Victory Motorcycle Took Their Best Shot at Harley-Davidson

Victory Motorcycle was Harley-Davidson's first real competition, Victory had a excellent engine with the Freedom 106 and some bold new styling. Victory Motorcycle took a different approach against Harley-Davidson's twin cam engines with over head cams, gear driven primary and direct injection. The motors were solid, unitized and the styling was fresh but they just couldn't sway the masses away from Harley-Davidson. Victory Motorcycle took a solid swing at Harley-Davidson but there was one thing they just couldn't duplicate.

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Motorcycle: 2016 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL1200CP (Sportster 1200 Custom)

Custom Parts Installed:
Screamin' Eagle Heavy Breather air cleaner
Harley-Davidson Reach Seat
Harley-Davidson Chrome and Rubber Collection grips
Drag Specialties Offset Clevis Footpeg Conversion Kit
Aftermarket Detachable Back Rest
Harley-Davidson Air Flow timing cover
Harley-Davidson Air Flow clutch cover
Screamin' Eagle spark plug wires
Screamin' Eagle spark plugs
Flipped Down Stock Mirrors

Motorcycle: 2017 Harley-Davidson Sportster XL1200X (Sportster Forty-Eight)

Custom Parts installed:
Harley-Davidson Factory Security System
Screamin' Eagle Exteme Billed Air Cleaner (Black)
Harley-Davidson Burst Collection Foot Pegs
Harley-Davidson Burst Collection Grips
Harley-Davidson Burst Collection Shifter Peg
Screamin' Eagle spark plug wires

[GixxerFoo]

What do you think of the Victory engine and why it couldn't topple Harley-Davidson?

[reneeelliott]

I have a black victory vision and a black road glide cog. No one looks at the Harley but everyone looks at the vision. It truly is a work of art, timeless beautiful and sounds great with upgraded pipes. Victory is my mind failed in advertising and paint. They needed pearl, metal flake and satin added. Everyone has a Harley, but few have a Victory and now that victory is gone, they are very rare.

[richardsmith]

I don't know, bro. I love your channel and most of the stuff you put out is spot on. But I have a few things I'd like to add to this. That Freedom 106 was way ahead of Harley for quite some time and deserves a lot of credit for lighting a fire under them. Now don't get me wrong, I like Harely too. I have a 2014 Ultra Limited. But my 09 Victory is still running solid and stronger, with ZERO issues. My 103 HO has been...let's say....less than solid. When it comes to fit and finish, Harley wins. But that 106 was and still is a beast.

[music]

Wait…are you honestly saying that Victory failed because it didn’t sound like a Harley??? C’mon man, you can’t be serious. I’m a bike mechanic and I work on a lot of Harleys, but I own a Victory. The sound is different, but to say that it’s the reason that failed, is a stretch at best. One of the things that attracted me to Victory in the first place was the fact that they never tried to “be” or mimic Harleys. They looked, sounded, and felt different, and that was their strength, not their weakness.

[semperfipar]

I still own a Victory and here is my take. Always received a lot of compliments and still do to this day. I still get the same question along with the compliment. What kind of bike is that? That tells me that Polaris never marketed the brand to the general public. The dealers also never pushed the brand as they were usually multi brand sellers and carried their own sales agenda. As far as the performance of the engine. The Harley pushrod motor is no match for the 106. For a little money you can make them scream high power and torque. Down side is you have to have it Dino Tuned and there were only a couple of guys that specialized in tuning a Victory. The transmission is smooth as long as you shift in the higher RPM range that the engine was designed for. I still ride the Harley and Victory. A lot of Harley guys I have talked to thought Victory’s were made overseas. LOL

[americancastles]

Having owned both brands, I couldn't disagree with you more. Victory bikes might have sounded less desirable than the HDs but motor wise you cannot compare them at any level. I owned 2014 Victory Vegas and Crosscountry bagger and both bikes were amazing and way more reliable than any Harley I had previously owned. Maintenance was much simpler to do than a Harley and the reason I came back to Harley-Davidson in 2019 was because I hated how Polaris pulled the plug on Victory just to produce a Harley copycat bikes with Indian badges.

[bills]

I bought My victory in 05 and still ride it . Outside of normal ware parts (brakes, fork seals and a drive belt is all can think of) it has been trouble free.Great bike and so much cheaper than a harley. Victory's biggest problem was a lack of dealers. Nearest to me was 50 miles away.

[vastrider]

I remember sitting in a parking lot on the old 1972 electra glide I had at the time, and two older riders walked up getting there bikes one fired up his bike while the other finish his cigarette, he looked at me and said you gotta love Harleys, there'r the only bike that says grab your hat, grab your hat, grab your mother loving hat when you start them up. (I cleaned that up a little bit) Every time I hear someone describe the sound of a Harley I always think of that. Merry Christmas, and happy New Year .

[russrogers]

I have both harley and victory. 13 ultra limited stage 2 and have had 2 cross country's stage 2. Harley needs more maintenance to keep running than victory. I don't see a problem with that because I don't mind keeping it up I like my ultra. I like my victory's less maintenance and better handling more power for the money. I love all three of my american made bikes. I ride harley to cruise and my cross country's to carve the mountains.

