Victory Octane test

Menus

• New 1179 cc engine, 103 hp, 400 m DA covered in 12 seconds
• On an Indian Scout technical basis, a real evolution that has its own identity as a Muscle Bike
• Discovery
• In the saddle
• Contact
• In the city
• On motorways and main roads
• On departmental
• Part-cycle
• Brakes
• Comfort / duo
• Conclusion

New 1179 cc engine, 103 hp, 400 m DA covered in 12 seconds

On an Indian Scout technical basis, a real evolution that has its own identity as a Muscle Bike

Automotive and motorcycle marketers say it takes 10 years for a brand to function commercially and 30 years for its image and reputation to be firmly established in the minds of customers. If this theory applies to Victory, the American brand could well go a little faster than the others.

Created in 1998 by the industrial giant Polaris to compete with another giant, Harley-Davidson, which then celebrated its 95th anniversary and enjoyed a reinforced concrete image among fans of customs and cruising, Victory made a strong impression from the start, since its first creation, the V92C powered by a 1510 cm3 V-Twin, was voted "Motorcycle Cruiser of the Year" by the American press in 1999. After the first coronation, motorcycles remained to be sold and to build the image and the brand identity. Victory was smart enough not to attack Harley-Davidson head-on, the Vision, for example, showing that an American-style cruiser could be modern! After selling around 10,000 motorcycles per year for many years, Victory is now heading towards 15,000, driven by models such as the Gunner which is the best seller in France..

And Octane, presented as a prelude to Daytona Bike Week, could be a growth accelerator. Built on the platform of the Indian Scout, the Octane has many elements that must be in the DNA of any Victory: a look that inspires performance, a modern chassis and a good dose of fun to drive.

It is with this in mind that Victory has concocted an extraordinary handling schedule for us. In addition to the conventional road test that took place in Florida (USA), Victory let us enjoy the Octane on a somewhat peculiar playing field., Orlando Speed ​​World, with several tests: speed on a slow slalom, burn and drift, the highlight of the show being the real drag track that we were able to borrow on numerous occasions between two Camaros hit to the bone and slamming a 6 ” 3 seconds on the 400 meters standing start.

Noise, fury, hot rubber, breaker motors: all of this is deeply rooted in American motorized culture and, in doing so, the Octane wants to prove its membership in the family of "muscle bikes" at the american.

Certainly, one could think that doing burns and accelerating, repeatedly, like a nag at the arrival of the green light, is a very modest contribution to the general improvement of the lot of humanity, humanity which lives off. elsewhere particularly troubled times at this time. Certainly. On the other hand, regular, if not daily, viewing of Plus belle la vie does not help avoid the foretold chaos either. While fooling around in Octane, you realize it pretty quickly, has a virtue: it’s super funny. And a happy biker makes happy biker kids, happy biker wife, happy biker coworkers, happy biker neighbors, happy biker dog and goldfish and all things considered, it objectively calms the humanity because happiness is communicative. Besides, if Bin Laden had spent more time shooting cannon balls and martyring tires in the Abbottabad Valley (Pakistan), he probably wouldn’t have had the idea of ​​throwing planes at buildings. Like what, geopolitics, it doesn’t matter much.

Discovery

An informed, attentive and normally constituted observer may have had this double feeling upon discovering the first photos of the Octane. First: hey, it’s funny, Victory had made a lot of buzz and teasing with Project 156 where the Holy Trinity of the big names in custom was taken out of their workshop (Zack Ness, Roland Sands, Urs Erbacher) for us unveil a real racing machine with frame reinforcements, big red hoses, engine with raw foundries, carbon tank, front brake of sick, in short, a very nasty thing, ready to attack Pikes Peak; two other projects followed, Ignition and Combustion, each step being a little less radical than the last. In comparison, of course, the final Octane is still a little less nasty. Second: hey, they didn’t make life too complicated at Victory, they took an Indian Scout, they repainted it in satin titanium gray, they put on a flagship plate and shoo, the project manager then resumed all his RTT suddenly, he went around the world and we never saw him again.

