Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1253738
The Japanese motorcycle industry was born in 1935 when Harley - Davidson licensed blueprints, tools, dies and machinery to the Sankyo Compan y of Japan. Sankyo's first bike was called the Rikuo. In 1938, local Indian motorcycle dealer J.C. Clarence "Pappy" Hoel encouraged a local Indian motorcycle club called The Jackpine Gypsies to hold a race named the Black Hills Classic in a South Dakota to wn called Sturgis . When the U.S. entered World War II, both companies again devoted their resources to the war effort, with thousand s of Indian and Harley - Davidson motorcycles shipped to Allied military forces all over the world. Civilian production resumed at war's end. In 1953, while Harley was celebrating its 50th anniversary, Indian ceased production. A series of buyers and invest ors each gave Indian motorcycle manufacturing a try over the next several decades. In the middle of all that, New Zealander Burt Munro rode "The World's Fastest Indian" to a land speed record of 183.586 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. You might have seen the movie. Elvis Presley posed on a 1956 model KH Harley on the cover of The Enthusiast, the Harley motorcycle magazine. Harley merged with AMF in 1969. In 1970, Harley produced the XR - 750 , shown above, a new Sportster - based entry for AMA Class C racing. In 1981, 13 Harley execs bought their company back from AMF. And in 2011, Polaris Industries bought Indian. All has been well with bo th companies since then . What You Didn't Know About The Victory The Victory Motorcycle 1. The first bike was produced in 1998: It really doesn't seem like it was all that long ago, but the company was in business for more than 20 years. The very first Victory motorcycle was completed in 1997 and went into serious production one year later. 2. The company was actually driven by Polaris: Most people are surprised to learn that Victory was not really a company in and of itself. Instead, it was what amount s to another division of the Polaris company, the same one that is so famous for making four wheelers and other all - terrain vehicles. 3. It was formed to be a direct competitor with Harley Davidson: Polaris truly believed that if they produced the right p roduct, they could steal away many of the Harley - Davidson customers. 4 . The victory was a heavy bike. In reality, Victory wanted to create motorcycles that were essentially the same as the Harley Davidson models. Since those particular motorcycles have a tendency to be much heavier than motorcycles made by other companies, the ones made by Victory were equally as heavy. While there are plenty of differing opinions about whether or not a heavy bike is the best kind to have, there are a number of people tha t do prefer them. That is essentially what Harley Davidson is all about and it always has been. Since the company wanted to create a bike that would be similar yet superior, it only makes sense that the overwhelming majority of the bikes produced by Victor y would be on the heavy side. 5 . There is an owner's club (100+ chapters) still dedicated to these machine s: Even though the company hasn't been in business since last year, there is still an active owner's club and people still have a great deal of pride in owning and operating one of these machines. In fact, it seems to be even more important now that the company is no longer producing new motorcycles. BSHDFC E - MAG JUNE 2020 / PAGE 5