[unchartedthickets]

brilliant synopsis. “It’s all about the sound.” I think you need to get a Magnum X-1, Highball or Vision, and see what they sound and feel like on the road. I just can’t get over the look and feel from the seat. Both Harley and Victory sound iconic to me.

[travisgentz]

I have a 2015 Victory and love it. I know people who are close to 200k miles on their stock motor. One big reason Victory didn't continue after 2017 is because Polaris (Owner of Victory & Indian) put all its money into the name of Indian. Polaris didn't want to continue supporting two motorcycle lines and decided to continue Indian which had a legendary name.

[rrhemiable]

The Victory I owned was superior in all aspects except low rpm torque compared to the Twin Cam bikes I own/owned. Harleys sound great and so does a properly exhausted Vic or Indian. My buddy's Vic smokes my HD with ease, numbers be damned.

[rexstewart]

Merry Christmas and thanks for the great videos, plus all your followers.

[flmacphee]

The 106 victory engine is far superior to anything Harley was making at the time.

[nicholasjheinz]

You failed to mention Victory's reliability and customer satisfaction rating was light years ahead of HD.

[asianconservativelawyer]

The problem is that Harley’s distinct sound is going to be the end of them. They’ve been catering to the older crowd, even when they created the v rod. People complained that it was too far from the Harley’s they knew, while victory was a shot at the market, Polaris knew that there’s no point in making two companies for motorcycles and just stuck with name recognition. I know Harley is trying to appeal to the younger generation now, but it maybe too late. Meanwhile indian/ Polaris is experimenting appealing to the younger generation, they’re bread and butter is the FTR, and the scout is for the younger generation. Harley’s sportster s is a start, but what early to mid 20s person has the 18k to blow on a bike? (I’m including taxes and fees for financing) Meanwhile the scout is 12-15k after taxes and fees.

[keithhults]

My old friend has a 2003 Victory Cruiser. It's a bagger bike. He is very sick. The bike sat 4yrs and with a new battery and fresh fuel, it dead rolls. He said I have to access the pump inside the tank and remove the injectors, soak the varnish off the injectors and blow the fuel lines clean. Pray the pump is just varnished and not shorted out. Your description of the Victory air intake was exactly what I needed to hear. He said the intake is updraft. Now I understand.

[torg]

Great explanations and descriptions. I been a HD guy since the first time I saw one when I was 9 looking out the window at a red light standing up on the seat of my dad's '60 Plymouth. I said, "WOW what's that dad?" and he said "That's a Harley Davidson son" and I'll never forget that it. I said, "when I grow up I'm gettin me one of them." I was 9 then and now I'm 70 and I'm on my 10th motorcycle and it's the 3rd of 3 HDs, a 2018 107 FLHX.

[ababbit]

Wow, usually you have a neutral view on things, but this time, I believe you "missed" the mark a bit. 1. 12 gaskets to 65 gaskets is NOT even "close" in horse shoes and hand grenades. You made it sound like it was not a big deal, which it is a very big deal. 2. Unibody construction is a very big deal in strength and "ease of maintenance." The metrics have been doing that since the 50s and it works well. 3. Victory had their transmission failure in 99 and 00, but since 2001, their transmissions were solid. I had a 2004 Touring Cruiser that was perfect for 75, 000 miles. No problems with the breaking of the transmissions after 2001. 4. Victory "claimed" their power just like Harley "claimed" their power. You put it as if the "claimed" HP/Torque was the same as Rear Wheel Dyno numbers. Of course, Victory's claimed numbers are not the same as AT the CRANK. 5. Listen to the new M8 motors, they sound just like the Victory motors so either the public is stupid and can't tell the difference or Harley just made the M8 motor to fail in the "ears" of the public.
Victory did not just die because of the sales going down, ALL bikes were losing sales when Victory was not making a profit. The difference is Polaris had acquired Indian and instead of "draining" the Indian brand with the Victory, Polaris halted Victory. If Victory was a separated manufacturer from Polaris, Victory would still be with us today. Actually, I have 2 Harleys in my garage now (Evo and Twin Cam), both have 1 thing you failed to show as a truly better Victory design.... The Sportster has it and so does Victory.... Break a belt and see what I mean!!!! Why would you not mention that truly piss poor design by Harley?? Victory was as the YouTube videos says, "Head and Shoulders above Harley Davidson." Aftermarket is what makes people not buy used Victories right now and Polaris will stop make parts soon so you will have to chose "Harley or Indian." I will chose Harley because of what Polaris did to Victory. If Victory was still making used parts for another 10 years, I would go with it. The Vision and Cross Country were a lot better bikes than Harley's Twin cam waiting to fail motors. It took from 1999 to 2006 (except the dynas) for Harley to fix a fatal design flaw - OUCH.

[simonkennedy]

I keep going on about the one Victory demo day I went to 6-7 years ago but they were great bikes. Comfortable for shortys like me and big bikes for my friends, engines with all the power you want and could ride for days. Even after they closed down I could have other riders who would talk about them. There was one time I passed 4-5 outside a hotel, might have been the owners club. I'm sorry they're gone but I love my Scout