Bruce Eide, who is already selling Indian motorcycles in Sioux Falls, is about to open an Indian dealership downtown Sturgis at 2106 Lazelle Street. Indian Motorcycle considers Sturgis its “home” away from home. The reason? The first Sturgis rally was held on August 14, 1938, by the “Jackpine Gypsies” motorcycle club who still own and operate the tracks, hillclimb, and field areas where the rally is centered.
The first event was called the “Black Hills Classic” and consisted of a single race with nine participants and a small audience. The founder is generally considered to be Clarence “Pappy” Hoel. He purchased an Indian Motorcycle franchise in Sturgis in 1936 and formed the “Jackpine Gypsies” that same year. All reasons why last Aug. 3, Indian Motorcycle unveiled the newest Indian Classic, Vintage, and Chieftain Motorcycles to the public in downtown Sturgis. The dealership will be open year round offering both sales, service and retail apparel. It will employee eight people, Kurtenbach said (photo @ Indian Motorcycle)
How to piss off the MoCo? Open a Indian Shop in Sturgis!
Cool, another reason to look forward to going to the rally. Can’t wait.
will they be opening up in an old grocery store too?
1901-1953=52 years, 1953-2011=58 years. Indian has been dead longer than it was alive (If you discount the intervening attempts attempts to cash in on the name) I sincerely hope Polaris does well, but let’s admit it’s a new manufacturer using an old name…nothing more. “1901” on the signs?
Hey Sharkey. And Harley never changed its shareholders, so ownership? Go back to history. And what about many other brands?
I think Sharkey has a point, but it would be foolish not to capitalize on the history of the marque. Sure the brand has come and gone and seemingly has very little ties to the original company, however, in a purely technical sense, this is still the Indian brand and, as such, 1901 seems like fair game.
Sharkey. When you buy a motorcycle, do you choose the bike or the shareholders?
The I.O.M. probably has more of a claim of being a home away from home. Indian went there in 1911 and won 1-2-3 in the TT races.
Genuine history and world-wide acclaim is a strong brew.
Call it what it is POLARIS “classic” if a new manufactuer can be classic. They bought the rights to “Indian” they are no more Indians than if you made it.
Businesses are not born and do not die, they are a name on a piece of paper. Indian of 2014 has nothing in common with Indian of 1901, just like Harley-Davidson of 2014 has nothing in common with Harley-Davidson of 1903. If you have to stretch so far as comparing continuous years of production in order to find something negative to say about a bike…it must be one hell of a good bike.
If I go into a pawnshop and buy some deceased hero’s medals, I own the medals but I am NOT that hero…”marketing” is making you believe I’m somehow connected to that hero because I bought his medals and in this case “marketing” is working on many…
I stand by my statement; I wish them well but they are a new manufacturer in legal possession of a name older than they are; nothing more or less.You can buy legal rights, but you can’t buy history.
Sharkey,
So, cutting through all the 1901/1903 crap maybe we should put a ’14 Harley & a 14 Indian in a head to head examination,road test,and tear down and may the best bike win?
I for one am proud that it is owned by a local South Dakotan whose father Vern Eide created a solid reputation for treating his customers and employees with respect. The fact that more is being studied about the history of a marque in our industry is also great! Lets stay positive and love motorcycles for the camaraderie and competition they bring to our lives. See you all in Sturgis 2014 I hope, welcome to our state, I for one an proud to host you.
Well said Brian.
Just another huge corporate trying to tug at the heart strings to make a better bottom line
SOULESS
When Sturgis is more inportant than Springfield…
Someone has lost their way
James Crazy Kiwi. The job of a corporation is to make a better bottom line. And why Indian would not have a dealership in Sturgis? You are a Crazy Kiwi.
HelpMePlz. Is Polaris responsible for the bankruptcy of Indian in 1956? I am pretty sure that sooner or later, Indian will have a dealership in Springfield. Bet?
Grant,The job of a corporation now is to serve the customer well first,and foremost. Then healthy profits should flow.
It works well for Honda and BMW motorcycles. Indian does not seem to be doing much wrong at this stage of growth IMHO.
The model that a corp is just to there to squeeze the last drop of profit for shareholders does not work any more. Detroit’s demise and scattering has shown that result clearly.
To serve customers for a profit. Serving customers for no profit is called bankruptcy.
