2010 Arlen Ness Victory Vision & More Salt Addiction - Timing

The Victory Motorcycle company produces machines which challenge the cruiser market like no other company. They are made in the US and they have a reputation for reliability - even better than competitor and arch-rival Harley-Davidson, whose bikes have less performance when compared like-to-like with the Victory machines. Arlen Ness, customizer extraordinaire, has been working with Victory for some six or seven years and has produced some of the more amazing offerings from the company in terms of style and appearance. The Vision he penned is at the other end of the link...

http://tinyurl.com/y89a2fe

Rocky Robinson's column, 'Salt Addiction', is back this month and this time he is talking about timing. The Bonneville Salt Flats is where everyone goes to test themselves against the clock to see how fast they can go. Well, what about that clock? Timing is a very important and exacting science which must be applied perfectly to keep the record(s) straight. How is it done....well, take the link and see...

http://tinyurl.com/ye25bag

Wednesday Afternoon Moto News - Polaris Purchase & Valentino Rossi's Future

Polaris - makers of the Victory line of motorcycles - has purchased Swiss engine builder swissauto Powersports, who is well-known for producing very high-performance and highly efficient engines. They even had some engines they built win Grand Prix races and several Championships. Polaris only purchased the motorcycle side of the business and it will continue to be based in Burgdorf, Switzerland.

http://tinyurl.com/ykzu48w

Once again, Valentino Rossi has stated that he plans on remaining with Yamaha if he continues to race in the MotoGP Championship beyond 2011. Rossi says that this should all be laid out before June of this year - which was about the same time of year they announced his 2009-2011 contract. Many expect him to flee to Ducati, but that is highly unlikely given that Rossi is often a man of his word.

http://tinyurl.com/ylkygrj

More Afternoon Moto News - MSR Releases New Line-up & Victory Vegas Limited Edition

At the recent AMA Supercross event in Anaheim, California, MSR used the race to show off a line of motorcycle apparel which they will sell in 2011. Riders Kevin Windham and Nick Wey were sporting the gear at the event, but only some of the items which will be available. The MSR company is well-known for producing excellent off-road riding gear and it seems like they will only be upping their reputation when this new equipment starts being sold to the public.

http://tinyurl.com/yc7jzw8

Victory has released details on the 2010 Vegas Limited Edition which was debuted at the New York Cycle World International Motorcycle Show. It is the quickest bike that Victory has ever made with the 106/6 engine fitted with Stage 2 cams; that brings it to 97 hp and 113 ft-lb of torque. Only 100 of the US$15,999 motorcycle will be made in Fire Ball Red, Competition Yellow, Pearl White or Turbo Silver.

http://tinyurl.com/ylbqedb

Wednesday Evening Moto News - Moto2 and Lehman sans H-D

The line-up for the 2010 FIM Moto2 Championship is starting to get into racing shape. The list is not 'official' yet, but there are 40 (they say, but I only count 25 teams on the list and I count at least 43 seats) teams on the list as of now. Of course, some of these teams may not make it to the 2010 show, but they might be able to get things together by 2011. A highly competitive series will only make the first Moto2 season more interesting.

http://tinyurl.com/y8b28ww

Harley-Davidson is ending their relationship with Lehman Trikes by the year 2011. H-D will be making their own trikes in their York, PA, plant (good news for employees there) by that year. Lehman will continue to produce H-D trikes through 2010, so there should be continuous production. It was a purely economic decision, no bad blood or problems. I hope H-D will get their tooling right on the first go; I wouldn't buy one of the early models. And, Lehman has many other agreements in place - especially cool is the Victory Vision Trike - so they should still be solid.

http://tinyurl.com/ye9857z

Interesting Comparison Review of 2010 Victory Cross Country

This is actually a neat way of reviewing a motorcycle - review it and compare it to a standing master in the class. In this case, that master is the awesome Yamaha Star Stratoliner S. The new Victory is actually a nice piece of technology, incorporating a new chassis design taken directly from the Victory Vision and altered to produce a more conventional looking motorcycle. The Cross Country is a good mount for eating miles anywhere you want to go.

http://tinyurl.com/ya7jtxx

Victory Will Auction Two Motorcycles to Benefit Ft. Hood Victims and Families

Victory Motorcycles announced this at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show at Long Beach. The two bike are a specially prepared Victory Kingpin 8-Ball and a custom Victory Hammer S. Both bikes are painted and outfitted for US Army and were done in reaction to the terrible Ft. Hood shooting tragedy.

