INDIAN is BACK !

[hunnus2000]

Originally Posted by Offday

They are going to have to introduce an entirely new design. They won't be able
market their machines based on the hopes that the "Indian" of yesteryear will stir
interest. Those who "remember" what Indian was. And the machines they made
have died off or are too old to ride anymore.
They are going to have to come out with something a much younger consumer will
want to buy, or fail once again.

Originally Posted by Chalie Mac

Polaris has said as much, publicly. They said they weren't just slapping an Indian badge on a Victory model. They said they were two diff customer bases, looking for two diff styles of cycle. I think Polaris "gets it", if one is to believe their pronouncements.

Originally Posted by Chalie Mac

This smacks of the same mindset (usually of non-HD owners) where one assumes that if Company A doesn’t change what they’re doing then they will go under because ALL of their consumer base has either died off or too old to ride. They say this as if Company A had 100 static customers and over the course of 50 years where those customers kept Company A afloat and once they die then Company A has to declare bankruptcy. This mindset is inaccurate, dumb, naïve and specious – all at the same time.
Does anyone truly believe that Victory bought Indian to radically redesign the look to appeal to the “supposed” younger consumer? Hell no! They are going to stabilize the engine problems, repackage the same design and target the same market that can afford a Harley CVO. Now how do they appeal to the younger consumer? They make an Indian design between the 7K and 15K price point. We’ll see if that happens.
And BTW – Indian 1901-2012??? Given that the original company died around 1950ish and no-one had been able to revive it it’s more like “Indian 1901 to 1950ish” Indian 2011-????”.
I’ll be at a Victory dealership and see if I can get more information on the acquisition and Victory’s plans for the future.

[catfish1978]

Originally Posted by vito

Have you always felt this way or have you never seen an Indian?
That fender = brand as far as Indian is concerned......it's a huge part in what makes an Indian an Indian.

Always felt this way dont like the full fender look more of a custom guy and yes i know its a brand thing but like i said just my opinion i would love to see them survive this time much like EBR with the 1190rs i think they need to make something that looks more modern just to attract the younger buyers

Sent from my MB855 using Motorcycle.com Free App

[shadowrider482002]

So will it be an Indian or a Polaris, or a Polaris Indian?

[shadowrider482002]

So will it be an Indian or a Polaris? Or a Polaris Indian?

[jamkcur]

That price tag simply isn't competitive. Loaded out Harley Ultra = 28k

being successful in the market is about bringing a competitive product, at a competitive price. 30k+ is not a competitive price.

That being said, I love the look of the Indians.

[Chalie Mac]

Originally Posted by jamkcur

That price tag simply isn't competitive. Loaded out Harley Ultra = 28k

being successful in the market is about bringing a competitive product, at a competitive price. 30k+ is not a competitive price.

That being said, I love the look of the Indians.

Once again, the $30k price that's being quoted is NOT for the new Polaris designed Indians. These are basically "left overs" from the old ownership.

The new Indians will be redesigned, with new engines, parts suppliers, etc. and new prices, which Polaris hasn't revealed yet. Whether they'll produce an "entry level" cycle, and whether that cycle is priced at the Harley 883 level ... I guess we'll have to wait and see.

And the skirted fenders made their debut in 1940. Indian ceased production (officially) in 1953 but very few bikes were built from '50 - '53 because of their financial problems. So basically they had those fenders for 9 years of their history and I'm pretty sure they were only on the Chiefs.

I'd be willing to bet that some of the new Indians have those fenders, because they are iconic, but I don't think every cycle they produce will.

[Shadzilla]

maybe it'll take the pressure off of a nice used one

[hunnus2000]

Originally Posted by Chalie Mac

Once again, the $30k price that's being quoted is NOT for the new Polaris designed Indians. These are basically "left overs" from the old ownership.

The new Indians will be redesigned, with new engines, parts suppliers, etc. and new prices, which Polaris hasn't revealed yet. Whether they'll produce an "entry level" cycle, and whether that cycle is priced at the Harley 883 level ... I guess we'll have to wait and see.

And the skirted fenders made their debut in 1940. Indian ceased production (officially) in 1953 but very few bikes were built from '50 - '53 because of their financial problems. So basically they had those fenders for 9 years of their history and I'm pretty sure they were only on the Chiefs.

I'd be willing to bet that some of the new Indians have those fenders, because they are iconic, but I don't think every cycle they produce will.

You are absolutely correct. I was at a Victory dealership yesterday and spoke with a fellow named Rick Fairless who is on the design board for the new Indian branch of Victory. Polaris will continue to make the Indian as we know it, they have to in order to satisfy long time customers and maintain brand recognition. They will however, introduce all types of different designs including smaller displcaments to rival Harley. They will also design an engine completely different from the Victory otherwise it's buying the name and slapping a Victory engine on it. Indian will act as a completely seperate entity from Polaris. I could see them being stood up by Polaris and sold a few years down the road for a profit OR maybe they will actually be profitable and surpass market share and actually be competetive with Harley.

Strokers will accept delivery in 2013 of the new Indians.