| Engine | 18.five/20 |
| Suspension/Handling | 12.five/15 |
| Transmission/Clutch | 8.75/10 |
| Brakes | eight./10 |
| Instruments/Controls | 4./five |
| Ergonomics/Comfort | 7.5/10 |
| Appearance/High quality | 9./ten |
| Desirability | 9./ten |
| Value | 8.75/10 |
| General Score | 86/one hundred |
When we posted our report about Victory’s unveiling of the 2017 Octane, the vitriol in the comments section was surprising even by internet requirements. Of the 50 comments posted as of the writing of this evaluation, roughly 30 have been adverse, numerous saying that the commenter felt mislead by Victory’s references to the Project 156 Pikes Peak racer as an inspiration during the Octane’s improvement. Probably this is an instance of folks hearing what they deeply want for as an alternative of what was really getting mentioned.
2017 Victory Octane Unveiling
With the unfavorable initial MOronic reception of the Octane in thoughts, I arrived at Daytona Beach this week hoping to learn if the readers had a point. Is the Octane genuinely just a warmed over Indian Scout? Does it actually matter? And what specifically does the Octane reveal about Victory’s new slogan “Modern American Muscle,” as the first all new model arriving in 2016 as portion of model year 2017?
The Octane is hugely enjoyable at the dragstrip.
Nicely, it seems that Victory’s PR department had a equivalent set of targets. So, let’s don our gear and put the Octane by way of its paces.
A Victory Scout?
Okay, this may well get a small bumpy, but right here goes: Yes, there are similarities in between the Scout and the Octane. They were each designed and constructed by various divisions of the identical parent organization employing shared improvement sources. Both bikes make use of the very same basic engine which was then modified and tuned to deliver the energy qualities that ought to appeal to every model’s target marketplace.
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Each make use of the very same cast aluminum frame technologies – though not the identical frame – which would explain the related appear. The chassis geometry is comparable but not exactly the exact same with the Octane measuring 29.0° rake and five.1 in. trail compared to the Indian’s 29.0° rake and four.7 in. trail. The wheelbases of the Octane and Scout (62.1 in. versus 61.5 in.) are related, as are the seat heights, measuring 25.9 in. vs. 25.3 in., respectively. Yes, there are similarities, as both bikes are primarily based on the identical platform.
Yes, there is more than just a passing resemblance to the Scout. Nevertheless, the Octane is a notably different motorcycle.
In a conversation with Alex Hultgren, Director of Advertising and marketing of Victory Motorcycles, basing numerous models around a frequent platform is really typical on the automobile side of the market, an location in which he has a deep background. Nevertheless, the key to effectively generating a number of offerings on a single platform is differentiating how the machinery interacts with the operator.
“When platforming is carried out properly, you get two distinctive products that have some commonality,” Hultgren explains. “What you want to differentiate is the items that men and women care about. So, it is the appearance of the bike and the really feel. And that’s precisely what we’ve carried out.”
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In the cruiser globe, this is relatively typical where the naked, the leather-bagged, and the challenging-bagged versions share not just the exact same base name but the same engine and chassis – only every single are tweaked to match the functional requirements of a particular industry niche. What makes the Octane/Scout relationship unusual is that they are sold by two diverse motorcycle companies but share a frequent parent business in Polaris.
“The key to a good platform is method,” says Alex Hultgren, Director of Marketing of Victory Motorcycles, “and when you’ve got a strong basis, you can go in a lot of various directions.” The engine design and style shared by the Octane and Scout surely qualifies as a robust basis.
When I discussed this situation with Brandon Kraemer, Victory Solution Manager, he posited that the problem is significantly less of the common DNA in the Octane and Scout than the similarities among the motorcycles in the class, noting that totally 65% of the Octane’s components have been distinctive to it, leaving only 35% of them shared with the Scout. As Kraemer place it, “Because they are mid-sized cruisers, they are certainly in the very same category, they are often going to have comparable specs and equivalent silhouettes.”
