Due to declining sales and loss of profit over three of the past five years (2011-2015), Polaris Industries will “wind down” its Victory Motorcycles brand. Basically, Victory Motorcycles is going out of business. Polaris’s goal is to liquid all existing dealership inventory, but continue to supply parts, service and warranty coverage for a 10-year period. Polaris will now shift all focus on its “more recognized” motorcycle brand, Indian Motorcycle. Victory Motorcycles, which began production in 1998 out of Spirit Lake, Iowa, peaked in sales in 2012. From there, though, it was downhill. In 2015, Victory Motorcycles only represented 3% of Polaris sales; that year, Victory dealerships sold on average 20 motorcycles a year. “This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, my team and the Polaris Board of Directors,” said Polaris Industries Chairman and CEO Scott Wine. “Over the past 18 years, we have invested not only resources, but our hearts and souls, into forging the Victory Motorcycles brand, and we are exceptionally proud of what our team has accomplished.

“Since inception, our teams have designed and produced nearly 60 Victory models that have been honored with 25 of the industry’s top awards. The experience, knowledge, infrastructure and capability we’ve built in those 18 years gave us the confidence to acquire and develop the Indian Motorcycle brand, so I would like to express my gratitude to everyone associated with Victory Motorcycles and celebrate your many contributions.” Polaris says Victory Motorcycles has struggled to claim its part of the market share and remain profitable: “The competitive pressures of a challenging motorcycle market have increased the headwinds for the brand. Given the significant additional investments required for Victory to launch new global platforms that meet changing consumer preferences, and considering the strong performance and growth potential of Indian Motorcycle, the decision to more narrowly focus Polaris’ energy and investments became quite clear.” From a business standpoint, it’s the only thing that makes sense: “This decision will improve the profitability of Polaris and our global motorcycle business, and will materially improve our competitive stance in the industry,” said Wine.

“Our focus is on profitable growth, and in an environment of finite resources, this move allows us to optimize and align our resources behind both our premium, high performing Indian Motorcycle brand and our innovative Slingshot brand, enhancing our focus on accelerating the success of those brands. givi top box australiaUltimately this decision will propel the industry-leading product innovation that is core to our strategy while fostering long-term growth and increased shareholder value.”motorcycle shop braintree ma With this move complete, Polaris will now concentrate on Indian Motorcycle and its three-wheel Slingshot brand. rear motorcycle tire wobble

This concentration includes increased cashflow for R&D, sales, more effective marketing, and increased floor space at Polaris dealerships due to the absence of Victory Motorcycles.suzuki motorcycle dealer nashville The Spirit Lake facility, along with the other in Spearfish, S.D., will focus only on Indian Motorcycle production; motorcycle sales okinawaSlingshot production will remain in Huntsville, Ala.motorcycle shops gosford Polaris says Indian distribution is anticipated to increase 1.5 times over the next three-five years; there are currently 350 Indian dealers globally, and 150 of those currently share space with Victory Motorcycles. Polaris says Victory owners with concerns or questions may call 1-866-521-1683.

We're a Powersports Dealer in Boise, Idaho and we sell snowmobiles, ATVs, UTVs & motorcycles. Serving Meridian, Caldwell, Twin Falls, Nampa, ID & Surrounding Areas. Carl's Cycle Sales is a leading powersports dealer in Boise, Idaho. We offer snowmobiles, ATVs, motorcycles, utility vehicles, watercraft and scooters from Kawasaki, Polaris, Honda, Suzuki, KTM, Victory and Slingshot. We also offer power equipment, snowblowers and lawn mowers from Honda Power Equipment for sale. Check out our showroom for our latest models, or browse our used inventory for the best deals on equipment, such as used ATVs & used motorcycles. Our service department wants to get you back on the trail or the road quickly, that's why we're even open on Saturday for minor repairs & tire changes. You can even request an appointment with our repair & maintenance technicians online! When it comes to performance for your new or used ATVs, off-road bikes, side-by-sides or sport bikes, Carl's performance department is experienced & knowledgeable for modifications, service & products.

We stock genuine OEM parts for Honda, Suzuki, Polaris, Victory and KTM in our parts department. We also have an online accessory & part superstore. If you need to find the parts for your RZR, 4-wheeler, dirt bike, or other vehicle, visit our parts fiche where you can find what you need. Contact the team at Carl's Cycle Sales at (208) 853-5550, email, or visit us just outside of downtown Boise, Idaho, for all of your powersports needs! We're experts in the business because we ride, too!It’s a generally accepted principle that brands succeed based on two broad assumptions: they have the ability to evolve as the nature of their business and their consumer evolves (think Apple) or they produce a product that is so beloved and even culturally ingrained that to change it would be foolish (anyone remember New Coke?). Very few brands fall into that rarified second category; most have to change or they’ll end up withering on the vine. Nowhere is that more true than in the motorcycle industry.