Grant,serving the customer well and putting good engineering first and foremost, has kept BMW, for example, in business since 1921.
I don’t own a BM,but that type of focus works for many brands of bikes.
Brian Klock, BRAVO, Well said!
I for one am proud that it is owned by a local South Dakotan whose father Vern Eide created a solid reputation for treating his customers and employees with respect. The fact that more is being studied about the history of a marque in our industry is also great! Lets stay positive and love motorcycles for the camaraderie and competition they bring to our lives. See you all in Sturgis 2014 I hope, welcome to our state, I for one an proud to host you.
I maintain,
a. The Poly-Indian is NOT competition for HD.
b. Polaris’ marketing model is flawed and the Poly-Indian is just more of the Poly-Victory in drag – in fact more like in BLOOMERS.
c. Polaris will eventually find that crossing a near 60-year wide ‘Rubicon’ will be a ‘bridge too far’. If it is an alternative “legacy” you want then get a Moto Guzzi California – now that is style and a legitimate legacy. If you want a proper HD alternative – get a Triumph Thunderbird; now that is something ‘different’. If you want a clinical touring machine – get a Honda Goldwing; apart from the fact that the ‘Wing’ has FAAAAAAR more legitimacy- and certainly legacy than any Poly-Indian.
d. As others – that the Poly-Indian has NOTHING to do with the original Indian – that warrior she is dead and no amount of cosmetic-surgery will ever revive her; all you will have is a Frankenstein dangling from an artificial life-support (viz Polaris’ cash-cow in this instance).
e. The simple fact is that there is NO alternative to HD. Every time I doubt this verity – I hop on my 2012 Wide Glide with a 110ci upgrade, or my ’05 CVO Fat Boy with its Stage III conversion, or even a custom with a (S&S) HD-hand-me-down-copy-and-paste-technology-with-after-the-fact-improvements- Shovelhead chopper or the (S&S) HD-hand-me-down-copy-and-paste-technology-with-after-the-fact-improvements-Panhead bobber (both with FAAAAAAAAR more ‘legitimacy’ than the Poly-Indian) – and I just ask myself again: FOR WHAT CONCEIVABLE REASON WOULD I EVEN BEGIN TO CONSIDER A i-PAD BUILT BY SAMSUNG…
f. More than anything else, Neil Young called upon HD in a song about a certain LEGEND, while all he could muster about the “Indian”, was a massacre and a broken arrow. I rest my case…
Etc, etc…
IMHO: Polaris must amalgamate the Victory and Indian brands into one. Employ their vast resources to fill the space between the V-Rod and the Ducati Diavel – now there is a massive untapped marketing space…
Sounds like Sigfreed is jealous that a company is making better bikes than his. If you love Harleys so much why so concerned about the “legitimacy” of another brand? I have a 100″ Victory cruiser with cam/intake/pipe upgrade. It’s got 110 hp and 114 tq. It’s more comfortable and out handles the Softail I was comparing it to so I bought it. I have a Victory touring bike with a 110″ big bore package. 130 hp, 130 tq. It’s far more comfortable, more powerful, and out handles the Goldwing I compared it too prior to purchase. Every time I turn the key one either one they start without fail and never leave me stranded. THAT is what I call legitimacy.
I see Indian’s new bike is such a threat to BobS notion of H-D “legitimacy” that he has to raise a posse of an Italian, a Japanese, a Brit and four different Harleys to counter one new motor-model Indian. If Indian is not a competitor for H-D, why even mention it?
I can’t work out what’s so superior in comparing an iPad, made in China to a Samsung made in Korea. Or what it has to do with a motorcycles.
Apart from a bit of friendly, and even some not so friendly rivalry on the road,I could not see any problem with a guy owning both a Sportster for town and an Indian for country.
Go Indian!
Indian annoys some Harley riders. Proof that the Chiefs are a Harley threat. Remember Cyril’s interview of Steve Mento, vice president of Polaris? He said that their target is to have Victory & Indian combined getting 15% to 20% of the heavy cruisers market. I think they know better than Siegfried what’s going on in the business. I guess Siegfried is afraid to have his Harley lose its resalel value faster than he expected.