This resonated with me since, as I’d believed about the comment thread brouhaha more than the model unveiling, I kept coming back to how the lines of the Octane reminded me a lot more of the Kawasaki Vulcan S than the Scout. Both the Octane and the Vulcan have 18-in. front wheels and 17-in. rears. The visual emphasis of the bikes is a distinct angle sloping from the front to the rear. Even the tank lines are similar, even though a single is much more curved and the other far more angular. The solo saddles have a distinct bolster at the rear to assist the rider, who is in a feet-forward riding position, keep in place under acceleration. So, maybe Kraemer has a point.
Nevertheless, if you are obtaining to explain this significantly, doesn’t that mean you’ve currently lost? Nicely, perhaps it is time to cease overthinking this problem and just move on to the specifics of the bike this overview is presumably addressing.
A Bike For Troublemakers
When the time came to create the engine for the Octane, Victory had to look no further than the Project 156 bike. “From our end, Pikes Peak was about the motor,” stated Kraemer. “That’s all it was.” So, the cylinders gained 2mm (to 101.0mm) although retaining the Scout’s 73.6mm stroke. Consequently, the displacement enhanced to 1179cc – a 46cc bump. Though Victory was mum on all the internal engine adjustments, Kraemer did run off a laundry list of components that are distinct from the Scout mill, saying, “The pistons, cylinders, heads, all the covers on the motors, camshafts – those are all certain to Octane, giving you that distinctive character.”
Victory didn’t supply graphs of the Octane’s power output, so I’ll resort to my butt dynamometer. Where the Scout was somewhat docile at decrease rpm – till the rider pulled its tail – the Octane responds quickly off the line. Throttle response in the decrease rev range borders on abrupt, and (since you need to know by now that I obsess more than smooth energy delivery) : I was shocked to understand that the characteristic is claimed to be a feature, not a bug. “We genuinely wanted a tiny much more acceleration, a type of jerkiness in very first gear,” explained Kraemer, “So, when you do a burnout or you are going slow and you want to spin the rear tire, you can easily do it.”
Our initial day on the Octane created hooligans out of some journalists who’d never ever taken the opportunity to smell their own burnt rubber.
Generally, this kind of information comes off as merely hyperbole – since the press event doesn’t have a way to correctly test these claims. (See my 2016 Ducati XDiavel S 1st Ride Assessment for an attempted clandestine test of launch manage.) Victory, on the other hand, gave the international motorcycle media a complete day playing at Orlando Speed World exactly where three arenas have been set up: quarter-mile dragstrip, an Octane-khana handling course, and stunting school. The items we go by way of for our readers…
Victory stunt rider, Tony Carbajal, demonstrates how easy it is to access the Octane’s oil filter.
When we rolled our Octanes into the center of the banked oval race track, Victory Stunt Team riders Tony Carbajal and Joe Dryden promised us that, if we wanted, we’d be drifting Octanes by the end of our session. Starting with static burnouts and progressing to rolling ones, they helped some of the media who had by no means engaged in such shenanigans turn out to be comfortable.
Subsequent came tough launches, which have been merely obtaining the Octane rolling by cranking the throttle WFO, dumping the clutch, and hanging on. The whoops and hollers from the initial-time hooligans filled the air, along with the tire smoke. When the time came, Dryden instructed us how to drift a tough launch – only to temper it with the warning that, if things got as well sideways, the preferred action would be to keep the throttle open and ride the slide to the ground because chopping the throttle would most likely lead to seeing how the Octane looks from above.
Now, keep in mind, if items go sideways, it’s a lot less painful to ride it to the ground than to attend flight school by chopping the throttle.
The expertise proved Victory’s point. The Octane has plenty of stonk in the bottom end to make a drooling, toothy-grinned show-off out of even the most mild-mannered journalists. By the time the 40-minute session was more than, the air smelled of burnt rubber and all of the Octanes had flat spots in the center of their rear tire profiles.
The efficiency in this realm was made feasible by the changes in the final-drive ratio compared to the Scout. “We’ve got 7% shorter gearing in the final drive,” stated Kraemer. ”That plus the much more torque made by the larger engine provides you 14% more torque at the rear wheel in any gear.” In addition, Kraemer claims that the Octane’s flat torque curve cranks out over 65 lb-ft. of torque from two,500 to 8,000 rpm, which conspires with the gearing to deliver “that throw-your-head-back acceleration when you drop the clutch.”
The race to get the left foot to the shifter just before the revs reach the limiter.
The dragracing stage also emphasized the Octane’s aggressiveness in the bottom end. A very good launch needed just the appropriate quantity of clutch feathering or the rear wheel would spin. Then it was just riding the power curve. Very good instances on the Octane had been a challenge due to the fact the feet-forward riding position required that the tip of the left boot be threaded among the peg and the shifter whilst holding the throttle open and managing the clutch release in 1st gear. A excellent launch shortened the time to get your toe forward for the shift. During the practice runs, I was capable to clock a 12.45 second quarter mile with a speed of 107.7 mph – earning me second place among the American journalists in the practice sessions.
In the final competition run, I got my very best launch of the day, proceeded to catch my toe on the left peg, and decided to take a nap in the rev-limiter resulting in my slowest run of the day. A clerical error credited me with the fastest American journalist run and allowed me to bask in a moment’s false glory at that night’s dinner prior to fessing up to my peers.
Aside from being a kick in the pants, the drag runs gave a excellent impression of the acceleration the Octane is capable of achieving: best E.T. of the event was a 12.-second run. While the clutch pull is a bit stiff, it is effortless to modulate for a rapid launch. The power builds with a noticeable bump peaking near the engine’s eight,400 rpm redline. The exhaust note on the stock pipe is fascinating till it is in the end drowned out by the one hundred-mph wind. The bikes outfitted with Victory’s Stage 1 slip-ons sound even far better. Shifting, when I was capable to get my foot in position, was slick and precise with nary a missed gear adjust that can reveal transmission sloppiness for the duration of the hurried dragracing shifts.
The Sea Of Cones
When thinking about gymkhana, most riders wouldn’t think that a cruiser – with its extended wheelbase and feet-forward riding position – would be the ideal mount. Still, a tight, technical cone course is a wonderful location to demonstrate low-speed handling. Using the same course style that will be featured in the upcoming CHiPs movie, the lane width was the length of your typical broomstick and contorted about the parking lot. 1 particular U-turn, which was primarily two side-by-side lanes with a closed-off finish, gave me fits, producing me question my riding capacity. The rest of the course highlighted the Octane’s maneuverability, acceleration, and braking.
With a claimed dry weight of 528 lbs., the Octane feels light among the knees, creating it easy to toss around on the course. Despite the fact that Victory’s claimed lean angle is 32° (1° a lot more than the Scout), touching the pegs down in this environment was fairly effortless, although they did drag cleanly. The challenge of gymkhana is feathering the clutch whilst leaned more than and adjusting speed with the rear brake. The two-piston front caliper and the 298mm disc offered a lot of energy with a firm squeeze, but I’d probably favor a dual-disc setup to enable finer control. Strangely, ABS is not an choice though it is essential on EU models. At the end, I was certain that the Octane would be an superb mount in the urban atmosphere that numerous will probably prowl.
It is About The Open Road
Although the day of hooliganism was a blast, the true test of any streetbike is how it behaves in public. The riding position is clamshell performance cruiser, and if you don’t like it, you won’t like the Octane. It’s as easy as that. Around town in bumper-to-bumper visitors, the riding position is absolutely fine. Maneuvering among automobiles with cat-like agility that a single may not expect from an 18-in. front wheel, the only real flies in the Octane ointment had been the hefty clutch pull and low-speed throttle abruptness. Nevertheless, the abruptness is not oppressive, and muscles get stronger with standard use, so no real points are lost here.
Even though Florida is not recognized for lots of corners, our ride to the interior west of Daytona supplied sufficient info about the Octane’s cornering manners to earn some praise. At speeds that would have earned our cadre of motojournalists certificates of appreciation, possibly with complimentary lodging integrated, the Octane handled sweeping corners better than most cruisers. The chassis stiffness was noticeable given that the ride lacked any of the hinge-in-the-middle sensation made by significantly less-stout frames. At higher speeds, the 18-inch front wheel slowed steering, requiring more work than a bike with 16-inch wheels, like, say, the Scout, but the Octane was dead stable and often went exactly where told to go.
With only the dreaded three-inches of travel in the rear, what can I say? The ride was more comfy than a Sportster’s, but that is damning with faint praise. As with all brief-travel shock setups like this, moderate bumps are absorbed, but massive hits become big hits – straight up the spine. A session with the (identical length) accessory piggyback shocks revealed a firmer ride that kept cornering forces from making use of up as considerably travel, but they were nevertheless hamstrung by the length of their stroke. Such is the nature of the beloved cruiser low seat height.
Despite its diminutive size, the cowl assists take wind stress off the rider’s chest up until about 80 mph.
The Octane’s riding position will be familiar to virtually any cruiser rider, and it distinguishes itself from the Scout by getting pegs mounted to a revised frame that permits an extra degree of lean angle. The attain to the grips is affordable, specifically for fun and games, and the sporty cowl directs a good quantity of the wind blast away from the rider. At 80 mph and above, the upper physique gets a exercise, requiring the rider to straighten his/her arms and let the skeletal system take the load. Despite the fact that the Octane wasn’t made to be a tourer, with the exception of the seat, day-lengthy rides are a lot more than attainable.
About the seat… It is firm with a pronounced curve increasing up in the rear. Even though the shape makes staying in the saddle under challenging acceleration significantly less complicated, it also limits wiggle room on longer stints. After about 45 minutes of ride time, all of the journalists could be noticed attempting to find far more comfy positions for their aching glutes.
Breaking The Lights
As I cross the finish line of my also-short time with the Octane, I’m left with a positive very first impression. When taking into consideration the $ ten,499 MSRP, the Octane gives a compelling package of problems-creating overall performance wrapped in a modern day-looking cruiser kind that appears – to an individual who has had the pleasure of testing Victorys because their inception – like a functionality cruiser only Victory could have built.
Although I can recognize riders’ need to see this powerplant in a more regular or sporting chassis, their disappointment at the Octane getting a muscle cruiser instead of a streetfighter (or whatever) doesn’t adjust the fact that this is a effectively-built, entertaining, and somewhat corrupting motorcycle.
Rather than complaining that the Octane appears related to the Scout, consider these similarities as indicators of a great gene pool.
To the riders who like this feet-forward style of sportiness, give the Octane a critical look. The functionality is excellent, and the price tag is good. With Matte Super Steel Grey as the only presented color, that decision will be easy. Nonetheless, if you’re heartbroken and more than a small bit angry about the type that the Octane took, you must take heart in the subtext of Hultgren’s closing words to me:
“This is the initial step in a journey we are on. We are moving forward.” Kraemer was a bit more forthright but nonetheless just as nonspecific: “Now, we’re going to start off seeking at other classes. The future is wide open, and we’ve got a wonderful new powertrain right here. So, we’ll see exactly where it goes.”
| 2017 Victory Octane | |
+ Highs
| – Sighs
|
| 2017 Victory Octane Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | Liquid-cooled 60-degree V-Twin 4V/cyl, DOHC |
| Engine Capacity | 1179 cc |
| Bore x Stroke | 101. x 73.6mm |
| Horsepower | 104hp @ 8000 rpm (claimed) |
| Torque | 76 lb-ft @ 6000 rpm |
| Compression ratio | ten.eight : 1 |
| Fuel Method | EFI, 60mm throttle-body |
| Clutch | Wet, multi-plate |
| Transmission | six-speed continuous-mesh |
| Final Drive | Belt |
| Front Suspension | 41mm damper-tube forks with dual-rate springs 4.7-in. travel |
| Rear Suspension | Twin shocks with dual-rate springs, adjustable for preload 3.-in. travel |
| Front Brake | 298mm disc two-piston single-action caliper |
| Rear Brake | 298mm disc, single-piston caliper |
| Front Tire | 130/70-18 63H |
| Rear Tire | 160/70-17 76H |
| Laden Seat Height | 25.9 in. (Laden? Genuinely, Victory?) |
| Rake/Trail | 29.0°/5.1 in. |
| Wheelbase | 62.1 in. |
| Dry Weight (Claimed) | 528 lb. (dry) |
| Fuel Capacity | 3.four gal |
| Colors | Black |
| MSRP | $ ten,499.00 |
2017 Victory Octane First Ride Evaluation
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