Words: Matthew Shields

It seemed like it was a long time coming with a string of teasers, concept builds and race machines, but when it was finally revealed earlier in 2016 we weren’t disappointed at the Victory Octane that was finally revealed as a production roadbike. Following on from a string of concept machines made by highly-regarded customisers Zack Ness, Roland Sands and Urs Erbacher, the Octane is a mash-up of all their design concepts with the centrepiece a 1200cc V-twin – Victory’s first-ever liquid-cooled V-twin engine.

Running a DOHC 60-degree V-twin with four-valve heads, Victory’s Octane has the base-requirements to mix it with the a bunch of light, sporty cruisers. After a hyped-up, build-up centred around the new engine, the outright figures didn’t quite rock the world. That said, while 77kW of power and 99Nm of torque might not sound like much the Octane weighs in 60kg lighter than Harley-Davidson’s more powerful V-Rod Muscle for example. It’s a big picture performance approach and the Octane really does make the most of that healthy power-to-weight ratio.

On the road it feels like a light machine with good power and strong torque. That translates to an engine that is easy to control through the rev range and rockets away from a standstill or when you are rolling the power on through the rev range. Don’t be fooled by the specifications – torque is abundant, the light weight allows the Octane to get moving quick and more beneficially the light weight makes the handling a sheer delight. When Victory was talking about the sporting performance of the Octane, they were talking about the whole package.

A big part of the performance is the handling with a chassis designed to deliver good traction and sporty handling. The bike sits low on the road and is very narrow. With a seat height just over 650mm and the small machine between your legs at standover, there aren’t going to be many people that are daunted by the size of this machine. The riding position is comfortable on the open road and it isn’t too relaxed to make spirited riding feel wrong like it does on some sporty cruisers with comfortable ride positions.

The handling dynamic is on the sportier side and a lot of that is down to wheel size with a 130-section 18-inch front and a 160-section 17-inch rear. Suspension is a 41mm fork equipped with dual-rate springs up front and twin shocks with preload-adjustable dual-rate springs at the rear. The package is complaint across fast corrugations – something you don’t always get with cruisers – and at high-speed you can feel the Octane errs on the side of firmness over comfort. It’s basic in construction, but it works well over a good variety of surface conditions.

When it’s time to grab the picks a 300mm disc brake with stainless-steel line at both ends do the job with ABS fitted standard. The power was easy to modulate thanks to a good range of lever travel, though I would have preferred a bit more bite for the aggressive riding that the punchy engine and great handling chassis can provide. Ground clearance isn’t too much of a concern in most situations but on hard cornering the footpegs will be the first thing to touch and you then have a bit more lean before solid parts of the bike come in contact with the ground.

Keeping in mind that even though the Octane is 1200cc, it will be a sensible entry point for many riders into the cruiser world. With Victory’s own unique styling cues across the bike, it may not satisfy everyone’s tastes, but there’s always the Indian Scout to choose instead – a bike that shares a lot of features with the Octane. While the Scout is easy going in its nature, and more of a classic cruiser, the Octane is a more exciting machine to ride, sporty in nature, and with all the performance on tap that riders will ever use on the road.

The Victory Octane is available in the one colour you see in the pictures. There are accessories available to give it a personalised touch, and a set of free-breathing exhausts would have to be at the top of most people’s wish lists. Priced at $18,995, it is a great value access point into the world of cruisers. It doesn’t have some of the niceties that cruisers nearly twice its price have like traction control and bling, but its a bare bones, raw, aggressively styled machine and isn’t meant to. No chrome, no bling, just performance, style and comfort – that’s the kind of cruiser I want!

Specifications

Capacity: 1200cc
Power: 77kW @ 8000rpm
Torque: 99Nm @ 6000rpm
Dry weight: 242kg
Seat height: 657mm
Price: $18,995 rideaway
Detailed specs: www.victorymotorcycles.com/en-au