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Harley Davidson Acquiring MV Agusta – It’s Official

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Harley Davidson and MV AgustaWe wrote about the rumor before, here’s the story now that it’s official:

Milwaukee, Wis., July 11, 2008 — Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to purchase the Italian motorcycle maker MV Agusta Group (MVAG). Under the agreement, Harley-Davidson will acquire 100 percent of MV Agusta Group shares for total consideration of approximately 70 million euros ($109 million), which includes the satisfaction of existing bank debt for approximately 45 million euros ($70 million). In addition, the agreement provides for a contingent payment to Claudio Castiglioni in 2016, if certain financial targets are met. MV Agusta Group is privately held, with the Castiglioni family owning 95 percent of MVAG shares.

The acquisition is expected to close in several weeks, pending the satisfaction of contingencies and receipt of regulatory approvals. Harley-Davidson intends to fund the transaction primarily through euro-denominated debt.

MV Agusta Group has two families of motorcycles: a line of exclusive, premium, high-performance sport motorcycles sold under the MV Agusta brand; and a line of lightweight motorcycles sold under the Cagiva brand. MV Agusta’s F4-R motorcycle, powered by a 1078cc in-line four-cylinder liquid cooled engine, is rated at 190 hp. The company sells its products through about 500 dealers worldwide, the vast majority of them in Europe. In 2007, MVAG shipped 5,819 motorcycles. During 2008 MVAG has significantly slowed production due to financial difficulties.

“Motorcycles are the heart, soul and passion of Harley-Davidson, Buell and MV Agusta,” said Harley-Davidson, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jim Ziemer. “Both have great products and close connections with incredibly devoted customers. The MV Agusta and Cagiva brands are well-known and highly regarded in Europe. They are synonymous with beautiful, premium, Italian performance motorcycles,” Ziemer said.

Harley-Davidson, Inc. plans to continue to operate MV Agusta Group from its headquarters based in Varese, Italy. Following closing, the first priority will be to appoint a leadership team to include a new Managing Director and to resume the manufacture of current models.

Current MV Agusta Group Chairman Claudio Castiglioni will continue in a leadership role as Chairman and will play a major role in future product development. Design Chief Massimo Tamburini will continue his leadership of MV Agusta Group’s world leading sport-bike design studio.

“We take enormous pride in MV Agusta and Cagiva motorcycles,” said Castiglioni. “Our riders seek an uncompromising experience in premium performance motorcycles. And with Harley-Davidson’s deep understanding of the emotional as well as the business side of motorcycling, I have great confidence that our motorcycles will excite customers for generations to come.”

According to Ziemer, the acquisition is intended primarily to expand Harley-Davidson, Inc’s presence and footprint in Europe, complementing the Harley-Davidson and Buell motorcycle families. Retail sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles have grown at a double-digit rate in Europe in each of the last three years, as the Company has increased its strategic focus on global markets.

“The acquisition of MV Agusta Group will enhance Harley-Davidson, Inc’s position as a global leader in fulfilling customer dreams and providing extraordinary customer experiences. We look forward to a long relationship with the MV Agusta and Cagiva families of customers and employees,” said Ziemer.

Posted on Filed Under: Motorcycle Business

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Comments

  2. This is where the top H-D principals will spend retirement, at MV in Italy. I’ve seen it happen before.

    Hopefully they have enough smarts to retain the MV identity and not muddy it into another retail merchandise brand like Harley. I don’t want to start seeing more MV tee shirts, bumper stickers and bandannas than I see MV motorcycles.

    Maybe this means that the Cagiva Mito won’t use the Hyosung 650 twin after all. But don’t even think of putting a Blast motor in there. Let’s hope Buell uses half the 1125R motor for the Mito.

    -todd

  3. Where is husky in all this?
    I thought the sweedsish bike were under the MV umbrella?

  4. BMW bought Husq Motorcycle.

    Real question is, what happens to Buell now??

    Does HD keep both? Why?

    With BMC rarely posting any type of profit, and now they are moving away from the HD powertrain, does it make sense to the HD bean counters to keep BMC suckling at the teet of HOG? Or, does it make sense to keep BMC living to target the “lower” end of the performance bike market, while the Italian side chases those in the stratosphere? But to continue to do so at a loss does not seem likely, either…..

    If HD decides to spin BMC, who is the likely buyer? BRP? Why?

