Riders who attend Daytona Bike Week as Victory kicks off its 15th Anniversary Celebration will get to see a piece of Victory history: V92C No. 1, the first production Victory ever built.
It will be on display at the Victory Demo Ride transporter at Victory Custom Row in the parking lot of Daytona International Speedway (directions are provided below). No. 1 will share the spotlight with a 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition, of which only 150 units are being built.
Victory No. 1
The first Victory ever built was a V92C that was assembled on the Fourth of July 1998 at the Victory final assembly plant in Spirit Lake, Iowa.
The bike was Antares Red and black and its VIN ended with “000001.” Just days after it was built, Polaris upper management visited the Spirit Lake facility for a ceremony celebrating the start of Victory production. Then-CEO Hall Wendel was preparing to ride the bike between two lines of employees for a photo when he invited an employee to climb on the back of the bike. She obliged and the bike’s first ride was a 2-up experience (see photo at top right).
The bike’s first true on-road adventure was a team relay effort. Days after the bike was built, a team of Victory employees rode No. 1 in relay fashion to each of the Upper Midwest Polaris facilities in: Spirit Lake, Iowa; Medina, Minnesota; Osceola, Wisconsin; Roseau, Minnesota; and Vermillion, South Dakota. At each site, a company representative signed a log sheet verifying the bike’s visit. A group of about five Victory employees rode the bike on the 1,300-mile trip.
In 2000, Polaris moved to a new corporate headquarters in Medina, Minnesota, a Minneapolis suburb. The building includes a restaurant called The Victory Roadhouse, and V92C No. 1 has been on display in the restaurant since the building opened.
To the best of our knowledge, No. 1 has never been moved from corporate HQ since that time. (Except when it was rolled out of the building in 2008 for the photo you see below.) In the summer of 2008, Victory kicked off its 10th anniversary with the introduction of the 10th Anniversary Victory Vision at its national sales meeting. That anniversary model shared the stage with an early V92C, but it was not No. 1, it was Victory No. 5, which belonged to then-CEO Tom Tiller, who rode his bike onstage.
This means the Daytona display will be a rare event in the history of legendary Victory No. 1.
15th Anniversary Model
As noted, Victory created a limited-edition model, the 10th Anniversary Victory Vision, as part of the brand’s 10th Anniversary celebration. To celebrate 15 years on the open road, Victory chose its other premium touring model as the special milestone model and created the 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition.
Its paint scheme – Antares Red over black with gold pinstripes – is the same as that of Victory No. 1. The anniversary model also has billet wheels, extra chrome, GPS, satellite radio, special 15th Anniversary badges, a numbered plate indicating it is a limited-edition model, and more.
Where to Find Victory Custom Row
A major hub of Victory activity during Daytona Bike Week will be Victory Custom Row, the stretch of road in the Daytona International Speedway parking lot that features the Victory Demo Ride transporter and several vendors offering Victory-related products and services.
Victory Custom Row is an extension of the demo truck’s traditional spot in the Speedway parking lot: Outside the track’s Turn 4, where Richard Petty Boulevard intersects Midway Avenue.
From 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, riders will be able to experience demo rides and shop for Victory apparel and accessories just outside the fabled racetrack.
Gunny Autograph Session March 14
Actor, retired U.S. Marine and avid Victory rider R. Lee Ermey – “Gunny” – will be at the Victory Demo Site for an autograph session on Thursday, March 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Related:
• Visit the Victory at Daytona page to register for the Victory Ride & Victory Reception.
• You’ll find links to all “15 Years Young, 15 Victory Highlights” articles here.
• Take a look back at the Cross Country Tour.
• The Making of Victory No. 1.
• Learn about all 2013 Victory touring models, including the Cross Country Tour, at the Victory home page.
Victory No. 1.
The 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition.
The first 1,500 V92C models were numbered. Each bike’s number appeared on a special plate atop the handlebars. This is the plate on No. 1.
V92C No. 1 is parked in The Victory Grille, the restaurant inside Polaris corporate headquarters. For this photo, the framed log sheet from the bike’s first ride to Polaris facilities was placed on the bike.
The 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition was unveiled at the motorcycle show in New York City in January 2013.
The 15th Anniversary Cross Country Tour Limited Edition.
