OMG, I just heard Polaris bought out Indian.

[gammaqueen]

Supposed to have a press conference in the AM.

[Slash]

Originally Posted by gammaqueen

Supposed to have a press conference in the AM.

Heard it here first thanks for posting,now hope they can keep Arlen Ness away from the Indian Stylin' Department

Wishing them success,like to see another American cycle company do well

[gammaqueen]

Originally Posted by Slash

Heard it here first thanks for posting,now hope they can keep Arlen Ness away from the Indian Stylin' Department

Wishing them success,like to see another American cycle company do well

What? you don't wanna navigate a spaceship? LOL.

[Slash]

The Vision spaceship without the tourpak on it has grown on me a bit and I hear the performance is kickass,good seeing something besides the other thousands of EGlides exactly like mine,hope they do something good with the Indians.

[PlanB]

Polaris to buy oldest US motorcycle maker

By Bernard Simon in New York
Published: April 19 2011 23:11 | Last updated: April 19 2011 23:11

Polaris Industries, a US-based maker of all-terrain and other specialised vehicles, aims to challenge Harley Davidson’s dominance of the heavy cruiser motorcycle market by buying Indian Motorcycle, the US’s oldest bike maker.
Polaris plans to combine Indian with its own 13-year-old Victory bike brand to achieve improved economies of scale. “Harley will finally have a run for their money if Polaris plays their cards right”, said Stephen Julius, owner of Stellican, a London-based private equity firm that specializes in the takeover and the revival of distressed heritage brands and has owned Indian for seven years.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Indian has yet to turn a profit since it restarted production in late 2008. It has built about 1,000 bikes during that period, a small fraction of Harley’s annual output of about 250,000 units.
Motorcycles and other on-road vehicles made up 4 per cent of Polaris’s 2010 revenues, totaling $1.99bn.
Harley, which has sought to rejuvenate itself over the past two years, reported first-quarter net income of $119.3m, or 51 cents a share, on Tuesday, almost double the $68.7m, or 29 cents, earned a year earlier. The improvement was due mainly to a sharply improved performance by its financial services arm, as well as a 3.5 per cent rise in bike sales.
Europe led the sales growth but US retail sales fell slightly. Citing “challenging macroeconomic conditions” for the US decline, Keith Wandell, chief executive, expressed caution on prospects for the rest of the year and said the company remained focused on becoming “leaner, more agile and more effective”.
Indian was founded in 1901, two years before Harley, and was the US’s biggest motorcycle maker for a time before the first world war. However, the company subsequently fell on hard times, filing twice for bankruptcy.
Stellican bought the trademarks in 2004, restarting production at a factory in North Carolina. Indian now has 30 dealers, including one each in France, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea.
“We’ve done the heavy lifting” Mr Julius said. “Polaris will have the scale in manufacturing, distribution and purchasing to turbocharge the development of the company.”
Indian’s Chief model, whose hallmark is the Red Indian logo on its fuel tank, pioneered the heavy cruiser market now dominated by Harley. Typically priced at $25,000-$35,000, these bikes have become increasingly popular among rich urbanites, such as lawyers and bankers.
Polaris and Indian, like Harley, have sought to boost revenues with parts, accessories, clothing and other branded merchandise.


FT.com / Companies / Automobiles - Polaris to buy oldest US motorcycle maker

[Berserker]

I think the Buell line would have gone good for them. But I am sure Harley would not let it happen.

Not sure what to think of this. It could be good, allows them to get away from Arlen Ness styling. Though I think the Cross Roads and Cross Country are good bikes that should do well for them.


IMO the probably with Indian, to damn expensive. Though I could see people want something more then Harley, but more comfortable then a chopper.

I like the look of the Inidans, they have been truer to their roots then a modern Harley.

Polaris has the production facilites. But is the Indian that much different? Thats why I thinkthe buell or a dual sport like the Ulysess might have increased there market.

The big question I have is this the time. They are just building momentum.

[Berserker]

Maybe Polaris figures this will be the high end market. Keep 1 or 2 on hand. Aiming at the people who actually beleive there is such thing as factory custom. He people are gullible enough to by CVOs.

[gammaqueen]

I think the Indians were way too expensive for what they were. They are all retro looking and everyone is not into retro (I'm not). I hope Polaris can turn them around. I am very happy with my Vision. It took me 2 years to take the plunge and I don't regret it at all. My bike rides like a wet dream. I know it's different, but that's what I like about it. I can't wait to see what Polaris has planned!

[Berserker]

I liked the retro look of the Indians.

If I were to buy a Vic it would be a Vision, I just think they dropped the ball with the storage. Needs alot more storage. The bags on the CC and CR are bigger.

[Berserker]

Not sure if its a good time to be selling high end bikes. But not like it will take off tomorrow and you have to look to the future.

Did Big Dog go under cause off the economy, or did people say WTF am I am buying this bike thats just good for bar to bar? You never know maybe Polaris will bring the price down, since it will have factories and dealer networks in place, and maybe bring the cost down.

I am one of the rare ones who likes seeing the name still out there. Ya its different owners, but they have kept the style.