    BRP is large enough, capable enough, and has more brand recognition within its own name to jump the two wheeled street market if they so desired. I’d say possibly, but doubtful.

    Could BMC stand on their own? How?

    Surely much of the development budgets utilized by BMC come straight from under a great big orange and black mattress….not to mention all the internal HD resource BMC likely takes advantage of in terms of testing, testing facilities, material sciences, prototyping, and certification investigations – which doesn’t even include the fuzzy comforter of liability protection sleeping in the HD bed provides as well – I’m sure recalls are not inexpensive, and are certainly not missing from BMC’s history. So, while standing alone is always a possibility, I think doing so successfully would be extremely doubtful, and likely a short lived effort if attempted.

    So, at the end of this little script, how will it/does it end for Buell? To me, this is the interesting question.

    time will tell

  6. I think Buell is more successful than MV, also more well known. In the USoA, the story of the little guy (Buell) becoming one of the top players has more cred than MV with all their race glories and helicopters combined.

    There’s always the incalculable value that Buell brings H-D. Though H-D buyers are loyal they know in the back of their mind that Buell is putting the product to the test. It shows that H-D is not stagnated and that there is still potential in the motors. But, like you said, the more Buell distances itself from The Mother Ship the less likely people will associate Buell with Harley and the less value it brings to them. If Corvette no longer used Chevy truck engines and completely became a unique entity people would be less likely to buy Chevy trucks and Aveos.

    No, I definitely think it’s imperative for Buell to continue utilizing and developing Harley’s engines. This is their niche and this is where they bring the most value, both to Harley and to the customer. If Buell entirely focused on beating the Japanese and Italians at their own game there would be even less to differentiate them from the rest. No, the 1125R is only meant to sell more of the base model bikes. It shows that they know their stuff and they probably don’t make enough profit on the 1125R to justify selling it alone.

    -todd

  7. Just think, if Harley-Davidson actually listen to the Italian engineers, they might actually develop an engine that runs without a ton of aftermarket parts.

  9. At first the idea of harley acquiring and mv is plain ol’ scary. But if harley stays an over-priced icon, and corporate bean counters give buell and mv time to play, i can imagine that the end result would be something sweet. i like the idea of a buell engineered bike, quirks and all, under the skin of something that looks like a sportbike and not a bug.

  10. I suppose cutting American jobs will help fund the deal…

    YORK, Pa.—Harley-Davidson Inc. is laying off workers at its plant in York County.

    Harley spokesman Bob Klein says the plant has begun layoffs as part of a plan to cut about 730 workers companywide.

    Nearly 300 workers are scheduled to be cut from the plant in Springettsbury Township. The layoffs will continue in stages throughout the summer.

    Business representative Tom Boger of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 175 says the union will check to make sure workers are laid off according to seniority.

    The Manufacturers’ Association of South Central Pennsylvania plans a worker-placement effort for the laid-off Harley employees.

    Harley tried this exact thing before…didn’t work then either!

  11. You know, ebullient geniuses like Castiglioni and Tamburini just have not to boxed in the vile money matter… Like artists, they need of an illuminated client, a guy (or a company) like the roman Caius Clinius Maecenas, he was the patron of the artists, yes, but through them he practically strongly backed the Emperor’s politics. Since Castiglioni is a guy that spares no expense to make his two-wheeled dreams and I guess it’s the only way he knows, HD ought be wise and “discreet” to handle him and Tamburini and cleverly support them avoiding to “pervert” their nature. If so, they will continue to create fantastic motor bikes for the joy of all us and HD will consolidate it’s empire of motor emotions. Castiglioni and Tamburini LOVE motorcycles more than they love money, they are pure passion. Is that really a bug? Plese, let them work freely.

  13. Todd, all due respect, but in this instance I have to disagree with your #6 post.

    I can support the idea that the 1125R, as a “halo” product, may indirectly sell more XB’s and Blast’s. The press releases alone have made Buell aware to more people. But, I certainly do no not believe it was Eric Buell’s intention to do so. I think he would say the 1125R is the bike he has always wanted to produce.

    Also, Buell is practically independent of Harley anyway. I believe there’s only one officer who runs back and forth between parent and sibling and reports to the board. Buell is its own little self-contained company with their own ideas and budgets. Of course, $100M a year isn’t THAT small, but it’s run very lean inside, more like Honda. It’s funny how everyone assumes (me once included) that HD foots the bill for everything Buell does.

