Throttle Roll was invited to the exclusive launch of the new Victory Octane, a bike that has already been garnering interest in the form of many different custom creations such as the aggressive Project 156 by Roland Sands.
There was plenty of American beer to drink, as well as a hot dog stand with all the trimmings to help celebrate this new addition to the American muscle playground. Only 4 of these bikes were to be released worldwide for this preview of what was to come, and 2 of those bikes were sent here to Australia – showing the growing presence of this still relatively young brand amongst the Aussie crowd.
The Octane is what many Victory riders and enthusiasts have been waiting for; a middleweight cruiser. The new 1,179cc V-twin engine is reminiscent of the 1,133cc engine of the Indian Scout, and in fact both are very closely related on the inside. Victory has stuck true to its American muscle ideals, but provided something a bit more nimble than it’s much larger capacity cruiser models. With 105hp, it’s a bike that could be closer compared to the Harley-Davidson V-Rod instead of the 1200 Sportster, while sharing a similar weight – said to be around the 240kg mark.
Punters can expect to see these available for sale in April-May of this year.