Checking new Victory/Indian motorcycles, having fun

Brando · Brando's Garage

I have to say, I'm impressed with the changes in the last 6-7 years. I have just now become "serious" about buying a new bike. I have a friend in the Victory Motorcycle Club and he has been making some recommendations. So far I have ridden:

• 2016 Victory Hammer S
• 2016 Victory Gunner
• 2016 Indian Scout
• 2017 Victory Octane

First, the Hammer feels so huge, even though it's really a mid-size bike. Even though it rode comfortably ad street speeds, highway bumps, dips, potholes are a little aggressive with the larger front wheel. Also out of my price range - but a badass bike. The huge rear tire, wow. I was very cautious to lean to the pegs in a turn. Brakes like a turbo, too.

Second up, the Gunner felt a little more my size, since I've been riding a mid-size cruiser for the last 6 years. The handling was a bit more nimble with a front and rear tire, it was comfortable in the turns and rode very well. Very balanced, lots of power on tap. Aside from having lots of torque off the line (like all Victory bikes), it was not impressive.

Although listed third here, the Scout was the first I test rode. It was very low to the ground and incredibly nimble in turns. I test-rode one with a couple hundred miles on it so I wasn't worried about leaning all the way over in tight turns. A blip of the throttle and it came right up, held in turns and was very stable. Without fairing though - terrible wind buffeting above 50 mph. It was much more comfortable as a smaller bike, felt more maneuverable. The suspension was a bit firm for my liking, and the controls were too far forward - I had difficulty shifting the first few times.

Last but not least: The Octane. Out of the lineup, I enjoyed it the most. I was quite surprised because out of that group the Scout was the most comfortable from a riding position (I'm short). It has 1 less gallon in the tank, but overall weighs almost 100 lbs less than my Vulcan 900 with almost twice the HP, and 50% more torque. Since the wife doesn't ride with me really anymore, that alleviates the need for a bigger bike with passenger accommodations. Although, she's open to buying the parts and keeping them in the garage 'should they be needed'. I was originally concerned that I would need the "shortened reach" kit since it comes in very close to the Indian Scout. This is what I decided to get next.

Now that I've made my decision on what bike I want next, I have to sell the old one: 2010 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 (if anyone is interested). I agreed to a "2 toy" limit, so Cayman and a motorcycle.

Has anyone else ridden the above models - if so, what were your thoughts?

Chocaholic · 07-03-2016, 04:10 AM

I have not...not really a cruiser guy. To my eye, the Indians and Victory's appear a bit over-styled for my taste. All depends on how you ride. That's why multiple bikes are important....different tools for different jobs. Good on you for testing everything. Good luck with your search.

LakeCleElum · 07-03-2016, 08:47 AM

I have not ridden any of the above models. Several of my friends have the both the Vision and Cross-Country models. They are very happy. Victory has come a long way and it's impressive what they are doing with their Pike's Peak race bike.

Motorcycles are an individual choice. What works for you might not pull my chain, so do what feels good.

One point I must bring up about Polaris Industries: I rode their snowmobiles many years. Parts were cheap and you couldn't break them. Then, about 10 years ago, they started sourcing vendors from outside the country with the cheapest components. R&D seemed non- existent. Over the years, failures include crankshafts, pistons, driveshafts, ECU's and more. Cheap plastic bumpers explode if you frown at them. I've towed out more Polaris then all brands combined. One local respected snowmobile dealer will take a new engine apart and basically "blueprint" it before he sells it to you. Often includes replacing the pistons on a new engine.

Then, there is the pricing of parts and accessories. $600 for a tiny passenger back rest for one of the Indian models? 2 years ago Polaris bragged to their shareholders that they had raised the prices of parts and accessories 400% in the past few years. What might be good news for the shareholder is not always best for the consumer.

Hope this helps, do your research.

LakeCleElum · 01-09-2017, 02:21 PM

End of Victory Production announced:

Polaris Industries Inc. - Polaris Industries to Wind Down Victory Motorcycles Operations Strengthening its Position in the Powersports Industry

Jeff Higgins · 01-09-2017, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

End of Victory Production announced:

Polaris Industries Inc. - Polaris Industries to Wind Down Victory Motorcycles Operations Strengthening its Position in the Powersports Industry

Anyone who didn't see that coming the minute they started making fake "Indians" just wasn't paying attention.

They originally claimed that Victory would evolve into their "performance" line. Don Canet's run up Pikes Peak a couple of years ago seemed to underscore their commitment. Then, just recently, they introduced their "Scout based" flat tracker (which shares nothing with the Scout) with which to go after H-D. It was inevitable. No one cares about an H-D vs. Victory war in the dirt, but an "Indian" vs. H-D battle might just revive flat track. Even though most folks still "young" enough to ride were born after the real Indian went out of business...