    So, #4 Jar, what happens to Buell now? I’ll tell you. Buell, after 25 years in production, just downshifted into third and is about to twist the throttle wide open. The 1125R is just the start. Their sights, especially with sister MV? Maybe Ducati, who knows? Look at Ducati’s sales growth in the States. Is there any reason why an American moto company shouldn’t give them some competition? Who else is even in the position to try it? Even if Buell put a 1098 motor in his new platform, I think there would still be enough to differentiate his product and legacy. Instead, he picks the most succesful powersports engine maker in the world. This is no marketing exercise.

    Besides, this next era for HD is about cutting the costs of the Harley brand, going into support mode for the millions of Harleys out there, and placing a few key investments in other niche companies that will surely grow.

    I’ll throw this out there. What would really be interesting now, is if Terblanche teamed up with Buell. That, plus sister company MV Agusta and his old pals the Castiglioni-Tamburini duo, can you imagine? Ducati who?? In one fell swoop, HD would corner the market on the best design leadership in the biz.

  14. This makes me wonder if the same comapany will manufacture engines for both Buell & MV.

  18. Is it the 70s all over again ? Does HD and Aeramacchi ring a bell ? I’m sure some of you fine folks can elaborate on this .

  19. what happens to buell? nothing. why is everyone under the assumption that 2 competing products within one company is a bad thing? numerous companies world wide do this all the time. if one of your brands is losing a few sales to the other, what is the problem? either way the money is coming to you, and, the most important part, its not going to your competitors. if anything, competing products within the same company may actually improve your chances of making more cash in the market. 10,000 sales from MV and 10,000 sales from buell is better than 15,000 sales from buell and 5,000 sales for a competitor.

    in all of this, i think its hard to see buell and MV as competing companies anyways. buell is an affordable niche product, using only V-twins and off the wall engineering ideas(fuel in frame, exhaust under bike, etc), while augusta is more of a performance and style no matter what the cost brand.

  20. Buell has failed to capture the younger market as HD had hoped. Even bolting in a Rotax engine didn’t work. That’s why HD feels the need to acquire MV Agusta.

  21. Once this buyout finally completes, it’ll be interesting to see what new models MV Agusta and Cagiva debut in the next couple years. I’ve read a 675 3-cylinder sportbike is waiting in the wings, and possibly a single-cylinder sportbike as well. Also, I wonder if Castiglioni will finally get one of his wishes and finally enter MV Agusta in MotoGP within the near future? Or will the company settle with production-based racing instead??

    Jeff had an interesting comment about HD and Aermacchi. If I’m not mistaken, Aermacchi would eventually become Cagiva. Hence, the cycle has now come full-circle.

  22. I really don’t think that’s it skeeter. And, you say the Rotax didn’t work for them?? The bike was just released this year! How could you possibly know that?

  23. Hmmmmm, MV Agusta to capture the “younger market”? I don’t think so – the younger market is hardly the target of (or even able to afford) MVs. All the MV riders I’ve ever seen are rich guys in their 40s and 50s who like to show off more than they like to ride…wait, that sounds like the typical modern Harley guy too! Maybe there is some logic to this move after all!

  24. The only thing we can be sure of, is that HD is in business to make money.

    I would guess that the acquisition has a lot to do with economics, and being positioned to take advantage of either a strong or weak dollar, avoid unions, and shipping of vehicles to Europe – who says MV will only produce MV? It has a motorcycle plant of some nature, I assume…

    With regard to sporting motorbikes, Trojan probably makes a stronger point with his sarcasam than he knows – there are a lot of “youngish” folks who have more money than riding ability, who would pursue other options rather than HiPo gixxers, r1’s, cbr’s and the like – given the opportunity and a proper dealer network. And as HD rider population ages, they definitely need to do something to hook those of the riding public sub-55.

    As for B.Case, I do not share your perspective regarding BMC. Ry Trapp0 might be closest to an optimistic truth of the reality of the situation, but I’m more on the negative side. I’m of the opinion that for 20+ years BMC has failed to realize any appreciable “profit” for HD (the yard stick of business), that within the same time period BMC’s operating costs and significant amounts of development support (cash, facilities, and capabilities) were and are supplied by HD, and that the Rotax swap is a bit of HD providing the rope from which to hang.