Alas (or even happy, in fact!), First impressions are sometimes wrong. Because in the first place, the Victory Octane is coherent: not a trace of chrome, all gray and black, the Octane adopts a monochromatic stance that evokes a certain perfume of performance sprinkled with a zest of bad ass attitude. And that is already different from the Scout.

Obviously and Victory does not hide it, the Indian Scout is here more than an organ donor and one cannot blame an industrial group for not seeking synergies of platforms. According to Brandon Kraemer, the project manager, 35% of Octane comes from the Scout and more like things that you can’t see, like bolts or brake pads. The remaining 65% is Octane clean.

It starts with the engine: the lower engine and the crankshaft are identical. But the high engine is different and the displacement goes from 1133cc on a Scout to 1179cc on the Octane, thanks to a piston stroke that goes from 99 to 101 mm. In fact, the power goes from 100 to 104 hp, obtained at 8000 rpm and the torque climbs from 97 Nm at 5900 rpm to 103 Nm at 6000 rpm. The performances are increasing and Victory claims the 400 meters covered standing start in 12 seconds. To finish with the engine, the camshafts, the mapping, the outer casings are also different.

On the other hand, if the gear ratios are identical between the two models, the final drive is different and is found 7% shorter on the Octane. Do the multiplication yourself: shorter final drive plus increased power and torque equals increased acceleration sensations.

On the chassis side, the differences start with the overall geometry since the Scout is placed on two 16-inch wheels (130/90 and 150/80) when the Octane uses 130/70 x 18 front and 160 / 70 x 17 behind. So even if the caster angle does not change, at 29 °, the trail is a bit longer on the Octane. The main principles of the chassis remain somewhat the same on the two models, but the lower part at the radiator level is different on the Octane, which allows it to claim an angle grip capacity of 32 °, one more than the Scout. It’s always taken! The suspensions are also different, with twin-tube rear shocks instead of monotubes, as well as different fork internal tubes on the Octane, to allow an optimized work of the hydraulics, even if the external aspect of the two forks is identical. In both cases, the suspension travel is the same (120 mm at the front, 76 mm at the rear), as is the diameter of the fork: 41 mm.

Finally, the trim, the mudguards, the saddle, the tank (with a capacity of 11.7 l instead of 12.1 l) are different, as is the horizontal rear light occupied by 12 LEDs. Moral of the story: The Victory Octane is not an Indian Scout repainted in gray.

In the saddle

The Victory Octane is full of delicious paradoxes. It’s a 1200. It’s almost a small motorcycle. It weighs 243 kilos (dry). Its saddle “height” is 643 mm. As a large patented sausage (1.88 m), I have the feeling that I will find myself curled up on his handlebars like on a Yamaha 240 Virago.

Actually no. Its strength is that almost all riders feel comfortable on the handlebars and find its ergonomics quite natural. The controls fall well to hand and offer a good feeling, with a good level of precision and smoothness. The dashboard seems to be reduced to a large counter, but a control located behind the left stalk scrolls the data from the on-board computer in the digital screen: in addition to the time, permanently displayed with the gear engaged, the Octane offers a partial trip, the display of the engine speed and that of its temperature. As an option, it can be fitted with a small tachometer with shiftlight, the night display of which is adorned with a beautiful blue.

Contact

The key is located on the left, in a box between the V of the cylinders. Pressing the starter (the system is one touch) and the V-Twin snorts with a low hum, quite discreet and accompanied by a few whistles. We had on this test a panel of motorcycles with different configurations and those equipped with the optional Stage 1 exhaust (which can be recognized by their silver tip and not black) sound more convincingly. Unfortunately, they will not be imported into France but the importer Victory has planned Akrapovic and Remus exhausts.

Engine running, the first pass without slamming as if all the pinions had just fallen to the bottom of the casing. The torque of the V2 allows you to take off without putting on gas.