BobS,
This is not the place for personal squabbles – just for the record though,
1. Polaris, in their Victory- and Indian brands (and likely every other brand) do build far better motorcycles (and vehicles) than what I do – I have absolutely no doubt about that and/or will never profess otherwise. I build (as a 2nd job/paying-hobby) motorcycles that are borderline road-legal (well, depending where you are, perhaps I should just be honest and say ‘not fit for road-use’). The motorcycles I build are also one-off ‘customs’ and nothing like series production machines that have to fit perfectly over-and-over again. In my full-time profession I am intimately involved with long-series production of complex machines (so I think I have an idea what it takes to do what Polaris does every working day – largely without fail).
2. I am therefore NOT jealous of the machines Polaris makes – they are great machines as you have eagerly attested to. I am though jealous of Polaris’ resources – I WILL UNASHAMEDLY ADMIT THAT VERITY – in fact I am as green with envy of Polaris’ cash-cow as greener pastures will ever be. I just think/dream of the opportunity to ‘create’ the long series production motorcycle that I think a certain market is craving for – and I will openly announce it here (and elsewhere). It is the least I can do in the absence of having the keys to Polaris’s R&D cash vault/budget.
3. I am of the opinion that Polaris is producing largely a ‘ME-TOO PRODUCT’ with certain secondary “improvements”. Improvements that may look great on a spec sheet and/or chasing between traffic lights and/or around a closed circuit. In the real world though – both the Victory and the Indian lack the ‘X-Factor’ and do not have the same ‘soul’. And to me that is what matters more. I suspect there are others that feel the same…
Well I made my comment a to wind up the Tee Pee Tribe and get them away from their peace pipes. (worked)
Lots of interesting comments but I think Sigfreed makes a number of very well notated and valid points. Read carefully !
Remember Polaris started with huge amounts of cash and a blank canvass, makes life easy and if you hire the right people you should easily build be able to build a good motorcycle .CAD systems make it so much faster to design with far less risk.
The Polaris motors poke out more ponies than HD but if it was about that I would buy a 2.3 Litre triumph now that is a cool bike ( Bob S there is your answer)
As old time HD advertising said
“Motorcycles are measured in years not seconds”
The Horse Magazine does not think that Polaris has got it right and I respect their opinion.They always make independent calls and do not act like lemmings chasing the advertising dollar.
Grant I never opposed Indian being in Sturgis, I imagine Yamaha , Honda and others will be there. I cannot see a reason why the Tee Pee should not be there.
Is diversity not a wonderful thing.
Indian & Harley parked side by side…..guess which bike will get the attention, questions and photos taken of it? Harley – dime a dozen with lots of sidewalk commandos, Indians true motorcycle enthusiasts.
Indian only annoys me because they came out of the gate with a bunch of snarky, smack-talk commercials before they even had a bike available for rides, and because they keep leaning on the name/achievements of a great marque as if their legacy was any greater than writing a check. It has nothing to do with Harley (to me) as I’ve owned twice as many Hondas as Harleys and don’t have attitudes about what others ride anyway.
Just wonder how bikers got this way? It’s like the goofs who argue Ford vs. Chevy….
I own a 2001 HD FXST & a 2003 Indian Chief Springfield. I love both brands & while I do consider going to either a Street Glide or Chieftain, will admit I am going to test ride a Triumph Thunderbird……Have no problem with Indian, HD or Triumph
If this new Indian shop actually sells bikes they won’t have any trouble outselling H-D in Sturgis. When I stopped in to the Sturgis H-D dealership in 2012, it was nothing but a T-shirt shop with four or five bikes on the floor. Pitiful.
Brett it was always that way from the twenties on.
Read the Harley Indian Wars and the Rollie Free book.
There was allot of antagonism back in the old times often started by the dealers
and race teams with some factory indulgence
The Factories fought tooth and nail during the depression and they meant it as it was
coming down to survival.
Crazy when compared to the jibes that are on this blog.
All of us respect other peoples taste in motorcycles and what the other person rides. Your not a true Biker otherwise !
Brian Klock, Klock Werks, summed it up best. Personally I enjoy several brands of motorcycles and I certainly hope the Harley Indian war is done in fun by most involved. I enjoy the history of motorcycles and the people that came up with ideas to improve the machines. Some facts are so intriguing – Glen Curtiss rode the motorcycle, he built, to 137 mph back in 1907 on the packed sand beaches in Florida. Indian produced, as far as I know, the first electric start motorcycle back in 1914. Battery technology just wasn’t advanced enough at the time to make it survive. I was fortunate enough to be involved with the newly designed Indian and see what the company went through to get it right and take input from the common man like me. I have a lot of respect for Polaris taking the risk to revive the Brand. I certainly hope Indian is back to stay. We all just need to enjoy the improvements competition brings to the end product.
