Indian announces new home

[Bob]

Indian takes a step closer to manufacturing once again, following the announcement that they have found their new home.

The company will be based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where it will place its world headquarters. The site includes 11 acres of property and a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility which is expandable to 125,000 square feet.

"We believe Cleveland County and the greater Charlotte area are a perfect fit for Indian Motorcycle Company and we're proud to call this area home," said Indian Chairman, Stephen Julius.

Over the next 12 months, Indian will focus on design, engineering and testing activities, with the objective of re-introducing the famed Indian Chief motorcycle in the second half of 2007.

[sunhuntin]

found this here

Indian Motorcycle Company Back in Business has New Home
July 20, 2006 - Indian Motorcycle Company Press Release - http://www.indianmotorcycle.com/

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 2006--Indian(R) Motorcycle Company is pleased to announce that it will be revving up its engine in a new home. After carefully reviewing location options throughout the United States, Indian(R) has selected a factory in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, where it will place its world headquarters. The site, located in Cleveland County, 37 miles west of downtown Charlotte, includes 11 acres of property and a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility which is expandable to 125,000 square feet.

"We believe Cleveland County and the greater Charlotte area are a perfect fit for Indian(R) Motorcycle Company and we're proud to call this area home," said Indian Chairman, Stephen Julius. "We are in the heart of our nation's powersports industry, with access to design, engineering and mechanical talent, world-class suppliers, motorsport education centers and year-round motorcycle riding weather. In addition, this area provides us with economic advantages, including a low overall cost of doing business, which was aided by a strong incentive package provided by Cleveland County and by the State of North Carolina."

The announcement of the factory site marks the official re-launch of Indian(R) Motorcycle Company, America's oldest and most iconic motorcycle brand, founded in 1901. In preparation for Indian's re-launch, management has spent considerable time over the last two years researching the American motorcycle market and learning from the successes and failures of other market entrants. In particular, Indian has studied the tremendous growth of Harley-Davidson from near-bankruptcy in the early 1980's to a multi-billion dollar success story today. However, Indian is intent on slowly carving out its own niche in the large and growing heavyweight cruiser motorcycle market. There is a considerable consumer base for a premium line of motorcycles under the Indian Motorcycle brand, which has an almost cult-like status amongst many consumers. The company will focus on supplying genuine, American made, motorcycles which are beautifully designed, made of the highest quality materials, reliable and supported by a qualified dealer network.

Over the next 12 months, Indian will focus on design, engineering and testing activities, with the objective of introducing the famed Indian(R) Chief(R) motorcycle in the second half of 2007. To head up its product development team, Indian has hired Geoffrey Burgess, a world-renowned motorcycle engineer and product development expert. Geoff was most recently the Chief Technology Officer at Global Motorsports Group ("GMG"), owner of Custom Chrome, a provider of parts and accessories to the American V-twin motorcycle market. Prior to GMG, Geoff was head of product development at S&S Cycle, Inc., a leading V-twin engine manufacturing company, where he drove product innovation and process improvement to new levels. Prior to joining S&S, Geoff was the first employee and Chief Engineer at the Victory Motorcycle division of Polaris Industries, Inc., in Roseau, Minnesota. Geoff has also served in various senior engineering capacities at General Motors, Bombardier Recreational Products (Valcourt, Quebec), BSA-Triumph Motorcycles and Norton-Villiers Motorcycle Group. "Having Geoff on our team is a big win for Indian(R)," commented Indian President, David Wright. "His breadth and depth of knowledge of the American motorcycle market is impressive and his technical capabilities unsurpassed. He has outstanding powertrain and chassis design and development experience which we will put to good use. He is the perfect person for this role."

Mr. Burgess commented, "I know that the executive management of Indian(R) understand the importance of product development, engineering and testing to current industry OEM standards. I have been very impressed with their thoughtful and long-term approach to this exciting opportunity."

Indian is presently seeking to expand its team of engine and chassis engineers, technicians and CAD designers. "Our team will focus on design, quality, craftsmanship and service," commented Mr. Wright. "Indian remains among the most powerful brands in the U.S. motorcycle market, and our team is committed to re-building the extraordinary legend of Indian(R)." In the first half of 2007, Indian(R) will begin the process of developing a small but highly qualified network of motorcycle dealers who understand and appreciate the heritage of Indian(R) and recognize the growth potential of this opportunity.

