I speak here they are my observations and generalizations. I do have 1 buddy that managed 85000 on his 03 ultra classic, pretty good I think and the group he rides with do 250 every saturday, but i'm talking about the new middle age riders and the "well harleys best because it's made in America people I meet and my frustration is attempting to explain the hazards of big, heavy, bikes in traffic and how quickly things can go wrong but once bitten by the harley mystique they're eyes glaze over. Maybe I just like to talk bikes, there's lots of good ones out there and I haven't been able to engage a hd rider in conversation about bikes because I haven't meet one that knows anything about bikes in the stores on weekends. just seem like lemmings to me.
 
#74 ·
I agree with you on this particular segment of Harley owners. This is exactly the bunch I have in mind, when the subject of Harley owners come up.

I do have question though, why are big heavy bikes hazardous in traffic? I have ridden top heavy BMWs in traffic and they were not a problem. Are you talking about as a bike for a beginner?
 
#77 ·
I agree with you on this particular segment of Harley owners. This is exactly the bunch I have in mind, when the subject of Harley owners come up.

I do have question though, why are big heavy bikes hazardous in traffic? I have ridden top heavy BMWs in traffic and they were not a problem. Are you talking about as a bike for a beginner?
^^^^^^
I personally think we should all start out in the dirt and tbh only really consider those of us that DID start in the dirt in our teens better riders with a better chance of having the motor functions and calm to survive an incident. for me remaining calm as things spiral out of control provides the best chance of survival, smaller, lighter bikes may provide that 1/2 second necessary for new riders that haven't developed the skills we take for granted. I also, right or wrong, think riders that started in the dirt are less likely to be riding harleys because we have a better idea whats out there.
 
#78 ·
I agree the dirt hones skills for handling a bike, but it falls short of "what is out there". For that you need an MSF course to teach you about looking and predicting trouble on the streets. In the dirt, no one is going to turn left across your path.

I realize Harleys are heavier, but they carry their weight low, and are easy to manage. Now full touring harleys could be too much for a beginner.
 
#79 ·
although still at the top HD sales have been dropping, every Vic meant one less HD + since the reincarnation of ****** their sales have dropped a lot more. a good discussion like oil but we all buy what we want if we have the $$$. never tested an ***** yet, but those that THINK!!!! a Vic ran out of air at 80 mph never rode one!! their modern for a V-twin Ducks excluded is a compromise with good torque as well as higher rpm power where they leave HD's in the dust. early Vic's were more costly like the hammer of open1mind lots of polish + chrome dual discs which were discontinued + brembo braking!! the 250 rear looks good but going to a very sporty night dragon in a 240 flavor really handles even better, very early OE dunlop 250's were quite squarish but were improved @ polaris's request! life goes on win or loose, another rainy + cold Pa day but better than typical snow this time of year, it runs down the drain without shoveling, think positive + have a good day!!!
 
#81 ·
going up a local mountain from my girlfriends i wind the Vic a bit to about 80 or so in 3rd but back off then as i am at the top, i have seen the Ton easily while making a spirited pass on a 2 lane road!! when i went to look at the Vic i bought @ a HD dealer with 8xx miles on it the former owner was there getting a blinged out bagger HD prolly near twice the Viv's $15G original price. he was a clean cut business looking guy, the Hammer was prolly too fast for him + he traded for a bloated blinged out HD!! lucky for me as i got a great deal trading my HD on it!!!
 
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