Victory Motorcycles’->ke1801 Isle of Man TT electric racing bike was stolen from the Brammo's headquarters in Talent, Oregon. Now, the electric motorcycle company is doing whatever it can to learn about the stolen bike’s whereabouts, even going so far as to offer $1,000 to anybody who can help find the bike
I don’t think this was the kind of headlines the company was looking for when it decided to enter the Zero TT challenge at the 2015 Isle Of Man TT. Rider Lee Johnston finished that race in third place, turning in a good performance for himself and Victory Motorcycles. But nobody seems to pay too much attention on that because all the company wants is to find the stolen bike, whose frame is stamped with the VIN #004, and have it returned to Brammo’s headquarters where it was on displace with its complete race bodywork before it was unceremoniously pilfered away.
Local police officials are spearheading the investigation and recovery efforts of the stolen machine. That said, investigators are also seeking assistance from the public. Requests for information have been posted on various media and social media channels. Anybody who may have anything relevant to help find the stolen machine is being encouraged to contact Bill May of the Talent, OR police department at 541-535-1253 and refer to case #15-2149.
Even though it’s preparing itself for the worst, Victory has promised to provide updates on the investigation on its Facebook page.
Continue reading to read more about the search to find Victory Motorcycles’ stolen Isle of Man Zero TT Challenge electric race bike.
Why it matters
What a way to start of the week, right? Stolen bikes and racing tragedies? Yep, that counts as an all-time low for me. I’m not here to compare the two because everybody knows that a stolen motorcycle doesn’t compare to see one driver or rider die, let alone three in a span of two days.
But I also feel bad for Victory Motorcycles. The company readily and heavily invested in developing this bike to compete in the TT Zero Challenge. It wasn’t because it thought it could take on Team Mugen’s Shinden Yon but more so because it wanted to gauge its progress in the electric motorcycle racing scene.
By most accounts, it was a successful effort and Victory had every right to celebrate that achievement by displaying the actual bike Lee Johnson rode to a third place finish in the TT Zero Challenge. Nobody knows the motive behind why it was stolen, but whatever reasons the thieves had for jacking it, Victory is going after to them to the full extent of the law with the assistance of local police authorities. The company has every right and reason to do that and I hope that the bike is returned safely before somebody decides to strip it down and sell it for parts in the black market.
Anybody who has any information on the whereabouts of the bike should help in the recovery efforts. The sooner the bike is returned to Victory, the sooner we can leave this episode behind. With everything that’s gone on in the past week, we’re at least due for some good news, right?
That’s not too much to ask, is it?