2007 Victory Vision

Gambling with Success

There's always risk involved when launching a new motorcycle. That's especially true when the model unveiled falls squarely in the upper ranges of the luxury-touring segment. Only a few high-stakes players can sit at that table, and their fan base is very well defined and often fiercely loyal. So, entering this realm is a huge gamble. But when you've successfully fielded models like Vegas, Eight Ball, and Jackpot, you don't start hedging your bets. Letting it ride comes naturally.

Although a relative newcomer to the motorcycling scene, Victory hasn't had to overcome too many of the disadvantages a startup usually faces. After all, their parent company, Polaris Industries, has some very deep pockets. And while the V crew has had plenty of money to throw around, from all appearances they're spending it wisely.

And the company's first leap into the luxury pool was far from headlong. Six years of product research, working with focus groups, tireless engineering and evaluation, and simply listening to their customers has led to the bike recently revealed at the Vision press event. That occasion also included a visit to the state-of-the-art Polaris research facility in Wyoming, Minnesota, where all of the Victory models are put through rigorous and abusive testing to ensure reliability. That goes for the brand-new Vision too; so anyone normally afflicted with first-model-year jitters can stop worrying. Vision prototypes were subjected to 2,322,000 miles of combined on-road and lab environment testing. Coupling that with the fact that Victory scored top-dog honors in the J. D. Power and Associates 2006 Motorcycle Competitive Information Study, it's a safe wager we're looking at another winner....

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