    So, for B.Case’s question, “Is there any reason why an American moto company shouldn’t give them [Ducati]some competition?” No, an American company should be doing just that, too bad, hey, that for 20+ years they haven’t…..

    In the end, as always, time will tell…..

  25. What sources can you cite that state Buell has not made a profit?

    I don’t know if they have or have not, but you claim they have not.

    I do know that I saw a lot of Buells riding around all over Italy when I was there for 3 weeks. It got to a point that I finally talked to a young Italian rider, as he was about to ride away on his Firebolt, why there were so many Buells. His response was the history of the HD brand, the hot rod performance, etc.

    It is no secret that Europeans rightly have seen the value in Buells for some time.

    So, Jar, what is your source? Even if you can provide proof, you under-estimate Buell’s product worth to both the consumer and HD. Ironically-enough, you state profit as the reason to let Buell go….when was the last time MV Augusta ran a profit?

  26. Selling the dream machine of overpaid suburban white trash (Think WRX or Hayabusa) is hardly the definitive goal of all manufacturers. There will always be buyers willing to spend a little more to NOT be the object of envy of the masses. Once something exotic becomes too familiar, it isn’t desirable anymore. If that sounds like the marketing of snob appeal to the more money than brains crowd, then IM somebody lol haha wtf about it and go back to your iPod.

    Your average squid has never heard of MV – and that’s a good thing.

    Buell & profit? That sort of reminds me of an experience with Victory (motorcycles). I was talking to a rep at one of those CW shows about Victory selling a Buell style bike. He just sneered at me and said the cruiser market is a whole lot bigger than the naked V-twin sport market. When I pointed out that Buell sold more bikes than Victory that year, he got near hostile and decided to spend his time organizing the brochure rack. Clearly he knows more about the business than I do…….

  27. Despite the antedoctal evidence Victory cannot sell as many Buells as Harley can. There is a market for American sport bikes (which Buell dominates almost entirely) but that doesn’t mean that Victory will acquire Buell’s portion of that market or even increase the market size.

    Just a rough guess, probably way off… Buell probably makes up less than 5 percent of Harley’s sales. Victory is in no position to develop an entirely new line of radically differently engineered motorcycles from its current crop with an aspect of only 5 percent. This is how they see it.

    Sure a Victory sport twin would be cool but most people think Victory is either a Chinese brand or some other sort of phony branding excercise. Until Victory fully establishes itself as a reputable American motorcycle manufacture (it’s well on its way) they can only eat tiny slices of the pie.

    -todd

  28. “Just a rough guess, probably way off… Buell probably makes up less than 5 percent of Harley’s sales.”

    If your guess is “probably way off” then why state it? The media is bad enough these days, how about the blogging & forum community state facts?

    “Victory is in no position to develop an entirely new line of radically differently engineered motorcycles from its current crop with an aspect of only 5 percent”….

    5% of a large number could still be a large enough number to justify diversifying your moto catalogue for the ever changing motorcycle consumer.

    The MV Augusta acquisition hopefully has accelerated Victory’s plans for an American-made sport bike.

  29. Uh, Todd, it is the TOTAL SALES number I was talking about, not market share or any other BS. Buell sold more MOTORCYCLES than Victory – how is that anecdotal? Think before reacting for a change.

    When some windbag like that sales(?) hack starts talking market sizes and other meaningless management meeting mumblings, it tells me that he doesn’t know what he is talking about and is terrified someone will find out.

    Hoyt, that last thought is a fun one. I’m not holding my breath, but I would sure love to see that happen. And if they won’t, someone else will…..

  30. i must agree with hoyt. if buells lack of profit(which im not sure if thats true or not) is the excuse to axe them, then why did HD buy MV who has been dropping like a rock?

  31. It’s called a guess. I made no claims that it was a real number. Now that I looked it up I see that, in 2007, HOG sold 330,619 Harleys and 11,513 Buells world wide. That’s 3.48 percent (2.3 percent in dollars); I was close saying 5.

    Now if you’d only tell me what Victory’s volumes are. I see that they sold $113.2 million worth of motorcycles; not bad. How many bikes is that? Well if you consider that HOG sold $4.45 BILLION worth of motorycles AND over $100 million in Buells it looks like Victory has a way to go. Victorys even cost more than Harleys and Buells.