And no motorcycle brand exemplifies this more than Victory. These days, it seems that Victory Motorcycles is at a (pardon the pun) crossroads, at the intersection of Evolution and Stagnation. READ MORE: 2015 Victory Magnum Review I have a fondness for Victory bikes – without them, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. Full disclosure: my motorcycle writing (and riding) career, such as it is, started with a job writing content for the Victory website. I wrote a bunch of feature articles about Victory bikes for the Victory website, and gained a real appreciation for both the precision engineering that went into them and the loyalty felt by Victory riders toward the brand – loyalty that was earned, in my opinion, as the bikes were and remain superior to the ones produced by Harley-Davidson, the company that Victory had placed in their crosshairs. It’s no trade secret that Victory’s aim was to capture at least some of H-D’s dominant market share; much of their marketing work was and still is not-too-subtly aimed at Harley riders.

It’s an effort that’s been marginally successful – of course, saying that you are the second biggest producer of American motorcycles isn’t really saying a whole lot, all things considered. And while I do admit to having some pro-Victory bias – it’s hard not to, considering that they gave me my first motorcycle writing job – at this point, I’d never consider buying one of their bikes. So in that light, I’d like to propose a somewhat radical alternative to the folks at Victory. Stop trying to compete with Harley. Let’s look at what happened with both brands last year. Harley put two brand-new production models, the Street 500 and the Street 750, on the market. That in and of itself was a fairly radical move – the last time H-D rolled out an all-new bike was over 13 years ago. Add to that the fact that the Street is squarely and unapologetically aimed at a demographic outside of Harley’s traditional target buyer – new, young and/or urban riders. Harley also introduced the LiveWire project – not only is it an electric bike, it’s arguably a sportbike, and clearly a radical departure from the traditional Harley stylings.

And given Harley’s recently announced plans to have the LiveWire project tour Europe and Asia, it’s a fair bet that Harley will be putting the LiveWire into production in some form. READ MORE: Victory Motorcycles is Going Drag Racing Victory, meanwhile, introduced the Gunner and the Magnum – basically, two “custom” (and again I’ll ask: Can anything that rolls off of a mass production line be considered a “custom” bike?) versions of existing bikes, the Judge and the Cross Country. And Victory actually eliminated the Judge – along with the Boardwalk and Jackpot - from its 2015 cruiser lineup. Gone too are the Cross Roads baggers. All told, Victory dropped five models from its lineup, a net loss of three lines (not including the 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour model, which was a limited edition bike). Victory is touting the release of a new Magnum variant, the X-1, which will be unveiled at Daytona this March. But that’s in line with the standard cruiser business philosophy – same bike, different bells and whistles.

It’s probably not much of a stretch to see what Polaris, Victory’s parent company, is thinking – Indian is a hot brand right now, and Polaris is putting more of its eggs into that venerable basket. But where does that leave Victory? I have a few suggestions. Look to the Vision: Victory launched their Vision touring bike in 2007, and it remains one of the most visually striking bikes on the road today. Not only does it not look like most other bikes out there, it doesn’t look like anything else in Victory’s own lineup. And that look is something that Victory should build on. Victory found a sweet spot with the futuristic Art Deco look of the Vision; applying a similar aesthetic to new models would further separate them from Indian and Harley, and make the bikes more appealing to riders who are looking for something different. Go Smaller: There’s certainly a growing demand for small-bore bikes as the new rider market grows. That doesn’t mean that Victory needs to build a 250, but it could certainly do well by putting Polaris resources into building an engine comparable to Harley’s Revolution X.

An engine in the 500 to 750 range would appeal to a wide variety of riders – and it would presumably give Victory a bike that would offer a cheaper option to potential buyers. Right now the lowest price Victory models come in at $12,999. Build an Adventure Bike: You’re owned by Polaris. They know a bit about build machines that go off road. EBR has hinted at producing an ADV bike, but is there a brand better positioned than Victory to be the first major American ADV manufacturer? Go Electric: Polaris recently bought Brammo, so the odds of this happening are pretty good. But throwing Brammo and Polaris resources at a Victory-branded electric bike just to say that Victory built one isn’t going to cut it. If Victory truly wants to break the mold, they’ll need to build an electric bike that actually has mass appeal – and that means decent range (right now the LiveWire can only go about 50 miles on a charge) and performance at a price that’s at least in line with their other models.