Motorcycle specifications Victory (USA)1200 OCTANE 2016 Characteristic assault

hammer, Judge, Gunner... Temperamental motorcycles are part of the Victory philosophy. Machines with aplomb, America, and a big 1.7-liter air-cooled twin. Is this enough to satisfy your desire for muscle and expansion? Not for the brand, which has taken a new step forward with the 1200 Octane power cruiser. An equivocal name, with hints of carbide and psychotic instability. And in its bowels, it smells hot, wags watts and gargles water. In Iowa, we're changing dimension and installing a water-cooled block. Heresy?!? Not at all. A desire to offer more sensations, and incidentally to kick the neighboring competition.

octane. The name says it all, no frills. Victory perpetuates a line of seasoned namesakes. Its christening will be one of fury, with an engine far removed from the brand's canon. Smaller, more powerful and more responsive than the 106 Freedom, this block is totally new to the range.
But not in the group. We know it under other colors. It recently powered the Indian Scout cousin. The scent of Project 156 and participation in the 2015 Pike Peaks race gave us ideas and inspiration. Transposed into the Octane, this twin gains a few cubic centimetres by increasing the bore (2 mm). With super-square ribs measuring 101 x 73.6 mm, the engine is already thinking about revving up rather than getting excited about torque.
But before we get too carried away, let's see what the octane heart promises us between two stoplights. It wants it, it claims it: less than 4 seconds to slam 0 to 100 km/h, 400 meters in 12 seconds. Victory claims "a sporty heart". A notion that needs to be put into perspective. For fans of power, we're on the verge of occlusion: this block produces 104 horsepower - a Panigale R would be laughing out loud at this, with twice as much power for the same cubic capacity; but that's not the way to conjugate this power. It's a sporty performance for an American, beyond the usual conventions of the other side of the Atlantic.

Nice guys aren't exactly welcome on the Octane. The machine boasts a bad-boy edge, which the brand clearly emphasizes. In addition to the sporty little windshield, the menacingly-edged fuel tank, the absence of chrome and the dark depth of the whole, the bike seems ready for all manner of eccentricities. The images speak for themselves: it's very rare to see an American manufacturer present one of its models in clearly provocative positions. And yet, underneath the stripped-down, even minimalist exterior, you won't find any hint of a sports bike or roadster. No, a structure combining aluminum front and rear sections joined by a tubular steel section holds the bulk of the machine together, with a 41 mm fork, 2 lateral shock absorbers and, all in all, rather modest braking. A 298 mm disc per wheel, ABS... we were expecting something more vindictive, like 320 mm double discs with Brembo radial calipers. Stop! We're still forgetting that it's a Ricaine, not an Italian. And both don't take the same view of a rant.
Sitting just 635 mm off the ground, the rider will be far from such considerations. Even the dry weight of 243 kilos is only of relative importance, although it's reasonable for the category. A V-Rod is easily 50 kilos heavier.

the Octane - This is Victory's most powerful machine, and a very close cousin of the Indian family, being closely derived from the Scout. A power-cruiser that intends to cause a ruckus in the less-than-glossy world of muscle-bikes. It comes to the poker table with a different game: it spits out a few less watts than an H-D Muscle; a lot less than an XDiavel; I'm not even talking about the gulf with a V-Max. But price-wise, it's unbeatable, well below the three charismatic bikes presented above.

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