The Personal Blog Of
Boston Motorcycle Lawyer

America’s Other Great Motorcycle Company: Victory
November 29, 2009

Harley mania is here to stay. American motorcycle manufacturers are best suited not trying to directly compete against the Harley brand. Harley Davidson has spent decades building its brand and reputation around the world. Harley IS American motorcycling and is as American as apple pie and baseball.

Although Harley is the leading American motorcycle producer, there are dozens of smaller companies making great motorcycles. Most are unknown to causal motorcycle enthusiasts but they are all an important part of American motorcycling. Companies like Johnny Pag Motorcycles, Big Dog, and Ridley all produce great and diverse bikes.

One of those companies is Victory Motorcycles. A subsidiary of Polaris, a company made famous by its innovations with snowmobiles in the 1950s. Victory was started in the 1990s and dubbed the ‘New American Motorcycle.’

Victory motorcycles are distinctive in two very important ways. They are considered metric bikes, a designation that almost universally means Japanese. Victory and a few other non American companies use the metric system as their engineering base while Harley uses SAE standards. Secondly, Victory motorcycle are much more stylish that Harleys.

For 2010, Victory has 4 main products lines with several versions within each category.

• Muscle Cruisers: For muscle cruiser lovers, the Victory Hammer S is one impressive bike. These bikes provide style, power, and a 250 rear tire making it a solid competitor against the Harley Vrod, the Suzuki M109r, and the Yamaha Vmax.

• 8 Ball Cruisers: The 8 Ball is Victory’s classic cruiser, perfect for bikers who want a comfortable ride around town or the open road. The Victory Vision 8 Ball is their flagship motorcycle in this category.

• Custom Cruisers: These motorcycles are built for style and comfort. The Victory Jackpot is a great option over a Harley Fat Boy or Dyna Glide.

• Touring: When it comes to touring, nothing is better than the Victory Cross Country. These bikes offer great performance, huge luggage capacity, and a sweeping style. Harley’s Ultra Glide, Street Glide, and Road King are great bikes but cannot measure up to the style and performance of Victory.

Make no mistake, Harley is still the king of American motorcycles but Victory has certainly made its mark through a combination of style and performance. Victory is also very price competitive with Harley and other high end motorcycle models.

Taking a trip to your local Victory dealer to schedule a test ride of a 2010 model may make you think twice about the Harley you’ve always wanted.