Good job Jim Petty and Brian Klock, you guys hit the nail on the head. We all will benefit from the continuation of the Indian and Harley rivalry. If I had my way, no one would be allowed to speak negatively about either brand or model until they personally road one. I personally own a couple of Harleys, a 2002 Indian Chief and the new 2014 Chieftain. Each bike has its good points and are great in different ways. If you want classic look and a torquey pull, the 2002 Indian power plus motor will fit the bill. If you want a refined bike that has great handling, smooth power and could be ridden nonstop for hours, the 2014 Indians will not let you down. Let stop the brand bashing and pull together as Americans and enjoy the choices we now have.
First, I kinda wish Cyril had a “Like” button next to the comments like Facebook.
Second, why in the world would ANYONE be against the idea of reviving the legendary Indian brand? How can your love/loyalty of a brand translate to you not wanting it to have any competition? Does anyone doubt that the Motor company’s “Rushmore project” is a reaction to all the new competition? -Hey if you love Fords, does that mean you don’t want there to be Chevy’s or Dodge’s? Of course not. Competition makes everything better, and us, the riding public are benefiting from this competition- better bikes, better service, and prices will stay more in check. (remember the early 2000’s when you got on a waiting list if you wanted a new Harley and you paid whatever the dealer said you had to pay?)
Third, to say that the Polaris Indian has nothing in common with the original is just plain ignorant. They DO own the original Indian name. That really is enough, but Polaris’ Engineers spent a great deal of time researching the original bikes. They rode them, deconstructed them, and studied them. They met with collectors and museum owners. Look at the new Indian motor- the Thunderstroke 111 looks exactly what you’d expect a 21st-century version of the last motors Indian was building in the 1950’s to look like! It’s still a tri-cam v-twin with parallel pushrods and still has those huge finned heads. It is a beautiful tribute to Indians’ legacy, just as the big fenders are and so many other components of the new bike. And if the Indian name and product is being revived, wouldn’t we all rather see it being done by a company that actually has the capability to pull it off?
Cheers to Polaris for taking this bold step to bring this American icon back to life. How can you NOT be thrilled that it has actually happened? Now lets all just jump on whatever bike we love, and get out there and ride.
Wait let me run out to the garage and start my AMF Harley, oops, the embarrassing years of HD.
37 comments & I’m sure this is not the end of the ongoing commentary of H-D vs. Indian / Polaris.
Put me on the side with my man Brian Klock, Joe H.. Jim P. & Scott R.
How can anyone be again something that improves the product???
Polaris made GREAT strides in bringing, not just 1 but 3 new cycles to fruition in just 2 yrs.
A lot of people just don’t understand what effort, time & $$$ that takes to do.
And what they brought to market was reasonably priced, well constructed product & not a piece of junk.
Not to mention the tech. advantages that all of the models, especially the Chieftain, brought to bear.
They and no one else made H-D realize they had to step it up or lose out.
Hence “Project Rushmore” is what I always thought it was, a direct response to Indian.
H-D’s not worried about the Victory brand, now, but they should be.
As that brand, as it is more and more accepted, will nibble away at the heavy U.S. market share
and BOTH of those dollars are going to flow into the pockets of Polaris.
I’m glad to see an Indian dealer in Sturgis that sells more than just t-shirts and clothing
it just seems fitting, somehow ……
@Sharkey – I have a problem with the Indian leathers b/c they included the word, “Since” in reference to the year 1901. The above sign does not make that same mistake.
By only having the year in which Indian started is not a problem since it is an actual point in time reference.
@SIGFREED – the new Guzzi California isn’t exactly the look of a “legacy” bike any more than the Vrod.
I don’t get your rant against the “me-too” business approach considering the amount of cash the vintage American cruiser market generates. What Indian does next with that cash will be key & the measure of a complete motorcycle company (which Indian & your beloved HD used to be)….