    If we use the HOG numbers (2.3% in dollars – Buells to Harleys) as an estimate for a Victory sport bike we’re only talking about $2.5 million in sales for what might take, what, $50 million to develop? If the bike retails for $12,000 that’s only around 200 bikes per year.

    If you think Victory could sell as many sport bikes as Buell then what is keeping them from selling as many cruisers as Harley? These are the real numbers they look at, not total sales volume.

    Considering the approach and the response, no wonder the sales guy walked away.

    -todd

  33. we should all start praying for MV, cause a pig mentality is the last thing they need.

  35. Hahaha. It’s too early in the day for me. I had to check to see if it was April 1st, too.

    Is this for Anheuser-Bush? Is that what this is all about? LOL

  36. Todd – fortunately, there are businesses that don’t solely make decisions based on your number crunching. These businesses also look at market gaps and tomorrow’s trends without looking through HD’s goggles.

    I can’t believe you are basing a decision to not build a sportbike based on Buell and HD sales figures. If you haven’t noticed, Buell has been a niche sportbike until this year (even the new 1125R platform is still not playing to the race replica 20 year old “young man crisis” crowd.)

    Does this mean Victory has to play that game to sell sport bikes? No, but HD’s decision to outsource the Rotax motor and the new Buell styling leaves the American-made sportbike market gap still wide open for something comparable to what the masses consider a benchmark: the 1098.

    (A 2-wheeled equivalent to the latest Corvette…something American-made with performance, style & a competitive price relative to Ducati, Aprilia, BMW 1000RR, KTM, MV Augusta just as the ‘Vette gives Porsche, Lotus, Audi, Nissan, BMW, etc. a run for the money).
    The new Buell’s performance & engineering are great but the MV Augusta’s designers could help with the styling (IMO).

    Victory/Polaris have the technical know-how and resources to build an American sportbike and/or Sport tourer that does not have to follow HDs lead.

    This will be interesting.

  37. If only MotoCzysz had the resources of a proper motorcycle manufacturer to get their bike in streetbike-form on the market in at least a semi-affordable price. Potentially, that would be a great American 2-wheeled equivalent to the Corvette, and a product worth considering as an alternative to anything made elsewhere.

  38. There are not many people buying medium-powered, large capacity, American, push-rod v-twin sport bikes, hence Buells sales volume. I’d say that Buell sells to nearly every one of those people. It is not correct to think the number of people buying medium-powered, large capacity, American, push-rod V-twin sport bikes would increase simply because another manufacturer adds to the lineup. I thought that was the suggestion.

    If Victory took a cue from, say, Triumph and produced a competitive sport bike with just enough difference that would be great. The market for Sport Bikes is much larger than the one for medium-powered, large capacity, American, push-rod V-twin sport bikes.

    Once has to realize that Victory, despite the wealth of talent and quality product, does not sell many motorcycles. I think everyone sells more cruisers than Victory. It isn’t because they are no good it is because the are unknown. It’s this same reason why they wouldn’t be able to sell many sport bikes, regardless of the design.

    -todd

  39. “It is not correct to think the number of people buying medium-powered, large capacity, American, push-rod V-twin sport bikes would increase simply because another manufacturer adds to the lineup. I thought that was the suggestion.”

    Victory does not make a push rod bike, so they wouldn’t be adding to that line-up. I think you read into ROHORN’s comment towards the Victory sales person in a couple of ways and missed the bigger point of a market gap awaiting any US company to fill. Victory seems to be well-positioned to fill that gap if they desire.

  40. If the business model is: Wait for someone else to define and establish a market and then jump in with a half assed effort to take “market share”, then that business will, indeed, be, uh, victorious in being completely half assed.

    What WAS the “medium-powered, large capacity, American, push-rod V-twin sport bike” (Henceforth referred to as the MPLCAPRV2SB) market before Buell came along anyway?

    Yeah, Victory would be stupid to do that. You don’t see any of the Big 4 doing any MPLCAPRV2SBs, right? That’s why the Yamaha MT-01 and Bulldog were clearly built as rolling punch lines. The only market that counts is the USA one, right? Does Victory even sell bikes in Europe? I don’t care enough to look.

    That reminds me – where does the XR1200 sell? And not sell (as of this posting)? Yeah, Victory would be stupid to do that.