The controlling shareholder of Indian(R) Motorcycle Company is London based Stellican Limited which has an impressive track record of resurrecting classic brands, including, most recently, the successful re-launch of Chris-Craft(R) boats, which was founded in 1874 and is among the oldest boat brands in the United States. "We will apply the same practical and long-term approach to Indian as we have employed successfully at Chris-Craft," commented Stephen Julius, Chairman of both Indian Motorcycle and Chris-Craft. "We are confident we will repeat our success with Indian(R) by remaining true to the rich heritage of this incredible brand and doing things slowly and thoroughly. We are certain that there is an important role for Indian(R) in the future of the American motorcycle market," added Mr. Julius.

[avgas]

bah....gimmie the new vincent

[MattRSK]

Bike number one please!

[James Deuce]

Yeah, right.

If they're going to "do" Indian, where's the proper IL4 flagship model?

[Motu]

De Javu? for the how manynth time? They have to toss that Harley clone engine and make something unique,something their own.Bevel drive ohc with huge cast shaft housings or something - anything but a big V Twin with 4 push rod tubes,the engine needs a distinctive feature,the Harley clone has been done to death.

[Bob]

Actually, it is only the second attempt at reviving the Indian name (as long as you don't count the failed try by a Scottish company a few years ago to make Indian UK or something).

Original incarnation ran to 1953 I think - by which time all they were doing was putting out rebadged British parallel twins under the Indian name. Then they were relaunched a few years back. The last incarnation was doing OK - if I remember correctly, their final year trading generated something like USD 64 million - but the finance companies etc decided to pull the plug.

But I do know what you mean about the engine. Don't put out a v-twin like everyone else... or rather do, but have something unique to you as a brand lead. If I remember correctly, didn't Indian used to use a square-four in the Chief?

Don't know if you would want to use one these days (my mechanical brain doesn't run to the advantages and deficiences of that configuration - Motu, any ideas?), but something different would be a way of setting your stall as a truly different company.

[bladez]

hell gone to much like a hardly give me an old indian scout with the classic hand gear change

[James Deuce]

If I remember correctly, didn't Indian used to use a square-four in the Chief?

Along the frame IL4.

[Motu]

What about the Clymer years...or are they buried and paved?

Check out this site about the Enfield Indians.The guy who put up the site,Phill Dolan used to be a good friend of mine.

http://www.re-indian.com/enfield/enfield1.html

[Bob]

Thanks for that.

One of the most enjoyable books I've read was "Rebuilding the Indian" by Fred Haferle.

Link here to a review I wrote of it and a link to Amazon if you want a copy

Real 'didn't want to put it down' book, especially when the project really got under way.

Have to be honest and say I'd like to have one of the Scouts made by the last incarnation of Indian. As a weekend 'fun' bike of course...

[Bob]

What about the Clymer years...or are they buried and paved?

Check out this site about the Enfield Indians.The guy who put up the site,Phill Dolan used to be a good friend of mine.

http://www.re-indian.com/enfield/enfield1.html

Depends if you want to be 'purist' about this, I suppose.

To me, towards the end of the original company, even Indian were not making Indians! As I said above, in the last few years, they were effectively rebadging British Parallel twins - and the stuff shown in the site is - to my mind anyway - a continuation on that theme.

Real Indians were damned great fours - which ironically led to their downfall after the war. Obviously making a twin was less expensive, which helped H-D no end. Indian fell, if memory serves - into a downward spiral where cost of making machine wasn't met by sales... and so rebadging Brit twins (and possibly even singles) happened in an attempt to (a) save the company and (b) allow the Brits to trade on the Indian name.

If you really start looking into all this, there is the Scottish company that got the rights to part of the name and made a Chief of sorts in the 1990's... or the horridly complex issue of many people owning parts of the rights (I know Kawasaki owned certain rights for a time).

I hope that Mk III (or IV if you prefer) Indian will make their own, unique brand of bikes, rather than Harley clones. Nothing against H-D, but I think the market would be better served by variety.