Victory Motorcycles Unveils Zach Ness Concept Bike

On the eve of last weekend’s New York City International Motorcycle Show, a motley group of gearheads and moto-enthusiasts gathered at Union Garage, a motorcycle and gear shop on an unassuming street in the industrial Red Hook section of Brooklyn. Sixpoint beer and Stillhouse whisky flowed, rock n’ roll and belly laughs echoed from the rafters, and bro-hugs were in no short supply among the assembled. But when the wraps came off the final installment in Victory Motorcycles’ 1200cc concept series, every neck in the room craned toward the podium to check out Zach Ness’ phenomenal “Combustion” concept motorcycle.

Best described as a power cruiser, the bike is wrapped in pewter paint with gold trim, with black spoked wheels and high bronze sidepipes befitting a Scrambler. Flashbulbs popped when Zach, son of Cory and grandson of Arlen, fired up the bike. Whoops and applause could barely be heard as Zach gunned the motor, its monstrous peal reverberating throughout the warehouse. The motorcycle is powered by a production-intended 1200cc, liquid-cooled, 60-degree V-Twin that will be featured in a new Victory model to be revealed next year.

"Combustion" follows the recent reveal of another concept bike built by Urs Erbacher of Switzerland at EICMA in Milan, Italy. His bike, known as "Ignition," took the very first pre-production 1200cc engine and wrapped it in an aggressive sportbike inspired stance intended to appeal to European riders. The first bike in the concept series was Roland Sands' "Project 156" racer that made the podium at the Pike's Peak International Hill Climb earlier this year. Both Urs and Roland were in attendance at the reveal in Brooklyn, along with Cory Ness and numerous luminaries of the industry and Victory designer Mike Song, designer of the new model.

“Our family has a long-standing relationship with Victory Motorcycles customizing many Victory production bikes in the past,” Zach said. “It’s always fun to look into the future – so to have the trust of Victory to create a more conceptual bike has been great. Also, as one of the first to ride this new engine, it absolutely RIPS!”

Look for the new Victory model powered by this 1200cc engine in 2016, and for more information on current models, check VictoryMotorcycles.com