Say goodbye to Iowa-made Victory Motorcycles

Polaris Industries, a global producer of motorcycles, snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, is pulling the plug on its 18-year-old Iowa-made Victory Motorcycles brand.

The unique sporty muscular motorcycles were introduced in 1998 as American-made alternative to Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson and foreign bike makers such as Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki.

In 2011, Polaris acquired the iconic Indian Motorcycle brand, which had been revived after production ceased in both 1953 and again in 2003. Polaris currently assembles both Indian and Victory bikes at its Spirit Lake plant, which will now double down on the Indian brand.

The company plans to eliminate some temporary jobs and offer early retirement to some permanent plant employees, but officials wouldn't say how many jobs would be affected or how many people work in Spirit Lake.

"We will refocus our resources and manufacturing capacity in Spirit Lake, Ia., and Spearfish, S.D., on Indian Motorcycle production," spokeswoman Megan Kathman said in a statement. "Polaris remains committed to maintaining its presence in the Spirit Lake community."

Since 1998, Victory's nearly 60 models have won 25 of the industry's top awards, Polaris CEO Scott Wine said in a statement Monday.

“This was an incredibly difficult decision for me, my team and the Polaris board of directors,” Wine said. “Over the past 18 years, we have invested not only resources, but our hearts and souls, into forging the Victory Motorcycles brand, and we are exceptionally proud of what our team has accomplished."

But he said the brand has struggled to maintain the market share "needed to succeed and be profitable."

Monday's news came as a surprise to Iowa dealers.

"There was no warning, no signs, nothing," said Jake Mecham, general manager of Fenders Cycles & Motorsport in Des Moines, which sells both Indian and Victory motorcycles. "The owners found out this morning through Facebook, so that was disappointing."

Indian and Victory generally appeal to different buyers, Mecham said. Victory buyers are usually more interested in performance, while Indian buyers like the classic look and the heritage of buying from the nation's oldest manufacturer of motorcycles.

"Victory bikes are more muscle bikes. It's like the muscle cars of motorcycles," he said. "They’re very aggressively styled, where the Indian falls on the traditional roots of the bike."

Indian's release of new models and innovations has created a wave of industry buzz in recent years, Mecham said. But Victory's offerings have remained somewhat stagnant.

"For a lot of our customers that are die-hard loyalists to the Victory brand there hasn’t been much incentive to go get a new bike because it's not much different than the one they have sitting at home," he said.

Indian is No. 2 for market share of heavyweight bikes, a company official said, while Victory maintained the fourth-largest portion of the market.

Jon Jackson, manager of Okoboji Motorsports & Okoboji Indian Motorcycle in Spirit Lake, said Victory bikes are generally cheaper than their sister brand. New Victory models begin at about $9,999, he said, while Indians begin around $11,000.

But Indian motorcycles outsell Victory bikes by about 11 times at the Spirit Lake shop, he said. Jackson said he felt bad for Victory fans, but noted that shops like his will continue to serve their needs with Indian products. He also expects the news to sting across north Iowa.

"It's always been the home of Victory Motorcycles and it’s the new home of Indian Motorcycles," he said. "I think it's going to be kind of a hurtful thing for a lot of people who work here, people from here that know that brand is not going to be there anymore."

Polaris plans to immediately begin winding down the brand, assisting dealers in liquidating existing inventories. The company will continue to produce parts for the next 10 years and will still provide warranty and service coverage to dealers and customers.

In 2015, Polaris sales reached $4.7 billion. About 15 percent of those sales derived from the company's Indian, Victory and the three-wheeled Slingshot cycle brands. The CEO's statement on Monday said the company will focus more of its motorcycle efforts on the Indian Motorcycle brand, which he believes has greater potential than Victory.

“This decision will improve the profitability of Polaris and our global motorcycle business, and will materially improve our competitive stance in the industry,” Wine's statement said. “Our focus is on profitable growth, and in an environment of finite resources, this move allows us to optimize and align our resources behind both our premium, high performing Indian Motorcycle brand and our innovative Slingshot brand, enhancing our focus on accelerating the success of those brands."