During CIMA Motor 2023 in Chongqing China, an interesting motorcycle made an appearance. Standing out from the obscure Chinese brands scattered across the expo, the Victoria Simplee V7 is a bike carrying the name of a century-old motorcycle manufacturer hailing from Germany. As it would turn out, the trademark rights to the Victoria Motorrad brand were obtained by a Chinese company, and the Simplee V7 is the result of this acquisition.
Victoria-Werke first started making motorcycles way back in 1901 in Nuremberg, Germany. It was considered a major player in the German motorcycle industry, sitting alongside the likes of Zundapp (a brand which has now shifted its focus to electric bicycles). Indeed, the Victoria Simplee V7 makes use of the historic emblem featuring an eagle and crowned human head portraying the coat of arms of Nuremberg.
Needless to say, the similarities between the historic motorcycles and the 2024 Victoria Simplee V7 end here, and the bike is clearly a Chinese creation. From a styling perspective, the Simplee V7 is a low-slung cruiser that blends elements of retro and modern motorcycles. It’s by no means a classic-looking bike, and could best be described as a neo-retro design. We find a large LED headlight upfront, a fairing that shrouds the oil cooler extending all the way to the belly of the bike, and a rather bulky looking tail section.
On the performance side of the story, the bike is powered by a 700cc, air and oil-cooled V-twin engine with Bosch electronic fuel-injection. It produces a rather docile 43.5 horsepower and 37 pound-feet of torque thanks to a bore of 82.6 millimeters, and a stroke of 63 millimeters. It gets a rather low compression ratio of 9:1, explaining its modest power output.
On the tech front, we find a KYB inverted front fork and a pair of preload-adjustable shocks at the rear. The bike comes to a stop with Nissin braking hardware equipped with dual-channel ABS. Additionally, traction control has been added for extra safety, although its low power output and hefty 223-kilogram weight would suggest that it doesn’t really need this. Other features include a full-color 3.5-inch TFT display, as well as a USB charger for extra convenience.
In the Chinese market, the new Victoria Simplee V7 has been priced at 25,777 Yuan, which translates to approximately $3,500 USD – incredibly affordable considering the technology found on the bike. That being said, this is usually the case with made-in-China motorbikes, and there’s no word whether or not Victoria has plans of marketing its products outside of China.
