Having Victory fielding not one, but two bikes in the Zero TT this year at the Isle of Man event in June is definitely one of the milestones for the house of Spirit Lake. The two electric machines will have William Dunlop and Lee "General Lee" Johnston at the helm and it looks like both Victory and the riders are very confident in their chances at the Mountain Course.
It's no secret that the decision to go road racing came along with the acquisition of Brammo's electric motorcycle business. Make no mistake, the two Victory Dunlop and Johnston that will ride in the IOM TT are reworked Brammos.
The same base with an upgraded motor and battery pack
For lack of a specific name, we'll say that the e-Victory retained the overall design and frame of the Brammo, but received a major overhaul on the motor and battery.
Victory's Gary Gray tells cycleworld that the motor got new windings and the battery was repacked to store 20% more energy and withstand the hardcore vibrations on a circuit as demanding as the Snaefell Moutain. The controller and the entire whole wire harness were also renewed completely.
All the team's efforts have been channelled to deliver the best performance possible along the under-38-mile-long (60.7 km) circuit. The main idea is to deliver a bike that offers peak performance down to the wire, and whose batteries must be almost dry by the time it blasts across the finish line.
Aerodynamics and cooling also play a very important role in the "racing economy", Gray adds. Tweaks and improvements are also to be found in the new bike. Still being secretive, the Motorcycle Product Director/ Leader of Polaris Electric Motorcycles, Gary Gray only adds that Victory is considering taking a step outside the traditional heavyweight v-twin bikes market.
This and the recently-announced Project 156 liquid-cooled machine that will race to the clouds at the 2015 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb are generating quite a lot of questions. Is the answer in this Polaris editorial?
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