Please say it isn't true! Victory Motorcycles to cease operations.

Yea, so long Victory Motorcycles. I know some riders swear by them. I guess getting market share from HD was just too big a hurdle. Wait,......... maybe DT can persuade them to not shut down?

https://www.thestreet.com/story/139...its-position-in-the-powersports-industry.html

That's crazy.....I know a lot of folks who own both Harley and Victory...
and to think I almost bought one...whew....

Don't they own Indian...?
So does that mean focus on Indian or both are history....

WOW, there are going to be some upset dealers. Many of them have invested big bucks in facilities improvements and upgrades at the mfg requirement. I see some really unhappy dealers if this is so.

It's another example of the bean-counter culture that guides today's corporations.
The growth of Indian likely had influence on the decision. Indian has made strong commitments in racing as a way to promote the brand and has a good product.
I think Polaris just couldn't figure out where to slot the Victory line in the market. They have a slot going toe to toe with HD (Indian) and maybe determined the big cruiser market isn't large enough for Victory. I wish they had taken Victory in another direction-say touring and even getting into the ADV market. There is a great engine in the Scout and Octane that could have been grown and used. That would have required development dollars and maybe not enough return or to long a time period to get a return.
Sad really, Victory had some very good models and was developing a strong following.

Competing against HD is a big nut to crack. Your not competing against any leading form of quality, reliability, economy, performance or technical advancing? So WTF are you buying them? They're being sold as an image by people who all get dressed up in the same flaming Halloween suits... in their quest to be different they all look the same.

HD itself has made improvement but it still holds the shake and break championship. You purchase one over priced and under powered so you have to spend another $2K to get the parts that you should have gotten to begin with. They change the mirrors from one year to another and the HD MC population go wild.

All the Japanese makers have tried competing with their HD cruiser V twins ALL OF THEM tried with just some minor success. How can you compete with another MC when it's not really the MC your competing with? Many tried and they all failed... ask Willie G. he'll tell you why. Polaris made some great bikes... but they weren't' Harley's.

Polaris stops making Victorys.

As a former Victory owner, I am so sad about this.

Victory wasn't perfect. Polaris had supply-line issues going back years, and their dealer network was thin -- indeed, VERY thin in some parts of the U.S. But the motorcycles themselves were/are a delight to ride.

I think Polaris shot itself in the foot buying Indian. Indian probably just cannibalized Victory's customer base too much.

But what a drag to kill the whole marque!! I feel awful for the dealership nearest me, who sells EXCLUSIVELY Victory.

Woodswoman said:

As a former Victory owner, I am so sad about this.

Victory wasn't perfect. Polaris had supply-line issues going back years, and their dealer network was thin -- indeed, VERY thin in some parts of the U.S. But the motorcycles themselves were/are a delight to ride.

I think Polaris shot itself in the foot buying Indian. Indian probably just cannibalized Victory's customer base too much.

But what a drag to kill the whole marque!! I feel awful for the dealership nearest me, who sells EXCLUSIVELY Victory.

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Can't disagree with your analysis of the Victories demise. Very thin dealers certainly helped. I think the Indian brand may help Polaris along... but by how much is the question. As far as the Indian there's a demographic age span that might limit the number of people who remember and want an Indian. We'll see.

Look at the price difference between a Victory bike and a comparably-equipped Indian. With the exception of the Scout, those Indians are *expensive*.

If I had to spend twenty-grand-plus on a new v-twin cruiser, I'd have to look hard at Harley, because Harley's got the dealer network, and the awesome aftermarket support. Indian can't come close in those respects.

Ah, this whole situation bums me.

And makes me even gladder I moved to a Honda.

Motorcycles are too expensive for what they are. A Harley costs as much as a car and the cost to construct them (materials) are a fraction of what it cost to manufacture a car. My neighbor bought a used Harley Trike for $27k, about the cost of a new Honda car. Speaking relatively (in terms of weight), the CTX should sell for about $4.5k new.

Anyway, it's sad to see a decent product go to the wayside.

I think they made a mistake here. Buying Indian they could have folded it into the victory line as their big bike. Then offer the smaller Indians as comparables to the victory ones, and moved victory to different styles like advs or middleweight cruisers, perhaps with a futuristic design.

Admittedly, I don't know squat about marketing or finance, but I was thinking since meeting Euro 4 compliance is going to cost manufacturers more money, and motorcycle sales have been flat, Polaris is planning on the future and just streamlining. I love the Victory bikes, but I think Indian has spurred more excitement with potential buyers, so that's where Polaris is parking their wagon!

I think that's about right thumper. You can't have too many models. It just confuses the buyer, and it makes each one's production run shorter. That's eventually why gm dropped oldsmobile and Pontiac. They were too much alike. Same with ford and mercury. All that was different was a another grolle, badges and taillights. Although I did see one that got totally messed up one time. It was badged as a mercury topaz, but was in fact a tempo based on the grille and taillights. never forgot that car, and how did it make it to the dealership that way, much less out the door!

casper said:

It was badged as a mercury topaz, but was in fact a tempo based on the grille and taillights. never forgot that car, and how did it make it to the dealership that way, much less out the door!

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Oh, jeez, I had a Topaz. I loathed it! But I needed a car, and it was what I could afford....

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Here's one industry insider's take on the Victory/Polaris situation. I thought it was worth a read.

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

Woodswoman said:

Oh, jeez, I had a Topaz. I loathed it! But I needed a car, and it was what I could afford....

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I had an 86 tempo sport and loved that car! Had a 5 speed manual and the bigger torqued 4 cylinder motor. Car handled great and was really quick for what it was.