Victory Motorcycles shutting down production

Yeah, I read that they are going ALL OUT Indian and putting everything into THAT market. IDK, probably a good idea in the market now... Indian is taking a strong foothold... No sense in competing against itself?
 
Probably just a business decision. They must not be selling enough bikes to pay the bills and pay a fat profit to the CEO and his corporate buddies. I think the market for the big engine size cruisers is thinning out. I wouldn't be surprised if the Indian brand also gets phased out in a few years, although they do have some smaller engine models. The future is in bikes under 1000 cc and in electric motorcycles.
 
Wait a bit longer, with the braking of trade deals, tariffs going on imported goods/bikes and tax brakes on US made.................they should be profitable
 
Victory was a made in the USA motorcycle.
A better product couldn't make market share so they have decided "branding" will.
 
To me, Victory's styling was always just a little bit "off". It's hard to be original in the motorcycle world. The Indian designers could always fall back on a mostly favorable legacy.
 
Indians seem to be enjoying strong brand loyalty (again). A friend of mine has one and he loves it.
And should for the $20K+ he has in it.
We'll see if it lasts.
 
Opinions are like assholes so here's mine. Victory motorcycles are cookie cutter. Plastic. The " ticky tacky and they all look just the same." Look like the last shit I took. I like the vintage, classy style, design of Indian. I like older homes too. Architecture. Again, just my opinion and it smells like shit too.
 
I was at the Saskatoon Polaris/Indian dealership scrounging up prizes for a CVMG Rally (And they were very generous, too)
So yes of course I checked out their new bike lineup. Very well built quite costly American made big ol' V-twins in several versions of trim and finish.
Some were Polaris and some were Indians.
Pure Badge Engineering.
Betcha if you wanted a Flying Merkel or even a Crocker they'd change the sheetmetal and the badges, swap some parts around and build you up one of those too, no problem.
 
The Victory plant is just down the street from the plant I work at. I think that in the end, after investing in all the "from scratch" engineering and tooling. trying to break into the Harley market was just too big a task. Victory was only a small part of Polaris. They are very good at selling all kinds of toys, but never fully understood that riding a cartoon-looking motorcycle was a very small market. The Indian can still play on the nostalgia playing field. Indians will still be made in the very same building as Victorys were in Spirit Lake Iowa. Hope they can keep it profitable. They employ quite a few people around here.
 
I never really looked twice at a Victory. Seemed to me that they were just trying to pry some customers away from Harley. The Indian on the other hand has some features and styling that I really like. I think in the long run the decision will be a good one.

roy
 
I never really took to Victorys styling choices, however their engines were very nice, I actually liked them better than Harley's. Now the Indian Scout I fell in love with, much lighter than the rest of the Indian line up with a wonderful motor and sound. I very nearly pulled the trigger on one, but they had some early model fueling issues.
 
Recently Victory has been selling only about 10k bikes per year. In 2014, Indian’s first full year, they sold 15k bikes.

I think that Polaris realized that they had good bikes that just didn’t sell well. They needed to rebrand their bikes and make them better looking. So they bought the Indian name.

Personally, I think the Victory Vision is fugly & the Indian Scout looks sweet. Polaris has learned their lesson.
 
People who buy Harleys don't want a machine made of plastic. Most people who buy plastic motorcycles don't buy expensive cruisers. Moto Guzzi makes a great cruiser that performs. The fenders and tank are made of plastic. Who's going to buy it?
1Eldorado.jpg

Victory-Vision-Tour-BUB-590x342.jpg
 
At least Polaris is taking the high road when shutting down Victory production. They announced that they will still supply replacement parts for 10 years. When Harley shut down Buell production the production of replacement parts stopped also. As a Buell owner this has put a bad taste in my mouth where Harley is concerned. Even if the day ever comes where I would buy a big twin cruiser or bagger ( highly unlikely) it would not be a Harley!!
 
In 2010 we "upgraded" our road bike. The choice for me was between the Ultra Classic and Victory's Tour Cruiser.
The Tour Cruiser was a better ride, a bit peppier but Victory was discontinuing that model in favor of the "starship" Tour Master.
001.jpg
 
johnnyc14 said:
At least Polaris is taking the high road when shutting down Victory production. They announced that they will still supply replacement parts for 10 years. When Harley shut down Buell production the production of replacement parts stopped also. As a Buell owner this has put a bad taste in my mouth where Harley is concerned. Even if the day ever comes where I would buy a big twin cruiser or bagger ( highly unlikely) it would not be a Harley!!
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I learned to ride on a harley and cant stand them. Hate they styling, the weight, the fact that they are ubiquitous, unoriginal, and common. Never have and never will like Harley. Its like a bad cliche
 
You can add EBR to the shut down list. Three strikes and you are out! Liquid Asset Partners is puling the plug on them. I sold my Buell 1125r at the right time HD said 7 years on parts and they are sticking to there word parts are starting to become unavailable. But they have a hell of a collection of tee shirts.
 
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I had been sniffing around and studying the Octane. Like a good greazeburger laced with habanero, a strange mix of WOW and YIKES. The Octane forums are alarmed. Some think it'll die the way of Edsel. Others are thinkin' rare collectable, like the '63 split window Vette...
 
I never was into the futuristic designs Victory put out but the engine and drive train was awesome. Indian on the other hand has hit a home run with their styling and offer more features than HD. I love my HD but I hate the fact that they are marketing a "lifestyle". They are making lots of money with their "motor-clothes" and started going after the younger crowd with their street lineup 500 and 750. Problem is, it's like new owners signing off on a Sportster. They quickly learn what they have is underpowered and too small. Indians offer more options with better pricing.
 

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