In the city

Driving in town in Florida has nothing to do with walking through towns like Gueret, Sainte-Menehould or even Paris. Instead of navigating to the millimeter in narrow and historic city centers, or being caught in a horde of hysterical T-Max and Clio dCi, here, we drive cuddly on very wide wide tracks, between Ford Fs 350 twin rear wheels and 600 hp Dodge Chargers, rocked by the sweet sound of their V8 gurgling gravely on the gas net; there are also a lot of old bearded Harley-Davidsons, who ride without helmets. Scary. As for the interplay, you don’t even think about it, unless you want to end up in Guantanamo, accused of having intended to sow chaos.

Notwithstanding the difference in biotope, certain qualities remain essential by their universality: flexibility, softness, agility.

Nothing to say about the V-Twin, the dosage of its clutch, its flexibility. Of course, you can lower the 6th to its threshold of flexibility, around 1800 rpm and you are then at a small 60 km / h. Note that on the net of gas at very low speed, the V2 can give a few jerks. We will therefore tend to drive in a lower gear, which also allows to take advantage of instantaneous recovery, because the V2 is lively and starts again in force from the lowest revs. In traffic jams, on the other hand, the engine gives off a lot of heat..

On the chassis side, the cone maneuverability exercise not only allowed us to put ourselves in the shoes of John and Ponch, Chips’ agents, having to control their mounts under Sergeant Getraer’s stern eyebrow. On this selective course where we could only stay in first, the Octane demonstrated a beautiful chassis neutrality, with a front axle that does not engage, excellent self-stability at very low speed and agility throughout. simply astounding for a machine that exceeds 250 kilos with full tank. When we find ourselves, in first, at about 20 km / h, chaining pafs with the footrests that rub on the ground without ever being overwhelmed by the bike or widening its trajectories, we can only be impressed by this part-cycle. The Arc de Triomphe roundabout has nothing to do with it !

On motorways and main roads

With 103 horsepower, the V2 obviously has resources for long journeys. On the motorway, it purrs at 4,500 in sixth, at 130 km / h. This engine never ceases to amaze. Supple, round, it is also quite lively and propels you forward at the slightest blow of gas, in any gear. Up to high speeds (we are in the USA and it is not without risks that we took a small 200 meter), the stability does not call for criticism and it is rather the driving position of the pilot which can generate some movement on the motorcycle. The Octane’s own small windshield deflects the air above the shoulders. It is more efficient than it looks !

In short, the Octane is not afraid of the freeway, even if the freeway is not very funny and on top of that it is expensive. The advantage is that you can still pull a little accelerator out of the toll. Isn’t that very respectful for people? But yes, because I don’t know if you noticed, but the highway is more and more expensive and there are fewer and fewer people. It makes you wonder where the money is going. In the meantime, you can start dragster style without disturbing the cashiers: there are no more.

Victory claims the Octane is worth a good 12 seconds in the 400 meters standing start. When you know that a sports 1000 is around 11, that indicates the level of performance. Multiple tests on the Orlando Speed ​​World drag track allowed us to put it to the test. After a little burn to warm up the rear Kenda, the Octane shows great start-up abilities, aided by its long wheelbase and low center of gravity. Keep an eye on the traffic lights, the lights change from orange to green, gas! Big gas, even. The Octane takes off without slip, I keep an eye on the engine speed in the speedometer window. The first arrives at 7800 rpm in a flash, the box locks the second well without downtime; 7800 rpm too, I switch to 3, back up on the small saddle to flatten out on the handlebars. Above 7400 rpm, the thrust begins to weaken. I pass the 4, dab, the 400-meter line arrives quickly. I take a look at the meter; At first glance, I’m around 120 mph (195 km / h). Result: 12’9 seconds; then 12’8, then 12’5. The pros hit an 11’9. Contract fulfilled.

