Victory is going racing.

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They will debut their NHRA Victory Gunner March 13th at the Gator Nationals.
http://www.victorymotorcycles.com/en-us/community/story/nhra-pro-stock-factory-effort

The racing effort got me thinking. Polaris has Indian to be the traditional American cruiser. Victory, not being hand cuffed to tradition, can go in a lot of different directions. I'd assume they'll make a performance version of the Gunner they're racing. Would they build something targeted at the Diavel? Maybe an ADV bike? Would a sport bike be out of the question? What bikes would you like to see them build?
 
I'm glad to see that some other brand than just Hardley is going to be racing in the Pro Stock division. The only two players now are the S&S and Hines billet Harley badged motors and the 70's era Suzuki GS1000 motors. It would be nice if they actually allowed modern engine designs, but the NHRA has by their own admission banned all 4 valve motors to favor the Harley V-twin configuration in order to "get Harley owners to buy tickets to the races".

GO VICTORY!!!
 
Originally Posted By: whip
They will debut their NHRA Victory Gunner March 13th at the Gator Nationals.
http://www.victorymotorcycles.com/en-us/community/story/nhra-pro-stock-factory-effort

The racing effort got me thinking. Polaris has Indian to be the traditional American cruiser. Victory, not being hand cuffed to tradition, can go in a lot of different directions. I'd assume they'll make a performance version of the Gunner they're racing. Would they build something targeted at the Diavel? Maybe an ADV bike? Would a sport bike be out of the question? What bikes would you like to see them build?


If the economy were like it was 10 years ago, I could see them making a Sportbike. As it is, the Sportbike market is just kind of limping along at this point. A few manufacturers have just come out with new models, or major revisions to existing models. But it's nothing like the constant updating we used to see.

I hope Victory's latest marketing with this Gunner ProStock Motorcyle, is a success. It would be nice to see a bit more competition lined up in the staging lanes. Of course being a V-twin, it will have the regulations that almost guarantee a V-twin win, on it's side, too.
 
We've been discussing this on the Victory forums. It's basically the same as the pro-stock Harleys with the billet motors, but with a victory badge / bodywork on it. It's the only way to be competitive in the class unfortunately. Not a single part off of a street bike to be found on it.
 
Originally Posted By: JetStar
It's basically the same as the pro-stock Harleys with the billet motors, but with a victory badge / bodywork on it. It's the only way to be competitive in the class unfortunately. Not a single part off of a street bike to be found on it.


I know. I've seen the differently 'branded' bikes up close in great detail. Comparing cylinder head ports to what we run in TF, etc.

I do get a chuckle out of the brand faithful, (Harley, Buell, Suzuki, and now Victory) that think their streetbike has any correlation to the PSM bikes.
 
Whenever you see the word "stock" in racing, it is just an oxymoron. That has been nothing stock about stock cars, pro stock, etc for many many years.
 
other than the name pro stock cars + bikes are anything but! i own a great 2013 Victory Hammer + when a kid says nice hardly i cringe, i traded my inferior hardly for the superior IMO Victory. but its good for publicity as long as matt does better than last week! same stuff under the body but with more $$$ he may do better. the wizardry of Vance + Hines + unlimited $$$$$$$$ from hardly is hard to beat. read a neat article years ago when hardly decided to race they gave Byrom Hines an OPEN checkbook to build a bike + engine from scratch!! Byron has worked for Ferrari as well, a VERY smart man + big $$$$$ = success. NHRA did allow bigger engine so they could compete with the screamin in line 4 cylinders + be in the game, but tries to control the competition with continual rule changes. the AHDRA will NOT allow in line 4's race the top fuel hardleys because they are TOO FAST!!!!!
 
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Matt Smith's problem this past weekend was a red shop rag left in an intake runner that got shredded when he started the motor for first round eliminations. He had qualified #1 at Florida.

BTW, if you didn't see it, Smith was MAD. Pure inattention to detail.
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Once again Victory is trying to copy a idea Harley had first. All they need to do is either have an original idea, or finish.,,


And Harley copied it from someone else and therefore is just as bad.
 
Harley didn't copy the idea of racing, they dominated it. Much like how they dominate Top fuel Drag racing nowadays.110 years of making it happen trumps 20 years of watching it happen. Funny how after all these years of metric bike makers saying how great the inline 4 motors are, they all have their copy the Harley V-twin motor. Victorys now included. with their ugly fairings, saddle bags and even floorboards. They love point out how much faster their bikes are. It's pretty obvious most people don't care if their Harley can beat a metric bike or a victory. That's not why they bought it. Look at Honda's 1800 VTX, that was a fast bike. How about Kawasaki's VN 2000? That also was a faster bike. And Yamaha's Road Star is now just a memory. All faster bikes that they stopped making? It must break the hearts of guys that can't quite afford a Harley, and had to settle for second place. So even if victory makes a fast electric bike, nobody wants absolute silence when their riding. Maybe victory can make a radio that makes motorcycle sounds, so you don't feel like your riding a vacuum cleaner.,,
 
How long did those inline 4 motors dominate though? Just because you are on top at the moment, does not mean you stay up there.

Harley has not been "making it happen" in racing for 100 years. It has only become truly competitive in racing in recent times and as far as drag racing, one could argue that the Harley engines have had the rules in their favor at times.

I remember in my younger years when it was Suzuki inline 4 bangers murdering everyone for a long long time in NHRA pro stock with riders like Dave Schultz.

For what it is worth....when I got my last bike. I could afford a Harley and kicked the tires on one, but I went with another make. To think that you are buying another brand because you cannot afford a Harley and are settling is just dumb.
 
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Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Harley didn't copy the idea of racing, they dominated it. Much like how they dominate Top fuel Drag racing nowadays.


Uhmm, no.

They need their own category "Top Fuel Harley", because they can't compete with the Top Fuel Inline-Four bikes.

As for Pro Stock Motorcycle, the V-twins again have an edge due to the regulations. They are given the edge, because V-Twin Cruisers are the most popular style of bike in the country. So, V-twin fans excited to see a winner (even with a stacked deck) will come out and buy tickets to the races.
 
here is a easy question if you are actually "in the know":

how many titles has vance & hines won?

how many on non-harley?

how many on harley?

class dismissed
 
Originally Posted By: sunruh
here is a easy question if you are actually "in the know":

how many titles has vance & hines won?

how many on non-harley?

how many on harley?

class dismissed


Yeah, I've talked to the V&H boys regularly. Far be it from me to speak for them. I'll just say there are several reasons why they run V-Twins in PSM.

They also build Inline-Four engines for people. They can build any engine configuration to maximize it's potential, within the regulations the engine must meet.
 
Any time you read an article about Professional Racing, no matter the series, it should be known that there is always some vagueness or outright deception in answers, as no one will want to give away proprietary info.

If there is one constant in NHRA Racing, it is the ever-changing regulations. That Cycle World article is over a year out of date, And even when it was current, contained intentionally vague info.
 
However, the one fact is there is almost a liter of displacement between the Harleys and the Suzukis...it would be an utter embarrassment if they were not competitive with that much advantage.

And yes it is from a year ago....but it was to help illustrate a point that the regulations to keep things fair pretty much had tipped the hat to Harley and handicapped the Suzuki to keep things "fair". So to say that Harley is dominating because it is the superior design is not entirely accurate because it has been given a pretty healthy advantage. Not only is is about a 20 year newer platform, but is that much larger than the old GS motors which were new in the Carter administration.
 
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