Stolen Victory Isle of Man TT Motorcycle Update
The stolen Victory Isle of Man TT motorcycle, which was piloted to third in this year’s SES TT Zero race by Lee Johnston, was recovered around 10:30 p.m. Sunday by the Talent Police Department in Oregon. Victory reports that the recovered TT Zero bike – powered by a Brammo electric engine – had damaged bodywork and the rear wheel was removed.
The Talent PD pursued the case and served a warrant at an unreported rental residence, where two unnamed suspects were arrested. The main culprit, which had an extensive police record, told officials he planned to disassemble the bike and sell the parts, though nobody has admitted actually breaking into the Brammo headquarters where the race bike was on proud display, Victory reports.
Victory says no current or former Brammo Inc. employees have been implicated in this case of the stolen Victory Isle of Man TT motorcycle.
“Everyone at Brammo are relieved to have bike #3 back in the stable and are extremely grateful to the City of Talent Police Department for working diligently to solve this case. We’ll need some time to fully assess any damage done, but from initial inspection it appears mostly cosmetic and repairable. What a bizarre event this has been. Thank you to everyone that shared the story and participated indirectly in the recovery.” says Brian Wismann, Director of Product Development, Brammo Inc.
The employees of Victory Motorcycles and Brammo Inc. – both owned by Polaris Industries – wish to thank all of those who shared the news of the theft of this valuable piece of racing history. The sharing of this news through social media would have made it almost impossible for the transportation or sale of the motorcycle to have gone un-noticed. It’s another example of the motorcycle community watching out for each other.
During the 2015 TT Zero, which earned John McGuinness his 22nd TT win (he’d win a 23rd at the Senior TT), Johnston took third with a an average lap speed of 111.062mph.
