Victory has a history of building imaginative concept bikes (like this Blade Runner-like creation that inspired the Vision), and the new CORE concept upholds that forward-thinking tradition. This performance cruiser concept combines unlikely elements like pinstriping, carbon fiber and mahogany, and its sand cast aluminum frame is an elegant exercise in simplicity.
Take a look in the Victory CORE concept Photo Gallery, and comment on whether or not you'd want one of these bad boys in your garage.
Related:
Photo © VictoryClick for a Photo Gallery of the Victory CORE Concept
I like.
I’m not impressed, anybody can build a hardtail v-twin….they’re a dime a dozen.
And anybody who rides one is a poser. Victory really wimped out on this one!
As if the wooden seat wasn’t enough enjoyment for your butt, victory tops it off with exhaust pipes against your theigh. Luckily its only a pretend bike, i guess i’ll also have to pretend it doesn’t suck…
I look forward to seeing this when I get to the show on Sunday.
I don’t think Victory wimped at all. I think it’s everyone else that’s wimped trying to be an H-D. Okay, Star has stepped out a bit and Honda, well, we’ll see the Fury go the same way as the Rune, but at least there was some thought.
It’s not just “anybody” that can build a sand cast frame. It’s not just “anybody” that can put a bike like this on the road under 500 lbs. Victory has a serious product design team.
My brother heads up a product design firm and many clients set out to offend half of their customers, while delighting the other half.
As always, I’m a huge fan of the H-D FLSTC, but H-D hasn’t had new idea in decades.
It sucks
I’m supposed to be impressed because the frame is cast in sand???? As if that makes it better or stronger than being cast in a die?
For a motorcycle company with the resources of Victory to come up with a simple hardtail v-twin chopper with absolutely nothing innovative or unusual about it….(oh yea, I forgot…it has a wooden seat…woohooo!)
IS most surely “WIMPING OUT!!!” in a big way!
Saw it at the show here in New York. I looks good and the frame is innovative.
The frame is innovative? How innovative…$$$
The frame is innovative??? Are you fricking kidding me??
IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE SUSPENSION!!!!!
Calm down, Fred! You want your opinion to be respected, and I appreciate that, but you have to respect everyone else’s as well. Don’t just get on here and start angrily spouting rhetoric.
Anyways, I like the aluminum frame. Creating it in pieces and bolting it together (instead of welding) is, in a sense, innovative, despite what others may think…also, even though it’s a rigid frame, if you’ll notice, the seat is made to rotate while attached to a bent peice of sprung-formed sheetmetal. This creates an effect similar to a “springer” seat. Not the best substitute for a shock/spring, but it’ll do.
And now a Foundry Engineering lesson for Mr. Weldon: No, strength of material does not vary between sand casting and die casting. The difference is, sand casting is not commonly used for mass production, because the molds cannot be reused, with the rare/expensive green sand molds being the exception. In many cases, the cope is removed and the drag is destroyed to remove the casting (I believe one of Basem’s pictures shows this happening). Die casting can be used for mass production, but it can also be more expensive to create the reusable molds. Also, of more importance, die casting is almost always used for smaller parts, not large frames (in lieu of die casting, new poured-casting methods are being used by sport bike manufacturers for their aluminum frames). So using a sand mold for a concept or an extremely limited production bike is probably a great idea.
That frame serves the following functions:
1. frame
2. body work
3. air box
4. fuel tank
5. battery box
6. steering head
7. houses all electronics
8. engine mount (engine is directly bolted to the frame as a stressed member, requiring no front down-tubes, under cradle tubes, or engineered engine mounts)
innovative enough for you? how long of a production process (materials? time? energy?) do you think that frame casting took compared to building all of those items separately? and what about the same comparison for a frame made up of multiple steel tubes that all have to be individually welded together with precision, only to have all those other individual items fabricated and bolted on to it, as in the traditional steel frame?
as for the sand cast process they used on the core, that would be the exact same technology victory uses right now to build their luxury touring bike’s frame, the victory vision; a bike in full production.
this is a concept bike. it’s like a 3-d rendering of an artists conception; a design exercise. this is the transportation designer’s equivalent of “war games”; to see “what if?” and stretch and move technology and design forward. it’s not even a prototype (which is a one-off model to shake out issues prior to intended production). so issues such as the wood seat and a lack of rear suspension are totally inconsequential. you might be thinking a little too highly of yourself if you think your or any of our butts were ever intended to meet that seat, so they might as well put form over function on those pieces.
obviously the “killer app” story here is the frame idea and technology. i’ll bet if you add up the amount of time and resources it would take to put this bike into mass production, and compare that to the traditional steel framed units, the actual end user cost of a finalized unit would be much (much much) cheaper than a traditional framed equivalent, because of the lower amount of labor time invested into the overall platform; one core frame equals all those peripheral items i mentioned above, plus the frame. put together one steel, welded frame and all you’ve got is a frame; and it took longer to make, involved more people and unique “touches” required to make, then you’ve got to paint that darn thing, then you’ve got to build and add all those peripherals to it…
this is true forward-thinking and innovation on victory’s part.
