Photo: Erbacher Bikes
Victory Motorcycles was once one of the great names of the American motorcycle industry. And that means a lot, considering how the nameplate was on the market for just 18 years, and that’s nothing when compared to, say, Harley-Davidson or Indian.
Victory was the brainchild of Polaris, as the company most associated with making snowmobiles and other all-terrain vehicles wanted a piece of the two-wheeler pie. It rolled out over the years some incredible bikes, like the Vegas, Hammer, or Gunner. Then, Polaris got hold of enough cash to buy Indian, and that sealed Victory’s fate.
The bikes wearing the Victory logo are still popular enough in some circles for shops to offer customization packages for them. One such shop is German Hollister's Motorcycles. Another is called Erbacher Bikes, and it’s based in Switzerland.
The shop is owned by Urs Erbacher, former drag racing champion in Europe (yes, they have that), and specializes in extreme builds. And will be featuring them a lot in the coming months.
We’ll start with a project of theirs called Ignition Concept, a custom ride that was supposed to be the future of Victory Motorcycles’ production machines.
At the core of the machine's frame sits a modified liquid-cooled four-valve engine built in the Victory V-Twin style. It breathes through a Fat Attack-Akrapovic exhaust system and spins 17-inch wheels wrapped in Metzeler Racetec Interact tires.
The engine is based on one used on the Project 156 motorcycle with which Victory entered the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
As said, the Ignition concept was supposed to represent the future of Victory machines and was built at a time when the moniker was very respected in the industry. Only two years later, though, the brand would be killed by Polaris, and the Ignition never got to be an inspiration for future models.
It’s a cool throwback at simpler times, though, and worthy of a mention here on autoevolution, surrounded by armies of Harleys and Indians.
The bikes wearing the Victory logo are still popular enough in some circles for shops to offer customization packages for them. One such shop is German Hollister's Motorcycles. Another is called Erbacher Bikes, and it’s based in Switzerland.
The shop is owned by Urs Erbacher, former drag racing champion in Europe (yes, they have that), and specializes in extreme builds. And will be featuring them a lot in the coming months.
We’ll start with a project of theirs called Ignition Concept, a custom ride that was supposed to be the future of Victory Motorcycles’ production machines.
At the core of the machine's frame sits a modified liquid-cooled four-valve engine built in the Victory V-Twin style. It breathes through a Fat Attack-Akrapovic exhaust system and spins 17-inch wheels wrapped in Metzeler Racetec Interact tires.
The engine is based on one used on the Project 156 motorcycle with which Victory entered the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.
As said, the Ignition concept was supposed to represent the future of Victory machines and was built at a time when the moniker was very respected in the industry. Only two years later, though, the brand would be killed by Polaris, and the Ignition never got to be an inspiration for future models.
It’s a cool throwback at simpler times, though, and worthy of a mention here on autoevolution, surrounded by armies of Harleys and Indians.
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