Blood Brother Octane, a new Sports Scout?
Yesterday I had to take my Scout to Rick Thomas at All American Motorcycles in Ringwood for a fault code since I fitted a EJK kit and S&S airfiter this gives a 12 hp boost so well worth doing but brought up the engine management light. The ever obliging Rick is very professional and treats his customers like they are all mates, I had to wait some time as he is very busy on Saturday and generally doesn’t do service work on Saturday, I wasn’t in a hurry and didn’t mind the wait at all the good thing though was he offered me a ride on the Victory Octane, which I jumped at the chance to make the comparison to my 2015 Scout. They look similar at a casual glance but the ride and seating position are markedly different, the first thing I checked was the digital display and I reckon it’s better than the Scout as its coloured darker and also it has two trip meters, sadly no gear indicator or fuel gauge but neither has the Scout, the foot peg position is further back which is good and the different front wheel size makes it sharper on the steering. On the road the handlebar position is not comfortable as my machine and its small handlebar fairing is inadequate, but like the Scout it’s low and remarkably even more power on tap even know capacity is virtually the same, the stock Octane is on par with my Scout with the mods that I have fitted I think. Now the thing is that everybody wants to know is how comfortable is the Octane next to the Scout as it has a reputation for a uncomfortable seat and inadequate shocks well laid forward that can be replaced, mine has a Corbin seat and Fournales rear shocks fitted now, well the Octane seems to have a more comfortable seat and yes the rear suspension I think is much better although I never rode it a great distance so the jury is out on that. With Polaris shutting Victory this week all this brand is now on run out sale price they are about $3,000 less now than they were released at and except for the name Indian better value than a Scout Sixty at around $16,000 ride away. The Octane would make a perfect Sports Scout, Polaris please note it would be a shame to dump this bike and I believe if you are looking for a nice bike put the Octane on your shopping list and ring All American Motorcycle 03 98793322 and ask for Rick times running out on these versions