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Polaris has been the company on the move in 2011, and its second quarter earnings show why. Gobbling up Indian and then later GEM, Polaris has shown that it has an appetite for growth, which has been fueled by its strong sales, which have increased in revenue by 41% over Q2 2010. Perhaps more impressive is that the American company has parlayed that increase in revenue into a 90% increase in net income over the same time period, which has been a boon for the company’s shareholders and a testament to the company’s reduced-cost structures.

At the 2011 Dutch Grand Prix, American Ben Spies became the only rider other than Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo, and Dani Pedrosa to win a dry 800cc GP race. Spies led every lap in a fashion reminiscent of his days as 3-time AMA champion, where he was known as a rider so mentally tough from his years of being Mat Mladin’s teammate that once a lead was achieved, he could manage it until the end of the race without mistakes.

Spies also had great timing for his first MotroGP win, as Yamaha was celebrating 50 years of Grand Prix racing with a retro red and white livery and honored guests such as Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read in attendance. Congratulations to Ben and his crew, and to Yamaha for reaching the top of the podium on this historic occasion in the company’s history.

Polaris is recalling 840 Victory Cross Country motorcycles made from January 1, 2011 through April 11, 2011 for faulty handlebar clamps/risers that may have been improperly machined. Because of the defect, the handlebars may slip in the clamps, resulting in a lack of control over the motorcycle.

Accordingly, Polaris will be notifying affected owners, and Victory dealers will test and replace the defective parts free of charge. The recall is expected to start in June of this year, and concerned Victory Cross Country owners can contact Victory customer service at 1-888-704-5290. The NHTSA, as always, is also available at 1-888-327-4236 or safercar.gov.

Source: NHTSA

Polaris Industires has just announced its acquisition of the historic Indian Motorcycle company. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but the deal sees one of the most historic names in American motorcycling finding a home with a major player in the motorcycle industry. The move is an interesting one for Polaris, as the company already owns cruiser and touring motorcycle manufacturer Victory Motorcycles.

According to the company press release, Indian will function as an autonomous business unit, but will likely gett help from Polaris’s engineering department, along with the obvious supply chain and purchasing power of the larger brand.

Victory Motorcycles is looking to continue its strong sales growth by taking its Harley-Davidson alternative of a product line to the Indian market. Expecting to enter India in Q2 of 2012, Victory will first import fully-assembled motorcycles into the huge Indian market. Victory also plans on setting up an assembly plant, so the company can import partially-constructed machines into the country, and thus sidestep the massive tariffs India levies on fully-assembled motorcycles imports.

Without giving too much away about this weekend’s WSBK race, Max Biaggi clinched the World Superbike Championship at Imola this weekend. For fans in Italy, this moment is being celebrated heavily, as an Italian rider, on an Italian bike, during an Italian race, has clinched a major championship title. For Biaggi fans, this title has been a long-time in the making, as The Emperor hasn’t won a championship title since his 250GP days.

According to Polaris Industries, Victory motorcycle sales were up 48% in the second quarter of 2010. Polaris’ on-road division, which is essentially the Victory cruiser brand, posted sales of $15.5 million, up from the $10.5 million in sales the company did in Q2 2010. In North American, sales for Victory cruisers were up 10% over last quarter, the third quarter in-a-row of sales growth for the brand.

Roland Sands Design has a new project in their garage that sees a modified Victory being built for ludicrous speed. Aptly named Mission 200, RSD is aiming for a modified partial streamlining (MPS) record, and a 200mph benchmark. Currently the bike features a stock Victory 106ci motor, but to reach the 200mph mark RSD plans to turbo the Victory v-twin motor out. The work done by RSD looks amazing, but will the bike go 200 miles per hour? Only time will tell. Video and photos after the jump.

If you didn’t know it by now, let us spoil the surprise from this last weekend’s Dutch GP for you: Rossi has claimed his 100th victory. With a century of wins under his belt, Rossi is only the second rider to achieve such a feat, and along that journey, an impressive array of statistics can be compiled.

Dorna Sports has compiled a list of Valentino’s accomplishments, which really showcases what a monumental rider the Italian is, and begs the question, will a rider every be able to fill the shoes he’ll leave behind? Continue reading for a comprehensive breakdown.

core-02

Victory describes the Core as the following:

“Core is a concept motorcycle designed and built by the Victory Motorcycles Industrial Design team to show what a performance cruiser of the future could look like. It consists of only the essentials: engine, frame, wheels and front suspension — no rear suspension. Its unique cast aluminum frame was made by pouring molten aluminum into a sand core, which was removed when the casting was complete.”

In other words, the future will be filled with huge displacement bikes that have no suspension, a wood seat, and be air-cooled…not to mention produced by century old techniques. Someone should remind Victory that time moves forward, not backwards. Never-the-less, we find the Core to be aesthetically pleasing to look at, and would gladly take it around the neighborhood to setoff car alarms. 

Sometimes you have to express yourself by making a motorcycle, and this is what the Core is. We can appreciate that.