On departmental

Stalled at a small 3200 rpm in sixth, the Victory Octane purrs gently on the small straight roads of Florida. Even at this fairly low engine speed, the V2 already delivers very copious times, on demand. A short passage through the Ocala National Forest gives us the opportunity to come across the only bends in this state. The staggering agility you have already seen in the city is confirmed here and the Octane winds the turns with ease and you end up rubbing the footrests with confidence..

If they absorb large waves without flinching, the suspensions remain dry on small irregularities. The installation of the optional rear shock absorbers, with their separate gas cylinder, could be a good idea for motorcyclists who regularly go on small bumpy roads: adjustable in 14 positions via a dial, the gain in comfort on the softest setting is considerable.

Either way, the Octane is good for the ride and also knows how to shoot balls between two turns, its healthy and predictable chassis allowing to exploit the generous resources of the V2..

Part-cycle

If the chassis logic is common between the Indian Scout and the Victory Octane, the settings are different and the comfort is firmer on the Octane. This is intended by Victory to be in tune with the character and sensations delivered by this bike.

The Octane is therefore a modern, healthy and playful little custom. We even wonder what is the secret of such agility, always astonishing in relation to its weight. The answer is simple: the crankshaft is located below the level of the wheel axles.

Brakes

The Victory Octane has "aviation type" braided hoses on the front and rear brakes. With it weighing more than 250 kilograms with full tank, you might think that entrusting the braking to a single disc at the front, with a diameter of 298 mm, is a bit risky. It is not: the dosage and the power are excellent.

One remark and one caveat, however, are in order before drawing any definitive conclusions. We had US models without ABS. Also a small additional test will be necessary with the French version to judge the behavior of the plant. And the grip of the Kenda tires, with the Victory logo on their sidewalls, is quite poor, even if, in this category of motorcycles, the Michelin Scorchers that are found as standard equipment on the Harley-Davidson Sportsters are not transcendent either. There is no doubt that with good tires the braking of the Octane could be even more efficient, because it is easy to lock the wheels on the versions without ABS.

Comfort / duo

The Victory line is packed with baggers like the recent Magnum X-1 Stealth Edition or tourers like the Vision and this is not the area where the Octane is going to score big points. If the driving position is rather natural, the saddle has a bead in its rear part which proves to be hard in the long run, while it does not easily allow the rider to move a little on the machine while changing. his driving position. Result of the races: if the Octane is not a fakir board, it is not comfortable over the distance either.

The stock rear shocks are pretty firm on small bumps. The optional suspensions bring a real plus. The fork, on the other hand, is more convincing: progressive, it does not heel and absorbs the irregularities of the road well. For the duo, an optional passenger seat will have to be fitted and the footrests are, on the right, above the exhaust. It will be fine for troubleshooting.

Conclusion

She has a lot of qualities, this Octane and those who see her as a rebadged Scout need to revise their judgment. Capable of cruising quietly thanks to the flexibility and roundness of its V2, it also delivers a good dose of sensations thanks to the power and liveliness of this block, designed in Switzerland by SwissAuto engineers. And since the chassis ensures, the package becomes playful and very coherent.

Offered at € 12,950 and guaranteed for 5 years, the Victory Octane is more efficient and cheaper than an Indian Scout (from € 13,650). Basically, it offers the performance of a Harley-Davidson V-Rod (minus the inertia and anvil side of the latter) for the price of a Sportster 1200. That should still give one or two pause. See a lot more.

Strong points

• flexible, lively, punchy motor
• healthy and stable frame
• driving pleasure
• easy handling, low saddle
• powerful braking
• 5 year warranty

Weak points

• firm saddle
• limited pairing skills
• rather mediocre original tires
• engine heat in town

The technical sheet of the Victory Octane

Test conditions

• Itinerary: 500 kilometers in Florida (USA), with lots of small roads and bends in the Ocala National Forest. A short session at the Orlando Speed ​​World complex, to practice burner, drift, slalom, as well as on the drag track.
• Mileage of the motorcycle: 0 km (like that, after some 400 DA, it is broken!)
• Problem encountered: none

Competition: Harley-Davidson V-Rod, Suzuki M1800R

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