    Did Buell invent the MPLCAPRV2SB? NO. Some people were building their own, more were hoping for one of their own, and a lot never even thought of the possibility. But the motorcycle mass market (and retarded Victory reps) more often than not, aren’t terribly visionary. Or exciting.

    But they are good with calculators.

  43. Wow, seems like some people are really getting their panties in a bunch…I don’t agree with everything that Todd said (Aveo buyers don’t care a bit about Chevy making Corvettes) but he makes some valid points and is certainly entitled to his opinion on this.

    To the market savants who are so sure Victory should rush out and produce a sportbike – keep in mind that sportbike sales aren’t looking so hot right now and aren’t expected to recover anytime soon. Victory probably knows a thing or two about product planning, perhaps even more than you.

    Anyways, the smart money’s on scooters right now.

  44. I don’t think anyone is so sure Victory should “rush out and produce a sportbike”. Nor is anyone stating they know more than Victory….if you read between the clever lines of ROHORN, you’d see valid points with no b.s.

    I wrote, “The MV Augusta acquisition hopefully has accelerated Victory’s plans for an American-made sport bike.” The gaping market for an American-made sportbike remains domestically & internationally regardless if sportbike sales are down in the US or the US dollar is weak in Europe. If the bike is done right with performance, style, and price it will fly off the floor. This “bike” is still the most highly anticipated motorcycle since the 50’s ? 40’s? since Indian stopped racing?

    My hope is that this bike has been in the works for some time. Perhaps the launch of this bike will coincide with the end of this current economical downturn?

    Scooters? agreed. Who is in a better position to build and market a scooter? HD or Polaris/Victory?

    My bet is on Polaris/Victory due in part, ironically, to HD’s “faithful” backlash.

    No one has their nickers in a twist or saying someone else can’t have an opinion, either. Your panties comment has parallels in the dialogue above between ROHORN, the Victory sales rep, and Todd….are we so soft nowadays that you either walk away from a conversation or you state they have their panties in a bunch when that person feels like calling “bullshit” on something ?

    What’s wrong with debate?

  45. I’m not claiming that a Victory made MPLCAPRV2SB or any other SB is going to be the keystone of their product line – even if it became a huge success. The simple fact is that every single model that every company makes is a niche model – I don’t know of any successful motorcycle company with any reliable showroom presence having a model line of……one.

    Scooters? Mr. Ventura, they sound like your mrketing demographic, so I won’t argue with you on that subject. Like Hoyt says, scooters probably aren’t a H-D/MV thing. If it were, H-D would probably be smart and just buy another Italian company that already does them well.

  47. Hmmm, well hoyt I hear what you’re saying, but I’m reading everything ROHORN has written and I don’t see any cleverness. Just a pushy, abrasive, know-it-all attitude that leaves me less than surprised the “retarded” Victory rep walked away.

    Anyways, I’d be surprised if ROHORN could tell me exactly what the marketing demographic for scooters IS these days, but apparently I’m in it so I’ll leave this alone and just go do whatever it is my people do.

  49. How quickly will Harley take MV down the toilet and finish the job of derailing Agusta. I hate this move because MV is more than selling bikes, and it’s much more than selling tee shirts.

    Harley ruined one Italian bike maker before, and their hammer and chisel and bailing wire technology does not suit a motorcycle company that is based on advanced technology. Buell was well on the way of becoming a great sport bike until he let H-D in the door.

    Drain the tanks MV riders and put the bikes up. They are going to become very collectible with the “Motor Company” at the helm. If, and when, MV begins production again, the tool kit will consist of 10 feet of Duct Tape and 10 feet of bailing wire, along with a pocket knife and one pair of wire cutters.

  50. Todd, your statement about Victory isn’t totally accurate. For the past two years, two mc companies have had increased sales…Triumph and Victory.

    Victory, with the introduction of the Vision has clearly tossed down the gauntlet to the “other” American mc manufacturer.

    I love my Kingpin and will have a Vision within the next month.

    If I want a sportbike, I have the MV and the Duc….but I would love to see Victory/Polaris build one that works.

  52. MV and Triumph are selling more bikes because their awareness is growing. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve been opening up new dealerships too. I never implied that Victory wasn’t a good bike or that their sales were dropping. I said that they only sell a tiny number of bikes compared to the market as a whole and that they have some room to catch up.

    They (Polaris) also happen to hold a large stake in KTM, another growing company…

    -todd