Victory Motorcycles likes to go against the grain. It’s never dull when model-launch season rolls around. This past August, the motorcycling press was flown to Park City, Utah, for more or less a “rolling” release of Victory’s 2012 motorcycles en route to Sturgis, South Dakota, for the 71st Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. What better way to get up close and personal with something than to spend four consecutive days traversing the twisties of Utah and Colorado, and then ending up carving through the Black Hills of South Dakota?
For 2012, there are some exciting highlights worth mentioning for Polaris’s American motorcycle manufacturer. For instance, the entire Victory fleet (cruiser and touring models) comes with a 106ci Freedom V-twin and six-speed transmission with overdrive. Cruisers outfitted with the 106/6 combination deliver a claimed 113 lb-ft of torque. The touring line’s power output is pretty substantial as well, with a claimed 92hp and 109 lb-ft of torque. The yin to acceleration’s yang—brakes—include anti-lock brakes (ABS) on all of its touring models, as well as premium 300mm floating discs aboard the cruiser models.
There are 15 Victory models available for 2012 (eight cruisers and seven touring models). The 2011 models that didn’t make the cut this year are: Kingpin 8-Ball, Hammer, and the Vision 8-Ball. They’ve been replaced with the Vegas High-Ball (released as a mid-year model in January 2011), Cross Roads Classic LE (a limited-edition Cross Roads featuring a custom flair), and the Cross Country Luxury Tour (the mack-daddy of Victory’s touring line).
The Cross Country Tour, an even bigger Cross Country with more creature comforts than you can shake a stick at, features an abundance of cargo space for packing enough gear to tour around the world. The 2012 Cross Roads Classic LE is a limited-edition Cross Roads with custom paint, spoke front and rear wheels, and custom touches specific only to that model. In the cruiser department is the company’s Vegas High-Ball, a slimmed-down bobber carrying an attractive price tag for those entering the cruiser market. Outfitted with the 106ci engine, adjustable handlebars, and spoked wheels wrapped with whitewall tires, the High-Ball is definitely tailored for an edgier demographic.
Victory plans on releasing other new models throughout the course of the year every six months. “Our strategy, from a production side, is to sort of spread the interest across the calendar year and make it so we can really deliver what customers are looking for. Victory’s in a growth phrase right now, and we play to three segments—the value cruiser segment, standard cruiser series, and the touring stuff—so if we were to come out with three or four of the same bikes at the same time, then one or another is going to end up getting more attention and people aren’t going to notice the other bikes,” says Robert Pandya, external relations manager for Victory Motorcycles. It will be interesting to see what’s to come from Victory throughout the next couple of years, but here’s a look at the newest models offered for 2012.