http://tinyurl.com/yhamort

The Cycle World International Motorcycle Show Line-up

So, this is actually only a list of the major manufacturers, and it does not include the custom shops, speed shops, accessories vendors, apparel vendors...etc. But, you will notice that BMW and Victory are only at select venues - and there are many names missing from this year's list. Have a look...hopefully you will be attending the Long Beach edition.

http://tinyurl.com/ye2qs7k

First Look: 2010 Victory Cory Ness Signature Series Jackpot

If you are like me - and you are probably not - you will like Victory. It is a nice counter-point to Harley-Davidson. At least Victory takes to new designs and better performance much quicker than the Motor Company. And, of course, you get more bike for your buck with them as well. They did have some horrendous issues early on in their history, but a great deal of that has been fixed and made so much better. You really owe it to yourself to go and have a look at this sweet cruising machine, the 2010 Cory Ness Signature Jackpot.

http://tinyurl.com/yjej2rg

Harley and Honda Will Be at the MCN Motorcycle Show

The MCN London Motorcycle Show will feature two marques which did not attend the Carole Nash Show this week at the NEC. In February, Honda and Harley-Davidson will join Ducati, BMW, Kawasaki, Triumph, Yamaha and Victory at the show. So, if you missed Carole Nash for some reason, the London Motorcycle Show is not to be missed - even if you did make it to the Carole Nash Show, you might want to stop by the MCN version too...

http://tinyurl.com/yzmg7uu

Victory Motorcycles' CORE to be Displayed at Carole Nash Show

At the NEC starting later this month will be the Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter Show. And, Victory Motorcycles will bring their CORE concept to the show - it will be the first ever showing of one of the most exciting and innovative motorcycles the industry has seen in a long time. Get your show tickets and make sure to stop by this booth (along with the others) while you are there!

http://tinyurl.com/ylrbuld

PR: Cardo Systems and Polaris & Victory Motorcycles

It's a new agreement and will expand the places where you can purchase a Cardo Systems motorcycle communications systems. And, it helps Polaris expand their offerings as well. As you are probably aware, Cardo manufactures the Scala Rider Q2, which can be used for bike-to-bike communications, listening to a Bluetooth-enables GPS, mobile phone or music source and FM radio. More and better - gotta love that!

http://tinyurl.com/yczx6dq

P.S. Watch out for the ad which comes up when you launch the site - just close it and you will be able to read the article.

San Francisco's Scuderia West Open House!

It will be Scuderia West's 19th annual Fall Open House, and it will happen next weekend, 7 November 2009. The sale will be incredible - unfortunately NOT including the new Aprilia RSV-4 Factory and some others - on almost everything in the store. Discounts will be between 10 and 50%! If you are near, never fear - Scuderia West is a fun destination during your Saturday ride!

http://tinyurl.com/y99woyo

First Ride: 2010 Victory Cross Roads and Cross Contry

From our friends at Cycle World comes a first riding impression of the new for 2010 Victory Cross Roads and Cross Country. The Cross Roads is the most basic model based on the Vision frame - and is meant for people who just want the essential touring accessories; the Cross Country, though, is one step up from that model and has some of the features of the Vision, but not the full compliment. They are both at the pinnacle of technology for the V-twin touring set, and they are some of the best motorcycles on the road now...

http://tinyurl.com/yfxwotj

Polaris Industries to Manufacture Electric Vehicle

They are the parent company of one of my favorite cruiser makers - Victory - and they also make ATVs and snowmobiles, not to mention the many derivatives they manufacture. Now, they have seen where the future of the powersports world is heading and they have already started to produce the 'Breeze' - an electric vehicle aimed at retirees in the Sun Belt. It is only a start, though, as they plan to learn from this experience and, possibly, go further into the electric vehicle market...maybe even electric motorcycles.

http://tinyurl.com/ygq3nob

Victory Motorcycles Breaks 36-Year-Old Speed Record!

In a stunning performance for a non-supercharged, non-turbo engine, the Victory Kingpin (110-inch Victory Freedom engine) rider Gregor Moe set a new national speed run record of 165.8MPH. Another record may have also fallen to a Victory motorcycle; the Vision!

http://tinyurl.com/pjb29l