Indian could & should build a sport tourer & sport bike very soon as both platforms are easy modern evolutions of Indian’s legacy of racing & innovation. For example, a bike like the Motus v4 can be easily seen as the evolution of the Indian 841, assuming Polaris acquires Motus or does another “me too” bike….like all of the other sport tourer “me too” OEMs (SIGFREED is talking to you BMW, Triumph, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Ducati, Moto Guzzi)
Indian can build a sportbike much easier than HD considering the latter’s corporate & dealership attitudes toward Buell. Indian also has the luxury of building a multi cylinder bike more easily than HD since Indian has never been so tied to vtwins.
I can see it now – a vtwin or inline 4 Indian sportbike racing against the best in the world. To some Indian fans, that scene is just as important as seeing skirted fenders rolling through Sturgis when you consider Indian’s board track & Isle of Man racing wins…meanwhile HD will continue to build the same stuff. Imagine if Ford & GM only built sedans & trucks! There would be no GT40, no Vettes, no Mustangs…and that is pretty boring.
Best wishes to Bruce Eide’s dealership.
Doug :”For example, a bike like the Motus v4 can be easily seen as the evolution of the Indian 841″. No, it’s just made using some bits of a car to save on motor development costs.
“I can see it now – a vtwin or inline 4 Indian sportbike racing against the best in the world” . The best in the world isn’t like that, it’s the best remember, not the best remembered.
“Indian could & should build a sport tourer & sport bike very soon as both platforms are easy modern evolutions of Indian’s legacy of racing & innovation.” Indian run out of ideas in about 1946, They are a clean slate company now, and that’s a very good thing.
It’s the 21st century, the reality is bikes have never been better. Detroit unfortunately, has never been worse, but that does not make their cars made in the sixties any better.
Terrence – what are you referring to re: your 2nd quote of mine, the Aprilia v4? If so, it can be beaten
Indian ran out of ideas 7 yrs before they went out of business doesn’t change the other decades of innovation.
I also don’t agree with your sentiment of cars except for the dreadful 80s – ~ 05.
Motus saved on motor development costs? It’s a completely new engine regardless if the architecture is based on a car engine.
Doug, “a vtwin or inline 4” -What does an Aprilia V4 got to do with those motor types?
To meet “old” Indian’s best engineers and race mechanics, you need a shovel and a map. They would have been dead about fifty years ago. Indian now owns the “Vibe”, and does not need old metal: nothing at all wrong with that.
Indian could build a inline four like the Triumph 2.3L triple with another cylinder added, at the drop of a hat. But, that is a few million, easy, in development costs. Patience, four: paleface.
H-D has now made it easy for Indian to make small cube bikes in Upper Flimflamistan and import them into the domestic market. H-D has now set the precedent there with bikes from India.
Detroit still makes the world’s best affordable V-8 RWD passenger cars. It’s just Americans are not able to buy them .It’s just the Kiwis, Ozzies and Arabs that get those ones. The fast V-8s of the sixties and seventies are fun and fast, like a kid running with a shopping cart. Then you grow up, and the son buys a Subaru sports. You don’t need 400 cubes to go down the highway anymore. I’d like a ’69 Plymouth Roadrunner, then I wake up! Or a Crown Victoria, and then I go to sleep!
Regarding the Motus. It’s a sports-tourer, and not a serious sports motor. The vast bulk of motor development costs are piston, head and combustion chamber design. That’s why they have based it on car parts. I’m not anti-Motus at all, but that’s the facts, jack. Ask H-D how many development dollars and how much fun it was getting the TC88 to actually work right, as they had to get Jim Feuling to sort the top end bugs out.
Where did this sentence come from & why? It has nothing to do with my comments above…
“To meet “old” Indian’s best engineers and race mechanics, you need a shovel and a map. They would have been dead about fifty years ago. Indian now owns the “Vibe”, and does not need old metal: nothing at all wrong with that.”
Your Motus comment still doesn’t diminish the vast costs of the engine they built with their contractors. No one said anything about it being a “sport” motor either. It’s prob a great sport touring motor..
I was not referring to a longitudinal inline 4 either. I was highlighting Indian’s variety over HD and the fact they don’t have be tied to x motor design as much as HD
Don’t have time to waste on this subject. Seems these neigh-Sayers talk just to hear the sound of their gums slapping together. Completion is good for all products. All should be glad someone with the hor$epower to make a good product and continue to do so revived the marque. Cut all the crap about who has history!