Victory and Triumph are two of the best-known motorcycle brands in the world.
Many people prize them for their heritage, but the story of their real value over the years is an interesting one.
Both brands tend to suffer from significant depreciation over their lives, among other issues that occur.
This article answers the question: “Do Victory & Triumph motorcycles hold their value?”…
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Do Victory & Triumph Motorcycles Hold Their Value?
Victory and Triumph motorcycles don’t tend to hold their value so well compared to many other brands.
It’s not the worst case of depreciation, but it is quite serious when compared to Honda or BMW.
The reason for the depreciation of these two brands is quite unique, however, and isn’t as some people believe all down to quality.
The fate of each brand as a business is far more connected with the bikes’ performance in depreciation than any other single factor.
How Much Is The Price Of A New Victory & Triumph Motorcycle?
There are no new Victory motorcycles for sale because the brand was discontinued in 2017.
It was a subsidy of its parent company Polaris and eventually wound down as the parent company felt that Victory wasn’t generating enough money to justify their costs.
To buy a Victory bike now would vary in cost, of course, with the oldest models going all the way back to 1999.
To purchase the newest model year you could expect to pay $8,000-11,000 depending on the model.
The Octane is about $7,999 with 3,000 miles on the odometer, but the Victory High-Ball can be $10,999 for its higher specification, especially if the previous owner upgraded it.
Triumph is still in business, and their products have MSRP price ranges as follows:
| Triumph Motorcycle Category | MSRP Range ($-$) |
| Roadsters and Supersport | 8,195-18,300 |
| Adventure | 11,995-19,300 |
| Modern Classics | 9,400-16,200 |
| Rocket 3 | 22,500 (only one model) |
How Much Do They Depreciate In Value?
A Victory motorcycle, when new, would depreciate around 27 percent in its first year, and then about 10-11 percent consistently year on year when calculated from the depreciated value at the end of each year.
When compared to a new Victory motorcycle, it is worth 65 percent of the MSRP by the end of year 2; just 59 percent of the MSRP after year 3, and then 53 percent of the MSRP by the end of year 4.
After 9 years, the bike is worth about 31 percent the value of the MSRP.
For a Triumph motorcycle, the heaviest single depreciation year is the first year, as you might expect, where the bike loses 20 percent of its value.
It then loses about 10 percent of its depreciated value year on year for the next three years, but the depreciation levels off to the point where it’s only losing about 2 percent annually after its 8-9th years.
What’s The Resale Value?
Most models follow the pattern of depreciation but there will always be exceptions based on how well owners look after and maintain the bikes, as well as how they use them on the road.
For a Victory motorcycle, the newest models are 4 years old and so the prices go from $8,000-11,000 in that latest price range.
A 2017 Victory Cross Country was $16,489 when it was new, for instance, but after 1 year it was only worth $12,299.77, and after 9 years it would be worth $5,285, which gives a window into earlier models.
For Triumph motorcycles, you can expect to pay more than Victory if you are buying a brand-new bike, of course.
After depreciation, however, you should expect to pay about 60 percent of the original MSRP.
The Triumph Thunderbird, for example, is $12,499 brand-new but goes down to $9,999 after the first year, and $7,289 after 4 years.
After 9 years, the Thunderbird is worth just $4,730.
For both brands, the exact resale brand will of course factor in depreciation, but condition, appearance, and service history will likely have more bearing on the final price.
What’s The Best Year To Buy A Used One?
For a Victory, to best combine quality, reliability, features, and long-term lifespan, it’s best to buy from the newest years, 2016-2017.
The main part of the depreciation has already happened at this point, and the bike will lose value at about the same rate year on year.
This being the case, you should favor quality over depreciation level. After the fourth year, the lowest rate of depreciation has been reached.
The newest Victory motorcycles are already 4 years old, so it makes sense to favor newer ones.
New Victory bikes will give you more lasting parts and better features.
As a discontinued bike, parts may be harder to find on older models.
For the Triumph, the best year to buy a used one is at the end of the fourth year.
The bike will still be worth about 58-60 percent of its original value, and it will still be worth 47 percent of its MSRP after another 5 years. That’s a decent investment.
Some older Triumph motorbikes also have collector value and are worth investing in for that purpose.
Do Victory & Triumph Motorcycles Hold Their Value Better Than Its Competitors?
No, they don’t.
The general picture is that Victory and Triumph motorcycles tend to depreciate more than their main competition.
This is especially true when you compare them to some of the finer Japanese competition, and even brands like Honda which also depreciate fast for other reasons.
The main reason seems to be the factors of depreciation behind it.
Competition like BMW and Honda depreciate due to continued strong sales of new bikes and overproduction respectively, which both contribute to a flooded user market.
The story is different for Victory and Triumph bikes, which tend to depreciate due to problems with their brand, parent companies, or reliability issues.
What’s The Main Depreciation Factors With Victory & Triumph?
For Victory, the main depreciation factor is the fact that the brand has discontinued, which has pushed demand off a cliff.
With people not wrangling to get their hands on Victory bikes now – even less than when they were still manufacturing, in fact – there is no market force driving up prices.
For Triumph, the main depreciation factor is down to quality issues and negative perceptions of the brand.
The company has gone in and out of business so many times, and it’s hard for many buyers to get past this fact.
The trust factor behind the brand has suffered.
What Factors About The Brands Could Increase The Value?
The main value-adding factors for Victory and Triumph are the collectible side.
Victory has already ceased production, which means every bike on the road represents one in a diminishing population.
When one is scrapped, it is no longer replaced.
Those that are kept in good order could be worth increasingly more as they become “classic.”
The Triumph goes back a longer way in time than Victory does.
There are already models from the 60s and 70s which have been through their original depreciation but now are seen as classic and collectible.
This increases the value for Victory and Triumph, but for more models in the Triumph range because many more have been around for longer.
What Extra Costs Can You Expect:
Buying – Cost to Purchase a Motorcycle
The cost of purchasing either motorcycle varies greatly.
The sticker prices for Triumph will tend to be higher because the brand is still in operation.
The newest Victory models are around $8,000 to $11,000 in the sticker price.
Triumph models in 2021 range from $8,100 to $22,300, but their range goes all the way back into the earlier parts of the 20th century if you care to look deeply enough.
What About Taxes & Insurance?
For tax/registration, it varies state by state.
The main numbers to look at are sales tax and registration in each state.
Some states, like Delaware, have no sales tax, and others have higher taxes.
Oklahoma has the highest vehicle sales tax at 11.5 percent.
For insurance, the national average in the US is about $700, which you would expect to pay on most Victory and Triumph models.
If you get a sports bike, however, then you can expect to pay far above that average, perhaps $1,000 or more.
The state with the highest average motorcycle insurance is California at $1,360.
The cheapest average can be found in North Dakota at just $382.
Of course, insurance costs also depend on the owner’s age, driving history, and criminal record.
What’s The General Maintenance Cost Per Year Of Victory & Triumph?
For a Triumph motorcycle, you can expect to pay about $1,000 per year on maintenance, which would cover oil changes, chain maintenance, cleaning of the carburetor (if needed), and other more typical, everyday jobs.
Victory costs can be harder to predict because the bikes are no longer in production.
As parts become rarer, you will either fall mercy to the aftermarket, but also you may struggle to find reliable mechanics with experience working on Victory bikes.
These factors push the cost up higher.
For the latest model, you can expect to pay about as much as the Triumph, but as these models get older, maintenance could increase in cost if it means getting replacement OEM parts.
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