Victory show radical concept machine

VICTORY Motorcycles shocked the industry when it showed its radical design concept, the Vision 800, at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach in 2005. However, that design concept went on to become the Victory Vision, with many of the styling cues retained.

Now for 2009 the Minnesota based manufacturer looks set to do the same thing again with the launch of it’s CORE concept. Having revolutionized the touring market, it appears that Victory is now set to do the same to the Sports Cruiser class.

When Victory’s design team, led by Industrial Design Director Greg Brew and Lead Industrial Designer Michael Song, set out to create the CORE, the idea was to build a motorcycle using the minimum of elements… engine, frame, wheels and front suspension only.

“CORE is pure motorcycle,” said Song. “We wanted to strip everything not critical and build a motorcycle that uses some of the production technologies we have incorporated into the Victory Vision. The frame and engine architecture of the Victory Vision was our inspiration – but we wanted to make a statement beyond ‘custom’ and create something completely unique.”

In order to achieve a unique frame, the design was cast in aluminum, using a sand mold. It is made up of five pieces, formed from AL 356-T6 aluminum alloy and incorporates the bike’s fuel tank, airbox, battery box and the electrical system.

Suspension is limited to the front only, but takes the form of adjustable WP 48mm upside down race forks. These are fitted with equally race-inspired four-piston radially mounted twin calipers, which operate on dual 320mm discs. Braking at the rear is by a single piston caliper and 240mm disc.

A Victory Freedom 106/6 Stage 2 power plant with closed-loop fuel injection, which was debuted in the 2009 production line, is used in the CORE, along with a six-speed transmission. Maintaining the bare minimum styling, the high level, wrapped stainless steel exhaust is muffler-free.

Away from the frame the single most striking feature of the CORE is the carved mahogany seat, which also incorporates an LED taillight.

Talking about the CORE concept Greg Brew said: “CORE represents the heart of Victory Motorcycles. We want to create a new design language, but never in a way that interrupts the function of the motorcycle. The fact is, a project like CORE is as important to the design team as winning Daytona would be to an engineering team. ‘Pushing the boundaries’ is just another cliché – CORE exists to show the world how dedicated Victory is to the art and science of motorcycle design.”

VICTORY MOTORCYCLES
Medina, Minnesota, USA
Tel: 763 542 5000
E-mail: josh.kurcinka@polarisind.com
www.victorymotorcycles.com

This entry was posted on 20/01/2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Customs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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