Growing up, I thought being a police officer was a super cool job. And the coolest of the cool jobs was to be a California Highway Patrolman, AKA a CHiP. Every morning before I trotted off to attempt my luck at penetrating the many social hierarchies of middle school, I took in an episode of CHiPs. Erik Estrada was my spirit animal and I imagined myself as a “Chippy” on a KZP or the motor units from my hometown, big ol’ Harley Electra Glides. But times have changed and patrol officers are often seen on many different brands. While BMW is considered a top choice, a relative newcomer (and I suppose now, even more of a new-goner) is Victory. Unfortunately, Victory as a brand has pretty much disappeared but not before a few third-party vendors such as Victory Police Motorcycles were licensed to convert some models to police units.
The Commander 1 is the trimmed up police version of Victory’s Cross Country touring bike, which itself was a direct stab at the “bagger” market that Harley dominated. Victory took standard bike designs and brought them to life using curves and angles, though the Cross Country was a little more subdued, which was good for the Commander because a little more discreteness never hurt a police vehicle. What also didn’t hurt was a buttery smooth 106 cubic inch v-twin, lighter weight, and higher lean angles allowing for an easier floorboard-scraping road ballet when compared to police Harleys. Although the Commander 1 was over a foot longer in wheelbase, which meant tighter turns were a bit more challenging, overall, when tested side-by-side, most voted for the ride quality of the Victory.
Polaris, Victory’s parent company, was keen on making a presence in the touring/cruiser/bagger market and most would say it succeeded with both the Victory and Indian brands, but due to financial difficulties and brand restructuring, Victory took its final lap this year. Law enforcement customers are back to tried & true companies, leading to Commander 1 sales to the public. That’s where this bike comes into play.
You can find this bike for sale with 19,000 miles, a radio, crash bars, and a very uniform-like black and white paint scheme. While the ad is light on information, I called the dealer (yes, much to my surprise, it’s a dealer sold bike) and he stated the bike came up from a Florida law enforcement agency, which adds up as there are tons of press articles on some of the state’s police departments switching to the brand such as Plant City and Daytona. Find this Police Victory for sale in Brooklyn, New York for $6,900 here on Craigslist.