LakeCleElum · 01-09-2017, 03:37 PM

You are correct Jeff. I don't know of very many shedding tears; although I do have several friends that currently own a Victory. As I posted above, I quit being a Polaris fan almost 10 years ago.

varmint · 01-09-2017, 03:44 PM

Back around 2000 I'm sitting at newcomb's ranch with a buddy. My victory V92C is parked out front next to his gilroy Indian. People walk by checking the bikes out. My bike might as well have been invisible. About then I figured the world needed a Polaris engine with valenced fenders.

LakeCleElum · 01-09-2017, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varmint

Back around 2000 I'm sitting at newcomb's ranch with a buddy. My victory V92C is parked out front next to his gilroy Indian. People walk by checking the bikes out. My bike might as well have been invisible. About then I figured the world needed a Polaris engine with valenced fenders.

I had to sell a Gilroy Indian for a friend after he passed....Was just an assembly of after-market parts around and S&S Engine........I rode it a few weeks. Nothing special at all. I'm old, but still to young for the Indian name to make an impression on me.

Brando · Brando's Garage

Guys all over the VOG are salty as hell. While I'm not happy about Victory shutting down at the end of the year, it hurts me more in the wallet. I had hoped to trade my Octane in for a newer model in 5-6 years if they had another such fun cruiser. But, I guess I'll be upgrading to a V-MAX instead. Or, buy another Octane and keep it as a "parts bike". Kind of like when you buy a 914 or 944

If anything, this opens up an opportunity for all of the aftermarket and custom shops to continue support for the brand. Especially if Victory will liquidate their tooling and manufacturing hardware. Many of the Victory line share similar Polaris parts. This move was to satisfy the share-holders, and literally right after the announcement they took a $5/share hit. Smart? They may have looked at it as two brands fighting for the same market-share, when really with some proper marketing they could have hit two separate groups of riders and come out on top. Instead the Victory brand suffered from a lack of support from Polaris (dealers, parts/service, new product launch, incentives, MARKETING) and it just couldn't gain share of voice in the marketplace.

Seabear · 01-13-2017, 04:19 PM

A couple of fake "Indians" and a soon-to-be-discontinued Victory at Chambers Bay last fall. That's my bike on the left, she's beautiful and takes me to wonderful places.
And, what's funny is that, like the OP, I have a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 for sale too.

[img]

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads26/untitled_12_1484353027.png[/img]

Seabear · 01-13-2017, 04:20 PM

Seabear · 01-13-2017, 04:28 PM

Let's get the picture thingy right...

Jeff Higgins · 01-13-2017, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

I had to sell a Gilroy Indian for a friend after he passed....Was just an assembly of after-market parts around and S&S Engine........I rode it a few weeks. Nothing special at all. I'm old, but still to young for the Indian name to make an impression on me.

Even worse, it wasn't really an S&S engine in those things. That particular iteration of "Indian" insisted on buying component parts from S&S and assembling the motors themselves to "save money". They filled S&S cases, barrels, and heads with cheap Chinese garbage. S&S quickly ended that relationship due to the poor reliability exhibited by these "Indian" "S&S" motors.

One of the doctors my wife works for made the mistake of buying one. It launched most of the bottom end out through the cases just a few months into ownership. "Indian" repaired it under warranty, then it did it again almost immediately. It's still sitting in his garage to this very day.

911_Dude · 01-14-2017, 05:39 AM

Motorcycle sales have been down 6-7% across the board for a few years now. The passing of Victory is just a normal culling off of the weakest first. Next.

Brando · Brando's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911_Dude

Motorcycle sales have been down 6-7% across the board for a few years now. The passing of Victory is just a normal culling off of the weakest first. Next.

I agree partly - Victory failed due to a lack of support from Polaris on many fronts. Polaris has been suffering due to recalls on their Razors (RZR?), and diminished "Innovative" Slingshot sales (it's a POS in my opinion). Those closer to the company are saying it's a problem that stems from the top (CEO/leadership). They are only looking at one thing: Bottom-line money. F*** the community, F**** the enthusiasts, F*** the VOG/VMC; We've got profits to focus on.

I would, however, like to see some models and technology brought into the Indian line. Maybe the Octane becomes the Scout S, the larger cruisers become homologous in their "sportier" lines. There's too much technology and innovate to just let rot in a plant/vault somewhere.

Finally, after seeing all the videos and threads over the web - I think my next "New" bike purchase will be a V-Max. Yamah doesn't seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon.