Victory's Shot Into the Future
VICTORY'S SHOT INTO THE FUTURE
ROUNDUP
HERE IS THE VICTORY "Vision" concept automatic motorcy cle-a shot into the future, planned to connect with pub lic taste at some upcoming moment. GM's great stylist Harley Earl-the man who brought us tailfins-learned early that styling had to lead the public.. .but only just. This non-running prototyp combines a number of ele ments. Its front is sportbike, with inverted fork and twin disc brakes. The rear is defined by a wide 250mm tire like those found on custom
bikes, while the seating posi tion is cruiser, and the large forward streamlined "pod" includes storage space for two helmets. A 61-inch wheelbase makes room for all the pieces. An 800cc parallel-Twin engine (the balance-shaft mill used in the Polaris Big Gun ATV) sends power to a shaft drive via a belt CVT, so there is no clutch, no gearchange pedal-start up, turn the throt tle and go. To better understand the Vision's intentions, I spoke with Greg Brew, Director of Polaris Industrial Design. He
described the Vision as the intersection of three circles, each defining something val ued in a segment of the mar ket: The look, the attitude, of a sportbike; a comfortable, visible cruiser riding posi tion; the utility and storage capacity of a tourer. He added that the new generation of potential riders has never shifted a gear or operated a clutch. Polaris has belt CVT know-how, making an automatic bike a natural choice. Snowmobiles-a major Polaris CVT application-
accelerate hard. Scooters and touring bikes have storage space-but oniy specialized market appeal. Sportbikes are exciting, but demanding to ride or even to sit upon. Eclecticism is a proven con cept in music, fashion, archi tecture. Pick elements people like and find a way to com bine them. In business, com panies today like to find new applications for what they do best-note that Yamaha has spun off its Ri engine to power both snowmobiles and watercraft. In this way, a CVT motorcycle makes
sense for both Polaris and new buyers.
I also talked with Polaris designer Tiger Bracy, from whose mind the Vision sprung. He spoke of the urban rider’s problem. “It’s a pain in the butt to walk around with your gear. The Vision gives you a place to put it, so you walk away clean. My job as designer is to see where motorcycling is going-into the future in ways we haven’t seen yet.”
Bracy firmly fended off my suggestions that the shape and surface details of Vision were perhaps affected by the fantasy worlds of Star Wars, Transformer robots or video games. “It’s low, it has fluid, flowing lines that continue ideas you can see in other Victory models,” he says.
The big problem in the motorcycle market is that no one knows what the new generation wants, while the established center of the market isn’t getting any younger. Harley-Davidson feels this most intensely, compelling its experiments with first the younger, sportier Buell brand and now the V-Rod. Victory is in a similar position, but with less to lose from possibly offending a traditional clientele. Because the future is obscure, the safe play is for industry to cater to the “gray market,” older riders with money to spend, whose tastes are still largely defined by the FIM’s 1958 decision that rac-
ing motorcycles (the style leaders) will have bare front wheels and only frontal streamlining.
In current motorcycle style, what generally passes for progress is changes in where the Jet Age scoops are located and whether the “faces” of motorbikes should resemble those of cats or of sharks. It will take a big jump to escape this conformism and create a fresh paradigm, and big jumps are risky. As Harley Earl learned long ago, if you get too far ahead of the public, you become invisible.
-Kevin Cameron