I’ll be interested to see what the production model looks like if and when. I like the style.
That frame serves the following functions:
1. frame
2. body work
3. air box
4. fuel tank
5. battery box
6. steering head
7. houses all electronics
8. engine mount (engine is directly bolted to the frame as a stressed member, requiring no front down-tubes, under cradle tubes, or engineered engine mounts)
innovative enough for you?
Absolutly nothing that hasn’t been done before. And if this was done by one of the small, custom chopper builders that still exist in the face of the demise if the genre then I would be impressed…my point is that for a huge motorcycle manufacturer like Victory with the engineering amd production capability they posess to be building a hardtail chopper as a showcase of their ability is lame. Extremely Lame.
Saw it, thought it was an interesting direction for Victory – especially after the Vision. Sure hope they lose the wooden seat.
Not sure why you guys are so worried about the wooden seat. This thing isn’t meant for long rides. I’d like to drag you out on a 100 mile bicycle ride – you’d never complain about your bike’s saddle again.
I’d like the wooden seat to have a hole in it, and a roll of Charmin on the tank. Great for us old guys on long rides.:-)
Looks pretty cool in real life, but can’t see riding it far with that wooden seat which totally changes the concept of this otherwise appealing motorcycle.
Buzz Kanter
American Iron Magazine
http://www.aimag.com
I agree with Mick, Q, and Scottie.
Don’t forget to keep things in perspective….we are talking about a motorcycle that is intended to be a cruiser, styled with a modern interpretation of the early racing era. How much innovation do you want if that is the intended purpose?
on a side note: I’m hoping Victory comes out with a sportbike and/or a sport tourer as those market segments are still wide open* and the next 10 years will see a continued re-shuffling of the cruiser as the cash cow. So, there will be other opportunities for Victory to demonstrate their innovative, diverse, and sustainable manufacturing capabilities.
How many cruiser frames are serving multiple functions as the Core? There are only a handful that circulate the oil.
How many cruisers have the engine and transmission built as unit-construction which allows for chassis options akin to sportbikes (motor as a stressed member)? I believe the Yamaha and Honda motors are unit-construction but they are chasing the HD cradle look.
Forget about the rear suspension since this is a design exercise.
*there isn’t an American sport tourer at the moment
It’s UGLY!!! Good one Pete!!! I like your comment the best!!!
It is only a concept bike. This is an attempt to gauge public reaction to a possible direction Victory will take lets say the next generation of the Vegas. I think Victory should concentrate on producing a mid size bike that is under 10 grand. I also agree with an earlier comment reflecting the fact that an American company should build a sport, and or sport cruiser bike.
Did anyone notice the how much the Fury resembles the Victory Vegas?
Hey Buzz, just want to say AIM is a GREAT Magazine. I subscribe to it and I can’t wait for it to arrive every month. Keep up the great work!!
Hey Fred,
Since when was Victory a “huge motorcycle manufacturer”? They only just celebrated selling their 50,000th unit last summer… in the entire life span of the company… that’s less bikes than another American motorcycle company cut in their cookie-cutter production run last year alone.
A “huge motorcycle manufacturer” could never pull something this forward thinking off successfully as they have to please the mediocratic majority. In the world of OEM’s, Victory is “one of the small, custom chopper builders that still exist in the face of the demise”… and that’s what allows them to do this kind of forward thinking exercise. Let go of the hardtail dude (and the wood seat for you others). It’s a motorcycle design exercise, like rolling art with a multifacited purpose of which actually riding it is way down the list, but a very cool feature. Enjoy it’s simplicity in manufacture and design, it’s smooth arc’s and lines, it solitary representation…. it’s good stuff man.
…not to mention that little “tingle in my dingle” I get when I think about jumping on that thing and ripping the pavement a new one… so cool!
Cool , like it , go for it. Cost can be kept in line with the Honda Chopper
Beautiful, whatever it is!!!! Never had a chopper, but this one would grab me (with seat and shocks, etc.) Just beautiful!